Interview with Squadda B (Main Attrakionz)
With its net-only compilation 3 Years Ahead, Space Age Hustle launched the term “cloud rap” last year to describe an aesthetic common to “a lot of new artists singularly focused on stepping outside of rap’s comfort zone and doing what they want with beats and lyrics “. The meme is a fit. On Legion Of Doom Squadda B (who produced seven of the collection’s sixteen tracks) even raps that they “stay burning weed on top of clouds”.
The Bay Area seems half-forgotten in hip-hop history. Names like 2pac, Too Short, Spice-1, Digital Underground, Mac Dre, Souls Of Mischief and E-40 have not been able to etch Bay Area 51 into mainstream consciousness like The Bronx, Compton or The Dirty South have.
“Oakland has more houses than apartment buildings, but there are like apartments every two blocks. One housing project in the whole town but every apartment building think they’re the projects. Every block think they the hardest”, says producer-rapper Squabba B, like rhyme partner Mondre Man from North Oakland – ”same side as Mistah F.A.B. and Money B from Digital Underground.”
“We’re between Berkeley and West Oakland. F.A.B. came to our middle school signing autographs when we were young. Nobody’s repping for us except a couple rappers on Livewire records. I feel like we’re gonna inspire a lot of others, not with our sound but just with the fact we’re getting on big websites and are listened to around the world. They’re gonna be like ‘them niggas?’ Yeah, same niggas you seen walking round doing lord knows what.
Me myself, I’m fucking with D.B. The General, that man can rap. Whole Mob Figaz, me and Mondre grew up on them, they’re the best. Sleepy D can rap, it’s exciting to hear him, always exciting to hear Lil B. My man Deezy D goes in. I just like people who can rap. I don’t like too many Bay rappers, niggas is boring, but if you can rap AND entertain me I’ll be a fan. Messy Marv is one my favorites, the early Mac Dre, E Da Ref, Macblast, my Green Ova niggas. I could live off Too $hort, he got boring to me in these recent years but $hort drop too much game in his lyrics. You’d be a fool not to listen.
I noticed you rocked that Fallen Soldiers Remix Instrumental. Are you a Cormega fan?
Yeah man, Cormega is one of the best who doesn’t get talked about. I’ve been listening to Nas all day the past three days. He’s got classics, released and unrealesed, for years. Prodigy is my favorite out of QB, Noreaga in there too, Mazaradi Fox more recent. I relate to them.
When did Main Attrakionz meet and start to make music?
Carter Middle School. We were in a four man group, but we were the only ones focused on rap. We started writing songs together. The first instrumental we used, recording straight to tape, was 50 Cent’s In Da Club that was the hit at the time.”
It is easy to interpret some of this year’s newcomers as an arrival of Punk to Rap. Energy has become more important than technical sophistication. Three chords, three punchlines, a laptop with cracked music programs and file-shared sampling material. Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr replace record companies. Like the Punk movement after Mail Art and fanzine culture, a return to a musical essence comes after the emergence of a new DIY Network.
“My cousin Floyd Waybetter came to Oakland to buy Reason and he put it on my laptop. This was two years ago, taught myself how to use it and the rest is history. Main Attrakionz needed beats.
What equipment do you use?
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