3lon
Photo: Diamond Dixon
Late last night, Downtown Baltimore's favorite singer :3lON dropped his debut EP, a 5-track project titled Ronin. Last week, the project's lead single "Many Moons" was debuted on Afropunk. Stream Ronin below, which is out on Nina Pop Records:
"Ronin" Produced by https://soundcloud.com/elonofficial "Many Moons" Produced by https://soundcloud.com/alienood420 "Floating" Produced by https://soundcloud.com/elonofficial Co-Produced by https://soundcloud.com/schwarz420 "Prometheus" Co-Produced By https://soundcloud.com/schwarz420 & https://soundcloud.com/lainmang "Tea Leaves" Produced By: https://soundcloud.com/elonofficial Vocals Recorded by Brandon Lackey at Line Up Room Studios All Tracks Mixed & Mastered by: Schwarz
Photography: Kyle Yearwood
I met up with JPEGMAFIA -- the punk-leaning newcomer to Baltimore's DIY rap scene -- at his girlfriend's studio in the city's Bolton Hill neighborhood earlier this week where we spoke over jerk chicken dinners. A recent transplant to Baltimore, the 26-year-old, born Barrington Hendricks, surveyed the city's scene from his military housing in Japan in hopes of moving back to the states, somewhere close to New York but not as expensive to pursue a career in music. Over the past few months, JPEG has made it a goal to collaborate with as many artists as possible, quickly making a name for himself in underground circles for his candid, yet occasionally satirical take on liberal racism and the tension it creates.
Having moved to Baltimore shortly before April's Uprising, JPEG made Darkskin Manson -- a 40-minute "fuck you" to all anti-black sentiments with track titles like "Cops Are The Target", "Mask On The Masters" and "I Wipe My Ass With Confederate Flags" -- as he watched the city erupt over Freddie Gray's alleged killing by the Baltimore City Police Department. It was a spark to an amber that had been burning inside of him since his adolescence. Born in New York to Jamaican parents, Hendricks spent the bulk of his childhood in East Flatbush, Brooklyn -- a neighborhood deeply rooted in West Indian culture and black pride -- bouncing from place to place due to rough circumstances at home. That experience of Black Utopia was uprooted when his mom abruptly moved them to Alabama when JPEG was 13, where he had his first experiences with overt racism. It was also in Alabama where he first started to study rap music as a genre, having been exposed to mostly reggae for the majority of his life.
After a short stint in prison due to a racially-charged altercation in his late teens, JPEG joined the military where he'd be deployed to different parts of the world, meeting fellow artists and adding new elements to his producing and rapping repertoire. He moved to Japan and formed a group called Ghost Pop where he gained a local buzz in Tokyo before returning to the U.S. As we sat and ate, we talked about how each stop he's made in his 26 years has influenced his artistry, how he now deals with racism and how he plans to inspire fellow black people to act on their anger, instead of suppressing it.
Was your experience of living in Alabama the foundation for your musical content? Because most of it deals with racial tension.
JPEGMAFIA: Almost exclusively. But New York is too because I lived around nothing but niggas. East Flatbush was like Niggalopolis. I was surrounded by black-owned businesses so I came up with a weird point of view when it came to race. At that point, I didn’t feel like I was being held back for being black because my community instilled the whole black power ideology into my head, even though I hadn’t applied it to anything. When I moved to the south I learned what racism truly was and it’s not what everybody thinks it is. It’s not people riding round with the Klan on horses. It’s a lot sneakier. It’s like this quote from Eddie Griffin that I like: “People don’t say nigga anymore. They say ‘We’re not hiriing.’” I went through so much shit in Alabama. My first day of school, some white dude pulled up to me while I was walking and spit on me and drove off.
Your last project is titled Darkskin Manson. Are you inspired by Charles Manson in some way?
Not at all. I’m just appropriating his name. I’m just stealing his shit and using it the way I want, how white people do to us. He wasn’t doing it right. He’s a failure to me. He’s celebrated but he didn’t really do anything but brainwash a few stupid people.
What were you listening to growing up?
I came up listening to a lot of reggae with my dad but Dipset was like my first introduction to rap. My favorite rapper of all time is Ice Cube, though. That’s where I get the inspiration for my delivery and even my lyrical content. To me, he was the first rapper I heard as a kid to talk about black power but not in a preachy way. It was like, ‘We’re angry so let’s do something about it.’ Our anger is always so suppressed. White people can have the KKK and all these hate groups for no fucking reason but when we get angry it scares the shit out of people so they try to shut it down ASAP.
@jpegmafia x @elonofficial Produced by JPEGMAFIA OFF THE NEW EP COMING SOON AF HOOCHIE MUSIK THAT WILL HURT YA BUTT
What was your music like when you first started making it?
