Brooklyn, New York is ripe with new hip-hop talent right now, and one of the latest groups to emerge from the borough is the quick-spitting, ganja-toking, enlightened duo ofĀ Flatbush natives known asĀ The Underachievers. Comprised of rappers Issa Dash and AK, they created a buzz last year by dropping a string of compelling rap videos, including the one that recently garnered over one million YouTube views, āHerb Shuttles,ā all of which impressed famed producer Flying Lotus enough to sign them to his Brainfeeder record label.
Earlier this month, The UA dropped their debut mixtape, Indigoism, a 17-track barrage showcasing their superlative, rapid-fire, tag-team rap skills, unique production ear, and interests in psychedelic drugs and spirituality. It set them apart from their local allies Pro Era and Flatbush Zombies, but also fell right in line with the powerful Beast Coast movement coming out of Brooklyn, rooted in lyricism, consciousness, and letās not forget, dope ass beats.
In an effort to give us more insight into their music and budding rap career, Dash and AK fell through the Complex offices last week to talk about their influences in and out of hip-hop, their preference for psychedelics, how they got on FlyLoās radar, opening up for Kendrick Lamar on New Yearās Eve, and their relationship with all the artists representing the new New York, from Joey Bada$$ to A$AP Rocky.
Plus, they broke down their debut mixtape, discussed how theyāre approaching their first official Brainfeeder project, and remembered their close friend Capital STEEZ.
Itās time to get elevated and find out Who Are The Underachievers?
As told to Daniel Isenberg (@StanIpcus)
RELATED: Mixtape: The Underachievers IndigoismĀ
RELATED: Brainfeeder Adds New York Duo The Underachievers To Its Roster
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Growing Up In Brooklyn & Meeting
Issa Dash: āWeāre both from Flatbush, a couple blocks away from each other. [Growing up there was] fun. A lot of weed smoking. Itās culturally rooted because a lot of the people from Flatbush came from the Caribbean, so everyone has some type of Caribbean descent. Thereās a lot of culture around.
ā[My family is from] Guyana. My fatherās half-Chinese so Iām part Chinese. My fatherās a nurse and my momās an occupational therapist. All my family really listens to [is reggae and soca and music from the Caribbean], but also a lot of old school R&B and soul music. My father liked a lot of Eric Clapton type of stuff, but not old Eric Clapton, new jazz Eric Clapton. [Not that] old rock shit.ā
My friend Jacob that I knew from my block, he just brought Dash to my house one day to smoke some pot, and we talked about psychedelics, and that was it. - AK
AK: ā[My family is originally from] Trinidad. My father is a corrections officer, and my mother is a nurse. My father used to play Sade and Brian McKnight and all that stuff. [One thing I definitely remember about growing up in Flatbush is the] fucking gangs.ā
āMy friend Jacob that I knew from my block, he just brought Dash to my house one day to smoke some pot, and we talked about psychedelics, and that was it.
Issa Dash: āIt was like 6 years ago. Because back thenāme and my friend Juice from Flatbush Zombiesāno one was into psychedelics at all, and especially from the inner city, so we were in a little secluded group. If we were to ever talk about it in public, people would be like, āWhat? Shrooms? Acid? What the fuck is wrong with you guys?ā But AK, who was just a normal guy, we were just talking about it in front of him and he was like, āWhat? This shit sounds interesting.ā And we were like, āHmm, well if youāre interested in that, you might be [on the same wavelength as us].ā
Influence of Psychedelic Drugs
Issa Dash: āItās my momās fault. I was always smart growing up, I guess, and my mom wanted me to be culturally diverse. And this is mad beautiful because this is how I am right now. She was like, āI donāt want you to go to predominantly black schools, I want you to go to integrated schools.ā So I went to the number one junior high school in New York state, Mark Twain I.S. 239. Then for high school, I went to The Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences, one of the best in the state. Itās in Manhattan Beach. My mom thought that that was going to be good, but [when I went] there I met kids who were into all types of drugs.
Itās my momās fault. I was always smart growing up, I guess, and my mom wanted me to be culturally diverse. And this is mad beautiful because this is how I am right now. - Issa Dash
āSince I was younger I knew I was going to do it, because I always recall this funny situation. When me and Juice were 10 or 11 years old, something like that, I remember him telling me about acid and how if you do acid youāll turn into an orange, and youāll think youāre an orange juice cup. Then, I remember being in class during the D.A.R.E. program, and the teacher telling me acid is like a tattoo and you put it on your arm and it seeps through and you start to see things. And everyone in my class was afraid. I remember this specifically, I was the only person in class like, āYo hold on, youāre telling me if I do this shit I can see some shit thatās not there? Whatās wrong with this?ā
If you come to our neighborhood, everyoneās on psychedelics. Kids that shoot guns and do goon shit, theyāre on psychedelics, happy, into spirituality. - Issa Dash
āI was interested when I was younger. But at 14, once it popped upāI was athletic also, I was into basketballābut once it popped up in front of me, someone was like, āYo, I got this shit, shrooms.ā I did it, and it was just amazing. I told Juice, because Juice was weird my whole life. Growing up, I thought Juice was just this weirdo all the time, because me and Juice grew up in the same building. After I did psychedelics I was like, āThis motherfuckerās not weird, heās just a psychedelic dude.ā So I went to Juice, āYouāre psychedelic, you should do psychedelics.ā
āHe started doing psychedelics, and then Meech came on afterwards, maybe two months later. Then we met AK, and AK came on, and we just put on hundreds of kids from Flatbush. So if you come to our neighborhood, everyoneās on psychedelics. Kids that shoot guns and do goon shit, theyāre on psychedelics, happy, into spirituality.
