With a myspace tag saying “if it moves, then there’s nothing off-beat about it”, and tracks getting played by Mary Anne Hobbes recently, Shlohmo is certainly making a name for himself. With a unique take on off kilter hip-hop he’s currently playing with along with the members of his crew “WEDIDIT“, there is nowhere to go but up for this now 20 year old (happy birthday big homie!). Be sure to look out for his forthcoming EP on Friends of Friends, my choice track being “Teeth”, a beat that rollerskates along the pavement when all of a sudden a bassline as toothless as a deranged homeless person smacks you upside the head. Also, download the mix he did for xlr8r and be sure to read the interview. BOH!

Shlohmo – Mix for xlr8r (direct)

Shlohmo – Hot Boxing the Cockpit

S: What’s good Shlohmo! Your name reminds me of like a pokemon. Were you ever into any of that stuff?

Sh: Thats funny ’cause I actually hated that shit hahah. I used to take kids’ cards that I found at school and burn them with a magnifying glass. Kinda fucked up. This makes me sound like an asshole.

S: I think some of our writers would have something to say about behavior like that…hahaha but really. Your myspace tells us you’re 19, quite an age for such impressive beats. We’re all around that age as well, so I wanna know if you have anything music or non music related that really influences your music or life, possibly from childhood. Also, how did you get started producing?

Sh: Thank you! I actually just turned twenty a few minutes ago. But I think i probably share a lot of common influences with all yall. Including OG Nickelodeon and Super Nintendo. Growin up in the 90′s was fuckin raw. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. I think skateboarding really had some of the biggest influence on me though. I didn’t really start getting into good music til’ I started skating and started watching all these skate videos. The soundtracks were so dope I’d immediately try to go find the songs I’d hear on them. Skate videos are really what first turned me on to hip-hop and beats and all that shit. I would find out about stuff like Amon Tobin, DJ Shadow and all that trip-hop shit from back then and start working my way backwards through the older stuff. Then, I’d find out about the samplage and work my way through that. I’m still pretty musically ignorant though. I’m not one of those dudes who knows everything about all that shit. Still got a lot to learn and discover.

S: That’s so crazy. I remember discovering hip-hop from ski videos and the like, hearing beats like Mos Def’s “Speed Law”, as well as dudes like Hieroglyphics. Not getting into to much experimental stuff just then, but learning about how a beat grooved for sure. Anyway, being from California, there’s a heap of great instrumental hip-hop as well as dubstep producers. Do you feel like you draw a lot from your city? Any new producers our readers should know about that are setting it off right now?

Sh: Hell yes. Growing up in LA was amazing. Most people look at it as the most hideous city ever because they associate it with disgusting shit like Paris Hilton and hotel rooftop parties and Beverly Hills, but it’s funny to me cause when you live here, and you’re not a part of that scene. It’s almost as if it doesn’t exist. It’s like I don’t even see that shit cause I’m not looking for it. But maybe that’s cause I’ve been so anti-all that shit for so long, it just doesn’t phase me. I dunno. There’s a lot of cool shit that exists here that you’re not necessarily gonna know about unless you really look for it. It’s a huge fucking city.

I didnt even realize it til’ it was almost time for me to leave for school. I really started taking advantage of the beat scene when I was 17 and 18 (most clubs including Low End are 18+). Once I started goin’ out and seeing what was actually going on at these shows, I think that opened up my mind a lot. There’s just this certain vibe given off in LA that’s so specific to this city. People keep asking about it and it’s hard to explain. But it’s like this laid back atmosphere that you can only understand when you’re here. I guess it’s pretty apparent in a lot of the music that comes outta here. That’s West Coast steez. And for the record, no one smokes that “cali chronic.” We smoke kush.

There’s so many cats out here doin’ it right now it’s insane. Y’all probably know about the majority of em’. Keep an eye on Dibiase, Devonwho, Teebs, Dakim, Matthewdavid, Oscar McClure, Tokimonsta, and way more that I’m spacing on right now. All LA heads. Also look out for my homies from Wedidit. These dudes are doing big things faaar under the radar. Juj, Ground Is Lava, Joseph, Non Epic, 0, Elan, Melonious Drunk!

S: Excellent! What were some of your favorite albums/releases this year?

Sh: Dak’s “Standthis” on Leaving Records. My god that’s an amazing album. All of Mndsgn’s releases have been incredible. Same with Devonwho (check out the Klipmode fam if you dont already know). Dr. Who Dat’s “Beyond 2morrow.” Ras G’s “Brotha From Another Planet.” That unofficial Teebs CDR that got leaked online was absolutely incredible. And then some of the homies’ tapes they just put out for free online like Juj’s “Heheh”, Ground Is Lava’s “College For Dogs,” and Elan’s “Magnificent Mistakes.” Some more that I’m forgetting for sure.

S: You’re a part of a crew and record label called “We Did It.” Is that at all a reference to the youtube video of Eli vs. Envy? (via “I’m the best mane, I did it”). What does being in this group entail?

Sh: Really funny you ask that. Originally no, but we’re using that sample to our advantage. You might hear it on some collab tracks with me and Ground Is Lava. Wedidit’s just our crew of homies who we grew up with. All similar minded cats who love creating shit, whatever it may be. We just started yelling “WEDIDIT” out of our cars to random folks walking by and it just stuck. Since then it’s kinda spawned into a whole new platform we’re trying to create. We see all these cliques and labels trying to be this exclusive entity, and we just don’t feel like that’s what this is all about. It’s such a small scene, it only makes sense to organize some sort of platform for sharing each other’s material with everyone and try and sustain some sort of community.

S: Just having heard a few of your productions as well as your friends’, it seems like a new wave of beat makers is going to take over the game by storm. How would you characterize your sound?

Sh: I can only hope that we see some new faces from all over the world coming up. With how fast information spreads now, it’s like one giant global beat head community. Everybody gathering inspiration from similar places even though they’re thousands of miles apart.

S: What do you think is gonna be big in 2010?

Sh: Bedroom producers, riots, cassettes, Larry David, regular fitting pants, fake IDs, quaaludes, rasta hats with the fake dreads, prison.

S: Finally, if you could talk to one person about music who would it be?

Sh: Lil’ Wayne. Mostly cause I just love listening to that fool talk about anything. “Suck my dick, and my cup, bitch.”

Biggup Shlohmo for what’s gotta be one of the best interviews ever on this site. Be sure you’ll be hearing more from him in the near future.

posted » January 3rd, 2010 by MacGregor
tagged » hieroglyphics . larrydavid . lilwayne . lowendtheory . maryannehobbes . mosdef . rasg . shlohmo . teebs . wediditcollective