Bay Area artist EQ was at a point in his life when the road began to split- should he take a 9-5 and live a life of rhythmic comfort, or should he risk it all and pursue a musical journey into the unknown? His decision to take up the latter happened to coincide with him meeting some important people willing to make it happen, and wallah (!), here we are talking about his new mixtape a little while later.
The young artist uniquely holds The xx and John Mayer as two of his biggest influences, despite maintaining rhyming as his chosen form of artistic expression. In the end, his influences shine through- emotions run deep in both Mayer and The xx, and it equally holds a presence in EQ’s art as well. Pain, joy, good moments, bad moments, everything is an influence, and yet it is all about the connections he holds internally to these experiences that highlight his true craft.
EARMILK had the wonderful opportunity to catch up with the young man, where we discussed life of an up-and-comer, anime, and much more.
EARMILK: The music industry is rapidly changing, and previously before, there hasn’t been too many “Asian” artists that have gotten mainstream success. We both happen to fit under this category of being “Asian.” With the internet controlling what is popular more, do you think that there will be an emergence of a new group of artists or do you feel that you might be at a disadvantage?
EQ: That’s something that I definitely think about a lot. I do sometimes think it might be a challenge to be Asian, but I personally don’t see it that way. I see it as… 1000% more of advantage because when I really look at it, for example, rappers… Are there Asian rappers that have a certain level of buzz on the internet that aren’t making it simply because they are Asian? And to me the answer is always no. I definitely believe that being an Asian is actually an advantage right now kind of like the mentality behind Steve Stoute’s Tanning of America… and the whole Jeremy Lin thing. There’s room for that right now, but it just has to be someone that’s kinda… good enough.
EM: Do you think that this is a relatively new thing or more of a case in which it’s just never worked out for one reason or another?
EQ: Definitely relatively new. But I guess I can only speak on behalf of someone who’s lived in like, California. That’s going to be a completely different thing than someone who lives in Minnesota. But I would say that the Asians depicted in the media have changed from since I was in high school. We were depicted as nerds, you know, just typical Asian stereotypes, but nowadays it’s a lot more common to see Asians not depicted as that, and more just like regular people. I think eventually marketers have to reach a certain market, and make money off a certain demographic, and part of that means appealing to our group. They have to get these people to associate with their product so… that’s my belief anyways.
EM: So lets shift over to what the Bay Area is like musically these days. The last really big impact from the Bay was the Hyphy scene, which was about the time I left Northern California. What is it like now?
EQ: I would say the big person that contributes to the Bay Area sound currently is Iamsu!. But to me the music is kind of still has that hyphy feel to it. I think it’s become more lyrical though… I like Iamsu! a lot. I try not to tippytoe around whether I think someone is good or not, and I honestly think he’s a good rapper… I don’t know if the Bay really has a defined sound right now. I’m not someone that can really tell too much about local sounds too well. I like to think of music as more universal and try to mesh the different sounds together. I guess I haven’t studied up on it well enough to know what the Bay Area sound is like.
EM: Do you have any local acts then that you’re following at all?
EQ: No… I’m not going to lie… I guess when I started rapping I was inspired by rappers, but nowadays it might just be an ego thing. To me rap is my medium, but my biggest musical influences aren’t rap-based at all. I think of it more as song-writing, which is where I started.
EM: Yeah, I heard you liked John Mayer right?
EQ: Yeah, he’s definitely the biggest songwriting influence for me because instead of just delivering a conscious story, it’s more of an analysis of the subconscious, but also deliver it in a succinct manner. He has coherence in every song. I also love The xx… I love hip hop. I am influenced a lot by it, but it’s less of a conscious thing, and I’m sure on a subconscious level it’s a huge influence. I have a great passion for music, but it’s not my ultimate goal to “make it” to feel fulfilled in my life, at least musically. I think it’s more like I’ve been doing this and trying this out, and now the chances of it coming together seem possible and so the ultimate thing for me now is to help the people around me and be positive for those in my life. If I can do something and being able to provide for the people I love then why not?
EM: So ultimately… do you think college helped you figure out your dreams?
EQ: Yeah. When I first started rapping, it was a lot of emulating others. Just kind of saying any shit that rhymes and saying punch lines and whatnot… like, I know you’re not really with your boys in Italy. And that’s really how I started. I wouldn’t say the school part really, but the social part… you really grow up there. Heartbreak, friendships and whatnot. The outlook on life really changes in college. I had a serious relationship back then and things kind of fell through, and during the darker times I learned a lot about myself and I had a new reflection on life. From then I could look back on those times and find a lot of honesty in myself. Without those moments I wouldn’t be able to be as detailed in my storytelling.
EM: Not the school part though?
EQ: Haha no. I literally went to like three classes for each semester just to take the midterm and final. I would just pass with a C and I didn’t really care. I’m kind of into conspiracy theories, but I feel like I understand the system and how it is set up in a certain way, but as long as you understand it, it feels like in a way we can beat it. [laughs]
EM: So another education based question. Track 11 features the Illiad in the title, are you interested in Greek epics? Is literature an influence in your life?
EQ: More like I enjoy good stories, whether that means an epic or anything else. When I first read or watch things, I think about what inspired [the creators] to make what they did. Then I think about how it affect my emotions, like… I can’t write without feeling these things. I can’t go into a studio and just crank things out every day. Like, the other day I watched Silver Linings Playbook, and I watched it twice and cried… and then I went and wrote a song. So I guess literature, and movies, and books, all kind of get to me and affect my music.
EM: Was there anything specific about the Illiad in this case that drove you to put it into the title of the song?
EQ: It was kind of a decision by the co-producer of the song. It was more of a ‘yeah, lets go for it.’ When we made that decision, it was at a point where the album was sounding good and something I’m completely satisfied with, and it was more like, we’re going to stop working on it and say that it’s done. We stopped at the way it is now. There are some things that are really intended like the Japanese skits and some things are not always that stressed.
EM: That perfectly segues into the anime. How big of an influence is One Piece to your life and music?
EQ: It’s a very good show. [laughs]. I relate to the main character a lot. He’s kind of a really goofy dude, but someone who would die for his crew. In real life we don’t fight for each other, but he’s willing to take a hit for his friends. He doesn’t care about what the world thinks about him, and he’s comfortable with his friends. The world tells him his dreams aren’t worth anything, but he doesn’t care. A lot of my fashion inspirations come from anime cartoons too, especially this one. It’s definitely one of the… yeah. I was watching this heavily during the whole making of this album too, so I would say it influenced this album especially.
EM: Do you produce your own tracks as well?
EQ: Half and half. I have two producers, the Problematics, and sometimes we’ll start out with an idea, and other times they will send me stuff over. The process is always different. To be honest, for like 9 months, we had two songs done for the album… and then in the last two months it hit me and we were just on a roll.
EM: So last question, what are you listening to on your ipod?
EQ: Well, I’ve been really into The xx lately again… and I really like A-trak remixes and Breakbot as well.
