00:00
Intro
Off the Record is a show from 88.1 WKNC in which DJs talk with artists about everything from their music to upcoming tours to former bandmates birthdays. Make sure to follow WKNC on SoundCloud and Tumblr so you never miss a beat. Enjoy.
00:21
DJ Iron Mike
What's going on everybody? It's your boy, DJ Iron Mike. You were just listening to My Homie my bones brother. 3am with Curtis Snow. That song that if, if you have. If you've got to be living under a rock to not have heard that song. 3am is definitely putting on for North Carolina with that one. He's been all over the road. Tore him off the strength of that track. So shoutouts to 3 on that. And before that you were listening to DaBaby with 21. DaBaby doing even more. He’s really putting on for North Carolina in a really strong way. Actually. Funny story about DaBaby. Little known story about the baby is that he's actually a Double Barrel Benefit alumni. He opened up for Dinero Farrar at Double barrel benefit in 2015 or 2016. 2016, yeah. Cat's Cradle.
01:17
DJ Iron Mike
He was a surprise opener for Dinero Farrar. No one really knew he was at the time, but he has just kept on moving and has like, you know, really done a lot of good things for his career and for, you know, our locality and showing that we got good stuff happening here in North Carolina. So I got some more music coming for you though. Professor Tune on his way up. We're going to talk about his new single. What else? What am I going to play for y'? All? I don't know. Maybe a little cooly high, a little Kooley High. Do a little convo. The Mutant. So keep it locked here. WKNC 88.1 FM, Raleigh HD1. Iron Mic, let's go. Yo, what's going on, everybody? It's your boy, DJ Iron Mike chilling with you on another beautiful local rap lunch.
02:08
DJ Iron Mike
You know, we do midweek every week, noon to 1, bringing you nothing but the illness. North Carolina. Hip hop in North Carolina. In the world, I guess. Because, you know, we only in North Carolina. I got the good homie in the building. Professor Tune. Well, the artist formerly known as Professor Tune. We were just listening to the Elephant off this old album, right?
02:30
Lord Fess
I don't know.
02:31
DJ Iron Mike
Take notes.
02:32
Lord Fess
I don't even know what song that was.
02:36
DJ Iron Mike
You know. Thanks for coming up first of all, for sure, man. But you know what's crazy is that this is the first time you've ever been up here. We've. We've worked together. We've hit the road together twice. I've written about you in the week a couple times.
02:50
Lord Fess
My Vans is. I still don't have one of my shoes from.
02:54
DJ Iron Mike
From south by.
02:55
Lord Fess
Yeah.
02:58
DJ Iron Mike
But nah, thanks for coming up, man. It's good to have you up here, bro.
03:01
Lord Fess
Yeah, man, I don't know. I don't know. This Professor Toon guy. He's in my trunk like I murdered.
03:07
DJ Iron Mike
Him, says Lord Kevin.
03:08
Lord Fess
Can we talk about murder on the air?
03:11
DJ Iron Mike
Sure, sure. Why not? Why not?
03:15
Lord Fess
Sorry. I did ask for permission, right? Yeah, he's in my trunk. I'm waiting on a proper time to bury him in the backyard.
03:25
DJ Iron Mike
Okay. Yeah, a lot's been going on in the past couple years.
03:29
Lord Fess
A little bit, actually. Not that much time been going on the last couple years. Well, maybe in the last six months.
03:35
DJ Iron Mike
Well, last time you worked with WKNC was all the way back at Double Barrel Benefit.
03:40
Lord Fess
Yeah, that was back in 2016.
03:42
DJ Iron Mike
That was Professor Tunes.
03:43
Lord Fess
Yeah, but now he's a good kid.
03:45
DJ Iron Mike
He was a good.
03:46
Lord Fess
Yeah, yeah.
03:46
DJ Iron Mike
Rest in peace, for sure. Bless the day for sure.
03:50
Lord Fess
I wish nothing but peace on that, brother.
03:53
DJ Iron Mike
But now, what you been up to? I know you got a new track that you're putting out.
03:56
Lord Fess
Yeah, I did bring you some music. Yeah. Track is fire. I've been working on some stuff I could tell you, like, so much more maybe in the next couple months or whatever. I just want everything to be more officialized than it already is.
04:10
DJ Iron Mike
All right.
04:11
Lord Fess
For anybody Googling officialized. It's really a word. I just checked. So. Yeah. Come on, man.
