It's that time of year again when musicians, publicists, managers and fans head down to Austin, Texas to experience one of the music industry largest festivals, SXSW. In honor of this tradition, Rap Station interviewed dozens of hip-hop artists headed south this year to talk about hip-hop and what makes the festival important for them.
First up, The Chicharones have been making people laugh since 2001 with its humor-infused brand of hip-hop. Comprised of Sleep (Oldominion) and Josh Martinez, The Chicharones actually met at SXSW. The rest is history. The duo’s last album, 2012’s Swine Flew, is further evidence of its uncanny ability to transcend genres and write ridiculously witty rhymes. According to Spin Magazine, The Chicharones are "the best bar band in America, delivering an innovative and entirely unique hybrid of clever pop melodies and intelligent, layered songwriting that [borrowed] from everywhere and [sounded] like nothing else." Martinez took a few minutes to confess his love for NKOTB and Instagram. –Kyle Eustice
RS: When did you fall in love with hip-hop and why?
Josh Martinez: I moved from New Kids on the Block to Al B Sure really quickly and then made the move into hip-hop as the logical extension of preferring soul based music to rock or grunge (yikes, saying grunge really dates an old guy). I loved hip-hop because of the storytelling, and the forbidden nature of the urban experience that I, as a middle class white guy from the east coast of Canada, had very little experience with. My whole friend circle was obsessed with hip-hop cause it was exciting, our parents thought it might be 'dangerous' and because it bumped so hard and there were lots of 'swears. Plus, it always mentioned coded ways for smoking weed. So that was good, too.
Who or what made you decide to pick up the mic and start performing?
I did 'poetry' when people who wrote rap lyrics that didn't rhyme called what they did poetry. I was doing slam poetry and thinking I was the Puerto Rican Saul Williams. I wasn't. But I was getting good at rapping from dropping LSD and freestyling for 12 hours straight. My crew and I (the Crackbeat Society) would freestyle a ton and play basketball. I decided to try performing 'cause I was always a ham. I love playing for people, and the first time I did, my hero Buck 65 was in the crowd and I messed up and forgot everything. It happens, but not since then. After that I promised myself I would never suck ever again. Preparation is everything. A show is there to move people. That’s your job.
SXSW seems to be predominately indie band oriented, as more of a hip-hop artist, what do you hope to gain from your time there?
We've been going to SXSW for 10 plus years and it has always done well by the Hip-Hop Community (by and large). We usually knew the main hip-hop booker, who was a friend of ours. So much of our time has been spent building relationships at this festival that cross throughout the entire year. It's a great place for us.
With record sales on the decline in this digital era, how important are tours now? Merch?
Tours are always the most important thing. Besides actually meeting the people who listen to your music, you build real connections that need to be physically maintained through live show and interactions with the fans. That's the fundamental underpinning for your whole career as an artist. Playing shows make you a better artist, a better performer and are also one of the main ways an artist can actually make money.
How have you been navigating the social media waters? What have you done that has been fan favorites?
I love Instagram. I was the main force behind the Chicharones account until I realized we had tons of pictures of my girl, plants I was growing and food that I was eating. Also, I had tons of up-skirt photos of my fat cat. Now, I have my own (bigjoshmartinez ya'll). Social media in real time is exhausting. I believe in privacy and don't always feel you should share everything. Some people disagree. I prefer to think that quality counts and not necessarily only quantity. But as a record label owner, I hire people that admin our social media channels so we have a larger presence than we would have as extremely busy (read: lazy) artists.
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame started inducting bands in 1986. Out of 279 performers who have been inducted, only 3 Hip-Hop/Rapper acts have been included, most recently Public Enemy this year. As an artist that falls into this category, how does this impact you?
I'm sure it will change. All of pop music blatantly steals any trend that comes out of hip-hop and appropriates it. Eventually they will lower their heads shamefully, and bring on more guests to the Hall of Fame. But it does specifically say that it's the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.' Maybe we should focus more on a Hip-Hop Hall of Fame.
There is kind of a revolving door of rappers/emcees these days. What sets you apart from the pack and how will you attain longevity in such a fickle and oversaturated market?
I'm hella smart (jk). I'm not really into trends, other than to be aware of what’s going on. Having a real message and using your words to try to excite and strengthen the listener I think is more a long term approach than lavishing them in candy and easy drivel that is easily forgettable and whatever. As far as trendy raps go, we off that!
by: Kyle Eustice for RAPstation.com
THE ROAD TO AUSTIN: The Chicharones Hit SXSW Once Again
It's that time of year again when musicians, publicists, managers and fans head down to Austin, Texas to experience one of the music industry largest festivals, SXSW. In honor of this tradition, Rap Station interviewed dozens of hip-hop artists headed south this year to talk about hip-hop and what makes the festival important for them.
