Rough City – Q&A Interview
Tell us a little about yourselves. Where you are guys from? How long have you been making Hip Hop together?
We officially, formed Rough city in 2012. Our group is made up of 3 emcees, one dj and a two-man production team. The squad is as follows, Blax One Ill, Spacepimpin, Ill Speak (emcees) Jordan Sprague (production) and Dango Beats doubling as Dj and Lead Engineer. With the exception of Jordan being from Rochester, New York, the rest of us all grew up together in Pasadena Ca. For the last 2 two years we’ve been performing throughout the LA Underground hip hop scene and have been able to open up at a few larger shows including KDAY’S 2014 Krush Groove at the Los Angeles Forum.
What influences you guys in making Hip Hop?
Our influences as far as making hip-hop and music in general come from all walks of life. Being that we are a group, we have the advantage of combining all of our personal beliefs and opinions to create the concepts for our songs and usually end up writing about them from 3 different perspectives. We are influenced by beat makers and dj, rhythm and melody, bboys and graff writers, poets and filmmakers, the list is infinite. But most of all we are influenced by each other. Being in the studio and watching your hommie kill his verse hypes you up to write something just as good or better, we are constantly pushing each other.
Describe your music, and what separates you from other MCs & Producers?
Our music describes us. Making music for us is more than just putting words over a beat, it’s about self-expression. We take pride in keeping it real at all times, our lyrics reflect what its been like for us growing up in LA and how that has shaped our lives. We have all had our ups and downs; we hope that by telling our stories we can make a difference in someone’s life. In todays hip hop market it’s becoming increasingly rare to see anyone trying to be different, we feel that this is our chance to break that mold. We believe in quality over quantity, if we decide to do something, we take the time to do it right. As three emcees we have three very different styles and three different backgrounds, which creates a unique and dynamic sound that you can’t get from a solo artist. We have combined a classic hip-hop feel with a raw new sound creating a product that we are proud to stand behind.
Who have you collaborated with? Who would you like to collab with in the near future?
In the past 2 years we have collaborated with artists including, Henry Canyons, Eric Vintage, Justin Miller, LAC, Mac V, Kelo Beats, and Killah Ronh. In the Future we would like to collab with, Qwell, Ras Kas, Evidence, Open Mike Eagle, Craig Gillespie, Zoolay, Binary Star, Redman and Method Man, anyone from Wu, Mykill Myers, Living Legends, Crown City Rockers, Doomtree, the list goes on and on.
Your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?
Underground Hip Hop to us is a D.I.Y. playground. The underground scene in LA is a melting pot of all styles and sub genres of hip hop. From basements and backyards to bars, clubs and venues underground hip-hop is the backbone of the Los Angeles scene.
Production wise, who are your influences? And who would you like to work with?
Our influences production wise transcend the hip hop genre but just to name a few, DJ Cut Chemist, Dj Shadow, Battle Cat, Dj Premier, Dre, B Lewis, Beats Antique, Flying Lotus, Rza, Bilal, Hans Zimmer and whoever produced the Mobb Deep Infamous album, love those east coast beats. It would be nothing short of amazing to work with any of these producers in the future.
Any current or future projects you are promoting?
Currently we have our debut album available for free download on bandcamp. The album is titled “End Of The Beginning.” And we are throwing a record release party April 11th at the Terrace in Pasadena. As far as future projects go, we all have our hands in a little something at the moment. Sp and Mac V will be releasing a joint EP later this year, which doesn’t have a title yet. And Blax One Ill is currently working on a mix tape called “Versus V.S. Versus.” The next Rough City album is in the conceptual stages but while we are putting that together our fans can expect some new singles, one of which is titled “Money” that will be released as our second music video, directed by Michael Legato.
Can you give us a brief description of the creative process of END OF THE BEGINNING? Also/ what was the idea or concept description about your Album Art Cover.
When we first got together as a group we just started recording songs straight away to stay busy. It wasn’t until about six months in that we decided to start putting together a record. The way we do it is that one of us will present a beat of their choice and we will all listen to it together. After having caught the vibe of that beat we conceptualize and brainstorm for how we want to build the song. Once we have a clear idea of what the subject matter of that particular song will be, we start writing. We record and mix all of our music at Blax’s house in our studio so once the songs are finished being written all it takes is going downstairs and laying them down. The album art is meant to reflect the idea behind the album tittle, “ End Of The Beginning” means that as a group we have completed the first stage of our development. The image of the Lax Airport under construction symbolizes the transition from nothing to something.
Where can we find your music and info?
You can find all of our music at rcmk.bandcamp.com. Any other info including group and individual bio’s and links to all of our social network handles, you can find at www.roughcitymusic.com
Any Shout Outs?
10. Hell yea we got shout outs! First and foremost big shout to our family’s friends and fans. All members of the Rough City Mafia Kollective (RCMK ) anyone who’s ever helped us get on in the underground scene, Q rock 639, Killah Ronh, Henry Canyons, Dusty Crates Crew, Sista Asia, Joseph Lee, Jordan Sprague, Tito Lopez, all Vortex Alumni, Jessi Cat the city of Pasadena, all the voters for the Battle for Los Angeles, 93.5 Kday, Da Collective, and last but not least, UNDERGROUNDHIPHOPBLOG. COM. Thank you everyone who helped us get to where we are now, much love. One.