āKids arenāt krilled out on psychedelics everyday. But kids like that psychedelic escape like twice a year. Itās fun. Summertime. Once you get people over the hump of like, āYo, itās not going to be as crazy as you think it is,ā [they love it].ā
First Experiences with Hip-Hop
Issa Dash:Ā ā[Mine was] probably DMX like, āStop. Drop. Shut āem down...āā"Ruff Ryders Anthem." Thatās definitely the oldest hip-hop song I can remember, but I wasnāt really into it. It was just popping music at the time. The first time I really got into hip-hop I was probably 13 or 14 , when I started to enter the New YorkĀ streetwear type of scene.
Everyone was listening to ā90s rap, so I guess I felt obliged to listen it. I got into a little Hieroglyphics, a little Pharcyde, a little Souls of Mischief, and itās funny that they say thatās who we remind them of, because the only rap era I stepped into was that one. - Issa Dash
āEarly in the game, it wasnāt really about real trappy music. Everyone was listening to ā90s rap, so I guess I felt obliged to listen it. I got into a little Hieroglyphics, a little Pharcyde, a little Souls of Mischief, and itās funny that they say thatās who we remind them of, because the only rap era I stepped into was that one.
āI donāt know much about them. I just went and Googled ā90s rap and those were the artists that came up: The Pharcyde, Hieroglyphics, and Souls of Mischief. Limewire had just come out so I downloaded the projects at the time. It was sick.
āIn the streetwear scene, thatās where it would start out, wearing Jordans and doing that old school type of vibe. The same scene thatās going on right now that with A$AP, and us, and the Zombies, originally thatās [where that] whole scene evolved from. That New York [streetwear] scene, that was the time when all ā90s rap was in. I mean, I was into it because I was supposed to be into it if that makes sense.ā
I stopped listening to rap personally around the age of 14. After that, it was just no more rap. Iām not into rap, really [anymore]. Maybe friends and people on the come-up, like recent rap like ScHoolboy Q, A$AP Rocky, Ab-Soul, and Kendrick Lamar, but not really. I guess I probably left when rap was going downhill.ā - Issa Dash
AK: āYeah, it was around us. I listened to Nas. Outkast, too.ā
Issa Dash: āYeah, Outkast, definitely. [And Jay-Zās] Blueprint. I remember jamming to Blueprint mad hard. I remember being into the whole Nas and Jay-Z beef. But I stopped listening to rap personally around the age of 14. After that, it was just no more rap. Iām not into rap, really [anymore]. Maybe friends and people on the come-up, like recent rap like ScHoolboy Q, A$AP Rocky, Ab-Soul, and Kendrick Lamar, but not really. I guess I probably left when rap was going downhill.ā
AK: āYeah, like after 50 Cent it went downhill.ā
Issa Dash: āI love 50 Cent though, thatās hip-hop. After 50 Cent was definitely the end for me. The full, final end was 50 Cent.ā
AK: āI still fucked with hip-hop.ā
Musical Influences
Issa Dash:Ā āLupe Fiasco is probably my biggest influence in rap. I only admitted that to myself recently because everyone keeps asking, āWhatās your influences?ā And I always say I donāt have any rap influences but I think Lupe because I listened to all three of his projects full straight through and loved all of them. He was the best.
I feel like weāre the evolution out of the Lupe era in a sense. What he was trying to do, but with a different approach. I wouldnāt say he messed up. Itās hard, I guess. - Issa Dash
āI feel like weāre the evolution out of the Lupe era in a sense. What he was trying to do, but with a different approach. I wouldnāt say he messed up. Itās hard, I guess. Especially being one of the only ones doing what he was trying to do, and being such an early pioneer. He made mistakes but, I donāt know, heās a little aggressive with everything he does, thatās the thing. I donāt know if itās beneficial for him or if itās making people tired of hearing him, because whenever you see Lupe on TV itās never something positive.
ā[Kanye West] is awesome. I like every Kanye project that ever came out besides 808s & Heartbreak. And even now, listening to his current music, I feel like I need to go back and listen to 808s because it mightāve been just ahead of its time. Thatās the only one I didnāt like because I donāt know why he switched it up. At that time, that type of song was like, āWhat! Kanye! What happened to āWe Major,ā and...?ā You know what I mean? So it was hard to get into it, but you can hear his current music and still hear how 808sevolved into him right now.
For any rapper, anyone right now to say that Kanye isnāt an influence on them [is being dishonest]. I mean, consciously I donāt think [heās directly influencing us], but unconsciously I know he definitely is embedded somewhere in there, because those first couple of albums were just godly to me. - Issa Dash
āI always talk about when Kanye says, ā50 told me go āhead and switch the style up and if they hate then let them hate...ā I feel like, he switched the style and boom, we love it now. We canāt get enough of Kanye. For any rapper, anyone right now to say that Kanye isnāt an influence on them [is being dishonest]. I mean, consciously I donāt think [heās directly influencing us], but unconsciously I know he definitely is embedded somewhere in there, because those first couple of albums were just godly to me. Late Registration, and [that era], dancing in my house and shit. It was sick.ā
AK:āItās like how Nas is for [the generation before us. Kanye is] like that for us.ā
Issa Dash: āFor me, the reason I donāt listen to hip-hop is because itās too bland, I guess. I listen to hip-hop, but itās not the most prevalent thing I listen to. Fleet Foxes is my favorite band ever. Theyāre my favorite band of all time, period. And John Mayer is my favorite artist. Iām obsessedāwell, not obsessed with him, but his music. I know every song he ever created. His live stuff is better than his album stuff. The album stuff is obviously [great], but when he takes his album stuff to the live stage and he starts to improv and talk with his guitar, thatās when heās at his best. [I also like] Grizzly Bear, and those type of guys.ā
AK: āLocal Natives. My Morning Jacket.ā
Issa Dash: āWe love Local Natives ridiculously.ā
AK: āI was listening to Local Natives today, when I woke up, [like I do] every day.ā
Issa Dash: āYeasayerās fire [too], man. OD. Their live stuff is crazy, too. The way [the lead singer] acts and shit. Thatās the kind of stuff Iām into. Those type of bands. I like guitars and instruments and stuff like that. Band of Horses is one of my favorites, [too]. āCominā up only to...ā Coachellaās looking crazy. All the dudes that we mentioned just now are at Coachella.
