DOPPELGANGAZ!
Ποίοι είναι οι Doppelgangaz θα μου πείτε ε; Hip Hop δίδυμο από τη Νέα Υόρκη. EP & Matter Ov Fact. Matter ov Fact & EP. Η ιστορία τους ξεκινάει από τα τέλη του '90, όμως δεν έχει περάσει και πολύς καιρός από την πρώτη Doppelgangaz κυκλοφορία.
Αρκετά όμως με τα λόγια, ας αφήσουμε τους ίδιους να μας τα πούν παρακάτω.
-Your duo story starts back in '98 if i ain't wrong. Is there any chance to listen to any early Doppelgangaz shit?
Matter ov Fact: No plans at the moment but you never know. All I can tell you is that we were some profane youngsters with absolutely no bass in our voices.
-How did that Black Cloak Lifestyle come to you?
EP: Well, we didn’t ask for this. Nobody sat around begging to live this lifestyle. You heard Fact state it in his rhyme that its nothing to write home about. He ain’t never lie (Laughs)! Rap Lords bestowed this upon us. We had no choice, but we love it because its all we know.
-So, i see you are quite familiar with Isopropyl alcohol. How come you came up with that?
Matter ov Fact: It was cost effective and convenient. You can get it cheaply and at any time of night no matter what town you’re in. Plus its rather potent, feel me.
-I really love they way your beats unfold. 1-2 plain sample loops, escorted by simple, hard-hitting drums. Most beatmakers nowadays are trying to impress adding too many things to their beats.
Οne for you EP: How hard is it to give that 90's feeling to a beat?
EP: Everything we do is off feeling and emotion. Before there is an idea of how to approach the beat and how many elements to include, the feel of it needs to evoke an emotion. And notice I didn’t say a specific emotion. We never set out to make a sad song or a happy song. We just want to trigger a feeling inside of you. It’s up to the listener to figure out how it makes them feel. It’s like reading signals from women. She may be putting out signs of being disinterested, but I’m taking it as “she wants me”. In regards to a 90’s sound, that’s something I never had in mind. Of course, we draw influences from the artists we grew up listening to but we’re all about forward progression. Doppelgang is 2012 art at its finest.
-I know a lot of people that are kinda hatin' Lil B. Do you think that Lil B rappin' over Doppelgangaz beat gave a boost to your name at all?
EP: Honestly, it didn’t give a boost and we didn’t aim for getting a boost. The BASEDGOD doesn’t put production credits on his works of art so there is no way to get exposure off him which is probably a calculated effort on his part because he’s so prolific and willing to work with people, but he doesn’t just want you banking off his fame. The real reason we collaborated with him is because we are fans of his work and are able to see his true artistry in his music. He told me my beats cried to him. C’mon now, what else type of validation do you need? Hearing that from him meant the world to us. I also used to work at Jive records and met him when he was real young as a member of The Pack. To see where he has taken his career is simply inspiring.
-Do you think that an artist can be successfully self-promoted, or have a major success without extra promotion? Many artists forget their roots and ideologies for the sake of a better promotion. What is your opinion on that?
Matter ov Fact: It’s definitely hard to yield results with self-promotion, but at the end of the day you cant be sitting around waiting for things to happen. I think artists should be promoting themselves at all times. As far as having major success with self-promotion, the odds are definitely against you. At the same time, I think that greater promotional opportunities will come to those who promote themselves well. If an artist switches up what they do after getting better promotion, hopefully they know what they’re doing because it might backfire. Chances are they got to that point because of what they are known for.
-Have you ever sat down to make a beat, or record while being sober?
EP: Now why would we do that? That’s foolish. 91% on deck at all times.
-Who are the Rap Lords to you?
Matter ov Fact: The Rap Lords are wise old men who happened to bestow their abilities and knowledge upon us. It’s a good thing they didn’t bestow their ED upon us at our early age.
-Lone Sharks is out (NAO). Are you giving yourselves some time to rest or you have already made your future plans?
EP: We’ll sleep when we’re dead...Oh wait, we’re dead already. Nah, but we’re always working kehd and trying to stay creative. Life is too inspiring to not be creative.
-I believe that a "strong" album, is the album where artists themselves are able to stand on their own feet, making a featuring artist unnecessary.
Although, many people think that having collaborations with other artists in a release is a "must". What is your opinion? Are we going to listen to any collabos of you in any Groggy project?
EP: We believe a Doppelgang body of work should represent The Doppelgangaz. We’re not too big on doing haphazard collabs with people. If it’s natural and comes together organically, sure we’d collaborate. We’ve actually done some collaborating with some well known professionals that you will be hearing soon, but as far as our albums go, most likely self contained art.
-Ιf you could change places with any rapper, who would it be? Or is it, Black Cloaks ova everything?
Matter ov Fact: I would change place with ton of rappers, too many to name. Unfortunately no rapper would willingly trade places with us *cries*
-Matter ov Fact, is it true that your friend EP skill derives from a daily dose of NZT pills?
Matter of Fact: Haha, I get asked that question all the time. People think he must be taking NZT to come up with such beautiful soundscapes. We have people looking for us because word around town is that we have connections with many NZT factories in the Tri-State area, including one in Peekskill NY.
-You started rapping back in the days, like '98, as you already said. But first official releases started not earlier that 2008. Youngsters nowadays are releasing early shit by the time they step outside the studio.
Do you think that an artist should be mature enough to control his skills, his voice etc before releasing any kind of work, or seeing the evolution (if any) by the years can attract more people?
-I won't ask about influences and all that shit, but, who were the ones that listening to them you guys were like "damn, that makes me work harder"?
EP: Well, there are too many to name. Obviously BASEDGOD and DOOM are artists we check for but I think just art in general is inspiring. Seeing people take their passion and present it to the world always makes you want to be in a creative state of mind.
-How does it feel to do the opening act for Slaughterhouse? Were they fond of the Black Cloak Lifestyle?
EP: It is always an honor working with those guys. They could choose any people they’d like to open for them and somehow we’ve been involved in numerous shows with them. Maybe its because we bribe them with trips to the brothel but still, they chose to let us perform with them. Couldn’t thank them enough!
-Matter ov Fact, what car are you drivin'?
Matter ov Fact: I can’t tell you the make, model or color due to crazed fans reading this, but I can tell you that its from the year 2000. I can also tell you that my car’s ABS is a wrap. I have to pump my break pedal like the old timers used to do.
-So, any shark words as an epilogue?
HARK!
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