we here at beards and hip hop have been a fan of ric spliff for a while now. in our first interview with him though, we learn a lot more about the man behind the music. the video we're releasing today is the first set of visuals for 'turn it up' ric's newest project #NOLEFTHANDSHAKES. we released the soundcloud link a couple weeks back, but the visuals here don't disappoint at all (shouts to hidden behind leaves).
mercy piller, ric spliff, cutty corleone -- compton born, coming to us from houston now. tell us a little about yourself, fam?
I'm just a young boy groan man coming from the left side of the map living on the Souf Seas now. Oh and I never wore Jordans for longer than 5 minutes in my life.
we just premiered the latest single of your new project #NoLeftHandshakes "turn it up" and we're dropping the video here. what else can we expect from the project?
Yeah man much love on that. Expect a tutorial in audio format of how to stay away from people who aren't always good for you. How to spot and adapt to people's secret intentions they have for you as their friend, lover, enemy whatever. I'm trying to save lives like the Red Cross, but keeping it Gritty Over Pretty in the process. Expect the same drums from the movie Drumline.
when i first stumbled across your stuff around the beginning of 2013, you were remixing tracks under the alias cutty corleone, using a unique approach cutt and spliffed. the influence of great southern producers was evident, but it wasn't quite the chopped and screwed we're used to coming from houston. what's the difference and what made you decide to change it up?
I basically started out just choppin the songs slowing them down like everybody else including the originator Robert Davis; I figured instead of trying to do exactly what no one but Screw can do better than Screw, was to have my own subgenre from the genre itself. Cause its not just blended music, no that's what EDM is for. Cutt and Spliffed is me, Ric Spliff flipping one record on one side of the turntables with another record on the other, sometimes I might have 5 songs in one with the vocals of whichever original song I have on the deck playing.
what was some of the music you heard that got you hooked on making music yourself? was there some track you heard that made you think, 'oh shit i gotta do this myself'?
I was really into film first but I was the only kid in the hood teaching myself how to play guitar to that Jimi Hendrix Electric Ladyland album, I rented it from the library and never returned it until I knew how to play All Along The Watchtower.
But back in 2012 my guy Duce back home in Cali told me I should download this DJ software on my laptop when we were throwing a party. He really just wanted to use it for the night but I woke up the next day and just said ima try this.
As for me rapping, I just see the rap game as a big playing field right now. I started noticing phrases and lines that I say on the regular in person and online, end up in songs all on the radio. so I said fuck it why not? Besides my own production, I got a great contact list of producers; who originally I was just trying to help them get placements on other peoples shit but I feel like what we're doing now, nobody IN the game is ready to comprehend yet. So if I have to show people how they could rap on this kinda beat or that kind, even though I was trying to just play the back; if that's what it takes to bring the music into the forefront. I'm calling audibles out here.
kind of in the same vein, who's the rapper or producer you'd like to work with the most? the kind of guy where if shit goes according to plan you'll really feel like you made it working with?
Shit I'm trying to get Bob Dylan on whatever project I cook up next, that's the cutty for life. To me, he's not a rock singer he's a talk-rapper cause he couldn't sing worth shit but it was what he rambled and rambled on about. I listened to Like A Rolling Stone on repeat for hours when my girl kicked me out, that shit spoke to me. I can only hope to make a record that dope one day. But I'm down for whatever to work with anyone not throwing out their left hand on the approach, its gravy.
obviously we're still awaiting the release of #NoLeftHandshakes, but what can we expect out of you moving forward? how will you continue the prolific workload, putting together a stacked soundcloud in just a year?
Yeah that's actually where we gotta make a turn at. Visuals. I've done 20+ tapes as a DJ but all with no visuals, that's where we're about to dro up at to really get moving. People like who they like as an artist 60% because of how they see the artist walk, talk how they tie their shoes; basically just how they feel they can relate to them. The other 40% is divided, based off of somebody else telling them "hey you heard this?" and finally, the actual music itself. So I'm really going to focus in on knowing that's needed, that's whats wanted. I feel like my soundcloud be crackin but its just soundcloud at the end of the stream. Visuals is what makes people hit replay and wanna tell their friends and grandma about me.
with a few appearances on the illustrious beards and hip hop mixtapes under your belt, we look forward to seeing what else you'll be turning out. anything you want to leave the people with?
#NOLEFTHANDSHAKES not today, not yesterday, not ever. Keep it gritty over pretty but keep the peace. And if your girl ask what you think about a menage a trois just play it cool like it doesn't matter. Cause she probably bluffin anyway.
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![Stackin Skins [Ft. Wiki And King Krule] (Bonus Track)](https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_n69qum9Psk1suijyqo1_1401254447_cover.jpg)
