| GAME REBELLION from New York |
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| Written by Jai Boo |
| Tuesday, 26 January 2010 21:36 |
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Hey Yohimbe, first of all can you tell us the names of the other artists in the group and what each member brings to the group Game Rebellion? As you already know the group is called Game Rebellion, the vocalists name is Netic, we have Emi who does the keys and vocals and then we got Ahmed and he plays the bass and then you have me; Yohimbe I do guitar and some vocals. Is there a meaning behind the name Game Rebellion? Yeah when we first started the band it was called Game and it stood for Green Army Men Everywhere. It kind of dealt with the fact that everywhere we looked there was some kind of representation of war, like a reminder you know? Also we noticed that all the goods things that were happening to us was because somebody were putting us on or someone took the time out to communicate or educate us about something and also running things on our own. It was all about Game and arming yourself with as much information as possible. Then we added the Rebellion bit when the band started expanding with members. We kind of felt like we’re here to rebel against a lot of the things that are set as proper practice or seen as the way things are. We’re here to rebel against it and that’s where the Rebellion came from. You say your music is about rebellion what subject matters or concepts do you touch on? Our music is about a variety of concepts the route of everything we talk about is trying to express the different things that are going on and make up the life we’re living it definitely talks about what’s going on and things that make up the daily life and struggle of our people. Netic who is the vocalist does a lot of lyric writing and things of that nature. What we do is bring things that aren’t always spoken about into the forefront yet at the same time people like the music enough to listen to. So the music gets the people listening then we’re able to speak about things that you may not hear things spoken about in popular music. I would say our music is like the honey in the medicine it kind of makes the music sound sweet, pleasant or more palatable. How did you guys all meet and get in the game? Everybody in the group was working in New York doing something. For example Emi did a lot of production and work with the Rza, he’s also worked with Jadakiss. The other guys in the band have done session work and had played around the city. We all just started linking up. Netic and I already had the group established and how we met Emi was we were doing a show opening up for Talib Kweli. Me and Netic were there supporting another group and all of a sudden the promoter said that our part of the show was going to be cancelled. We said no! And just went out there and started playing anyway. Emi came up there on the piano and they tried to shut the show down but we wouldn’t get off the stage! The security were supportive they said, ‘If you want them off the stage you have to do it yourself!’ They never took us off the stage! That’s how we got Emi (laughs). Your sound is an eclectic mix of Hip Hop, Metal, Punk, and Ska how did you guys manage to fuse all these different genres together? I’d say that if there’s anything that the world has given us is the different ways to express ourselves and the music we play is just a by product of the many different ways of expression. That’s one of the things that we’re rebelling against, that the media etc has a tendency to want to present one kind of black person and one kind of black music art form. The music that we play is all forms of music that came from people of colour in Africa. We kind of keep that tradition going and when people try to categorise or chop up the different art forms that are in our music that’s like cutting off the pieces of the dragon you know? But it’s still the dragon, that’s how we look at it. It’s not as much of a stretch to us because growing up we all learned to love Hip Hop, if you grow up in New York you’re going to love Reggae or if the people are round you are into that. When you start to come into your own you learn to love Jazz and things like that especially if you’re a Hip Hop head. Rock and Roll is always a part of our expression and in a way that is much our music as Hip Hop is so we don’t really look at it as something that’s separate or distinguished it’s all about expression. I think what’s great about making music is this time is that everything is opening up and people are a little more freed up in what they’re into. I think that that’s a wonderful thing. You’ve released your new single ‘Blind’ can you tell us about the single? That track is crazy! We shot the video in Brooklyn we had a nice turn out a lot of people we know were there, we had a lot of fun. We worked on the video with BB Gun they did video’s with Fabolous, Busta Rhymes, Kid Cudi they’re doing Chris Brown’s new campaign. The song ‘Blind’ is a very high energy song and that’s why we put it out first, we just kind of wanted to come out the gate really aggressive and let the people know what it’s all about. The song talks about how we all get preoccupied with trying to live and we lose focus of what’s really going on, who’s manipulating things and who are we working for. What have you released prior to this release? We released a self titled EP that we recorded in Netic’s college dorm room, that’s what started the band. After that we put out a mixtape which was called ‘Searching for Rick Rubin’ that we did with J Period. He’s doing some real big things right now he’s one of the DJ’s on DJ Hero. We’ve actually been out to London in the UK. Oh have you? Yeah we played at 10 Rooms, Jazz Café, Café de Paris. Oh wow! Any plans to come back to the UK to promote your new EP? Yeah I think we should work together to make that happen. ‘Sounds Like A Riot’ is the name of your EP which was released January 16th. Can you tell us more about the EP? The EP has seven tracks on it we worked hard on it and I think people are going to love it. What is your favourite track on the EP and why? I think my favourite track is a tie between ‘Blind’ and ‘Rebel. I like the energy and the lyrics I like the way that we were able to speak about certain things yet at the same time it could be on the radio, and people can really listen to it. At the same time it’s heavy and that’s why I like those two. Are you signed at the moment or are you on an independent grind? At the moment we are on our own label which is run by us called Molotov Music, that’s our in-house situation and that’s what we’re doing. In terms of labels, we definitely want to reach the larger audiences while still maintaining the greatest business moto and approach possible. So, it’s whatever makes the most sense. Can you tell us what a Game Rebellion show is like? Oh it’s crazy! It’s pretty much pandemonium but it depends, if it’s a crowd that’s seen us before and they hear the music they fall right into their relationship with us. A lot of times it goes beyond the band it’s kind of like the crowd has their own relationship with the songs and they interact more with each other. It’s like we’re the vessel. At the end of our show you see everyone just so exhausted, congratulating each other like they played! So do you have people stage diving and moshing and stuff like that? Oh yeah definitely all that! (laughs) What does the New Year hold for Game Rebellion? We just finished a tour we went through Atlanta, Alabama through Mississippi, New Orleans, Texas, Las Vegas, California, Sacremento, and Oakland. We definitely want to return to some of those places and go to some new places and also plan again to head out of the country. We’re supposed to be doing some things in India so you know we’re just getting ready. Hopefully we can come out to the UK and perform with you all at Rago Magazine! (Laughs) Did you have any New Year resolutions? Yeah it was to refine our focus, and develop a way where we can share all of our productivity and ideas with people in a very streamlined fashion. Yohimbe thanks for doing the interview is there anything that you would like to add before I go? The EP ‘Sounds like a Riot’ dropped on January 16th and the single ‘Blind’ is on iTunes check it out. Interview by Jai Boo |
| Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 12:32 |
