Edge
Interview by Black Dog Bone
You’re from Washington state, the Seattle area?
Central Washington—Wenatchee, Washington. It’s right in between Spokane and Seattle, 2 hours away from each.
We haven’t heard from that area yet. What’s going on in Wenatchee?
It’s a lot of outdoors stuff really, but since the city here is growing,
and it’s growing very fast, Hip Hop has become stronger. In the last 5 years we’ve had a lot of new artists popping up out of the woodwork. They’re popping up out of everywhere. It’s cool that we’re starting to build a strong scene here. We work together and we try to take it out of our city, out of state. I’ve done Montana and Idaho, Oregon and Washington, the whole Northwest.
Is the sound coming out of there different from other places? There might be other elements coming into your music. What music do you listen to?
I listen to a lot of Darkroom Familia out of Northern California. I’m very influenced by Twiztid and Insane Clown Posse of Psychopathic Records. I’m also very interested in Tech N9ne and Strange Music. I like Three 6 Mafia. And Northwest underground Hip Hop is really strong, I’m really influenced by that.
What are some of the Northwest underground artists that you really like?
I like Lil Danger, Mr. Snipe. A lot of Wenatchee artists like Egos Locz and Gutta Boy—they’re on my label, Luni Bin Records. Egos Locz is from Merced, California, but he moved up to Wenatchee a few years ago. I like his stuff, it’s got the Northern California sound and I like that. Gutta Boy, he’s originally from St. Louis. He moved to Chicago and then he came here to Wenatchee, Washington. I like his sound, very heavy.
There’s a pretty good scene happening there? You have places where you can perform?
Yeah. We have shows normally at a place called The Hurricane Lounge. It gets pretty packed. For a little club you pack like 225 people in there and they’re all there to see local artists. It’s really good. We all try to help each other out. There’s little conflicts here and there, but we’re trying to get over that, trying to think above that. We have certain Seattle artists looking into coming over here because they’ve heard a lot about how we’re doing things over here.
Do different types of music enter into the same music scene there?
It’s actually very diverse. We have like Chicano Rap, then we have a darker, like Horrorcore kind of Rap. Then we have R&B mixed with Rap. That’s what makes it more fun for the people, to come and see different sounds.
In the club where you perform is it only Hip Hop or do they do other types of music?
They haven’t done other music shows there yet, but they’re looking into doing that. The Rap crowd that we have would easily be listening to Rap one second and then Rock the next. It’s that kind of crowd that’s very open to different sounds.
Are there other clubs or just the Hurricane Lounge?
There’s other places but we like that place the most. We like the set up, and the promoting there is stronger.
How long have you been doing music?
I’ve been writing since I was a little kid. And I’ve been playing the guitar for 12 years now. I’ve always been into Rock too. I always listened to Rap too, but I never intended doing it until 2 years ago. That’s when I started making my own beats and writing my own stuff. Within those two years I’ve been pursuing it and doing whatever I can to make my name known. We jumped on our first tour in June, and we’ve gone to Montana, Oregon, Idaho and Washington. We keep going back too.
What style of guitar do you play? Like acoustic or electric?
It’s kinda like Indie Rock.
Does that element come into your Rap music too?
Yeah, it’s kind of Indie influenced and dark. Even if I don’t try to make it dark it comes out dark. It’s just that way.
When I heard your music that’s what I thought. You bring in something that’s different from what other Rap artists do. People like you who do something different in the end are the ones who make it big, like Tech N9ne, Tyler the Creator. What are some of the Indie artists that you like?
I like Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel, and The Shins as well. My band actually influences me too, cause I play in a band and I rap too. The other musicians, the way they play it, influences the way I do my other shit. My band is called Babylon Is Fallen.
That’s the name of your band? That’s pretty cool, cause Babylon is the root of this whole civilization that’s dominating the world now.
Yeah, and it’s falling. Exactly.
You’re heritage as a Mexican person probably also influences your music. In your videos and lyrics I see a lot of different elements come into what you do, like the forest and the trees. It’s very dark and mystical.
For sure. I’m also influenced by the heritage of Mexico. I’m Mexican and that’s important to me.
All of these things make you different and will make your music unique. Do you write Rap songs using the guitar too?
I get the bass lines for the bass parts in my beats that way. Sometimes I’m playing with the guitar and I like the sound on that, so I put it into the keyboard. I only have one song out of both of my albums that actually has guitar in it.
What are your albums called?
The first one is called “The Edge”. That one’s available at Hastings, iTunes, Shop Town. And I just barely released on called “Savedge” ep.
I like that video you have in the forest called “Communications In My Mind”. Is that the direction you’re taking the music? It’s very grimy and mysterious.
Yes. See, I was raised a Christian. The way I see it is, God and Satan are always in a battle to see who gets a person. I believe in demons and stuff, and I have experienced and seen things that would scare the average person, like spirits and stuff. I don’t want to be scared of it. I want to be able to embrace the dark. Those are my dark feelings coming out and being spilled into the music.
In your music, more than a Christian influence I see a pre-Colombian Mexican influence. In Mexico, deeper than the Christian roots there is Shamanism. That’s probably in you too.
I’m not saying I worship the devil or anything. But I’m getting my dark demons out of me in the music, like mentally. It’s not about the money, like I said in “Communications In My Mind”.