āGrizzly Bear is on the same label as Flying Lotus. So I was talking to the owner of Warp, and he was like, āOh you like Grizzly Bear? Letās set something up.ā And I was like, āWhat? Donāt tell me that.ā If I actually get them to personally work on a track [that would be so dope]. Their song āYet Againā is OD. Itās trippy as fuck at the end. Itās kind of scary.
ā[I saw Fleet Foxes live], it was crazy. My friend, the Zombies manager, the day he played them for me, he was like āWhatever you do, youāve got to see them live.ā And I forgot. Then I went to see them live, and theyāre amazing live. People crying and shit. Like a crowd of people around me crying like, āWow, what did I just experience?āā
First Recordings
AK: āI started from when I was little, probably 10 or 11, writing rhymes and shit. I started recording when I was in high school around ninth grade, and Iāve been rapping since then. I was spitting over peopleās beats. Little freestyles here and there, but it was nothing serious. I tried to formulate a mixtape but I didnāt really have a direction where I wanted to go.
āI liked a couple recent freestyles that I did, like to this French Montana beat, itās called āNew Day.ā I like that type of stuff that I did. Itās nearer to where Iām at now.ā
I started rapping last year because what happened was the [Flatbush] Zombies were rapping together, and I noticed that it was so much harder for an artist solo to really do something. [AK] was my friend. I wasnāt rapping, but my other friends were rapping and it was all around. - Issa Dash
Issa Dash: ā[AK] was always nice at rapping. Like, Iām nice because [heās] nice, probably. I started rappingĀ last year because what happened was the [Flatbush] Zombies were rapping together, and I noticed that it was so much harder for an artist solo to really do something. [AK] was my friend. I wasnāt rapping, but my other friends were rapping and it was all around. And maybe a year before that, my friends had convinced me to do a song with [one of our boys], so I was in the rapperās field, but I never was rapping after that. But as a joke, me and my friend made a song and people were like, āYou should actually do this.ā So it was always prevalent in my brain. But I was in school trying to get a PhD.
āEventually I was like, āMaybe I can take a crack at this rapping stuff.ā So I was like [to AK], āYo dude, would you mind if I came aboard and featured on some songs, just to help get the ball rolling, as a teammate?ā And we met a producer, and the producer and all our friends were like, āYou guys need to rhyme together.ā But that one producer was just really motivational, like, āYou guys should really be doing this. You guys should really rap together, it really goes good together.ā We meshed together and weāre just one unit now.ā
The Group Name & Being a Duo
AK:Ā āIāve had my nickname since high school, but I was just by myself, the Underachiever. It was [really] me and the producer back then, but then he went off to college, so I was just the Underachiever. [Then Dash came in, and we became The Underachievers]. Itās just [basically] to make something positive out of a negative name.ā
I feel like the things that we do could be considered underachieving, like we smoke pot. People would probably meet us at first and be like, āTheyāre probably just potheads.ā And then theyāll talk to me, or talk to AK, and be like, āAlright, theyāre intelligent.ā Itās just a flip on that. - Issa Dash
Issa Dash: āI feel like the things that we do could be considered underachieving, like we smoke pot. People would probably meet us at first and be like, āTheyāre probably just potheads.ā And then theyāll talk to me, or talk to AK, and be like, āAlright, theyāre intelligent.ā So itās just a flip on that. Like, The Underachievers, even though technically weāre doing underachiever things, weāre bringing positive energy.
āI noticed this also later. Like āHold on, there hasnāt been a duo in a long time.ā Itās nice when you have someone to bounce back and forth with off of tracks.ā
AK: āItās easy.ā
Issa Dash:āI had an understanding for melodies and stuff like that. I knew I could write choruses, thatās one thing I knew I could bring to the playing field for the both of us. I knew that if you had someone else to bounce off of, you could hear one voice, you could hear another voice, and we have the same opinion on almost everything. Weāre like identical brothers almost. It just made sense to have another teammate on deck that can throw ideas back and forth like, āYo letās do this for the video, letās do this, letās try this song, oh you donāt like this beat?ā
Two years ago, if you asked what my favorite thing was on the planet, I would have told you, āMusic over pussy. Music over anything.ā [Iāve always been a] huge music fan. - Issa Dash
āHe didnāt really have anyone like that, and I noticed that my Zombie friends had that. They had a whole team around them besides just the Zombies. Like, 12 people around them that are giving them real constructive criticism. AK didnāt have that. Friends around him would be like, āYeah, thatās fire,ā and Iād tell him, āYo, that was wack.ā He needed someone real, like a real friend. So it worked. Itās funny how it worked out to be perfection but thatās really how it went.
āIn the beginning, I never really thought I was going to become a rapper. Only recently, now Iām like, āYeah Iāll be a rapper.ā At first it was like, āI might write some verses,ā because I read a lot, and I know mad words, so I was like, āI could do this shit.ā And I could write songs because I like music. So it fit. But it came later.
