Homeboy Sandman Los Angeles Times Feature Interview

Homeboy Sandman The Good Sun arrives June 1st.
Interview below.

L.A. Times: Your song “Yeah, But I Can Rhyme Though” defines you in opposition to what you're not. Has it been frustrating to be an artist in a genre where most people want to fit into a prevailing trend to get a deal?

Homeboy Sandman: I’m a musician, and hip-hop is my genre, but it’s just like jazz players, or country singers or a classical artist. It’s about musicality, talent, rhyme cadence, melody, assonance, alliteration, it’s about the gift I have. Music should have nothing to do with an image; what sets me apart is my ability. Nobody asked John Coltrane what his image was -- it didn’t matter. No one could play the sax like him and nobody raps like me. I make my music to last a lifetime. I love going back to the Roots’ “Illadelph Halflife.” I love music from the 1950s and 1960s. This whole sub-culture in hip-hop of disposable music is not something that I subscribe to. I spend time on my music. There’s no 15/16 in my bars. I spend time on my lines, the production and the craft.

L.A. Times: As someone who is obviously about the lyrical craft, what do you think about rappers who have made a point of stressing how their lyrics aren’t really important because they have swag or some other intangible?

Homeboy Sandman: People ask me if I’m a lyricist, but how can you be an emcee without being one? This isn’t supposed to be something that everyone can do -- when you take away from the musicality of it all, it becomes an image-based thing, and that’s something I’m so far removed from that you might as well ask me to speak about Dale Earnhardt. I don’t want to do things that have been done before.

Read the full interview here:
Los Angeles Times - Homeboy Sandman

Nelly Shoots New Music Video With Brother, St. Lunatics' City Spud

 
via My Fox - St. Louis

Nelly and the St. Lunatics are releasing a new album called, City Free. This is the first time in nearly ten years since the St. Lunatics have been in the studio together. The group stopped recording after their debut album was released nearly ten years ago because rapper and co-producer, City Spud was sent to jail on an assault charge. The St. Lunatics vowed not to record again as a group until he was released. Well, City Spud is back after serving nearly nine years behind bars, and he's excited about the project. "It's real special to us because it's all of us in the studio again having fun being brothers like we are," said City Spud.

Nelly looked on admiringly as City Spud rapped on the St. Lunatics' new single, 'Money Talks' during the filming of the music video for the project at Visiontracks in Fenton. "We didn't feel right doing another project without him being involved. the time has come and we're excited about it."

Nelly says,"The first album was called 'Free City' which was in honor of my little brother City Spud. Now he's free so the new album is called 'City FREE'."

At one point during the filming Nelly conferred with City Spud and couldn't stop beaming. "We're just excited that he's enjoying it. You know what i'm saying so that's a big thing for us."

Nelly is one of the biggest names in rap music, selling millions of albums. He hasn't forgotten how hard he worked to achieve his success. "It took nine years, you what i'm saying? You talk to some people they've been doing this for nine months and expect it to happen, and you're like man it took us nine years and you think it's going to happen like that."

Nelly is a native St. Louisian who still lives in the city and gives to the city, not because he has to, but because he wants to. "This is home. I'm one of them kids that comes from St. Louis that life wasn't always the easiet and always didn't have what they needed at the time, but i thought it would be cool to give kids something unexpected to them."

Now that City Spud is back with Nelly and the St. Lunatics, expect more big things from the dynamic duo.

Photo link from the video shoot:
Nelly/City Spud/St. Lunatics 'Money Talks' video shoot

See the full Nelly interview below.

 

Damon Dash "Everything I Done Is To Get To Exactly Where I'm At Now" Video Interview

via Fox NY