Interview with Acid Reign – Plowing Laughing Hyenas at Christian After School

These dudes are my favoritest. Acid Reign is a collaborative effort between emcees, Gajah and BeOND. Out of LA’s underground, and card-carrying members of the Project Blowed, these two have consistently put out creative hip hop. I feel like as a music site, it’s my job to let you know who’s been holding it down and Acid Reign has one of the most energetic and crowd-pleasing sets I’ve ever seen. Gajah’s “Sponge” with Open Mike Eagle made it onto my favorite songs list for 2011, and his EP Man the Ship was all quality music. AR has just released a new full-length LP, Diversity on Nasa’s Uncommon Records.

SYFFAL: As a recovering raver, I have partooken in many a psychedelic, bass-throbbing, face-melting, mind-fucked night from the City of Angels to the city of San Ber-Doo-Doo. The name Acid Reign bring up a lot of memories for me, most of them either really really really good, or really really, like really really bad. But you guys are hip hop, albeit quirky, off-the-beaten-path hip hop, but you do the rappity-rapping all the same. What does acid have to do with hip hop? I mean your first cassette was called “Acid Trip” wasn’t it? Are you guys just that trippy? How does one, “put a li’l acid in hip hop?” and does Ellay Khule need be present for this concoction to exist properly?

Gajah: Crazy thing is, me and BeOND were devout Christians at the time I thought of the name Acid Reign in '96, so obviously we didn't mess with psychedelics or drugs in general. We were naturally into experimentation and the thrill of mind fucking the listener without protection or lube.

Substituting the "rain" in acid rain with "reign" seemed clever and suited the type of music we were creating. Hence the title of our first cassette release "Acid Trip a journey to the..", leaving room for open interpretation and destination. Yes, our shit was definitely considered "trippy" or "heady" and that was exactly what we were going for.

When one puts a li’l acid in hip hop, it dissolves all standards and boundaries set by the rappers and pioneers who came before them. Literally, "Acid Hip Hop" signifies the union of Acid Reign and Ellay Khule of Hip Hop Kclan.

SYFFAL: So in Los Angeles, Project Blowed is home to a slew of hometown heroes. It seems that people around town and around the world either get it or they don’t. I know more than a few people who were put off by Project Blowed’s in-your-face, call-you-out atmosphere. And seeing how much garbage rap music is out there, I know others who understand it to be something that the West Coast probably needs more of. As a couple of seemingly mellow fellow’s, where did you guys fit in with all of that? What drew you to prove yourselves on that stage? Is Project Blowed like AA, do you need a sponsor? Is there a secret Skull and Bones like initiation ritual to being a Blowedian with Aceyalone wearing robes and Peace fast-rapping in Sankrit and Zulu Butterfly burning Black Love incense? Or do you just have to go there enough and hold it down against the big dogs?

BeOND: We wear our Project Blowed stripes with pride cause it took a lot to earn them. Gajah and I would show up to Project Blowed on a weekly basis as soon as we turned 16 and I received my first car. There was always a ton of fans, and the participants then were the OG’s of today ie. Rifle Man, Acey, Ab Rude, etc. Keeping up w/ these guys was not very achievable to many of the cats who came by. They would usually get dissed by the crowd if their skills weren't up to par. If your first few bars weren't dope you'd be sure to get a "Please pass the mic" chant. We started off rhyming outside in the cyphers and after building up our confidence we moved up and touched base on stage. At that time we were constantly releasing new music on homegrown tapes and PB was the place to push them. The founders recognized our hustle and passion, and after 2 years of battling everybody from new comers to almost everybody from Blowed, our acceptance was made solid. We felt even more welcome when J-Smoov offered to manage us. From then on we've been a part of the PB fam and continue to represent on tours, albums, etc.

SYFFAL: So interesting music is getting put on these days. I can’t tell if people have caught up, or if my taste in music is getting gay! What do you think? Who are some of your favorite “new” artists? What’s in your current rotation? Be honest because I’m not afraid to tell you I’ve bumped that Bon Iver for too long and maybe shed a man tear or two, and Joel just admitted recently that he has a boner for John Mayer. Plus Del made us do a roundtable review of The Avalanches, “Since I Left You” last month and got me into the Neon Indian show a couple of weeks ago.