āTwo years ago, if you asked what my favorite thing was on the planet, I would have told you, āMusic over pussy. Music over anything.ā [Iāve always been a] huge music fan. I had these musical notes tattooed, it was the first tattoo I ever got, and I wasnāt even making music. Iād always look at it and be like, āYou donāt even make music.ā Iām a music fanatic. Iāll camp out to see one of my favorite bands if I have to. Itās not surprising why I came to music, but itās just like, āWow, I actually did come to music.āā
āWho are those dudes that made that āLuchini?ā Camp Lo. We get [compared to] those dudes a lot. OD. We get [compared to] them more than all the other groups, because theyāre actually a duo. And, theyāre a dark-skinned and light-skinned dude I believe, also. Itās funny, because I love that song, āLuchini.ā I never mind the comparisons, but I want to create a new type of everything.ā
Their Relationship with Flatbush Zombies
Issa Dash:Ā āI definitely say I take influence from mostly from AK, and Meech from the Zombies. Itās not like I consciously did this. I always like to take a step outside myself and look and assess like, āMaybe this is what happened,ā because these are people I like. People like him, Meech, Erick Arc Elliott from the Zombies, those are my three favorite lyricists. Those are the people that are around me that I probably learned different styles of rap from.
We're supposed to come out with a tape with Zombies. Even with that, I want to separate us from the Zombies. Thatās why, if you notice, the first two videos donāt have Zombies in it. - Issa Dash
āI knew Meech and Juice since I was 12 years old, little kids. Every day hanging out. It goes past the music, but they started rapping maybe five months [before us]. They started rapping recently, too. Juice started rapping first. He stopped smoking weed for like five months and he just decided he was going to start rapping, and that turned into the Flatbush Zombies because eventually he told Meech, āYo, dude, maybe you should try, too.ā And Meech was like, āAlright.ā Because Meech also had the biggest music archive. He would have every Gucci Mane mixtape. He could write for Complex because heās a music critic, so itās not surprising that he came to music .
āJuice started, put Meech on, and Erick was rapping andĀ made beats when we were younger also. So Erick was like, āHey, Iāll make you guys beats.ā Thatās how Flatbush Zombies got established, then we got established a little bit afterwards.
āWe're supposed to come out with a tape with Zombies. Even with that, I want to separate us from the Zombies. Thatās why, if you notice, the first two videos donāt have Zombies in it. Thereās no correlation to them, because I didnāt want us to just come out with the first song like, āOh yeah, weāre with the Zombies.āā
āSo Devilishā
Issa Dash:Ā āāSo Devilishā [was our first video]. That was May of last year, and itās funny because we stoppedānot actually stopped being in the groupābut I was over with the Zombies for a little bit, and while the Zombies were blowing up, I was learning so much stuff. Thatās how I know a lot about whatās going on in the gameājust always being around, learning about whatās going on. Thatās probably one of the instances where I was like, āI could do this shit.ā I was just watching, seeing how things went.
We stopped for three months, and literally, we started rapping again together a month before [our first video] came out, and thatās really when The Underachievers got established. - Issa Dash
āWe stopped for three months, and literally, we started rapping again together a month before [our first video] came out, and thatās really when The Underachievers got established, when we really were like, āWeāve got beats, weāve got a producer, letās really do this.ā April was probably when we first started, and then a month later we dropped our first video.
AK: āPeople loved it, so we were like, āFuck it, weāre just going to go hard now.ā
Issa Dash: āYeah, [it was like], āLetās just keep going,ā because I told him, I remember before it even came out, I wasnāt even confident that we could do it. I meticulously watched the game, and watched which specific details people liked about videos and things. Just watched what people liked about music, what was going on, and I was like, āAlright, this is the best thing we can come out with first. If they like this, then I will keep going as hard as I can after this.ā Because I couldnāt see after āSo Devilish.ā It was just like, āIām going to drop the video and see what happens.ā And it was so good it was like, āYeah letās fucking do this shit for real,ā and the next video came, and then Flying Lotus came after that.ā
Linking Up With Flying Lotus
Issa Dash: āWe were getting Twitter followers [after our first video dropped], and I got one Twitter follower, and I donāt even know why I looked into her thing, but the username was @1111Agency. Iām really big on the numbers 11-11 so I was like, āIāll just follow this lady.ā And as soon as I followed her, she messaged me, and we just started talking about a whole bunch of spiritual, mystical shit, throwing ideas back and forth. Then she was like, āIām going to show you to some of my friends.ā I was like, āOh alright, sure, whatever, you can do that.ā Sheās like, āMy friend Steve.ā And Iām like, āCool, whatever.ā [Laughs.]
āShe showed it to Steve, and people at BBC Radio. We got played on BBC Radio mad early, like in August. I had the tweet. āBBC Radio, The Underachievers, āGold Soul Theory.āā And then a day later, [she told me Steve] was Flying Lotus, and I was like, āOh shit.ā
Itās so funny how all these coincidences happen. Some dude went out of his way to show me Flying Lotus like six months ago, and he was like, āCheck out this dude.ā And he showed me his beats, and he was like, āThis dude never works with rappers ever. He doesnāt like rappers.ā And Iām like, āAlright.ā Then six months later, he signs us. - Issa Dash
ā[We were up on him], but not really ridiculously. I knew of him. I knew of him as this mystical, no-face character who made these beats and threw these secret beat parties in L.A. It was this weird character that was completely not [who] Flying Lotus [actually is]. I mean heās definitely that guy, but like [not once you get to know him].
