by Cristóbal Uribe, editor Hunter students are undoubtedly talented, but a hidden talent lies among some of them: music production and rapping. Our fellow peers along with millions of others around the world display their enormous talent through SoundCloud, a platform where anyone can post music for free. In this column I will be interviewing various past and current HCHS students who use SoundCloud to display their musical talents, whether they produce, rap, or sing. Nick Guillem is a senior. He produces music and enjoys rapping. He recently released his second single: “All in All.” I sat down with Nick to investigate the origin of his music career, inquire about the intricacies of making music, and discuss Nick’s plans for the future. When did you first make your SoundCloud?
I originally made a SoundCloud for just beats under the name hancholo a little under three years ago. But I wanted to start making full songs, so I made another one under the name Nick Jr. to post those. Does hancholo still exist? Yes, he is my alter ego and I plan to feature him on songs in the future. What and who inspired you to make your beats and eventually these full songs? I’ve always liked rap and music in general, but making music is so much more fulfilling to me than just listening. My friends and I used to try to write raps over beats for fun, so I guess we all inspired each other. But then I started taking it more seriously. What do you use to make your beats? Logic Pro X and a crappy old keyboard—from when I was younger, and first started learning piano—that I figured out I could plug into my computer. I looked through the hancholo account, you use a lot of cool samples...A lot of Kendrick Lamar. Where do you find your samples? I fux with k-dot. That Kendrick beat [on Hey, Kunta], happened because I was walking with James Soren [fellow Senior at HCHS], and I was singing the pixies song that it also samples, and he started rapping King Kunta, and it sounded fire. What are some artists that you appreciate, or inspire you? I really like A$AP Rocky and the whole A$AP Mob, as well as Isaiah Rashad, Frank Ocean, Young Thug, D.R.A.M., and Vince Staples. All those guys inspire me. Was it hard to make your first full song (Contempl8)? Making the actual song wasn’t that hard looking back, but it felt like it took forever to get to the point where I had something I was proud enough to share with everybody. I legit trashed hundreds of songs before that one. What about these songs made you trash them? I just didn’t like them. They didn’t feel like all the sounds and pieces fit together. Sometimes I also caught myself trying to sound like other rappers which only made for wackness. What made "contempl8" feel unique to who you are as an artist? I don’t know. I just liked it. It’s simple. Do you enjoy singing as well? In some parts of "contempl8" I can hear you singing. Yeah, I do. I like switching between singing and rapping, because too much of one gets boring. Have you made more music since your last song? Yeah, I’ve made around five more songs with various producers. Some are still produced by me though. Are these other high school kids around the city? No, just people from around the world on SoundCloud who I’ve gotten in contact with. Wow. That’s pretty cool. Yeah, SoundCloud is huge and there’s a lot of music nobody knows about. That’s really sick. How did these interactions go down? I just email them, asking if I can use a beat of theirs that I found. But I do it after I’ve already made the song, (Laughing) so they can have something to actually listen to and decide otherwise. Most people just ignored me and assumed whatever I was going to do with their beat would be bad. Do you plan on doing stuff with music in the future? In college, maybe? Definitely. I want to keep doing shows too and I think college will be a really good scene for that. Have you done a lot of shows in the past? Just one. Do you feel like you are getting the exposure you would like to have? Do you feel like a lot of people know about your rapping and production skills? I don’t know how many people know about my rapping, but I think that number will keep growing the more songs I put out. … I also don’t post about my shit all the time on Instagram like some rappers do. So… (Laughs) Last question. Lay it on me Chris. What are your thoughts about the other Hunter SoundCloud artists, such as charvog (Charlie Vogel, 2017), mile$ (Miles Shebar 2016), Tritone (Gregory Stanger, 2015), and DJ Lele (Leander Cohen, 2018)? Fuck Tritone. I like the other guys. I also plan to do something with mile$ soon so that should be cool. … Also, you’re missing another Hunter SoundCloud artist on that list. Who? spa¢ey. His first work is coming soon, so watch out. OK. Will do. Nick, thanks for doing this. Thanks for having me on the show Chris. ______________________________________________________________________ Check out Nick Guillem on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-869837763 Stay tuned for further installments of “The SoundCloud Artists of Hunter” by Charlie Vogel, staff writer Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish Gambino, is on a roll. The first season of his show "Atlanta"—which he has described as “Twin Peaks with rappers”—recently premiered on FX to massive critical acclaim. Last week, he released Awaken, My Love!