What about your beats? Where are you heading with that side of the music? Are you going into a darker sound, like heavy bass and deep tones?
I’m not going into the dark side or anything like that. I’m going to experiment with a little bit of everything. I’ll try to make like a dance song, but not like the radio type of dance song. It’s not gonna be an average dance song. I’d make it my way and try to be original about it. My new stuff is probably a little more upbeat, but with heavier bass. I’ve had a setback because I got my studio stolen from my house. I haven’t been able to do anything for a month. I’ll be getting back with new equipment soon.
When you write a song, do the lyrics come first or the beat?
I make the beat first and that sets the whole mood for the song. All my beats are original, I make them.
So Edge is 100% you. Are your Edge fans also fans of your band, Babylon is Fallen?
A lot of them have heard it, and they didn’t know it was me playing guitar or singing when they heard my band. When I tell people they can’t believe it’s me, they’re so used to hearing me rap. But they seem to also like the Rock stuff that I play.
Around Wenatchee there must me a lot of nice mountains and forest?
It’s beautiful here. I love it! Where I live the Columbia River is right in between my city, it comes right down the middle. We have Wenatchee and then we have East Wenatchee. It’s a big big river. We have mountains on the west side of the river. Then when you cross to the east side of the river, from then on it’s Eastern Washington and it becomes plains. You have a lot of agricultural fields. But on the west it’s very mountainous with evergreen pine trees. Both sides are very different.
I’m sure that effects your music too. Are there a lot of Mexican people in Wenatchee?
I was normally around a lot of Caucasian people. There are a lot of Mexican people here to, but since I went to school with a lot of Caucasians I hung out with them and felt like I was more like them. But when I’m with Mexican people I also feel very Mexican. Like my dad is very Mexican, he’s from Michoacan. My mom’s from Durango. They both came up here when they were very young, so I wasn’t raised in Mexico. I was born and raised in Washington.
I think it’s good if you bring the Mexican side of you into your music. With all the other influences you have, if you also include your Mexican roots, that will make your music stand out even more.
That’s true. You don’t see a whole lot of Chicano or Mexican rappers talking about things the way that I do. That’s why I see myself as different, because I don’t fit into either or. I’m doing my own thing.
A lot of Mexican rappers, because they’re a minority they’re influenced by Black rappers and they try to be that. They act and talk and dress like a Black rapper, but really that’s not their thing. Everybody needs to be themselves and do their own thing. When you do that your music becomes way stronger.
I know what you mean. I wouldn’t call what I do Chicano Rap. It’s just my style. I just want to be original, and I want people to listen and enjoy the music. I wanna be able to reach all kinds of people. I’m not aiming it toward a certain crowd, it’s for everybody.
What inspires you to write your lyrics?
It depends on my mood. If I’m really mad and I feel like I need to ventilate then I go and write. If I’m really happy, I write. If I’m feeling sad, I write.
Do you like some of the off the wall new Rap that’s come out lately like Odd Future and Tyler the Creator, or Lil B?
I have a lot of respect for them, but that’s not what I listen to. It’s good for other people, and that’s fine. I’m just gonna do what I do.
Are there other new Rap artists that you think are exciting?
Not too much. I still play a lot of Three 6 Mafia actually.
The first magazine Three 6 Mafia were in was Murder Dog. Same with Tech N9ne. Maybe I’ll be talking to you in a few years and you’ll be in big like Three 6 Mafia or Tech N9ne. You’re really serious about this music?
Yes, very. And I’m very motivated. There’s not a day that I don’t do something toward what I’m aiming for. Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing enough, but people always tell me I’m doing enough and that motivates me to do more.
What do you like about Three 6 Mafia or Tech N9ne?
Tech N9ne, I’ve never met him but from what I see he seems like a very humble dude. And I love that about him. A lot of rappers these days have this ego about them, and it makes me want to ignore them. I don’t even want to listen to their music because of their attitude. But musicwise I love Tech’s lyrics and the way that he puts his songs together. I also like Twista a lot, that fast rapping. Three 6 Mafia, I like their beats a lot because it’s really heavy and dark. I like that dark stuff. And it’s repetitious but not too much. It’s comfortably repetitious. I don’t know how to explain it.
If you look at the roots of tribal music or like Mexican music, there’s that repetitious groove in the music. That’s in you too. Do you feel that?
Yes, I do. My dad used to play Rock in Spanish and other types of Mexican music. That has influenced my style, with the guitar and in my rapping.
What kind of response do you get for your music? Do you have a good following in Wenatchee?
Yeah, definitely. Every time that we hit the stage to perform I try to do something different. I enjoy watching other artists perform, but sometimes I’m frustrated because all they do is wave their hands back and forth or do something boring. So I decided I’m not going to do that. I perform with Gutta Boy, he’s on stage with me. We do synchronized movements sometimes and we try to keep the crowd involved. When we’re up on stage all eyes are fixed on us because we get the people’s attention right off the bat. We move around a lot. And we dress in all black.
Do you have a deejay when you perform?
We will be starting to on February 24. We have a show here in our town where we’ll be headlining and we’ll be having a deejay. We might keep having a deejay after that. We’ll see how that goes.