āI remember specifically the person who put me on to Flying Lotus. Itās so funny how all these coincidences happen. Some dude went out of his way to show me Flying Lotus like six months ago, and he was like, āCheck out this dude.ā And he showed me his beats, and he was like, āThis dude never works with rappers ever. He doesnāt like rappers.ā And Iām like, āAlright.ā Then six months later, he signs us. [Laughs] My friend was just like, āWhat the fuck? I showed you this dude and you werenāt even really into him.ā
āHe called us and was like, āLet me hear a couple more songs.ā Heās like, āI love everything but let me hear some more songs.ā We sent him some more stuff, a couple early songs. He liked it, and he just flew us out there to do a show. We did a good job at the show, and it was my second show ever. It was Low End Theory, thatās where he came up in. Itās a beat show but if youāve ever seen a video of us performing, like destroying this place, it was Low End Theory. We went back six months later, not famous, but more known, and [we did really well].
ā[But he still] didnāt sign us yet. We flew back over. I remember I texted him before I got on the plane like, āYo, whereās the contract?ā And he was like āIām going to send it to you, we've got to work out the details.'Ā It was my birthday, and it was amazingly sick. [We recorded a song with him while we were out there, but] it was garbage. Itās not a bad song, just we want our first song to be way better than that. We had it for this project, but he was like, āWhy not just do this project yourself. Give them this project yourself.ā
Thatās why we didnāt have features on [our first project], too, because we didnāt want to get oversaturated with features that people expected. - Issa Dash
āOur first single after this project is probably going to be FlyLo, but we can get FlyLo beats like, āYo FlyLo send us 10 beats.ā Heāll send me 10 beats from his computer. So itās not hard to get the beats. But you want to make it a good song and actually take advantage of the feature of having him on the beat so it can stand alone as a single. Thatās why we didnāt have features on [our first project], too, because we didnāt want to get oversaturated with features that people expected, like Zombies, and Pro Era, and Worldās Fair and all those type of dudes.ā
āGold Soul Theoryā
Issa Dash:Ā āWe made āGold Soul Theoryā specifically for the second song. We had like maybe five or six songs, but we made āGold Soul Theoryā after āSo Devilish.ā
The whole āGold Soul Theoryā thing is basically detaching yourself from what society told you is the norm or what superficial things we normally might want to be into, and realizing that all you really need is inside of you. - Issa Dash
āBasically the āGold Soul Theoryā is about finding out that all the treasures that man might want. The big test is basically, they, not God, but the universe or whoeverās controlling this entire thing, put all these superficial stimuli around all of us. From the clothes, to the girls, to the hoes, to the money, to all these different things. I feel like our capitalist society even capitalizes on that and makes us even chase that more.
āBut the whole āGold Soul Theoryā thing is basically detaching yourself from what society told you is the norm or what superficial things we normally might want to be into, and realizing that all you really need is inside of you. Not even just in your brain, but like from love to intelligence to all the natural shit thatās there outside for you that you donāt have to pay for. Not even just inside of you, but nature and all the other things. You donāt really need to be attached to superficial.
Everything you need was already embedded inside of you. Itās just a matter of going inside yourself and finding that. Thatās our message, to really detach our generation from all the bullshit. - Issa Dash
āThe āGold Soul Theoryā is basically saying weāve searched all around for enlightenment and everything else and realized that you really donāt have to look far. Everything you need was already embedded inside of you. Itās just a matter of going inside yourself and finding that. Thatās our message, to really detach our generation from all the bullshit, and say, āYeah, you can accept that stuff. I like clothes and all that different type of stuff. But itās a matter of putting your life in priority. Thatās not the most important shit.ā
āI can enjoy sneakers. I like sneakers, but itās like, I know thatās a materialistic thing. Iām making a conscious decision, that this is what I want to like. Itās not an unconscious thing. Basically making people conscious. Thatās what it means to be conscious, to be conscious of your decisions. Like know, Iām making this decision, the decision isnāt being made for me by someone else. Itās me making my decisions.ā
āHerb Shuttlesā
Issa Dash: āāHerb Shuttlesā was originally supposed to be our first Zombies song, [with] us and Zombies, and it was so good, I was like āIām going to take this one.ā That was the best audio we ever got out. Then for the video, I was like āYo, alright, they like āSo Devilish.ā They like āGold Soul Theory.ā Letās fucking combine them.ā So thatās why āHerb Shuttlesā has everything inside of it: pot, people, women, mob scenes.
āThisisbutta, I love that guy, heās the best, his editing. The way he did the video is crazy. I canāt even take any credit for any of it. I write the entire treatment, set up all the scenes. āAlright, we want to do this, that, this, this.ā Itās not like āAlright, go down from this angle.ā Thatās why, in the video, [its says itās] co-directed.
We knew that was a banger. āHerb Shuttlesā was supposed to be the second song but I felt like we needed to give people more of who we are beause āHerb Shuttlesā is still us, but itās like a little more fun for us. - Issa Dash
ā[We got sent] the fucking [Brainfeeder] contract the day after āHerb Shuttlesā came out. [Laughs.] Heās like āAlright, Iām ready.ā [Laughs.] We knew that was a banger. āHerb Shuttlesā was supposed to be the second song but I felt like we needed to give people more of who we are beause āHerb Shuttlesā is still us, but itās like a little more fun for us. āGold Soul Theoryā and āSo Devilishā really establish like, āAlright, these guys are trying to be conscious.ā āHerb Shuttlesā was like, āWe can be fun too.ā
āIt was never blatant [with Flying Lotus] like, āAlright, [Iām signing you guys because of āHerb Shuttles.ā]ā But thatās when it happened, coincidentally. It was like, āBam,ā two days later, a day later. [He was probably] like āAlright, let me not procrastinate on this, because [people are going to come knocking on their door now.ā]āā
Building A Buzz
Issa Dash: āThe number one thing that I felt about being a rapper, because I was a fan at first, was I donāt want to listen to a full project, ever, if you donāt convince me to listen to it. Especially a rap project. A lot of rappers say, āAlright, Iām going to be a rapper? First thing Iām going to do is Iām going to drop a mixtape. Iām going to do 17 songs.ā But you have to realize, even though making music is for yourself, youāre making music for your fans.