—his third studio album. In honor of the accomplished actor, writer, comedian, and rapper’s meteoric year so far, I have decided to kick off my “Oft-Overlooked” column with a review of his 2010 mixtape Culdesac. Why is this mixtape often overlooked? For starters, it falls victim to the unfortunate fact that, prior to the release of his debut album Camp, Gambino’s rap career was seen by most as a casual hobby. Fans who liked his comedy or who favored his budding hip hop career faced alienation from most; Gambino was often categorized as fake and uncommitted to rapping. Although Mr. Glover’s music has come a long way since, many of his current fans would be hard-pressed to name a song he released prior to Camp--the single "Freaks and Geeks" being one of the few exceptions. While Culdesac garnered generally positive reviews from critics, it lacked widespread publicity upon its release and still remains largely unknown, even among his fan base. Essentially, like many of his other early singles, this tape has flown under the radar for casual listeners and even fans. This oversight is a shame, as Culdesac is filled to the brim with tons of nerdy references, braggadocious, over-the-top bars, clever innuendos, and wacky and complex wordplay that can take several listens to fully understand. Though he released several mixtapes during the budding stages in his career, Culdesac is the project that embodies the best aspects of his early style while also presenting a variety of characteristic that would become staples in his later, more popular work. Tracks like “Hero,” “I Be On That,” and “Let Me Dope You,” showcase his ability to talk down on his haters using some of the weirdest and funniest lines I’ve ever heard from a rapper. One of my personal favorites comes from the sixth track, "You Know Me": “My career is like award shows, it's going long / I make it look real easy, like I'm showing thong.” Of course, it wouldn’t be a Childish Gambino project without a heartfelt song or two about a girl (or girls) that he’s admired or longed for. These tracks are often very hit-or-miss, but here they shine. The Adele sample on “Do Ya Like” is simply infectious, and his soulful singing on the songs “Got This Money” and “So Fly” portrays a genuine sense of endearment and emotion. Finally, Gambino addresses several other important aspects of his life on this project. On “The Last” he discusses his childhood, on “I’m Alright,” his struggles coping with fame, and on “Glory,” how he yearns to make his parents proud. These songs get very heavy, very fast, and also carry some genuinely heart-wrenching descriptions of both Gambino’s suicidal thoughts and his existential fears. The Gambino we hear in these tracks is a clear precursor to the sad, philosophical musings of his character “The Boy” from his later albums Camp, Because the Internet, and Kauai—this sense of emotion is something he’s held onto throughout his music career thus far. So, if you are a fan of Childish Gambino, or even if you just like the song "Freaks and Geeks," give Culdesac a listen. It’s a nice complement to his more mainstream work, and since his new album indicates a total departure from his typical style, it will definitely be interesting to trace his progression as an artist from his earliest work to his newest. by Emma Farrell, staff writer Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version was Wu-Tang Clan member Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s first solo album. Designed by visual director Brent Killroe, the album cover features ODB’s public assistance (food stamp) card. In a 2011 interview with Complex magazine, Greg Burke, the Vice President Creative Director of Atlantic Records, named this album cover one of his all-time favorites: "Visually, it's an impactful cover. Plus, no one at the time had ever thought to put such a personal item of theirs on the cover. Sure, we had seen family pics of artists, and pics of them as children, but to use your public assistance card was a glimpse of creative brilliance.” I could be biased (because I pass a mural of this album cover on my block every day), but I think this cover is one of the most iconic of all time. The fact that it sits outside my local deli, five feet high and behind a bus stop, shows just how much the cover resonated with people. Although this album was a solo departure for ODB, it fits in well with the image Wu-Tang Clan had always put out, depicting the struggles of young people trying to survive in Staten Island and Brooklyn. Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s brash and sometimes bizarre lyrics describe this lifestyle with his unforgettable and energetic delivery. However, there is some controversy surrounding ODB’s use of food stamps. Days after the release of Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, MTV aired a clip of ODB cashing in a welfare check for $375. After it became public that he had received a $45,000 advance from Elektra Records for the album, his case worker proceeded to end his welfare benefits. Check out Complex’s Top 10 Rap Album Cover Series here: http://www.complex.com/style/2014/01/greg-burkes-favorite-rap-album-covers-of-the-90s/ Check out Return to the 36 Chambers on Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/album/4tI4WJdTN5MzDMRMl2i7VR?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open by Emma Farrell, staff writer 3 Feet High and Rising was De La Soul’s debut album in 1989. The cover art was designed by a British art collective called the Grey Organization. One of the leaders of the Grey Organization, Toby Mott, discussed the album cover in his essay “Hip Hop in the Daisy Age." “We layered the brightly-coloured hand drawn flower designs made with Posca paint pens on acetate over the black and white photographic portrait print, which is rostrum camera copied...The intent of the design of De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising LP cover was to be new and bright, with the overlaying of the fluorescent flowers and text reflecting a synthetic pop cartoon look.” This cover reflected De La Soul’s conception of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age," and complemented their lyrics involving peace and harmony. Later in his essay Mott writes,“This is a move away from the prevailing macho hip hop visual codes which dominate to this day.” The bold cartoonish look of this album had lasting, widespread influence. Nike released Dunk SBs featuring artwork from the album, first in 2005 then reissued in 2014. I personally really love the look of bright colors over black and white images. The simple yet visually compelling album cover also seems to have no correct orientation, a choice that makes the composition even more interesting. In the cover art, the black and white images help balance out the more colorful imagery that reflects the lyrics that led to De La Soul being dubbed “hippies." Read more of Mott’s essay here. Check out the kicks! http://www.complex.com/sneakers/2015/02/nike-sb-de-la-soul-dunk-2015-retro-interview |
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