First up, The Chicharones have been making people laugh since 2001 with its humor-infused brand of hip-hop. Comprised of Sleep (Oldominion) and Josh Martinez, The Chicharones actually met at SXSW. The rest is history. The duo’s last album, 2012’s Swine Flew, is further evidence of its uncanny ability to transcend genres and write ridiculously witty rhymes. According to Spin Magazine, The Chicharones are "the best bar band in America, delivering an innovative and entirely unique hybrid of clever pop melodies and intelligent, layered songwriting that [borrowed] from everywhere and [sounded] like nothing else." Martinez took a few minutes to confess his love for NKOTB and Instagram. –Kyle Eustice
RS: When did you fall in love with hip-hop and why?
Josh Martinez: I moved from New Kids on the Block to Al B Sure really quickly and then made the move into hip-hop as the logical extension of preferring soul based music to rock or grunge (yikes, saying grunge really dates an old guy). I loved hip-hop because of the storytelling, and the forbidden nature of the urban experience that I, as a middle class white guy from the east coast of Canada, had very little experience with. My whole friend circle was obsessed with hip-hop cause it was exciting, our parents thought it might be 'dangerous' and because it bumped so hard and there were lots of 'swears. Plus, it always mentioned coded ways for smoking weed. So that was good, too.
Who or what made you decide to pick up the mic and start performing?
I did 'poetry' when people who wrote rap lyrics that didn't rhyme called what they did poetry. I was doing slam poetry and thinking I was the Puerto Rican Saul Williams. I wasn't. But I was getting good at rapping from dropping LSD and freestyling for 12 hours straight. My crew and I (the Crackbeat Society) would freestyle a ton and play basketball. I decided to try performing 'cause I was always a ham. I love playing for people, and the first time I did, my hero Buck 65 was in the crowd and I messed up and forgot everything. It happens, but not since then. After that I promised myself I would never suck ever again. Preparation is everything. A show is there to move people. That’s your job.
SXSW seems to be predominately indie band oriented, as more of a hip-hop artist, what do you hope to gain from your time there?
We've been going to SXSW for 10 plus years and it has always done well by the Hip-Hop Community (by and large). We usually knew the main hip-hop booker, who was a friend of ours. So much of our time has been spent building relationships at this festival that cross throughout the entire year. It's a great place for us.
With record sales on the decline in this digital era, how important are tours now? Merch?
Tours are always the most important thing. Besides actually meeting the people who listen to your music, you build real connections that need to be physically maintained through live show and interactions with the fans. That's the fundamental underpinning for your whole career as an artist. Playing shows make you a better artist, a better performer and are also one of the main ways an artist can actually make money.
How have you been navigating the social media waters? What have you done that has been fan favorites?
I love Instagram. I was the main force behind the Chicharones account until I realized we had tons of pictures of my girl, plants I was growing and food that I was eating. Also, I had tons of up-skirt photos of my fat cat. Now, I have my own (bigjoshmartinez ya'll). Social media in real time is exhausting. I believe in privacy and don't always feel you should share everything. Some people disagree. I prefer to think that quality counts and not necessarily only quantity. But as a record label owner, I hire people that admin our social media channels so we have a larger presence than we would have as extremely busy (read: lazy) artists.
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame started inducting bands in 1986. Out of 279 performers who have been inducted, only 3 Hip-Hop/Rapper acts have been included, most recently Public Enemy this year. As an artist that falls into this category, how does this impact you?
I'm sure it will change. All of pop music blatantly steals any trend that comes out of hip-hop and appropriates it. Eventually they will lower their heads shamefully, and bring on more guests to the Hall of Fame. But it does specifically say that it's the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.' Maybe we should focus more on a Hip-Hop Hall of Fame.
There is kind of a revolving door of rappers/emcees these days. What sets you apart from the pack and how will you attain longevity in such a fickle and oversaturated market?
I'm hella smart (jk). I'm not really into trends, other than to be aware of what’s going on. Having a real message and using your words to try to excite and strengthen the listener I think is more a long term approach than lavishing them in candy and easy drivel that is easily forgettable and whatever. As far as trendy raps go, we off that!
by: Kyle Eustice for RAPstation.com
