Kinda Neat

This week we talked with SESHOLLOWATERBOYZ. Chris Travis, Eddy Baker, Bones, and XavierWulf are standing left to right in the above photo. This was a really tough interview. It was 4 close friends versus a curious old rap fan with a surface level knowledge of their music. I probably come off like an idiot. Even still, I wanted to put it out because these guys have an absolutely undeniable movement going on. From their prolific output (all of them have put out multiple tapes this year), to their rabid fan base, to their raucous (and always sold out) shows, to the way they innately handle themselves like old pros, and treat their followers like family…I haven't felt such a palpable movement taking place independently in a long time. I initially reached out to try and interview Bones, but their manager Elliot (who becomes a big part of the interview as well) informed me that this thing is working because they move as a unit, and I fully respect that. We set up as many mics as we could and tried to

My folks were back in town this week so here's part 2 of our conversation about her life history. You can hear our first one back on Episode 46. I let her get VERY specific this time around. We only cover about 5 years of her life, but it was a huge transitional phase. We discuss my parents' wedding, moving to San Antonio, and the birth of your favorite rapper. –Lee

Been 3 years since I last interviewed Johnny Polygon. Not sure why I waited so long. We always have a great time shooting the shit. Those of you that've been around a while will remember him from the other show we used to do. Those of you who haven't will love his charm, wit, and easy demeanor. This convo was a bit of a break from the norm. Rather than delving too deep into Johnny's personal history, we do a lot of bullshitting, meandering down long tangents, and musing about life, which makes us realize we're a whole lot alike. Hear him talk about his father's recent passing, getting the taste of success we all chase very early in his career, and being the Justin Bieber of Tulsa, OK. –Lee

Listeners will love this dude. Dream Panther brought Pell to my attention last week. Then I serendipitously got a text from our dude Caleb Stone saying he was interested in doing the show. Have to admit, I was sleeping. Checked out his music and videos and they're great. While showing wisdom beyond his years, he effortlessly transitions between rapping and singing. We talk to him about growing up in New Orleans, having to leave after the hurricane, and we relate to eachother in our college dorm room rap antics. –Lee

Dream Panther is a name I've been hearing from the mouths of LA musicians for a long time now. Every few months I visit his Soundcloud page and leave his tunes on repeat for hours. It's dreamy electronic pop with easily digestible lyrics that sets the mood for chilling. That being said he was a complete mystery to me. I'd never seen him perform and rarely saw him on show flyers. Realistically I'd never actually even seen a picture of him. His name has been popping up on big music sites due to his connection to IloveMakonnen (they're cousins). I figured it was time to crack the case of the mysterious gent. Dream Panther talks about growing up in Mid-City Los Angeles, the culture shock of moving to a nearly all white school in Orange County, and buying a warehouse so he could have a place to perform. –Lee

This week we talked to Washington Heights, NY native Aleksey Weintraub, better known as Lakutis. The first time I saw him perform at Los Globos was intriguing. He was on stage shirtless, hair covering his face, screaming like a rap game Danzig. The catchy dark pop hook for “Body Scream” caught my ear. This year's 3 Seashells finds him experimenting on the outskirts of rap in a dark, party friendly world. We talk about growing up in New York in a one parent household, serendipitously falling into rapping, and trying to make a song he won't hate when it's done –Lee

Jensen Karp is our guest this week. He's been brought up on 3 of the last 4 episodes. He was signed as a rapper at the tender age of 13. As such he maneuvered his way through the industry as Hot Karl through his 20's. Jensen is a prolific writer, podcaster, comedian, art curator, and artist manager. We talk to him about getting talent scouted at a bar mitzvah, finding out he has brain tumors, and Mack 1o showing up to his doorstep with a briefcase full of money. –Lee

Eric and Jeff Rosenthal are brothers who've been creating hip hop sketch comedy for nearly a decade. Whether it be parody rap songs, irreverent interviews,  journalism, or sketches; they keep the artists laughing as hard as the audience. Their loving homages to the culture always have a fresh and funny take on what's happening in rap. Simply put: they crack me up. They're able to laugh with the culture and not at it. Make sure to check out their mixtape Urbane Outfitters (I call it by the wrong name in the intro, my bad) and visit their site for hours of great content. We talk about holding back vomit while interviewing Jay-Z, cosigns from Maino and Bun B, and throwing up the Roc in a glass elevator for all to see. –Lee

