Blackout Exclusive: Amerigo Gazaway (Interview)
Amerigo Gazaway is an artist every true Hip Hop fan has come across in the past few years. His mash-up mixtapes like Fela Soul (Fela Kuti & De La Soul), A Bizzare Tribe (The Pharcyde & A Tribe Called Quest), Yasiin Gaye (Marvin Gaye & Yasiin Bay a.k.a. Mos Def) and A Common Wonder (Common & Stevie Wonder) have accumulated millions of plays across various streaming platforms as he has blended worlds all of us have wondered how they would sound together. There’s no question he’s a deep digger, dope producer and skilled craftsman when it comes to the one’s and two’s, so with him coming to our city of Zagreb to perform at the Burger Festival on Sunday the 16th of September, we had the privilege to ask Amerigo a few questions! Continue Below.
Amerigo, I was blown away when I first heard the “Bizarre Tribe (A Quest To The Pharcyde)” tape. Just the fact that someone managed to (so successfully) blend two Hip Hop groups I love so much made me an instant fan. I’m sure a lot of fans of the culture, especially DJs get a kick from blending the right stuff. How long have you been doing this, and what led up the series of fantastic releases you’ve made?
In 2011, I released my first conceptual collaboration project, Fela Soul (Fela Kuti & De La Soul). Up until then I had been experimenting with lots of mashups, blends and DJ edits, combining various hip-hop instrumentals with acapellas from other well known songs and genres. I had also been sampling records and making beats for years prior to that, mainly for my own enjoyment and for myself and other emcees to rap over. However, Fela Soul was the first time I combined these two disciplines together to create something new.
Since then it has evolved into the Soul Mates Project, a series in which I re-imagine the works of my favorite artists and try to put them in conversation with one another. The concept itself encompasses more than just the traditional mashup format, and my overall goal is to highlight the connections between hip-hop and other genres of music such as jazz, funk, soul, afrobeat, blues, and more.
On the technical side of things, how difficult is it finding all these samples, aca pellas and then arranging the tracks? Do you only exclusively use the samples used by the artists you’re blending, or do you add a touch of your own production? Can you take us through the process a little bit?
Finding the acapellas (and multitrack stems) is usually the most challenging part of the process, as it has become less and less common for artists to release instrumentals and vocal stems for their songs. Many of the acapellas I use are actually created using a Do-It-Yourself method of phase inversion, combining the original song and instrumental waveforms to create an isolated vocal track.
In terms of production I try to use as much of the original source material as possible, but I also like to add my own sonic elements as well. Sometimes I will chop up breakbeats or program my own drum loops from scratch, other times I will incorporate various instruments such as electric bass, guitar, keys, synthesizers and turntables. Occasionally I will get ahold of multitracks stems which can open up a whole new world of possibilities. It really just depends on the overall story that I’m trying to tell, and I always try to make sure that each sound/sample is is helping to convey that story without distracting from it.
We’ve been posting your music for some time now, every now and then I check your Soundcloud and this one track really caught my ear. Don’t Shoot. Conscious, unpretentious, deep, emotional and cool as ice. How is the political situation in the States affecting your daily life and relationships? What events inspired you to write this song?
“Don’t Shoot” was written after an incident I had with the Davidson County police department, in which I was wrongfully arrested (and almost killed) for entering my own house after dark. Apparently they had gotten a call from a neighbor (A Caucasian woman) saying someone was breaking into houses in the neighborhood. The woman had seen me enter my own house at night wearing a hoodie, and automatically identified me to the authorities as criminal (sound familiar?). Anyway, Instead of the police knocking on my door to speak with me or obtaining a proper search warrant, several armed officers climbed in through my window and snuck up on me from behind. I was sitting at my computer, minding my own business when all of a sudden I heard someone yell “Freeze! Don’t move!”. At first I thought it was my roommates playing a prank on me, but when I turned around there were 5 police officers with shotguns aimed directly at my head. I immediately froze in fear and tried to explain who I was, but they refused to let me speak. Instead, they forced me on the ground and put me in handcuffs, shouting and cursing at me the entire time. Then they threw me in the back of the cop car, and right as they were about to take me to jail my roommates showed up and explained to them who I was and that I was actually one of the people who lived there. True story.
