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.
00:16
DJ Iron Mic
What's going on, everybody? It's your boy, DJ Iron Mic, chilling on another beautiful Thursday for local rap lunch. You were just listening to False Prophets by J. Cole before my computer messed up on me. That was a beat that I was working on too. But. But yeah, lots been going on the past couple weeks, if you've been paying attention. Of course. Hopscotch was a couple weeks ago. The hurricane came through. Thoughts and prayers to everybody who’s affected by that. You know, everybody is terrible for the people out east. So if you got any. If you got anything that you can donate, any time to donate anything like that, there's a lot of legit nonprofits doing work out there. I think the fun for the Carolinas is doing a lot of good stuff.
01:04
DJ Iron Mic
There's also a really cool task force of veterans called Task Force 75. They're out there conducting search and rescue operations and stuff. And they're all just ex military dudes doing their part. So if you can get down to the coast or. Or, you know, do anything you can do, try to. Try to do it. You know, these are our neighbors out here and. And anybody who's safe, I'm happy y' all are safe too. And so you can be listening to me today. But on a more fun note, I got the homie Oak City Slums back in the building. We're doing part two for this interview.
01:37
Oak City Slums
Hey, what's up?
01:39
DJ Iron Mic
You're up here a couple weeks ago.
01:40
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
01:41
DJ Iron Mic
Talking about some things. Had some new music.
01:44
Oak City Slums
Yes, sir.
01:46
DJ Iron Mic
Very dope stuff.
01:46
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
01:47
DJ Iron Mic
Thank you.
01:48
Oak City Slums
Just dropped the album.
01:49
DJ Iron Mic
Not well this week.
01:50
Oak City Slums
That's right.
01:51
DJ Iron Mic
Last week it was like.
01:52
Oak City Slums
Oh, I thought it was last Friday.
01:54
DJ Iron Mic
Okay. Last Friday. A lot was going on at this.
01:57
Oak City Slums
It's kind of crazy. Yeah, man, it was like Data Hurricane, man.
02:00
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
02:01
Oak City Slums
And, yeah, Joint Drop, man. I'm really excited about it.
02:05
DJ Iron Mic
But yeah, the album's amazing.
02:07
Oak City Slums
Thank you.
02:07
DJ Iron Mic
I've been listening to it a lot. I'm a big fan of, like, what you do is pretty cool because you bring all kinds of electronic music together.
02:16
Oak City Slums
Yeah, I'm a hip hop head. I like bass music. You know, I like. I mean, I grew up listening to punk and death metal and, you know, rock bands and shoegaze and all kinds of stuff, man. So, you know, I. I pride myself on kind of wearing some of my influences on my sleeve, so.
02:34
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah. Yeah, I mean like, yeah, I heard, you know, like drum and bass, house.
02:40
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
02:40
DJ Iron Mic
Everything.
02:41
Oak City Slums
Yep.
02:42
DJ Iron Mic
Some. Some old school techno stuff. You know, it's really cool. So, you know, last time you were up here, you were talking about how, you know, you started off when you started making beats, you were mostly sample based.
02:53
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
02:54
DJ Iron Mic
And then for this project you did mostly like it was pretty. All original.
02:59
Oak City Slums
All original? Yeah. No. No sound. No, I mean I had like one shots. Vocal samples. I made. Yeah, samples of, you know, so. Yes, samples. But the basis of the songs were all performed or wrote on a synthesizer or keyboard or something like that. So.
03:16
DJ Iron Mic
That was awesome, man. So. So yeah, what. Like, you know, like, I know we kind of talked about the process for making the album last time, so I guess, you know, y' all can. Y' all can go on the wknc.
03:28
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
03:29
DJ Iron Mic
Website and review that part, but you got a lot more. There's so much. That's why we're doing a part two to this. There's so much more to it.
03:36
Oak City Slums
Yeah, it was actually, I mean, you know, not much more. I mean, I just, you know, as an artist, I was just trying to expand my abilities and I have projects that are on the way that I'm doing the same thing. Like by time I finished that project, I was already on to something else. And so I was just, you know, finishing up that project was just a time, you know, capsule of what was going on at that time. And now I'm on to the next thing, trying to do something new, trying to better, trying to write better, you know, I'm thinking about doing something more sample based again.