Show booking can be a tiring and thankless job. Thankfully we have folks like Conrad Loebl behind the scenes. Working as the booker for IHEARTCOMIX for the last 2 years, he's been responsible for curating some of the most forward thinking and “up on shit” lineups that LA has to offer at venues like the Echoplex, Los Globos, and the El Rey. Love these episodes where folks aren't necessarily full time musicians, but are still heavily involved in music. This is one of those episodes.  Hear about how Conrad started throwing shows as a teenager, being straight edge for 10 years, and why it pays to just be a good guy. –Lee

We sat down with Canadian ex-pat and Los Angeles transplant Nova Rockafeller. I've been paying attention to her music for quite some time. We asked her to be a guest after finding out she's working with friend of the show Dj Nobody. Hear Nova talk about her chaotic youth, her rebellious nature, and perpetually running away. –Lee

Brad Petering (the man behind TV Girl) put out an album by surprise last week. French Exit entered our world via a solitary tweet. When the music's that good, sometimes that's all it takes. We talk to Brad about how the group has changed since we last spoke in '11. Trung has amicably parted ways with the group. We also discuss his experiment with skipping the PR bullshit, and his stint as a stand up comedian. –Lee

Nocando just released Jimmy The Burnout. He returned to the show to talk about juggling family, music, and business. He's been trying to figure out alternate means of rap success. We also continue our argument about whether or not metrics matter. –Lee

This week we sat down with Ne$$ of Weekend Money. Paired with producer Baghdaddy, the two put out an LP in February called Freddie Merkury. We talk about Ne$$' beginnings in Philadelphia and growing up in a boarding school. We also discuss being a part of the scene that spawned Dead Prez, and finding Knowledge of Self. –Lee

Grieves was out touring his latest record Winter and the Wolves. We only had a small window of time available to chat. Come to find out the studio mistakenly got booked the morning we'd scheduled. Thankfully our guy travels with extra recording gear. Therefore we were able to make our first mobile recording from the green room of the Roxy. Hear us talk about the making of the record, a huge gamble that ended up helping break his career, and narrowly avoiding becoming a drug kingpin. –Lee

Equalibrum and I just released our self-titled album “Intuition & Equalibrum.” We got together to reminisce about how we met and reflect on where we're going.  We also talk about how skating influenced him and dropping out of high school. Mark also tells a great story about the acid trip that changed his life. Thank you for following along on our journey to get this record out. Go check out the album now, available on ALL DIGITAL MUSIC platforms.  We appreciate you waiting patiently for it and we're so elated with all the support you've shown. –Lee

Herbal T might look familiar to you. He is the identical twin brother and long time (life long?) collaborator of Wax. He released a solo rap project called Lo-Fi Blow Dry. It's jam packed with old school funk and air tight rhymes. Hear us talk about juggling family, work, and music. He talks about finding the right girl, and burner band backlash against dumpster baby lyrics. –Lee

This week we sat down with Christian Clancy. Clancy is an industry Legend. He's responsible for marketing classic records like MMLP and Get Rich or Die Trying. He currently manages Odd Future. His team played a big hand in developing their brand, and helped create a massive international following. Clancy talks about turning his life around after being a rebellious youngster and his time spent as a marketing director for Interscope. Hear his story of meeting some skate kids that would end up reinvigorating his passion for the music business. –Lee

We're back with our dude Anderson Paak. It's interesting that sometimes we know next to nothing about our friends and acquaintances. This was one of those instances. We learn about Anderson's turbulent family history. His is mother, father and step father all ended up doing stints in jail. We also learn about him having to navigate his way with no parental guidance while he was still in school. At one point, quitting music to change diapers in an old folks home. This was a great conversation with an extremely talented artist that develops and impresses me more each time I see him. Editor's Note: When we first made this post Anderson .Paak premiered a song called “Suede.” It was unknowingly a bit too early to release the song. It ended up coming out 2 years later on the NxWorries project. This video for “Miss That Whip” was recorded a little less than a year after the conversation. –Lee

Rapper / beatsmith / Detroit transplant Quelle Chris stopped by this week.  We talk about moving around all over the Midwest, he and his brother starting to rap as youngsters, and the benefits of learning through experience rather than books. –Lee

On our 1 year anniversary episode we sat down with old pal George Watsky. George and I had a lot to catch up on. He's fresh off a year of touring, and days away from starting to work on his next album. We got right into it discussing his infamous two story stage dive that ended badly. He reveals the importance of investing in yourself, and he takes on a wonderful journey with a mystical narwhal tusk. –Lee