SAY WHAT?: Inverse - So Far Interview

Los Angeles hip hop has definately been missing that soul that we used to have in the early days, it almost seems as if every emcee or group from the West Coast is either a NY knockoff or on that SMACK DVD battling type shit. So these cats are like the twinkle of light in the dark......pause.....no pun intended and no homo. Say hello to Inverse

this interview was taken from Descry's Blogspot.......

Descry: Do you guys have certain themes carried out in your songs? Have you developed the Inverse sound since that early beginning?

Tunji: Umm...I think, first and foremost, we're both songwriters and really focused on lyrics...so you're always gonna get some well written and thought out words from us...But overall, we just try to make really honest music with a soulful vibe. The songs are usually pretty personal too, but we try to keep the hooks real catchy and memorable as well.

Toby: I would say that I don't think we particularly try to carry any specific themes in our sound....there's some combination of the music mixed with our life experience that leads us in one direction or another....so that can carry us in a lot of different directions...as long as we're being honest and it's done well...then I think we're doing what needs to be done.

Tunji: Our songs are about life...and we try to make soulful, honest hip hop.

Descry: Honest hip-hop...hmm. What artists inspires the "Inverse sound" as a group?

Tunji: Waaaaaay too many to name....I mean, all the people you would expect...OutKast, Jay-Z, Nas, Common, etc. But also, all the really dope artists around us who we are friends with and learning from like Brother Ali, CunninLynguists, OneBeLo and whatnot. I'm also inspired by great songwriters like the Beatles, Bob Marley...all the Motown era soul groups, Sly Stone, Stevie, I could go on forever. Music is like oxygen to me, I'm listening 24/7.

Toby: I loved Michael Jackson! My dad listened to country and blues while my mom listened to more classic rock, Beatles, etc. I listened to radio rap growing up, until i was about 12--some kid from my school (he was 17 so i looked up to him) made a copy for me of Resurrection by Common and Illmatic by Nas...and man that shit blew my mind. I was always a fan of words and writing stories and poems and shit like that...but it wasn't until I heard that stuff then it all came together. Those two albums opened the door to a LOT of dope stuff...94 was a great year for discovering hip hop....Nas, Common, Outkast, Wu-Tang, Dr. Dre, Goodie Mob, etc. All kinds of stuff came out that year and I was obsessed. You know, I actually started trying to write like Common.

Descry: Haha, I bet those early tapes are dope. Your inspirations have taken you both a long way. Now, you're a part of the new reformed LA Hip-Hop scene--how do you feel about all the new talent emerging out of LA?

Tunji: It's amazing, man. I feel lucky, because there is so much talent here...I feel like we're in the middle of something huge. The world is gonna see in the next few years, and it's already starting to happen. I feel like a lot of the people around us are really going to be a part of hip hop's future. You've got artists like Blu, Exile, Aloe Blacc, Pacific Division, TiRon, U-N-I, J Davey, Noah King...all young, hungry and creative. All making honest music, and unafraid to have fun with it. Also, there are lots of transplants from Detroit [Ta'raach...House Shoes...etc.] who are really putting some life into the local scene as well. Then you've got the new generation of Project Blowed cats who are ridiculous [Nocando...Dumbfoundead...etc.]. LA is too dope right now.

Click to read the rest of the interview.

Inverse's album, 'So Far' drops on 1/1/08.