04:18
DJ Iron Mike
Brought the whole team with you today.
04:19
Lord Fess
I did bring.
04:20
DJ Iron Mike
Got law in the building.
04:22
Lord Fess
Yeah. The real law.
04:23
DJ Iron Mike
Not the fake law.
04:24
Lord Fess
Not the fake.
04:25
DJ Iron Mike
Only the real.
04:27
Lord Fess
Got Clint hoodie in here. Like, what? We got black chefing up these joints, you know what I mean?
04:38
DJ Iron Mike
Okay, so. So catch us up on what you've been up to, man.
04:43
Lord Fess
I've been working, recording. I've been getting yelled at because I wasn't working hard enough, you know? I mean, a lot. Just really, like, just changing my work ethic, you know what I mean? Just more towards being out of my own head. Like, I got crazy depression, like, stints, like, entire sadness modes, you know? So I just put that on wax. A lot has changed in life, you know what I mean? Still going through fatherhood. I know you daddy gang, so you know what that is? Learning on the fly. Because none of us really know what we Doing, you know, I mean. Yeah, so it's just been a lot. Haven't been performing, just been working on actually making, like, timeless content, which I. I hope is timeless.
05:37
Lord Fess
I mean, I guess the people will figure that out for me, and if not, I'll make something else until that's timeless, you know, I mean.
05:45
DJ Iron Mike
I mean, you've always been pretty. You know, the music that you've. That I've become accustomed to. You were like one of the first people in North Carolina that I was put on to. You've always. I've always admired the fact that you do. You do put a lot on to.
06:00
Lord Fess
Laura Fest or Professor Tune.
06:02
DJ Iron Mike
I mean, you know, the whole body of work, man. The whole body of work. No, you've always. You know, artistically, you know, a lot of people, you know, in an independent scene, there's a team tendency to just put stuff out.
06:15
Lord Fess
Yo, independence is overrated. No real talk. I just. Anybody who's listening and they think, like, oh, I gotta do it myself. Nah, you don't have anything to prove to anybody. Especially if you got a kid, you gotta prove to that kid you can take care of them.
06:30
DJ Iron Mike
Yeah.
06:30
Lord Fess
You know what I mean? You gotta not be an idiot and take the right deals if you need to. Take the right deals.
06:35
DJ Iron Mike
Yeah.
06:37
Lord Fess
Don't sign your soul away or your life or your car or your house or your integrity. But independence is so overrated, man. I believe, man, like, for real, just. Just like, the entire idea of it. Like, if you need a deal, get a deal. But if you don't have a deal, have a team. You ain't got to sit in your house and just do it. Just you. Even if it's just you and one of your homies. Like, I had something like that put a strain one of my relationships. Doing so much by yourself. Mad stress. Build a team. Build it out, bro.
07:07
DJ Iron Mike
You know that. And you can't do anything by yourself, no matter what it is, even if.
07:10
Lord Fess
You can't have it by yourself. Like, no matter how you look at it, if you inseminate artificially, it took something from another person. Like, it don't matter. Nothing is done alone. If we was meant to be alone, then there would be no Eve to Adam or whatever you believe in. There was always more than one. Absolutely.
07:31
DJ Iron Mike
Absolutely, man. So what. You know what. What did inspire the kind of, like, switch in the way you. You know, the way you're doing things now?
07:41
Lord Fess
The switch. Oh, Professor Toon died, so I thought it would be a perfect time to make some music. Myself, you know?
07:46
DJ Iron Mike
I mean, okay.
07:47
Lord Fess
I was sad to see him go.
07:49
DJ Iron Mike
Yeah. So that's, you know, more true to yourself then.
07:53
Lord Fess
Yeah.
07:54
DJ Iron Mike
Got you.
07:54
Lord Fess
I mean, I don't think anything is ever untrue to us. Like, you show people what you are, whether you fake or not. If you show people f. Then you was fake, that's what you was. You know what I mean? But stuff changes. Yeah. The tide shifts, you know?
08:08
DJ Iron Mike
Yeah, absolutely. No, you're never the same person from year to year.
08:12
Lord Fess
Facts. My mentor told me to reinvent yourself, like, every seven years, start a new career.
08:18
DJ Iron Mike
Seven years?
08:18
Lord Fess
Yeah. I feel like every seven. That was the number. That was the number for her, you know what I mean? That might not even be the number for me, but I took it for what it was, you know what I mean?
