Ezza of Choom Gang releases his new album called “Rocky Mountain Watermelon“, writer and performed by Ezza himself and producer Dr. Robotnic. For this album they have channeled their combined creativity in the hopes of creating the definitive sound for the Niagara Region just south of Toronto – big, airy, psychedelic vibes mixed with a SLAB (slow, loud, and banging) southern influence, and a touch of classic hip hop lyricism.
The artistic waves are accompanied by an intimate personal feel, as Ezza touches on topics which plague his whole generation – depression, anxiety, unemployment, substance abuse, and broken dreams. The very relatable dark side is matched by an equally-relatable light touch, bringing a sense of freedom to a generation whose freedoms are always in question. Coming after a year of traveling in Europe and the remote Canadian Rockies, “Rocky Mountain Watermelon” brings a new, fresh perspective to the psychedelic hip-hop genre.
WERUN: We heard your back now after a year long trip to Europe and Canadian Rockies. What did you do there?
Ezza: Europe was strictly recreational for me. I do have a few fans out there I tried to link up with, but just didn’t pan out this time. The last year-or-so of traveling, I made a conscious effort to not stress myself creatively and just go take in some new experiences. I figured if I decided to do music when all was said and done, the output would be more interesting. With “Rocky Mountain Watermelon”, I’d say that turned out to be true.
Any upcoming gigs?
The gang and I have our next gig September 14th alongside The Palmer Squares in my hometown St. Catharines, Ontario. It’s our first time performing altogether since early 2017, and Palmer Squares gets a lot of love in our area so it should be pretty dope. I’m excited.
That sounds great, any upcoming collabs you can tell us about?
Yeah, I’m just gonna keep things moving right along with the crew (Choom Gang / H.O.M.E. Records). Rocky Mountain Watermelon ends on a bit of a depressing note, so I wanna pick up and close out 2018 with another little drop or two just to let people know it’s all good over here. It probably won’t be solo music though, it will be collabs with my people. We ain’t getting any younger and this might be our last big push, so we’re gonna do it together. I’m also slowly working on a 2nd Middle-Class Mystic project with producer DKLonely, and we’ll probably shop around for a bigger-name feature to follow up Bones being on the first one we did back in 2012. So yeah, should see some interesting work coming from our direction over the next year or so.
Wich artists give you inspiration in your work?
Kanye West and G.O.O.D. Musicare and have always been, a huge inspiration for what we do. It’s interesting because – unintentionally – our creative approach has paralleled theirs for quite some time, only on a far smaller scale and zero budget (lol). The idea of having a collective of solo artists who all have different styles but somehow fit under the umbrella of one creative mastermind who hand-picks the collective (in our case, the late great chuck90s – R.I.P.) and also sound good together on frequent collaborations, is always what we’ve been about. That, combined with the free-spirited approach of just getting in the studio with the right people and making spontaneous magic. With that said – what they did this past Summer with the one-release-a-week thing… reminded me so much of our golden years when chuck was still alive, and the type of shit we used to do. Really inspired me while I was working on this album, and solidified my desire to continue doing music at a time when I wasn’t sure if I was going to go on. So yeah, thank you Kanye. And thank you Based God, always.
How is the music scene for your style in Southern Ontario?
Things are really starting to look good for the arts scene in Southern Ontario. The worldwide mega-success of Drake, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Alessia Cara, and hell there’s probably more – has really woken people up. When I was growing up, there were absolutely zero resources for artists around here. Now it’s finally starting to bubble. I see good things coming for the future and I really want to be at the tip of the spear. Toronto is obviously gargantuan, its huge cultural influence has always seeped into the surrounding area, and we’re right there. We are hip-hop here – we are really and truly hip hop. I’m so well versed and studied hip hop all my life, all different artists from all different places, and yet somehow some of the honest-to-God best lyricists I’ve ever heard are people I know. Isn’t that fucked up? And we’re all nobodies. Something’s gotta give eventually, and I feel that something coming.
Whats the best clubs in Southern Ontario for music?
Detour Music Hall is the spot right now. That’s where we’ll be performing on the 14th. They’ve really put a focus on live music and they do all genres, but the venue is really perfect for hip hop shows. They’ve also been very embracing of hip hop, where a lot of spots now absolutely refuse to put on rap shows because of fights and shit. So shouts out to Michelle and everyone at Detour for continuing to recognize the hip hop culture out here. It’ll pay off. In return, we’ll make sure there’s no fights during our sets 😉
Leo Skurt and his Skurt Team got a lot of hype lately. This young personal shopper from Rennes gets more and more clients and we wanted to know about the person behind it all.
WERUN: How did your passion for hype streetwear start and when did you decide to make it a carer?
LEO SKURT: I decide to create my own job after graduating from high school, at 18 years old. I decided to become a personal shopper in the “hype streetwear” world. My work consists in finding every item my clients ask me to, like clothing, sneakers or accessories.
What makes you different from other personal shoppers?
The deal with me is that I can find everything between 5 minutes and 24 hours, using a variety of specialized websites, apps and resellers Instagram accounts. I’m passionate about streetwear and I have my way around the market. I make a point to know everything about what’s happening in the industry. Every release, every new designer, every collaboration, every trend. It allows me to give advice to my clients and to be on top of my game.