I cannot describe the absolute terror I felt in that moment, and I can’t even begin to imagine what it must feel like to be a black person living in America. What if I were black? Would I still be here today? The political climate in the US is very tense to say the least, and I truly feel like chaos could break out at any moment. It affects my daily life and my relationships because I have many African-American friends and colleagues who live in constant fear for their safety. In 2006 I lost my best friend to gun violence, and ever since then I have felt the urge to speak out on the issue whenever the opportunity arises. I wrote another song awhile back called “Rosebud”, which tells the story of Trayvon Martin (not mention countless others) who have lost their lives to gun violence and police brutality. These are very trying times and as an artist I feel it is my responsibility to shed light on the corruption that goes on in our country.
Damn. Back to music. You dropping any new material with you rapping and producing? Or producing an artist? Maybe a new mash up? What’s cookin?
Right now I’m working on a Soul Mates concept combining the music of the legendary Nina Simone and Ms. Lauryn Hill. I dropped the teaser video for it on Aug. 25th (the 20th Anniversary of “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”) and the full project should be finished in several weeks. I also just finished working on an official Miles Davis remix in collaboration with his nephew and drummer Vince Wilburn Jr. In the studio I’ve been busy producing an R&B album called “Nineteen Ninety” with a talented Bay-Area vocalist and good friend of mine by the name of Xiomara. We haven’t released any tracks yet but you can check out her debut album “Seven Nineteen” as well as a remix I produced for her called “You Don’t Know Jack Pt. II” on Bandcamp. Last but not least, I’ve been writing a lot more lately and I’m currently working on my first self-produced rap EP which should hopefully be out later this year.
On top of everything, you’re a DJ/Turntabilist too. What do you look for when you go crate digging and how do you implement that in your DJ sets?
Lately I’ve been on kind of a disco/boogie kick, looking for 12-inch singles from the late 70’s and early 80’s to remix or blend into my sets. A lot of those singles include instrumentals, acapellas, extended mixes and bonus beats that you can’t find anywhere else, so I’ve been combining them with rap acapellas to make my own party edits. Other times I’m in more of a production/beatmaker mode, so on those days I’m mainly looking for obscure samples from foreign records, movie soundtracks, library stuff etc. It just depends on what kind of mood I’m in and what the record store has to offer.
Since you’ve come around to our ends, will you take the time to go crate digging in Croatia? Have you maybe stumbled upon any Ex Yugoslavian records you might wanna cop?
I haven’t really been crate digging in Croatia yet, but if someone wants to put me on to some good record shops to check out while I’m in Zagreb I’d be much obliged. I always try to go digging when I travel abroad so I can bring back a couple souvenirs for the collection. My wife is Croatian so she’s been playing a lot of Oliver Dragojević since his recent passing, and I keep on hearing dope samples from his catalogue that are just begging to be flipped into hip-hop beats…
And what are your favorite records? No genre specifically, name a few you always come back to.
Right now I have about 2000 records in storage. Before moving to Cali I had even more than that, but I had to narrow it down to manageable number (which is still a lot). Some of my all-time favorite records that I keep coming back to include Outkast – Aquemeni, The Roots -Things Fall Apart, and Gang Starr – Moment of Truth. Some of my favorite records from other genres include Miles Davis – On The Corner, Marvin Gaye – Here My Dear and Stevie’s Wonder – Innervisions.
I know they always ask this, but the Hip Hop community always likes to know. Any fresh new artists you like and support? And recommendations?
My friends Xiomara and Camille Safiya just dropped an EP with their band The Futurelics, entitled “Classic”. It’s a 7-track, psychedelic journey through funk, soul, blues, rock and even electronic/house. I had the pleasure of performing at their album release party and their live show is nothing short of amazing. Definitely worth checking out if your a fan of soulful music.
What can we expect on Sunday at the Burger festival in Zagreb? How do you set the mood to eating good food?
I was actually at Burger Fest in Zagreb last year so I’m super excited to be performing this time around. These are my favorite types of gigs because it’s low pressure and everyone is just there to eat, drink, and have a good time. I’ll definitely be playing lots breaks, samples, and many of my own remixes as well as blends/edits by other fellow DJ’s I know. I might throw in a couple tracks from my upcoming Nina Simone x Lauryn Hill project (The Miseducation of Eunice Waymon), and you can also expect to hear lots of exclusives that are only available through my monthly Bandcamp subscription. Looking forward to it!
Looking forward to it too, Amerigo, see y’all on Sunday!
Interview: Tone
Photos: Press
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