04:05
DJ Iron Mic
Okay.
04:05
Oak City Slums
You know, I got. There's some talks of collaborations with some. Some heavy hitters around here and there's also, you know, projects that I'm working on that I just want to do something different maybe under new monikers and stuff like that.
04:20
DJ Iron Mic
Oh, new.
04:20
Oak City Slums
So rebrand new and whole new projects. Like I'm still oak, man. You know, always be that. But I'll be, you know, trying to do some new stuff and just, I mean, I'm having fun. Like I said last time is when it's not fun no more. I'll stop right now. I'm having a lot of fun. So.
04:36
DJ Iron Mic
That's awesome, man. Like, you know, and that's the thing, like, you know, you've been doing. You've been doing your thing for a while and you know, that's, I think that's like one of the like creative blocks for a lot of people. When you get into a flow and then a lot of artists have a hard time trying to switch lanes and because you got to do that, you have to change lanes to get to keep going.
04:56
Oak City Slums
Yeah, I think it's telling of the times we live in, you know, everything's too accessible, you know, I mean, and so when you have, you know, access. Access to a lot of different software, different programs, different hardware, I think people tend to get a little lazy, you know, because they, you know, it came easy. So, you know, always make the joke to my friends, like you need to read the manual. You know, like, so when you get a new piece of hardware or, you know, a new software or whatever, read the manual first so you can know its potential. Because.
05:28
DJ Iron Mic
Right.
05:28
Oak City Slums
Chances are you're not going to use everything to its potential. But that just means you have more room to learn something and as the time goes on, you find new ways to use it and you know, so it's hard to, it's easy to, you know, show people how to use something is. But it's really hard to make, you know, show people how to be creative. You know. But I think knowing, knowing your tool as well as possible helps you be creative.
05:53
DJ Iron Mic
See, that's the thing in like electronic music and like, you know, beat making all that. You know, the old school people, you know, the old heads kind of dump on us for having like all equipment, electronic equipment and stuff. But I always tell people because I do, you know, I work at guitar center part time. I'm always telling people like that's an instrument. Yeah, like that sampler is an instrument.
06:14
Oak City Slums
Is.
06:14
DJ Iron Mic
You have to learn that instrument. Right.
06:16
Oak City Slums
It doesn't matter. Like I, I like. See, I feel more creative when I have a piece of hardware in front of me.
06:21
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
06:21
Oak City Slums
Where some people, they feel just as creative. I know I have friends who are like some of those creative people and they have, they. All they use is just a laptop and the software that's on the laptop. They don't use any type of shoulders or any type of gear and to make fire music and that I don't hate on any of that. I prefer hardware. I feel like I'm being more creative with hardware and in, it's, you know, it's the science of the software and accessibility of software that makes it easy for me to record it. You know, I'm saying I don't have to go to a major studio. I don't have to link, you know, even though I do have like a tape I can run myself to tape. I don't. I don't use that much, honestly.
06:57
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
06:57
Oak City Slums
Because they all, you know, they have all these different plugins and stuff and make yourself sound vintage and lo fi, if you want to have that feel. But I, you know, with the hardware, I kind of. I kind of started achieving that from the jump, you know, I mean, so I just think hardware is more fun. Which I'll probably later on interview when we get to some talk more about hardware because we got some stuff coming up. Okay. That we're trying to get people more interested in hardware. You know, I mean, see to jump on board with, you know, the tactileness of hardware.
07:29
DJ Iron Mic
All right, so like events, like around the city.
07:30
Oak City Slums
Yeah, yeah. There's. There's already talks of some other people starting some stuff. I just want to be another hand in it, you know.
07:36
DJ Iron Mic
Okay.
07:37
Oak City Slums
Yeah, we'll talk about.
07:37
DJ Iron Mic
Speaking of events.
07:40
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
07:41
DJ Iron Mic
Little crazy event couple weeks ago.
07:43
Oak City Slums
Look, that. That was.
07:47
DJ Iron Mic
I don't know, man, after the masses. When. When slums was up here. The last time we talked about hopscotch, it was before hopscotch. Like what, like a week before hopscotch?
