Interviews

King Louie Interview with Gowhere Hip Hop @ GWHQ

Sgt. Tibs posted May 11, 2012

Fresh off a co-sign and shoutout from Kanye West on the “I Don’t Like RMX” comes King Louie from the Gowhere Hip Hop Headquarters as he recently sat down with B96′s Julian On Da Radio for our latest interview! King Louie is one in a series of young, fast-rising Chicago emcees alongside frequent collaborators like Chief Keef and YP who especially speak to the streets – not only here locally, but to listeners everywhere who can relate. He talks with Julian about how his buzz has grown in Chicago and beyond the city (and it’s just the music and the grind), what to expect on future projects like Dope & Shrimp (I like that too, Julian), and even how he got kicked out of high school. Get King Louie on your radar and get to know him above in this well-rounded new interview we shot at the office! More to come from King Louie sooner than later.

Interview by: B96′s Julian On Da Radio // Filmed by: Maks G // Jessica Nowak

DJ Premier talks Kanye West, ‘new school’ and ‘true school’ hip hop, more with Gowhere Hip Hop

GY312 posted May 8, 2012

There are few producers in hip hop that one may utter is better than DJ Premier. Like seriously. One half of legendary group Gangstarr, Premo has gracefully managed to stay relevant and create fresh grooves in a young man’s game for decades. Last month, before DJ Premier’s show at The Shrine, I had the pleasure (yes, I bum-rushed his set lol) to interview arguably hip hop’s greatest producer of all-time. Of course the show was packed and there were fans from all eras paying homage to the scratching legend.

DJ Premier speaks on his new project with Bumpy Knuckles ‘Kolexxion’, why Kanye West is a boss, and the dualities in hip hop between “new school,” and true school.

Here’s an excerpt of my conversation with Premo about ‘Ye:

“Kanye’s has taken things to a whole “nother level. And he’s a challenger. That’s what I am. I took challenges and risks of being different. Kanye has decided to be different and some people hate on him, some people call him weird. I’m weird. When you’re weird, that means you’re not like everybody else. That’s why Ye has grown from a nobody to every model chick wants to get with him…everything because he has made his path of showing that he can be a leader in the game. Not everybody is built to be a boss. I wasn’t built to be one either, but I am a boss now. And I carry myself as one. Bosses deal with bosses on a whole different level and Ye is a boss.”
- DJ Premier

Sidenote: I didn’t really bum-rush, Preem. I mean, I guess I kinda did. There was slight haste involved lol. I just hate doing interviews after shows. Entertainers are usually drunk and high at that point or occupied with said groupies. Who would want to interrupt that? The fact that some drunken interviews are sometimes cool is an entirely different post. Much propers to DJ Premier for kicking knowledge. Go cop his new LP with Bumpy!

Filmed by: Stan Perry & Sgt. Tibs // Edited by: Terrence Jones

DJ Premier & GY312

Retrospect Interview with Gowhere Hip Hop

Jen DeLeon posted May 8, 2012

Last week, one of the performances for GWHH & Marcus Shadden‘s GO! Fridays at Lasalle Power Co. included Chicago hip hop duo, Retrospect.

You may have seen them from some of our previous posts, but in case you haven’t – here is your chance to find out everything about them both musically and personally.

Check out the interview where I get the inside scoop of what brought them to the decision of becoming a hip hop duo, what to expect from their upcoming project, which includes Retro 1, and what makes them different from the other artists in Chicago.

Following music discussions, I took the interview to a different route, where we talked about what they like and dislike about their city, and what hobbies they enjoy doing outside of creating music.

Retrospect

PREVIOUSLY: Retrospect “Abella” (prod. pak.one) [Music Video]

Talib Kweli talks Black Star, BK & Chicago, the ‘Super MC’, MORE featuring GLC with GWHH

Sgt. Tibs posted May 8, 2012

BUMP: Don’t miss these top four posts of exclusive content from today!

Last week, I witnessed perhaps the top concert to date to hit the Chi in 2012. Talib Kweli, accompanied by his live band, headlined a packed house at The Shrine as he spit verses new and old, classics and covers, and even an incredible a capella that we give you a taste of above – just before launching into our latest exclusive interview!

And ladies and gents, this interview is an instant classic. After the show, Talib Kweli sat down with our own Jeff Baraka, while we were also joined by the special surprise guest Kweli brought on stage during his encore – none other than true Chicago playa emcee, GLC. What you see above is a raw, reflective conversation between the three, where first, Kweli realized and articulated on the spot, the similarities between his hometown of Brooklyn and our hometown of Chicago. He had these powerful words to say about the City of Wind:

On Brooklyn & Chicago similarities:
“Well to be honest with you, I didn’t even really notice that there was such a similarity between Brooklyn and Chicago until you said it. With me, Chicago is.. a hub. It’s a mecca. It’s like a shining light in the middle of the country. It’s a place where a lot of people came who didn’t have access to the coasts. And came, and was able to make their dreams come true.”