Gajah: Haha! No homo at all on the taste tip bruv, there's a lot of creative stuff brewing these days, it's the 21st century for Christ sake. On the flip-side, there's a mother-load of garbage that quadruple's the amount of dope shit, you know, for the masses! Sadly, as of late, I have been too busy with my own music, fatherhood and the dreaded 9-5 to know the scoop. I see and hear about new artists and albums being released everyday but always end up falling behind like an overweight marathon runner. I still bump old Frank Zappa (mostly his early stuff from 1966-1975), Meredith Monk and musique concrete.

SYFFAL: Is it true that Gajah is the vegetarian to Beond’s carnivore? Or is it Gajah is the Bikram yoga to Beond’s nollie kickflip? Who’s Penn and who’s Teller? I read somewhere that Beond handles the business side of Acid Reign, and Gajah is the creative instigator. Does that make Gajah Pinky, and Beond the Brain?

BeOND: As a group we understand our own as well as each others strengths. Early on we discovered that if we trust each other we can both benefit, learn, and grow together as artists. I've always had the mentality of running the group on the business end and Gajah was always big on the artistic value and pushing the envelope skill wise. Our views never collided, rather they meshed. We started out rhyming together at the age of 13 in '93 and released our first tape, "The Marble Jar Compilation" in 96. From 1996-2000 we released one project a year. The goal was perfect, make songs that were truly original and market them . Seems simple, but to a couple of teenagers w/ nobody to really guide them it was an achievement not many other cats were able to accomplish. As the years went on, our strengths worked well for us and we developed a work habit. Now and days I feel that there's a better balance between the two of us because we know our roles, but the formula is still firm.

SYFFAL: So describe how music changed for you after your AlphaPup release, “Time and Change”. Your latest release, “Diversity,” was put out on Uncommon Records, and now you guys have created Acid Lab Records. What was it like working with those labels, and why start your own?

Gajah: Well, with every release you have this expectation of making a lot of noise and gaining a wider audience, 90% of the time that mind-set will lead to disappointment. We learned particularly from the "Time & Change" release that signing with a bigger label won't necessarily blow you up. This was a humbling experience for us that we took from and it drove us to work harder and be more professional with future endeavors. Daddy Kev did a great job on all ends with this release, so a tip of the hat goes to him.

The deal for Diversity came at the perfect time, we had an album just sitting with no outlet. I had personally been in communication with Nasa, the owner of Uncommon Records for a minute. I submitted a couple songs for his Uncommon radio podcast and started building relations with the multi-talented, New York prog. hop vet. This was much more comfortable than the venture we took with Alpha Pup, mainly because we had matured tremendously over the 5 year period.

Starting our own label, Acid Lab Records in 2011 was the best thing we could of ever done. I am partnered with some true friends and all around good guys who are quick to compromise and seek resolution if any minor problem were to arise. We have 100% creative freedom with no restrictions and it's always a plus when you're controlling and distributing your own profits.

SYFFAL: About “Diversity,” it’s “diverse” in a few ways from what I can tell. As with a lot of Blowedians, there are a few lyrical styles. There are also a diverse group of features. The production is about as diverse as I’ve seen with 11 tracks and 11 production credits. Also the album cover depicts you guys with a diverse group of people a la “Sgt. Pepper’s Loney Hearts Club Band”. That was the fucking long-windedest way ever of asking, why “Diversity”?

BeOND: The reason we chose Diversity is because we've mastered the art of compromise, and in doing so we've become accustomed to a variety of tempos, sounds, and rhythms. As a group member, you have to be able to stay on the same page as your teammate(s) w/out losing yourself in their likes or dislikes. Gajah and I have solo albums, music collections, and point of views that are way different from each other. After so many years of adapting and compromising we've become comfortable rocking to any style of beat we're offered. Not that we accept all and every beat we receive but we know the Acid Reign sound and can decide if a track is representative of that. We felt it was important to show-case our ability to adapt to anything.

SYFFAL: Listening to you guys over the years, it’s easy to distinguish between you on tracks. But for the uninitiated, describe your styles as if they were animals in a zoo. Inter-species mating is not only allowed, it’s encouraged. (Ex: 50 Cent – a honey badger (dude got shot like nine times and never gave a shit) has a baby with a Silver Back Gorilla (gggg-G-Unit!))

