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SoundSlam: What is the direction of mankind? In your music you make a lot of references with the past and then blending that into the future, so I know it’s something you’re thinking about. What do you see happening?
Edan: You know how every time you xerox something it loses a generation of clarity? I sort of see that happening to each of us as individuals and more and more of us come into existence. You know what I mean? I just feel like we’re getting a little arrogant and acting as if the big do’s and don’ts that have been sort of establish through countless thousands of years of generations, and lives, and humans, some of those lessons are being ignored as if we know better when we really don’t. I don’t think human beings right now are doing too much to assess their relationship with nature, and just the natural ways of this world. Ultimately it’s about saving ourselves because once we cross that line the world will shit us out and revitalize and bloom once again as if we never even existed. It’s not really about save the earth as, respect the earth and save ourselves. And respect each other and love each other. And know that love is all we got here, and make most of our actions stem from that. It’s just positivity. I’m just trying to put some good feelings into this shit.
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SoundSlam: Also keeping in that theme. How long did it take you to put together ‘Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme’? You present a lot of information and content as well as good technique in that track. I was just wondering how you put that together.
Edan: I’m sure that the information that is presented in that shit took me as long as it’s taken me….Since the first hip hop I ever heard. That timeline has been forming in my mind, even though that ain’t no official, authoritarian, end-all-be-all shit, just that sort of timeline and the ideas that you could take from that sort of timeline have been brewing since about 86 in my mind since I heard ‘You Be Illin’ when I was eight years old. Whatever man, that’s taken as long as it took to absorb all of that, but to actually write the jam it took me about a week.
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SoundSlam: Getting back to what you were saying about blending sounds, that’s clearly evident in your music. What are some sounds that you constantly see yourselves digging and going back to when you craft your songs? without giving away your secrets.
Edan: The records I really adore tend to go from the 1966 era to the ’74 era. Then, whenever I try to kick some hip hop essence into the shit, like maybe sample a verse or get down with a drum beat, a lot of late 70s rap records and the early ‘80s rap records got fly beats on them and drums. You gotta think disco just with a much harder edge to it. You know the drums on Cold Crush’s ‘Weekend’? You know the joint ‘Weekend’ by the Cold Crush? Shit like that. The drums on ‘Love Rap’- Treacherous Three. It’s really whatever man. It’s also fly when I notice, this isn’t really a current event, but when people like Brand Nubian sampled Edie Burkell. I’m just kind of like embellishing on when I gave you a ‘66-‘74 thing that’s sort of like a sweet spot. What I’m really trying to say is everything is fair game, anything’s possible. That’s just sampling. You can put varying degrees of water in glasses and slap them with a spoon. Anything to elicit sound, that’s the name of the game. And just get that sound that you’re visualizing. As far as the shit that I just jones for, a lot of the time I go to that era of late ‘60s-early 70’s rock and funk.
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SoundSlam: Talking about anti-categorization, I’ve heard your style referred to as nerd rap. What do you think that label really means? And how do you feel about it?
Edan: I think that label just means white person doing rap. I’m trying to think how it makes me feel…I don’t agree with it. Because I don’t think I’m a nerd, I think I’m a fly motherfucker. I definitely nerd out and pay much attention to the history of this music and to the history of art in general. I’m like a sponge. I take in as much as I can whether it be hip hop, whether it be visual arts, whether it be literature, film. I try to take it all in to better myself and hopefully it has a purpose. The nerd rap shit, I just think a lot of people at this point can still not fully accept the fact there’s white kids that can throw down. And it’s mainly white people that can’t accept it. They have grown up experiencing rap as their gateway to black culture. When that gateway is removed and it’s just another white boy getting down, some of that fascination is killed for them. So they tend to maybe think that a white boy can’t really get down from the heart. We just got to take away all of that shit, all the racial and ethnic shit and see what that artist is crafting, and keep an open-mind, and keep everything on equal terms. I just think that
nerd-rap shit comes from white on white hate.
SoundSlam: You fully incorporate the history of hip hop into a lot of tracks. Why is that such a big part of your music? Is part of that reason part of what you were just talking about with that label and showing that you can get down?
Edan: Well, I also think that the more depth that I can illustrate for the listener, the more the listener can realize there’s great depth to the music we’re doing, the more that he can appreciate my record. Or contextualize it, and that’s really it. These guys did beautiful fucking shit. I just think a lot people, because of the stereotypes associated with rap have never really been able to view this artform as majestic thing. They haven’t been able to romanticize it the same way you romanticize an Eric Dolphie or Charlie Parker, or Jimi Hendrix. They haven’t been able to see rap in that light because it’s been over shadowed by sensationalists. My thing is like, fuck all that. I discovered these beautiful things and it’s from sheer excitement that I mention them in my records. It’s being excited about it. A lot of people may say you can’t really be a fan and an artist at the same times these days. You gotta play it cooler than that. But my whole thing is fuck that. I love these people, these brothers that came before me that paved the way for this wonderful shit. I will just show them the proper respect forever. It’s a positive thing. Some people try to criticize and say that I’m resting on the accomplishments of those that came before me, but I can confidently say that’s not what I’m doing. I’m basically on some retrieving the Dead Sea scrolls shit. Just seeking out any information I can to just show me where the excellence of this music has been defined. And use that knowledge as a spring board to make something brand new that has a lot of depth and is more powerful ultimately than something that is fly by night or trendy, with not a lot of foundation or substance behind it. My whole thing is, the more depth that I can convey the better. By studying my lessons, so to speak, I’m hoping to ensure that my music has long term value
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