But that’s not all. Of course, we needed some words on a Black Star album and Kweli kills any and all rumors, while leaving the door open to the possibility we all want.

On a new Black Star album:
“We had been puttin’ out Black Star songs on the website blackstarhub. We been workin’ on music. We don’t have an album together yet.”

Finally, Kweli describes the ‘Super MC’ and in the process talks about the art, skills, and business of hip hop. Baraka then brings in GLC as he and Kweli share laughs about an awesome story of a tour stop back in ’03 overseas where GLC was NOT having any bootleggers. Hah! On the music tip, GLC also reveals an artist who embraces ‘The Ism’ lately and one that we can expect a collab with in the future (Hint: From Pittsburgh, first name rhymes with Biz). Lookin’. Forward. To that!

Shoutout to everyone involved for makin’ this one memorable night. To Talib Kweli & GLC for the excellent show, the time afterwards, and all the Gowhere love. To the good people at The Shrine for hosting yet another high-energy concert (Groove Series with Jean Grae up next this Thursday!). To the #TeamGowhere fam below for creating one of our most raw and entertaining interviews to date. It’s simply a must-see! Watch and enjoy above.

Interview by: Jeff Baraka

Filmed by: Cam Be, Terrence Jones, & Jessica Nowak

Edited by: Jessica Nowak

Jen DeLeon, Talib Kweli, & Maks G

Kuda, Add-2, Ant, GLC, Jen DeLeon, Sgt. Tibs, Maks G, & Jessica Nowak

Sway Interview with Gowhere Hip Hop featuring XV and Dee-1

Sgt. Tibs posted May 3, 2012

For the better part of two decades, Sway Calloway has been a staple of MTV News. The living legend journalist, radio host, and executive producer was someone we caught up with down in Austin for SXSW as well! He was a perfect fit to be interviewed by our own Drea Oppan as he is one of her main inspirations. Drea asked Sway about what exactly keeps him going and the always stoic Sway had some good things to say. To add to the entertainment, fast-rising artists XV & Dee-1 naturally joined in on the interview. The impromptu convos resulted in some info on their upcoming projects and a video game challenge from XV issued to Sway, hah! Watch and enjoy this one above with a special shoutout going out to our new friends at Invisual Media for the super fresh editing.

Interview by: Drea Oppan // Filmed by: Cam Be // Edited by: Invisual Media

GWHH @ SXSW: Nas talks 2Pac, ‘Life Is Good’, hip hop today, performs @ SXSW // Shanell talks YMCMB with GWHH // Mobb Deep Interview with Gowhere Hip Hop & R&R Productions // SOBs 30th Anniversary Recap [Video] // B.o.B Interview with Gowhere Hip Hop [Camovement] // Kendrick Lamar “Hol’ Up” LIVE @ SXSW // Kanye West & Big Sean LIVE @ SXSW

Homeboy Sandman Interview with GowhereNY

TeeBeMackin posted May 1, 2012

Gowhere NY was in attendance at the Cameo gallery for a great show from the incredibly lyrical Homeboy Sandman, presented by his label Stones Throw. After his lively performance, we stepped outside with Homeboy Sand for a much informative interview. He told us about an overseas tour coming up in May and talked about his new EP Chimera, available on iTunes here. So check out the interview above for all the details and some bonus show footage from the night.

Interview by: James “Early” Barreiro // Filmed by: Minimaxx // Edited by: Tee

Tank talks T.I., Chris Brown, ‘This Is How I Feel’, more with GWHH

Sgt. Tibs posted April 28, 2012

Who out there would turn down a listening party, turned performance, from a Grammy-nominated R&B singer who’s still doin’ it big in 2012? Well, we didn’t turn down such an opp earlier this week as Tank made his way to Chicago to promote the upcoming album, This Is How I Feel. Above, get a glimpse of what went down with some performance footage mixed in with our all-new interview as Tank talked with one of our fresh faces at Gowhere – Palita.

Tank took the exclusive fans and tastemakers in attendance at the Funky Buddha on a journey from his first album through to This Is How I Feel as he simply sat down at a piano and performed hit song after hit song from throughout his career. He then previewed a few of the upcoming singles off the album, of which Palita got the low down on in the interview shortly thereafter. Among them is “Complications” featuring T.I. & Kris Stephens as Tank talked about the upcoming video and “Lonely” featuring Chris Brown. And in addition to some words on the album, Tank also filled us in on his workout regimen and overall way of life to maintain his R&B icon status as he is about to release his fifth album on May 8th.

Check it all out and more in the freshly edited video from our newest #TeamGowhere member: Jessica Nowak! Plus, hit the jump for some fun pics with Tank as he was all love towards not only us, but all of the fans who got their own special photo with him after the performance. Shoutout to Tank and once again, This Is How I Feel. May 8th.

Interview by: Palita // Filmed by: Jessica Nowak & Sgt. Tibs // Edited by: Jessica Nowak

PREVIOUSLY: Tank “Complications” f/ T.I. & Kris Stephens (BTS) [Video] // Tank “Lonely” f/ Chris Brown