My music was always about what it is now but it didn’t sound anything like my music does now. Cam’ron is where I got my first rapping style from and my production because he would always use the chipmunk samples. I always wanted to know how he did that then I started looking it up and realized that he was just using other songs. I wasn't even listening to him when I lived in New York. When I first moved to Atlanta, a guy I went to school with gave me the first Diplomatic Immunity like, “Yo, you're from New York. You’ll fuck with this.” So I was on some real hip-hop, soul-sampling, elitist shit. I liked a lot of punk music too like Bad Brains. I really liked punk music for the energy and not the content because most of it is trust fund baby bullshit. I wanted to harness that energy and put something to it that was actually worth being angry about. That’s why I liked Ice Cube.
Did your military experience make your music different?
Yeah because I came across a lot of artists there. I met a guy named Enso who’s on some of my stuff and we lived in Japan together and made a group called Ghost Pop. But my music changed mostly because being in the military is a stressful environment. I made a lot of beats overseas when I was deployed in Iraq, living in really small spaces where people were throwing little bombs at us nonstop. I really had to time when I made beats because of the environment and also I couldn’t record so I was writing a lot. But having so much time on my hands, I really got to harness my skills from practicing and studying people. Ghostface for the flow. NaS for lyricism. Ice Cube for delivery. Wayne for his non sequiturs. Jay for his wordplay. In the military we only got one day off which was Saturday for me so on Thursday I would download albums because the internet was slow it took a whole day to download an album (laughs).
How did you navigate through the Tokyo scene to gain recognition? Was that difficult as a foreigner?
I had lot of help. We had two Japanese people in the group and they were already connected within the scene. One of them was in the military so, based on that, I had a place to stay. Plus, a lot of stuff in Tokyo is in English so it wasn’t hard to get around. If I’d went there by myself and hit the ground running, I would’ve had a harder time.
Download Here: http://jpegmafia.net/darkskinmanson
You moved to Baltimore just before The Uprising. What effect, if any, did that have on your work?
I recorded the whole Darkskin Manson the week of The Uprising and put it out the week after. It had a profound effect because I was actually proud that people rioted and got angry. A lot of times they want us to shut up, hold hands and pray.
You were studying the Baltimore scene before you even got here but who’s been your favorite to work with since you came? Who are you learning from?
The first person I made songs here with is :3lon. I’ve made so much music with him. We actually have an EP coming out together. I really like working with Butch Dawson because we both are one-take kind of artists when we make stuff. I’ve probably learned the most from Abdu Ali; the way he records is really interesting. He doesn’t know much of the mechanical aspect of recording, but it comes together so well for him. It’s like a gift.
What does an :3lon and JPEGMAFIA project even sound like? Individually, your music is so different.
We hang out all the time and like the same kind of music so we wanted to create. We’re using my kind of production which is more industrial with his input and voice. We’re completely different but the same all at once. But it’s really genre-bending, which we both like. It’ll be bouncy but industrial. I also have an EP with Grey Dolf coming and another solo project called Black Ben Carson.
What experience do you want to create for people who listen to your music?
The only people I ever talk to is niggas ‘cause nobody ever talks to us. I talk about a lot of liberal racism. I just want people to get out of this turn-the-other-cheek mindset. I’m not saying I want niggas to kill people but don’t be a bitch about it. That’s the goal right now. But artistically, I just wanna create an environment like a Death Grips or a metal show, but with black people and shit that we’re angry about. I wanna create an environment for us to come get loose and say "Fuck all this shit." Death Grips is cool but they make music for hipsters. They talk about abstract shit that don't mean nothing. So I wanna take that energy and infuse it with shit that’s relevant to niggas in the hood.
Photo: Micah E. Wood
Baltimore's Basement Rap collective, which is made up of rappers Butch Dawson, Black Zheep DZ, Ryan P and a host of other artists, photographers, videographers and graphic designers just released the newest installment of their monthly Basement Rap Radio mix. Each mix is comprised of unreleased tracks by the crew and friends, instrumentals and comedic drops by whoever is around for the process (think Radio Los Santos). November's offering features a trap cut by Butch Dawson, guest verses from :3lon and DIY scene newcomer JPEG Mafia, and tracks by Black Zheep DZ and Ryan P. It also ends with an announcement of the collective's Basement Rap Artshow which goes down this Sunday from 2-8 p.m at Pipe Dreamz Clothing (879 N. Howard St) featuring photography and paintings by Ms3, video installations by Shido and Curtis Yuille and new merch. Stream November's mix below:
Welcome to Basement Rap Radio the November mix hosted by Jujuan Allen. All songs are owned by Basement Rap Records & Llamadon Mixed by Jujuan Allen
Photo: Keem Griffey
Last weekend, Baltimore artists Butch Dawson and :3lON released their joint EP, PVRVLLELS. Dawson's been a staple in the city's downtown scene over the past two years with his kick-back rap style and seemingly interchangeable production skills--easily adapting and meshing to whatever artist he works with. :3lON on the other hand, has made a hell of an introduction to the scene over the past eight months since he dropped his track "Portraits" on SoundCloud, showcasing his dreamy production and almost-extinct forceful singing voice. Just before the project released, I met with the two in Butch's home studio and learned what it took for them to complete the project.