08:27
DJ Iron Mike
I can feel that.
08:28
Lord Fess
Like, reinvent yourself always. Constantly be looking for something better, like who you were yesterday. So that'll change. Like, people. Like, money won't change me. Lies. Nah, that's straight lies. Money will change you. You were driving a Honda. Now you drive a McLaren. You're different.
08:44
DJ Iron Mike
Yeah. I mean, so you feel. Yeah, I feel that for sure. All right, well, let's get into some music. I got this.
08:50
Lord Fess
We gonna wait for a little while.
08:51
DJ Iron Mike
You know, we got a little bit of time, so I'm gonna get into some. Some combos, some other local joints, so keep it locked here. I got Professor Tune in the building.
09:00
Lord Fess
Who's that?
09:01
DJ Iron Mike
Man, I gotta get used to not going. I got Lloyd Fest in the building. Let's get into it. Here's Silicone.
09:18
Lord Fess
Foreign.
09:27
DJ Iron Mike
Yo, what's going on, Riley? It's your boy, DJ Iron Mike. You were just listening to the WKNC debut of the homie Lord Fess's new single Scared. That joint's crazy, bro. I didn't want to listen to it until we got in here.
09:42
Lord Fess
I wanted.
09:43
DJ Iron Mike
I wanted to get the first. Yeah, absolutely. Now I'm going back.
09:50
Lord Fess
Yeah.
09:51
DJ Iron Mike
Say some things. That's lit, though, man.
09:53
Lord Fess
I appreciate it, man.
09:54
DJ Iron Mike
That's crazy. I like it. I like the new. The. The reinvention, man.
09:59
Lord Fess
Shout out to Justin for me. Stealing his settings on his talk box.
10:04
DJ Iron Mike
So talk about it, like. But so you know.
10:07
Lord Fess
Oh, yo, that.
10:08
DJ Iron Mike
How'd we get here?
10:10
Lord Fess
Well, one. Shout out to A List Productions. J.D. Wilson. He. He went out of his mind on that beat, for sure. Shout out to Shaka on the mix. Shout out to Miz on the mix.
10:23
DJ Iron Mike
Oh, Mez was on.
10:25
Lord Fess
Not King Miz.
10:25
DJ Iron Mike
Okay.
10:26
Lord Fess
Other. Other Miz. Jap. Jesus. If you don't know, Miz. You can google them, but. But yeah, man, like, a lot went into that song. That song's probably been in the workings for a while. I was feeling my way through it by myself. And then when the team came on board and really got that input in there that I needed because it's a culmination of a lot of stuff. Like the whole vocals and everything, I spent a whole lot of. Yeah, it does shift. And it's a reflection of who I've been around. Like, the more hipster vibe, the muddled singing and things like that's a lot of like indie pop influence that I've been around. When you throw that on a trap beat, that's kind of what you end up with from a hip hop and a rap perspective.
11:26
DJ Iron Mike
But then it's got that headbanger vibe too.
11:27
Lord Fess
Yeah, for sure. You definitely see, like, that was all a list.
11:30
DJ Iron Mike
Smash into that.
11:31
Lord Fess
Yeah, that was all a list. Like, he bring that energy out for sure. So, yeah, man, just all those energies just came together at the perfect time for that song to really see light of day. It was like, yo, we gotta go, yo. Black was like, yo, y' all go. Another joint was supposed to come out first. He was like, nah, where the other joint at? It was like, yeah. Cause another song was supposed to come out first. But we chose to go with scared. It's a good message too, because I had a whole bunch of fear. Was like stuck within my own heads. Like, yo, what do people think about. Yeah, I was like, stop being a. Yeah, put it out. And whatever. Somebody gonna like it, Somebody gonna hate it. It don't matter. Yeah, just put it out.
12:23
DJ Iron Mike
You know, as someone who has dealt. I've dealt with. With personal, you know, emotional issues as, you know, military related stuff. When I first was. When I was transitioning and stuff, I always appreciated that you as a. As a. As an artist. I've always been open about that kind of stuff.
12:41
Lord Fess
Nah, I ain't always been open, yo. I used to think, like, I was happy all the time.
12:45
DJ Iron Mike
You've been honest about that stuff. So you said earlier that, you know, you went through a lot of things with depression.
12:51
Lord Fess
Yeah.
12:52
DJ Iron Mike
How do you get that? You know, how do you bottle that energy?