07:56
Oak City Slums
Couple weeks before hopscotch. Yeah.
07:58
DJ Iron Mic
You know, there was some obvious omissions from the lineup and you know, we kind of talked about off record, everyone's a hater when they're not on the. They're not on the lineup. Yeah, everyone loves everyone when they are on the lineup.
08:10
Oak City Slums
Right, right. So ye. My. My main thing is like, if it's not my party, like, I really don't have much to say about it. So. Yeah, I still don't have much to say about hopscotch. I didn't go. The lineup wasn't appealing to me, so I just didn't go. So in. In efforts and I. I felt the consensus. A lot of people I knew, which I. I'm, you know, me being kind of involved in a lot of different parts of the music scene in the area. I feel a lot of people just felt a little. Kind of like, you know, like the lineup was kind of like a little lacking. And so.
08:42
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
08:43
Oak City Slums
And me being particularly more looking forward to like, you know, some electronic acts, you know. You know, kind of traditionally like Saturday night was like you'd go and see like the big electronic act, you know, either like cam. And then they started doing stuff at the Raleigh Convention center, you know, I'm saying. So I was kind of like. Like, oh, yeah, let's see what's going on, you know, and it's just, like, it was. You know, it just wasn't something I was into. And.
09:03
DJ Iron Mic
And.
09:03
Oak City Slums
And that's okay. Like, you know, I don't have to be into it. You know, I'm saying they don't put a festival on to please just me.
09:10
DJ Iron Mic
Please you.
09:10
Oak City Slums
You know what I'm saying? So. So I never have anything to say about it in that aspect. But, you know, conversely, I can. I can. I can. You know, as an artist and somebody who's. Who is involved in the local music scene, you know, I felt a need to put on, you know, something that me and the homies can have fun doing, you know, so me and the homies put our resources together, you know, I mean, and we put together something that was legendary, you know, I mean, like, we. We've done it before. It's not the first time it's happened, you know, I mean, and I wasn't, like. I wasn't surprised at it that it happened. I was excited, though. I was. It was nice. It was nice. It was a nice feeling to be, like.
09:52
Oak City Slums
People felt like they got to do something during Hoskotch weekend while everybody's going to see, like. I mean, honestly, I would have loved to see Thundercat. I would have loved to see Miguel. Right. But I'm not paying that kind of money. I don't have people. Yeah. To see two, three people I really want to see. Or the.
10:05
DJ Iron Mic
The.
10:05
Oak City Slums
You know, or, you know, some of those bands is like, I know these bands. I'll. I'll see them another time, you know, I mean, like. And that's a part of the event. Supposed to be something, like, special, you know what I mean? So that's what we did. We like all these. All these people. I had homies from Charlotte come through. I had homies from Boone come through, and we put together something that was free, which is always, like, I try to make everything as cheap as possible. That's, like, always my first goal is like, how can I make it as cheap as possible? How can I get as much money as possible to pay the artist? How can I make the lineup look as crazy as possible, as diverse as possible without offending people? You know, with pay, you know, I mean, I could.
10:42
Oak City Slums
You know, it's hard. It's hard to ask people to come do something, and they know they're not getting paid a whole lot of money. Right? So you're. You're kind of, like, doing this balancing act of, you know, because I don't, I'm not making money either. So I'm putting this, I'm putting time and effort time away from my family time away from making art to put an event on that hopefully pops. Yeah. You know, I'm saying.
11:02
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
11:02
Oak City Slums
Then on top of that you're asking like people to donate their time and I mean that's always, I mean, you know what I'm saying? So like, I mean, and not, you know, again, not to flex, but it shows you the character of everybody on that bill. Mainly you. You know, I'm not going to name drop anybody. If you weren't there, you didn't know who was there. There was some big name people on.
11:20
DJ Iron Mic
The radio you can name, right?
11:21
Oak City Slums
No, but it was a public event. Right, but they can look it up then. Right. So. But there was some big name people like people that performed and people that were just there. Big name people that you know, they get paid a lot of money for their time.
