Fresh off their victory in our first Battle Of The Bands show of 2016 we caught up with Sixpress from the group sLUms. On the heels of one of the most electrifying performances in recent memory at 7eventytwo we hoped to learn a little more about where he came from and whats driving him forward.
Whats your name? Where do you live? What school do you go to?
my name is 6poppa, I live in the sewers and I graduated from the streets.
How long have you been rapping? How long have you been making beats?
When i was 15 I would write my little raps thinking I was bodying them. I did notice that I was getting better, but the beats I had weren't hitting me (they were DOO DOO).
Everybody wants to steal beats off of YOUTUBE but nobody wants to make it themselves, so that same year, late 2013 I also started producing.
If you’re writing a song from scratch, do you start with a rhyme or a hook in your head and then create a beat or backing track? Do you start with a beat and start rapping from there? Whats your process like?
When the time is right, songs just like to create themselves.
How did Slums come together? It’s kind of a super group. Can you tell me more about how you formed and what the internal dynamic is like? How often do you guys all get together, and where do you get together when you do?
Sixpress, Booliemane, Jazz Jodi, King Carter, DJ Mason, & MIKE. We were just a group of struggling ass niggas who started to struggle together. as one. We were little kids with early curfew trying to be a part of a grown man sport. [sLUms].
Rap is notoriously hard to perform live, but you guys excelled in the live environment. Why is that?
Thank you! I always view slums as a band without a gimmick. We are ugly people, we're not that pretty to look at (or a potential boy band for the industry). but the stage is where we find our comfort zone. The chemisrty that we've built for our team is solid, and we just spread the love when the music gets performed.
Can you describe what the experience was like playing at 7eventytwo last Friday at the Battle Of The Bands show that you guys won? To me, there were a lot of very talented and good bands playing before you guys, but then you started and just brought the energy to a whole other level. It was incredible to watch. How did it feel while it was happening? How did it feel to be performing to a room full of teenagers, many of whom you’d never met before and had never heard of you.
The other bands were dope man! Badmouth was cool. Them and the rest of the bands had also moved the crowd in so many ways. i was able to let loose while they played, resulting to me dancing with a few friends. It was definitely a humbling experience man, thank you. i was speaking to fellow slum man MIKE about how good it felt to win our first *something* as a group. Our good friends at 72 provided us that opportunity and we made the best of it.
What’s your experience been like at other shows you’ve played compared to the last two at 7eventytwo?
Not every spot has a reliable sound system man, we've learned that the hard way. If the sound is shitty, the crowd is going to be shitty, look shitty and feel shiity, but 72 got dat crispy crisp sound for you to enjoy yourself.
Favorite album of the last year?
Kenrdrick Lamar - TPAB
Is there a Slums album in the works?
:)
What about a six press solo album?
:)