āI even told [AK] that before. āYo, Iām not putting out a mixtape until they fucking ask me for that shit.ā We try to put out songs like, āAlright, āSo Devilishā is this type of song, āGold Soulā is this type of song, āHerb Shuttlesā is this type of song.ā It was like a pattern to see how [fans would] respond to [each] type of song.
Thatās why thereās a lot of āHerb Shuttleā like performance type songs on Indigoism. If you see, the whole game is tailored to performing right now. Itās kind of hard to sell albums. - Issa Dash
ā[Doing that creates a] variety of music. And people start saying, āAlright, let me get a tape, let me get a tape.ā Thatās why thereās a lot of āHerb Shuttleā like performance type songs on Indigoism. If you see, the whole game is tailored to performing right now. Itās kind of hard to sell albums. So thatās why the first project has a lot of up bass type stuff. Itās because we were kind of tailoring it towards performing.
āFrom the first show we did, I was like āAlright, we have to start catering our music to like, this is for performance, this is for lyrical, this is for this.ā We knew that performance is very important. Not saying weāre in it for the money, but thatās how we would be able to start making even a little bit of money.ā
āIndigoismā Mixtape
Issa Dash: āIndigoism like a combination of two titles. Itās not that important to us, but itās a title that makes it easy to categorize everyone [in our generation]. Thatās why we ran with it. We took Indigo, [which basically represents everything that we are about in terms of spirituality and consciousness], and AKās original mixtape title was Inner Soul Music, ISM. So we mixed them together and made it into itās own-ism. Itās not a science or anything.
āPeople who came on because someone told them to listen to it are like, āWhat the fuck?ā But where I sit, Iād rather talk about the things Iām really into, then lie about tracks. Because if you're real, youāll be surprised to find how many people are mad similar to you.
I like to study. And I like taking things serious. I donāt like taking shit serious, I donāt want to sound like that, but if Iām going to do something, Iām going to take it serious. I will study the shit out of rap. Even now that Iām saying Iām going to be a real rapper, I donāt even want to take pen to paper until I really take in the reception. - Issa Dash
ā[I just started rapping] a year ago. I like to study. And I like taking things serious. I donāt like taking shit serious, I donāt want to sound like that, but if Iām going to do something, Iām going to take it serious. I will study the shit out of rap. Even now that Iām saying Iām going to be a real rapper, I donāt even want to take pen to paper until I really take in the reception. I was telling [AK], I donāt even want to write [new] music until after the tour, until Iāve fully taken in the reception of the tour, the music, how people feel, and then letās move on so I can evolve and learn more and get more practice writing.
āI want to startānot stealing from peopleābut studying the greats. People that people think we actually are listening to, start actually listening to them and seeing what qualities people like. And not capitalizing on it, but making certain things prevalent in our music. I take it mad serious.
āPitchfork gave us an 8.0. That guy from The Needle Drop gave us a 7. I didnāt know who he was. He had been following us since āSo Devilish,ā and I just always see his face on Twitter. And then once I saw the video [review], I was like, āOh, thatās what the motherfucker does? Heās the video guy?ā But yeah, he loved it. [He gave us criticism that] weād already seen, saying that we get repetitive with the third eye shit, and the LSD shit. It does get repetitive, I agree with that.
āItās a little repetitive. You gave us 17 songs about the third eye and LSD.ā If youāre not into that, then youāre not going to like it. But if youāre into that, then oh my God. The kids that love that shit. Theyāre going psychotic. - Issa Dash
āThat was basically what the people say, thatās the general bottom line for most people. āItās a little repetitive. You gave us 17 songs about the third eye and LSD.ā If youāre not into that, then youāre not going to like it. But if youāre into that, then oh my God. The kids that love that shit. Theyāre going psychotic. Every day theyāre like, āI canāt stop listening to it.ā So weāre catering to our demographic. The next project weāre going to really try and impress a larger scale.
ā[My personal favorites on the tape are] āPhilanthropist,ā āLand Of Lords,ā and āPlay Your Part.āā
AK: āI like āPrism.āā
Issa Dash:āPeople stop me all the time, 'Philanthropist!ā I like all [the songs on the tape] really, because itās versatile. I feel like we hit a lot of rap genres, from new age hip-hop to old school hip-hop, like āLand Of Lordsā to āPlay Your Part.ā I feel like itās a 7.5 out of 10.
ā[We worked with] all random [producers on Indigoism]. A lot of people sent beats. The thing about it is, a lot of rappers donāt go through their beats, but we were actually going through every single beat. And we found gems, and built relationships with people. Like the āGold Soul Theoryā guy, Rich Flyer. He produced like three songs on there. And then we had Mr. Bristol.
āThe Entreproducers, [who did āVinylsā also on the Pro Era mixtape], through us is how they got on to everyone else. Itās because we gave them the chance. And when we did a song with them, people were like āHold on, what the hell?ā STEEZ and all them were like, āYeah let me get some beats from them also.ā That [āVinylsā] shitās fire. Theyāre good. I heard they even got a beat to Ab-Soul now.
