Ari Lennox leads with her heart, and developed her steady confidence over time. Growing up in Maryland, Lennox felt out of place, but everything changed when she moved to Washington D.C. “Life started getting fun after that,” says Lennox. Attending a primarily black school, Lennox no longer felt like an outsider, and was able to embrace her beauty in new ways. She eventually stopped using the word “black” altogether, and now affectionately refers to those who share her skin color as “chocolate.” The way Lennox expresses this word, and her overall appreciation for life, makes it impossible to ignore the love she has for herself and her culture.

Speak talks life in Mexico, his heel-face turn, and the art of a memorable radio freestyle

Speak is a journeyman rapper from California’s Moreno Valley who’s been living in Mexico for nearly five years now. We spoke the day after his sold out Los Angeles show in support of his latest release Singularity (Version 1). Listen in to hear us talk about CDMX culture, clarity via maturity, and how he prepares for his memorable, and often viral radio freestyles.

Horse Head and Yawns talk GothBoiClique history, coping with the passing of group member Lil Peep, and their new record “We Had Our Fun”

Horse Head and Yawns’ recently released We Had Our Fun is a stylistic leap forward, and a step away from previous projects that leaned heavily on emo vocal stylings over 808 heavy rap beats. Hear them talk about the new record, and how their exponential rise in popularity over the last few years has affected their lives and creative process.

Hailing from the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, the electronic pop duo consists of Dylan Brady and Laura Les. Laura attributes the band’s eclectic style to the two having grown up on the Internet. In our Skullcandy interview, she references discovering secret Pokemon videos soundtracked by Nightcore songs, a genre she simply describes as “sped up songs with high-pitched vocals.” It’s not a bad description for 100 Gecs either. Their debut album 1000 Gecs is a source of never-ending energy that inspires us to do everything but sit still.

Chris Joslin is one of the most exciting professional skateboarders to watch. He’s known to go huge but still remain technical. He’s also the newest member of the Skullcandy team. Listen in to learn about all about the BATB 10 champ — we go pretty deep pretty quick — and his thoughts on possibly being part of the first US Olympic Skateboard Team.

Valee’s unpredictable surroundings have created his zen-like personality, a trait that makes him unusually intriguing. He approaches life calmly and strategically, seeing it as an opportunity to cleverly disrupt tradition. His desire to advance the mundane has now carried into rap music, something he decided to pursue on a whim. Valee never intended to turn music into a career, but his commitment to craft set in and rap became his obsession. Valee’s unorthodox ability to twist vowels and stretch words over bass-heavy beats has won over artists and music connoisseurs alike. Today he stands as one of the exclusive artists on Kanye West’s famed G.O.O.D. Music record label.

Long Beach native Shane Blanchard, better known as Bane’s World, makes music that lovingly captures the sunny vibe of his California hometown. Laid-back and dreamy, his sound is at the forefront of a lo-fi movement known as “bedroom pop”. In our ‘You Feel Me?’ podcast interview, he mentions an affinity for “sad love songs”, which accurately describes his work on Drowsy. A guitar aficionado, Shane can clearly shred, but he also knows how to make his guitar gently weep—and even the solos on Drowsy become another relaxing layer in his silky smooth rhythms.

Jeremy Jones is a legendary snowboarder known for going deeper, further, and higher. Going pro as a 16 year old in the early days of the snowboard industry, as time went on he noticed climate change affecting winter wonderlands he’d frequented. In 2007 he decided to do something about and started Protect Our Winters. For over a decade the non-profit has been fighting climate change with political activism and organization. All the while Jeremy has lowered his carbon footprint by filming some of the most epic lines of all time without the help of helicopters or snow machines. He and his team hike and camp in pursuit of the gnarliest lines humanly imaginable.

Highlights:

0:00- Starting POW

7:35- Getting the message going

10:00- Individual Change

13:00- Getting into the politics

26:00- Winters at home

36:11- Ski bums

42:50- Early Days in snowboarding

56:45- Splitboarding in Alaska

1:04:35- Connecting with nature through snowboarding

1:06:25- Seeking winter

1:08:00- Body Management 

Smrtdeath is part of a booming indie scene that’s been frequently mislabeled ‘emo rap,’ but is showing itself to be an amalgamation of a litany of styles beyond emo and rap. The scene has exploded since we first covered it in 2017 and smrtdeath, with his booming voice harmonized and distorted with just the right amount of autotune, has become a staple. But this style isn’t his first foray into music, and at first he had a purist’s aversion to autotune. Tune in to hear us discuss the evolution of his style — music and fashion sense — and the odd jobs he’s maintained while growing his career as an indie musician.

Highlights:

2:10- Growing up North of the boarder

4:50- Being apart of the scene

6:29- Dress for Success

8:05- Finding your sound

14:59- Beat Thief

17:10- Anti Autotune 

27:30- Too old for the game

29:10: On the hustle

35:00- Son of lawyers 

40:05- Moving to LA

45:00- Tattoos

Denzel Curry is Fearless. As a pioneer in the Soundcloud rap scene, Denzel’s had eyes on him since his teenage years. Now he’s a household name and his music has evolved in a way that’s gracefully taken him from underground hero, to mainstream accessibility while maintaining edge and depth of content. From his early days in Rvidxr Klvn, to Nostalgic 64, to his most recent release Zuu, Curry has continued to fearlessly evolve as an artist and take his fans along on the journey. Beyond growing artistically, Denzel talks to us about growing as a human and working through emotions and trauma via therapy. Listen in to hear the Carol City native talk about his move to Los Angeles, coping with loss, and facing his fears.

Highlights:

00:53- Progression

5:05- Miami Gardens

7:00- A nerd in the hood

17:30- Metro ZUU

24:18- Life Long Friends

25:11- Raider Clan Traction

32:50- Dealing with the trauma

36:00- Police pressece 

37:54- Self Reflection

42:00- Rappers I like

43:30- Growth from Taboo

48:15- Live show style

Pink Siifu talks growing up in Cincinnati, getting his start as a poet, and bleeding on the track

Pink Siifu is part of a growing movement in rap music. There’s a sub-sect of artists making deeply personal, poetic, and abstract music over stripped down loops that aren’t necessarily adhering to traditional song structures or rules. It’s a fascinating wave with artists like Mach Hommy, Quelle Chris, Deem Spencer, Mike, and Earl Sweatshirt. Pink Siifu’s 2018 release Ensley a haunting record that will dig it’s way into the bottom of your soul because artists like him are willing open up and bleed on the track.

Highlights:

1:10- raised in the Queen City

7:20- Marching Band

16:50- Spiritual Music

19:18- Waiting for Music

25:30- A new generation of Hip-Hop

29:00- Finding your loops

32:50- YG at the Spliff

35:50-Poetry to verses

44:00- Music changing your life