12:54
Lord Fess
75% of my depression. Depression was like self. It was like, that's how it is. It was like just all. All myself. I was like, dude, you did this to yourself. Like, why are you in this hole? But what was the question again?
13:10
DJ Iron Mike
How do you take. How do you bottle all that energy?
13:12
Lord Fess
Oh, and put it into the music here.
13:14
DJ Iron Mike
Like, you know, like, oh, you're at it right now.
13:17
Lord Fess
And this one, you just write it.
13:18
DJ Iron Mike
It's like just writing, you know, a whole new you, bro.
13:21
Lord Fess
Yeah, you just writing. Yeah, man. You can't think about it. You just write it. Cause if you think about it, I feel like that's when it loses its authenticity. You know what I mean? It's like, yo, what happened to me that I wanna write about right now? And then just write it. Cause that's the thought process. Then if it don't match on the beat or the timing ain't right, then you go back and fix it musically. Cause that's like your talent, but you telling a part of your story. And like, if you notice out I'm horrible at staying on subject while writing. I don't even try no more. Like, for what?
13:55
DJ Iron Mike
Like, who.
13:56
Lord Fess
Who made that box that says I have to be on subject this entire time of this thing that I'm writing myself artistically? Like, did Nobody tell Leonardo DiCaprio how to study his lines? Don't nobody tell Mozart how to, you know, write his lines. Like, there's no box for the greats at what they do. Like, there's no one right way to do anything. So I was like, I used to try to stay on a storyline and stay on a specific arc of this and like, nah, just write it. Just don't think about it. Just write it. If it's you. Yeah, just write it.
14:32
DJ Iron Mike
Well, I'm really excited to see what else you got coming out for us.
14:35
Lord Fess
I mean, when we go off air, I could play you a couple of joints.
14:38
DJ Iron Mike
Well, yeah, that's. Of course, you know, I get the. You know, the underground beneficial.
14:41
Lord Fess
But. Yeah, y' all can't hear that yet. We gotta let people listen to this joint first. Yo, that thing's on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Soundcloud, itunes. It's on some weird streaming services india. Not weird. I just don't know how to pronounce those things.
14:59
DJ Iron Mike
The jump off, though.
15:00
Lord Fess
Yeah. Like if somebody catch your song over there and then. Yeah, you get a million streams. Is a million streams.
15:06
DJ Iron Mike
Exactly. It doesn't matter where it comes from. Yeah, that's what's up though, man. Running out of time, though. But you do have a show this weekend?
15:13
Lord Fess
Yeah, I'm at Local 506 with Nicholas F. Michael Millions. Eggy is on there. Who else is on there? Yo, whoever. I forgot. If I forgot anybody. Or maybe I didn't forget Anybody? Maybe that's it. Maybe it's just four of us, but yeah, local 506, Sunday. Think show starts at eight. Something like that. I'm a break face. I hope y' all come through. I got. I got some form.
15:41
DJ Iron Mike
This joint.
15:41
Lord Fess
Yeah, I'm gonna perform that joint. I got some stuff for the ladies, too. You know what I mean?
15:44
DJ Iron Mike
Okay.
15:45
Lord Fess
I've been expanding my catalog with the ladies. We'll release some of that soon.
15:53
DJ Iron Mike
All right. That's what's up, man. I look forward to it.
15:54
Lord Fess
I posted a thirst trap on Instagram today. Follow me on Instagram. Lxrd F E S S. You know what I mean?
16:02
DJ Iron Mike
That's lxrd F on Instagram.
16:05
Lord Fess
Yeah.
16:06
DJ Iron Mike
All right. Word, man. Well, I appreciate you coming up. As I said earlier, man, it's been a long time coming. You're always welcome up here as long as I'm up here. And they better recognize even if I'm not up here. But sure, man, you know what it is. And real law. Thank you for coming out. The man behind the the myth. And if y' all like what you heard, tune in again next week. I'll be here again noon to 1. You can also catch this. If you caught the tail end of this interview, most likely be on WKNC's podcast on wknc.org you can follow us at wknc881 on Instagram and Twitter. And you can follow me at Iron DJ Iron Mike. Just throw a one in there. Wherever there's an eye on Instagram. I appreciate y' all Lord fest again.
16:53
DJ Iron Mike
Thank you very much, man.
16:54
Lord Fess
Let's dap up real loud. They can hear us on the mic.
16:58
DJ Iron Mike
That clap was love. And I'll see y' all next week. Peace.