āThat was me just literally giving people a chance. Even the āGold Soul Theoryā video, someone begged me to do it, like, āPlease let me shoot this video.ā Iām like, āDude, you donāt understand, if itās garbage Iāll make you waste your time and throw the whole thing away.ā
āāHerb Shuttlesā and āDevilishā are directed by Thisisbutta, āGold Soul Theoryā is by Yasha Gruben, and the most recent video [āThe Mahdiā] is by our friend Luke Monaghan. [I think the Souls of Mischief comparisons came from it being shot outdoors in Cali, but also] the sample. I didnāt know it was the [same] sample [from ā93 ātil Infinityā when we recorded it], or else I probably wouldnāt have used it. Itās still a good song, [though].ā
Relationship with Pro Era/Beast Coast
Issa Dash:Ā āWe all grew up in Flatbush, all around the same vicinity. I knew the Pro Era kids since I was sixteen. I skateboarded across the street from [Edward R. Murrow High School], so I knew [Capital] STEEZ and Rockamouth and a bunch of them. Like I said, we knew Zombies forever. Basically, coincidentally everyoneāI mean STEEZ and Joey [Bada$$] and Pro Era have been rapping for awhileābut everyone started to blow up around the same exact time. Different calibers, definitely, of course.
I think Joey was the biggest at the time, and Zombies were second, and we were just starting. Basically we were all on the same Indigo type of movement, all on the same type of consciousness. - Issa Dash
āI think Joey was the biggest at the time, and Zombies were second, and we were just starting. Basically we were all on the same Indigo type of movement, all on the same type of consciousness. So many series of coincidences, even though I donāt believe in those. Everything merged perfectly. Even before Beast Coast was established, we were already a group.
āI think [Joey] is the best rapper on the planet. Him and STEEZ were the best to me. The best rappers. Whenever I see Joeyās face on the TV screen, Iām happy.ā
AK: āHeās nice. He deserves that shit.ā
Issa Dash: āHeās a prodigy. Heās not just good at rapping, his lyrical content is just like, Iāve never experienced it but I guess itās in comparison to when Nas and them were coming up because they were seventeen and eighteen, too, spitting all that sick shit. Mobb Deep [and those guys].ā
AK:Ā ā[STEEZ] was our brother.ā
Issa Dash:Ā āHe was a huge part of Beast Coast, and everything we stand for. Obviously, Beast Coast wouldnāt have been established if it wasnāt for STEEZ. I put him onto the whole Indigo thing, and then he put all his [Pro Era crew] onto the Indigo thing [and just ran with it].
āMost of our lingo and everything we say is actually from STEEZ. Everyone says āsynchro life,ā and thatās STEEZās. He made that up. Whenever something happens, a coincidence happens, itās like, āOh that was synchro, itās too perfect to be a coincidence.ā Then 47, and all types of other stuff [we say, that was all him]. He lives on forever.
āItās sad that it happened, but everyoneās holding up good because everyone was able to get closure because we all talked to him [before he passed]. Itās so hard, I think about it every day. I always wondered, āWhat do people mean when they say that? āI think about that person every day.āā But literally, every day I think about STEEZ.ā
AK:Ā āEverytime I see a 47 I think about this guy.ā
Issa Dash:Ā āBasically, Pro Era threw a concert, and they called the concert Beast Coast. Me and STEEZ, we linked up afterwards and were just like, āYo, we should link all this shit up together.ā Then it was like, āYeah, alright letās do this. Iāve got Zombies over there, youāve got Pro Era over there, and UA weāre already down, so letās do this.ā So I went to Zombies, and Zombies obviously were down. Pro Era was down of course, but I donāt want to make it sound like it was like, āLetās do this [to all blow up].ā It was some really family type, really family-oriented, OD.
We all have the same bottom line plan. We all want to do the same thing. Even though itās more blatant in our music, theyāre all on the same exact shit, doing freestyles and songs. - Issa Dash
āWe met up the next day, fully hugging. It eventually got established, and we were all doing our own thing, but it was a conglomerate. And it wasnāt even like a, āYo letās all help each other so we all can get famous.ā We all have the same bottom line plan. We all want to do the same thing. Even though itās more blatant in our music, theyāre all on the same exact shit, doing freestyles [and songs] and shit. Zombies with D.R.U.G.S. and āBetter Off Dead,ā all that stuff is symbolic, spiritual shit. Weāre all on the same thing.
āWeāll probably do a Beast Coast album soon. [We donāt have] mad tracks, but weāve got some stuff. That stuff will probably even get trashed for more serious stuff, but thatās inevitable. Thatās the thing about us, everyone keeps working in their own lanes. We just keep going. Thatās what I tell my friends, āYou donāt need to worry about features from us, keep doing your thing.
āA Flatbush Zombies and Underachievers song is way more valuable now than if we dropped it at the āSo Devilishā time. So why not wait and hold out and just keep working, and then we can collaborate and get shit done.
Weāll probably do a Beast Coast album soon. [We donāt have] mad tracks, but weāve got some stuff. - Issa Dash
ā[Phony Ppl] is Beast Coast, too. They came on later on. All those kids went to Murrow, same exact type of thing. We all knew each other since we were younger. [Dyme-A-Duzin] is basically like family to all of us. He just had the āNew Brooklynā songāDante Ross produced itāand they were like, āYeah we want you guys on it.ā And it just happened. It was us and Zombies. It was kind of rushed because we were working on [the mixtape] at the same time and they gave us a deadline, āAlright we need it in 24 hours,ā and I was like, āWhat?! Alright.āā
The "New" New York
Issa Dash:Ā āThatās the A$AP Mob, us, Worldās Fair, Tan Boys, Flatbush Zombies, and Pro Era. Thatās another new New York type of conglomerate. Thatās like the supergroup, thatās the real New York representatives type thing. They might not be so much on the third eye type thing, but weāre all family, too. All those dudes are family.