Neither of you really go outside of yourselves for production so how was a balance achieved throughout this process? Who had to compromise the most?
Butch: Initially I wanted to hear Elon’s vocals over my production and when we came together to do the project we decided that he would add a track that he produced. We got to a middle ground as far as experimenting. It was chill.
:3lON: Teklon did a beat too.
What do you learn from each other artistically and otherwise?
3lON: (To Butch) For instance, when you made “Record” your approach to making the sound was pretty interesting and you used this one synth that I immediately thought wouldn’t have been the first option for me but then once you started playing with the melodies I was like, “Okay”. It ended up bringing everything together. It’s really interesting studying other people’s approaches to making beats.
Butch: What’s interesting to me is that within the process of making a masterpiece, it doesn’t even have to be that long. You just gotta be around those people who are really talented and who do this shit; It’s in their blood. When I’m in the studio with 3lON, he’s not writing. I’ve probably seen him write some shit like once. He just goes in and has fun. Basically freestyling. I’m watching like, “What? You freestyling all this R&B shit?!”
3lON: That’s the thing: I can only do that if I feel super comfortable so I definitely felt like it was a kindred spirit here.
Butch: Definitely. When I’m by myself I’m most comfortable recording or maybe with like two or three people. More than that would be too much going on for me to focus. Working with 3lON and having a creative goal, it’s good to know that the other person is capable of doing that.
3lON: We were just vibing out for real.
from Butch Dawson & Elon's upcoming joint EP "PVRVLLELS" coming June 13th. Produced by Jujuan Allen Cover art by Ronin Wood Follow us on Twitter: @primelard @_3lON
How much of this was hands on? Was it always recorded as a team or was it a lot of emailing back and forth?
Butch: He was always here. I’d either have beats and tell him that he needed to hop on them or we’d sit and make shit.
Were there any roadblocks throughout the creative process here? If so, what were they?
:3lON: Not that I can remember (laughs). It was just real chill. We knew we wanted to do this shit so we did what we do. Make songs all day and package it.
Butch: More than any other artist in Baltimore, me and 3lON see eye-to-eye without having to say anything. You just know. Even when I’m joking around with a few bars he’ll finish that shit.
Photo: Keem Griffey
:3lON, most of your music is solo. Do you feel encouraged to collaborate more now that you’ve done this project?
:3LON: That was my objective from the beginning. To collaborate with as many people as possible. That’s how you learn--doing shit and making music with other people.
What song was the most fun recording?
Butch: I would say “Storms”.
3lON: “Record” is mine.
Both of you have been making your rounds in Baltimore. Why haven't you traveled more?
:3lON: That’s the objective for this summer. I plan on touring a lot. We have two tours we’re working on together for the summer then I’m gonna go on tour with Chiffon later in the year which will be a lot of dates. So hopefully by the end of the year I can say I’ve seen some shit.
Butch: Yeah like 3lON said, we’re doing two tours. From that I’m trying to head overseas.
As Baltimore artists, what would you say holds people back. Or why do you think it's difficult for people to propel themselves to the masses?
Butch: I think some people are still trying to establish themselves then go from there. Sometimes I just think it’s trying to maintain living in Baltimore. Not just shit like getting a job or making money; it’s situations where some people feel stuck but are still trying to do this music shit. Those situations can hold them back.
3lON: Once you have the basic shit taken care of, it’s up to you to push yourself. I feel like anybody from Baltimore can do it. It kinda confuses me that more people from here don’t. You shouldn’t let anything hold you back. It’s people who were really poor and started making beats or found ways to make music. So for you to sit around and use your surroundings as an excuse is kinda like…
Butch: You just gotta extra grind.
Butch Dawson & Elon gets together for an experimental joint ep entitled PVRVLLELS.
Do you think it’s really excuses or is it that Baltimore is a very unique place, socially? A lot of people here are struggling for life’s necessities and that’s deeply ingrained. It could be more of a struggle with feeling discouraged more than it is making excuses.
3lON: But it is people out there that believe that there’s nothing they can do but trap. Like that’s the only thing that could ever do. Why?
Well, how do you feel as an R&B singer in Baltimore’s music scene? How do you fit in?
3lON: I don’t really consider myself an R&B artist but because I sing the way I do, people say that I am.
What do you consider yourself to be then?
3lON: I try to experiment with different things. There are a whole lot of singers in Baltimore but it’s rare to see a show full of them because they want to do other shit. They either do choir or sing for their YouTube channel. I like performing, though. I started with doing open mics because it’s hella singers in that scene too but once I started having to pay to participate in open mics, I didn’t want to do it anymore.
To both of you, what would make Pvrvllels a successful project?
Butch: It’s already a successful project to me because initially I wanted to do it so I could hear 3lON on my beats. A lot of people that listen to me in Europe fuck with my “Helium” song we did together and it made me want to do this.
Photo: Keem Griffey