What more do you do?
I’m also a dressmaker, as in people show me pieces of their wardrobe so I’m able to create a look for them. I also suggest adding some pieces that I own in order to complete the style, and they can eventually buy it.
Tell us some more about the Skurt Team.
It’s the entertainment of my Instagram’s community. The Skurt Team is a huge part of my work. I made a priority of creating a strong and united community around me and my personality. So, lots of Instagram’s poll, stories, concepts, live multiple times a week. That’s why I don’t have a website. I love being able to chat with my clients on Instagram’s DMs, advise them to be sure they make the right choice when they buy me something, sharing a part of my life with them.
How did it all start as a business?
I’m able to get any item in 24 hours max because, before I was a seller, I was a buyer. And so I spend so much time searching pieces for myself on the internet, that I am now a sort of sniper for pursuing a pair of shoe or clothing. When a client asks me for something, I usually have an instant idea of where to find it, and a close assumption of the prize. That’s why I’m efficient in my job, that’s the added value of my work. Sometimes, someone will reach out to me, saying that is searching for this particular item for seven or eight months, and I find it in less than five minutes.
Can you name some of your biggest clients?
For now, I don’t have what you may call a “big” client. Although, I got loyal customers that buy from me on a regular basis, and I think this is more important. The Skurt Team is amazing, sending me so much love and getting so involved. Every day, I get messages of love. It gives me the strength to see that people in the community are getting to know each other in real life.
Is there a lot of fake shoes out there?
If a client got a problem, I’m fighting for them. For example, recently one of my clients was ripped off. Someone sold him a counterfeit Air Max 97/1 Sean Wotherspoon. I took the matters into my own hands, called the guys who ripped him off and settle the issue for him.
Final question, what’re the rarest shoes you got?
I would say a pair of Nike Zoom Spectrum White in collaboration with Supreme and a pair of Nike Air Max 95 Animal pack in collaboration With Atmos Japan.
Sandro Jeeawock is finally back with his new EP called ”Lucky Luciano” after one year of silence. The EP contains six tracks plus a remix by Nico Miseria. On this EP Sandro experimenting more than ever with styles such as Trap, R&B, Pop, Reggaeton and Flamenco.
We took the opportunity to ask the Marbella producer what he has been up to since his last release “Golden Boy“.
WERUN: So what are you been up to this summer? Any gigs?
Sandro Jeeawock: Things are really chill here for trap or future beat music, they just want commercial stuff, but I hope next month when the season started I can get out of Marbella.
Any upcoming collaborations you can tell us about?
Yes, a lot! But the latest is a production with Nico Miseria for A.Dense from Valencia, the track is called “150”.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Right now I’m listening to a lot of SoundCloud rappers like Lil Pump, Smokepurrp, Ski Mask, XXXtentacion (R.I.P. ?), Travis Scott, NAV and others styles with artists like Rex OrangeCounty, Gus Dapperton, Rosalia, Blood Orange, Ozuna and Frank Ocean.
How is the music scene for your future style in Marbella?
Very bad, there is a lot of good artist in Marbella and Malaga but in Spain, the only way to get something is working in Madrid or Barcelona, the rest is shit.
If u really want to be in the industry on a good level you have to move to one of those cities. In Marbella we just had Third Cultures parties at La Catarina, shout out to Alto Blues because he is always bringing the nice and new artists to town.
So where to go out in Marbella?
Third Culture parties at La Catarina for sure. There are very good clubs that makes shows with very famous rappers but I don’t want to make publicity because their prices are abusive, fuck them.
Any last words you want to say?
Yeah, since June I made like a “tournament” for producers, it’s 10 producers each round, they have to make a 1 minute beat with the same sample, drum kit and variable tempo. We have a guest so the winner beat its gonna be recorded for the guest artist. It’s going very well and I would love you to check it out here.
San Fransisco based producer D3fb0t has been busy lately. Not only is he is working on a new EP, he has also a YouTube-channel were he has been vlogging continuously about his everyday life. We had a quick chat with him.
WERUN: What can you reveal about your upcoming EP?
D3fb0t: It’s going to be mostly trapstep and dubsteppy kinda tracks.
WERUN: When will the EP drop?
D3fb0t: I’m planning on releasing it at the start of winter.
WERUN: How many tracks are you working on?
D3fb0t: Five songs or so, I’m planning to shoot a video to one of them as well.
WERUN: You are now also a vlogger, that we follow on Instagram and YouTube.
D3fb0t: Yeah, I’ve been filming and “vlogging” a lot lately. I was on tour with the rapper “Ezale“ for all of last year, kinda took a back burner to get my own gigs lately, but I’m looking to get back in the clubs soon!
WERUN: Whats your goal with the vlogg?
D3fb0t: I’ve been trying to show what it’s like in and outside of the studio. What daily life of a producer is like making music and in the off time. I plan on dropping a lot of visual content this year. I’m planning on dropping some videos of me making beats and stuff like that.
WERUN: We looking forward to it.
Listen to D3fb0ts fun dark summer track called “Porch Party”, filled with heavy epic drops and melodic builds below: