{"id":334563,"date":"2015-08-31T14:49:04","date_gmt":"2015-08-31T18:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/frederickplaylist.com\/?p=334563"},"modified":"2015-08-31T14:49:04","modified_gmt":"2015-08-31T18:49:04","slug":"a-qa-with-retroricole-barnes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/2015\/08\/31\/a-qa-with-retroricole-barnes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Q&A With Retro\/Ricole Barnes"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE: The following Q&A was conducted by Roy Ghim. He’s been instrumental in getting together the movie portion of Saturday night’s Block Party at the 200 East Art Haus. It should also be noted that he filmed the above video. If we could link to something of his right now, we would, but unfortunately, we have no idea what he would want us to link to. Either way, thanks Roy!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Retro\/Ricole Barnes<\/a> will perform this Saturday as part of our Block Party at the 200 East Art Haus. We recently caught up with him via text messages (yes, that’s true) to talk about his latest LP, “Mr. Sunrise,”<\/a> some of the rapper’s influences, and the current state of Frederick hip-hop. To lean more about Saturday’s event, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

First off, big things are going on right now with you. You recently dropped a new LP,\u00a0“Mr Sunrise.” Honestly, it\u2019s a jaw-dropping album. It\u2019s been on constant repeat at my house (and that\u2019s a difficult feat to accomplish). You\u2019ve been called up to perform at the Block Party at the 200 East Art Haus on Saturday.\u00a0What strikes me about the album \u2013 not only does it flow, words\/music, all that \u2026 it comes down to the music. It is SO dense, in a real good way. What\u2019s your process with conceptualizing and laying that all down on record?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and in turn, listen again. It\u2019s really fulfilling when I exceed expectations. I treated the production alone of “Mr. Sunrise” (all beats used from Chicago MC\/Producer Chuck Inglish\u2019s Instrumental mixtapes “WRKG” and\u00a0“WRKOUT”) as if they were assignments. I listened to each for the entire summer of 2013 before even writing a lyric. I wrote lyrics to them for the first time that winter, and then finally recorded in the spring of 2014. Not until I was satisfied with the mixing (thanks Sacrifice!) did I want to release it – which was an entire year later. So as you see, my process was rather lengthy (laughs). I envisioned the LP having a certain sonic, visual and social effect. When all those things finally came together, it was time to release it to the public.<\/p>\n

You and I talked a month ago about the timing of releasing the record. You said at the time, this felt like a “summer record\u2019 and it was important contextually to drop music on people with the right climate. By the way, you just might be the first “climate aware” hip hop artist in history.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wow, you might be right on the “climate awareness”\u00a0tag (laughs)!\u00a0<\/span>I felt “Mr. Sunrise” couldn\u2019t be experienced properly in pea coats and corduroys. Hell, the cover art is yellow. Certain colors and sonics just sound better in certain climates. I believed the sound and presentation wouldn\u2019t heighten the listener\u2019s senses in the dead of February. I released it on my birthday, May 8\u00a0\u2013 the music sounded like an 80 degree afternoon into the evening. It was only right for me that warm weather be correlated with the songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Barnes, you got the whole world ahead of you,\u201d is a lyric on the record – words spoken in transition to the second<\/span>\u00a0track, \u201cMaryland \u201902.\u201d Is that an older, wiser you going back in a time machine speaking to a younger version of Ricole?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m speaking to the younger me and the listener at the same time. \u201cHad I knew then what I know now.\u201d\u00a0I\u2019m just speaking on how it\u2019s never too late to start living and winning at life, no matter what mistakes were make in the past.<\/p>\n

Words of wisdom. So the third\u00a0track, \u201cOut Here Causing Trouble,\u201d with Passport on board with you, there\u2019s trouble allegedly being roused. What grabs me is this descending melody in the middle of it. It makes it so outstanding. When you say it took you a long time beginning in 2013 to process and do this album, I can believe it. It leads me to segue back to our conversation a month ago where you were namedropping Thundercat and Flying Lotus \u2013 that\u2019s some heavy duty musical forces right there. I have to believe listening to some of that wild creativity subconsciously made its way onto the creation of this album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOut Here Causing Trouble\u201d is exactly what it felt like: Two children misbehaving on a rap record. Passport\u2019s flow on this one is flawless to me. At the current moment, L.A.-based producers\/musicians like Thundercat, Fly Lo, Terrace Martin, Tyler the Creator, Dr. Dre, etc. have been creating the most invigorating hip-hop music of the last couple of years. They all inspired me somehow during the making. I harmonize a lot on the album. I was listening heavy to the Beatles at the time, believe it or not. I always loved their harmonies on songs like \u201cGirl\u201d and \u201cBecause,\u201d and for years wanted to incorporate more harmony into my brand of hip hop because of that music.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah, I detected some hints of Marvin Gaye on your first track, \u201cUp,\u201d with the whispers of \u201cget up, get up\u201d in the backdrop.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indeed! Any musical reference to the ’60s, ’70s music era was an ode to my late grandfather who passed away last year. He loved that music.<\/p>\n

I have to then go back into that time machine to 2010 when you recorded “Passion Park.” That first track, \u201cAnother Eagle (Knowledge remix)” reminds me of some interesting things Mos Def and Talib Kweli were doing with their restart of Blackstar \u2013 juxtaposition of the musically rich past with the future present, but the listener comes away with something that resonates on different levels. Describe your thoughts on that version of Ricole. And is there some kind of creative tension when you pit Retro with Ricole? Or maybe I\u2019m wrong, maybe they play well with each other?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019m glad you asked that question. The “Passion Park”-era version of me was all about bringing a golden era style delivery to modern day ears. I\u2019ll take a Mos and Kweli comparison any day, by the way!\u00a0I have two\u00a0names for a reason. There definitely is tension between the two\u00a0worlds. With “Mr. Sunrise,” I finally merged them together, which took years to do.<\/p>\n

Talk about your last track \u201cDown,\u201d you got collaborators with you – Cubs the Poet with a spoken word piece that brilliantly snaps the puzzle together, followed by Sacrifice and Jade Hurdato kicking things to another gear to conclude things.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, \u201cDown\u201d was the perfect album closer to me. I wanted to shine some light on two of my brightest friends and collaborators in Cubs and Sacrifice. I wanted to start the track offering enlightenment but couldn\u2019t think of two better artists. The crazy thing is that Jade Hurdato\u2019s vocals were already included in the instrumental, which was pretty dope! The song assures friends that we won\u2019t look down on you if you try.<\/p>\n

Talk about the state of hip-hop in Frederick, circa 2015. Honestly, as someone relatively new here, quality hip-hop is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Frederick. But this album (and coming across J Berd\u2019s material) has forced me to take notice and wonder what I\u2019ve been missing in terms of the music scene here, particularly hip-hop in this city.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The state of hip-hop in the city is pretty interesting. I can honestly say it\u2019s a reflection of the bigger state of just hip-hop in general. I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to build relationships with local hip-hop artists throughout the city over the years. I\u2019d like to think I played a part in opening doors for the \u201cpowers that be\u201d to be more accepting of a genre and culture they may know little about. PassPort and I originated from a group named Center of Attention [later changing our name to Razor Eaterz]. We were lucky to come of age in the MySpace era. By way of social media, I\u2019d like to say we helped to create an awareness locally. Even before that, J-Berd and his team were making moves. I agree when you think of Frederick – hip-hop never even crosses the mind upon first impression. However, my mission from day one was to change that perception. I\u2019ve been fortunate to headline major festivals in the city and share stages with other local artists in different genres.<\/p>\n

You must be looking forward to September 5 with the Block Party at 200 East Art Haus and before that, a film screening of “Ex Machina.”\u00a0There\u2019s some incredibly fun chaos afoot all day. You\u2019ve seen the place, right?\u00a0 <\/span>I never thought we\u2019d see a venue like this popping up like – it\u2019s like a bona fide club. For your set, what can we expect? Some interesting onstage collaborations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In regards to September 5, I\u2019m happy to just be a part of history in a sense. I\u2019m a product of the arts in Frederick, a kid that grew up in the city, had friends from all walks of life, dabbled in all forms of art, bundled it up into what you see and hear today. I know I can speak for my peers when I say that 200 East is a dream fulfilled! I would go to 9:30 club in D.C. and Sonar in Baltimore and just envy. \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t such a celebrated arts city like ours not have a place for musicians and visual artists to call our own?\u201d I thought this for years. I visited 200 East for the first time last month and was moved, like really. I\u00a0have a mean show planned for the Block Party. Live shows mean a great deal to me – you\u2019ll see! I don\u2019t want to reveal too much now (laughs).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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