A$AP Mob, us, Worldās Fair, Tan Boys, Flatbush Zombies, and Pro Era. Thatās another new New York type of conglomerate. Thatās like the supergroup, thatās the real New York representatives type thing. They might not be so much on the third eye type thing, but weāre all family. - Issa Dash
āI donāt know Rocky personally, but Iāve met him many times. Weāve been to the same places, weāre in the videos. Weāre all a huge family, everyone knows each other. Rockyās told us before, āKeep doing your thing, keep doing your shit.ā A$AP Mob always comes up to us like, āYo dudes this shit is fucking sick, we bump āHerb Shuttlesā every day.ā
āBut it goes beyond just the music. A$AP Yams has been my brother since I was sixteen. I knew that dude even before A$AP was even a part of anything. He used to come to Flatbush and hang out with me and Juice in our basement smoking blunts and shit. A$AP Illz did a collaboration with the Zombie manager Phil for A$AP. Seven years ago, before A$AP was wearing all black, Award Tour and A$AP did a shirt together, [back in] 2007. All the links were already there before the music, so when everyone started doing music, it just clicked together perfectly. Everything organically happened because relationships were already there.
All the links were already there before the music, so when everyone started doing music, it just clicked together perfectly. Everything organically happened because relationships were already there. - Issa Dash
āThatās how Flatbush Zombies got linked with A$AP. It wasnāt just, āAlright weāre making music, letās make music together.ā It was like, āYams is our man.ā And Yams was like, āBoth of my mans are making music, you all should make some shit together.ā Thatās how [Zombies] got the first A$AP show. It wasnāt the promoter. Yams was like, āPut on my friends, letās get this going.ā It goes beyond the music. Itās some brother type shit.
āIāve heard comparisons to like Dipset and [G-Unit and D Block] and this and that. [But they were] definitely not [as joined as we are now]. Weāre definitely more like [the early ā90s were with Native Tongues and Nas and Large Professor and all those artists and how they were all connected and worked together and hung out, too]. Thatās definitely something weāre trying to bring back.
āThe reason I brought up [Dipset and all those groups] is because people say thatās the last time New York had powerhouses, like Roc-A-Fella, Dipset, [G-Unit], Murda Inc. [But they were] always separate. Friendly competition, though. It never seemed too brutal, but definitely competition. And weāre not separated by labels either. Itās a very ādo it yourselfā type time. So I could just say Iām going to do a song with Remy Banks tomorrow and just do a song with Remy [with no hassles or interference].ā
Upcoming Brainfeeder Project
Issa Dash:Ā āWeāre not going to do an album yet. Weāre going to do an EP, but itās going to be more Brainfeeder-ish if that makes sense, more experimental music, more trippy beats, FlyLo type of stuff. But not just FlyLo, because thereās going to be more serious producersānot that the other producers werenāt seriousābut we want to show people what we can do over a Harry Fraud or a [Hudson Mohawke] or a Clams Casino [production].
I feel like our album has to have a feeling to it, like a theme to it. Even though every song is going to sound different, I still want it to really flow from the first song to the eleventh song completely like a movie. - Issa Dash
āWe should be able to get Clams. Hud Mo we could probably get. I know [he just signed to Kanye], but heās also on [Flying Lotusā label] Warp. But weāve got A-Trak, weāve got Supreme Cuts, Lapalux, weāve got a whole bunch of Brainfeeder artists.
āWe just started collecting beats. I feel like we did a fairly good job of keeping Indigoism versatile, but still making sure it flowed well from the first song to the end. But now, from the beginning of the project, I actually want to make sure every song [fits together].
āI feel like our album has to have a feeling to it, like a theme to it. Even though every song is going to sound different, I still want it to really flow from the first song to the eleventh song completely like a movie.
āBefore we start writing, I want to have eight beats already on deck. Weāve got three right now that weāre considering, but I want to have five beats and then start to go, āThis [beat] is going to go into this song this way,ā and really try to write it like a book. We havenāt really figured out [the concept for the album] yet, but it definitely [is going to have one].ā
Goals For The Future
AK: āTake over the world.ā
Issa Dash:Ā āEnlighten our generation. Thatās all we really want to do. Try and get our generation to start thinking differently, and start the shift ourselves with our generation, who already seem like they know whatās going on. I meet people ages 10 to 40, and theyāre not really attached to religion or attached to anything, and I realize that our generation is already in tune to what we have to tell them. Our job is already done. I donāt really have to convince people that thereās a third eye. The general consensus is that thereās some spiritual world now, there is spirituality, people just donāt know where to start.
Enlighten our generation. Thatās all we really want to do. Try and get our generation to start thinking differently, and start the shift ourselves with our generation, who already seem like they know whatās going on. - Issa Dash
āSpirituality right now is automatically correlated with religion. This is what happened when I was younger. I was like, āWell, if I donāt like Christianity then I must be either Atheist or demonic.ā I didnāt really think there was a path [number] three. So if we could show people where thereās a path [number] three, where you donāt have to live that religious life, but you can still be spiritual and you can still live your life in order, then thatās really the goal. So if [we] start at our generation, I feel like we could really do it.ā
Issa Dash: āWe wanted to do the Beast Coast tour forever, before weād even gone to Agency Group. CoincidentallyāI know they planned itābut Agency Group signed all three of us, and then a month later I heard theyāre doing a tour. They had Joey already, then they had Zombies, then they got us and it was like, āHmm, whatās going on here?ā I mean theyāre great, I love them.
āYeah. I havenāt done [the whole tour life] yet but itās going to be fun. Agency Group looks out, they really do their jobs so you canāt knock them for wanting to put that together. We wouldnāt have gotten it together without them. Iām happy they did it. 23 cities.ā