Gajah: I would be the plower of the laughing hyena and the cheetah on a no holds barred sex-capade. Beond would lay it down on the rhesus macaque monkey to some incense and Portishead.

SYFFAL: And I’ve noticed over the years how you’ve come to influence each other. Beond, you’ve allowed yourself to chop it up more, a la Gajah. And Gajah has allowed himself to be more “conversational” at times, seeming to understand that making people seizure out on his syllables isn’t always the answer. Would you agree with my assessment, add to it, or punch me in the neck?

BeOND: Uh-oh better watch out the next time I see you... I never turn down an opportunity to punch a neck, it's my thang...HA!! I would agree that we've influenced each other a great deal. But I think more so as writers we've grown and have really gained control of what we are trying to express and also how we want to approach each song.

SYFFAL: You guys met as teenagers at a Christian rap afterschool or something like that right? So you’ve known each other for like 20 years. Have there been moments where you thought about quitting music? As an artist, I’ll admit to having those soul-wrecking, nobody’s-ever-going-to-give-a-shit-about-this-so-what’s-the-fucking-point moments, will you? How has your partnership grown with you from kids to adults?

Gajah: It was a run down church in the City of Industry I believe? Funny thing is, the first time I was kidnapped by my uncle and driven out there, BeOND's group was playing. I gave him his props and we started building. On this 20 year journey, there have been many instances where life did not permit me to do music for a while, other times I was just loathing and slacking. BeOND really hated how I wasted 2 years of Acid Reign recording time as a stoner-gamer addicted to Counterstrike haha. Indeed there were good times and of course bad times but quitting never crossed my mind for a second. Actually, the thought of quitting scares the shit out of me. We don't give a flying Fuck if you don't like our music but we love you if you do.

SYFFAL: This site has a number of overweight, fantasy-football-playing, lawn-watering, yet music-loving dad’s writing for it. I may or may not be one of them. Beond, this question is for you. You are a father. How has being a parent made your music career better? How has it made it worse? And this is for Gajah. How’d you manage to do it man? Pulling out? Condoms? Sterile?

BeOND: For me, fatherhood began at the early age of 18. Being a parent is hard work period, but being a young single dad was even harder. Luckily I had the support of my family to help me raise my son Rudy early on. Now he's working on becoming a pro skateboarder and we're very proud of his accomplishments. Check out his newest video, it features his pops on the track... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6B_Tkm-0A4 (Shameless plug). Even though it was rough, I enjoyed becoming a dad. Being responsible has keep me grounded and focused. There have been plenty of opportunities that I had to pass on, but no regrets. Now I'm in my 30's w/ two boys 14 & 4, so my plate is full and I plan on stopping there (fingers crossed). My wife is very supportive of my music and label, making it much easier to keep the dream alive!!!

Gajah: Sterile my ass! I got a 6 and a 9 month year old. Ha!

SYFFAL: Take a minute and wow us all with your upcoming releases.

Gajah: You can expect a new Acid Reign album in August 2012. BeOND's solo debut LP "EverYThingZ BacKWardZ" in February on Project Blowed recordings/Acid Lab. My new LP "Poverty’s Prodigy" in March on Acid Lab Records. Look out for releases by my brothers Express Fresh, Olmeca & Damien Rodriguez in 2012 as well, ALR. Big Ups to Ragz The Bear and DJ Ethos!

SYFFAL: And lastly, but never leastly (The last question fucking hates when you call it leastly. I have to convince it of it’s worth to our site every fucking time I ask it. I mean not just like, “Dude, it’s cool. Seriously you aren’t leastly.” I have to tell it I save the best for last and rub its back and wipe its tears and blow its nose and all that shit. So don’t call it leastly you fuckers, ok?), if I could pair your music with a dish and eat that dish while listening to your guys rap-a-lot, what dish would provide the optimal marriage between ear and tongue?

BeOND: You would have to grab yourself some jalapeno grilled buffalo w/ a big ass bottle of tapatio. Sprinkle that meat w/ some lemon and pepper, a side of creamed corn, and wash it down w/ some Morgan & Coke!!

SYFFAL: Thanks gentlemen.

LINKS:
acid lab site
alr elite free label sampler download