11:36
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
11:36
Oak City Slums
And they came through for no money to support me off the support the homies to support Raleigh beat scene, Raleigh producer rap scene. And so that was a lot of that was that showed me like, you know, there's something else going on and the people are here, the community is here, you know. And I feel like some of the festivals do overlook that. Yeah, they overlook some of the pillars in the community and then they look to others to be the pillar when they're actually not the pillars of the community. And it's not again, no slight to them. That's just none of my business. Right. I can have my opinion about it.
12:11
Oak City Slums
But the fact is I know a lot of people that are like pillars in this area to the local music scene that weren't involved with any of the decision making, which is again, that's none of my business. But I think you as a entity would be smart to reach out to the movers and shakers.
12:27
DJ Iron Mic
This makes sense, right?
12:29
Oak City Slums
Yeah, I mean just like, just hey,
12:30
DJ Iron Mic
Just like look, at least a phone call. Like hey, you can't make it out to everything.
12:35
Oak City Slums
No, you know what I'm saying?
12:37
DJ Iron Mic
If like I know from what I know is a pretty small unit that makes those decisions.
12:43
Oak City Slums
It's very small. And it's like they know who all. We all know who each other.
12:47
DJ Iron Mic
Right.
12:47
Oak City Slums
Are, you know, saying so it's not like you don't know who I am. I don't know who you are or you know who this guy is. You know who that guy is. It's like, you know, who these people are is not just deciding not to reach out to him. And I was like, okay, well, that's none of my business. Well, I'm going to reach out to them. We're going to go do something real crazy. Okay. And then we're going to. And then we're going to. You know, I mean, and the fact is, like, many other parties we've done and party. Other people, you know, party legal us, you know, discovery. They've done things that people talk about still today, which I don't like living in the past, but that just shows you what we did at one point or another.
13:21
Oak City Slums
And then the throw that party a couple weeks ago is the same thing. So just letting you know that, yo, we are out here, like, and it's not always about, like, the money. It's not, you know, we did that with no money.
13:33
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
13:33
Oak City Slums
And people got just to walk in, which some people didn't. Couldn't even appreciate it because they didn't have to pay to get in. And the fact is, like, they just walked into it. Like one of the craziest parties that happened all year so far.
13:43
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
13:44
Oak City Slums
You know, I mean, and then sold out.
13:46
DJ Iron Mic
I mean, like. Yeah, at capacity for two hours.
13:48
Oak City Slums
Yeah, at capacity.
13:49
DJ Iron Mic
Like, no, I've seen, you know, were talking about before, like, you know, I've seen clubs and whatever, like, get at capacity for a little while, but you always end up getting in two hours of that capacity. One in, one out is. That's like, that's a legendary, you know,
14:03
Oak City Slums
I mean, and that was a free unofficial. Exactly, man. Like, you didn't have to know. No membership, nothing, you know, shout out to emerge. They let us come in there. Their system is smacking, you know, they.
14:16
DJ Iron Mic
Really, they have the best system hands down.
14:19
Oak City Slums
Hands down for the Size club. It is the best system for the Size club.
14:23
DJ Iron Mic
Absolutely.
14:23
Oak City Slums
Definitely. Probably one of the clearest, nicest sound systems in the area, which is a huge deal.
14:29
DJ Iron Mic
But the owners over there, they actually care.
14:31
Oak City Slums
They actually. Right, and then, you know, shout out to Paul at the. The studio in there. You know, shout out to Heather. Shout out all those people. Like, they literally just let us come in there, do our thing. Which for us as artists, that's the biggest. That's a. That's the biggest. Thank you. Like, like, let us just come in. Don't tell me, don't tell me what to do. Let me just do my thing. And like. And then you let us, like, peel out like that. Yeah, that Was awesome, man. You know what I'm saying? And again, like, you know, who knows what that club will become or not come become, but to be able to play on that sound system is awesome, man. It was amazing. You know what I'm saying?
15:08
DJ Iron Mic
Sounded amazing, right? People were into it, you know, really diverse crowd.
15:12
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
15:12
DJ Iron Mic
You know, there was something for everybody, which is what made that event.
15:15
Oak City Slums
Exactly. That's what was really nice about the event, man. It wasn't. Unfortunately, we didn't have bands, but there was bands playing all weekend. I mean, everybody. I don't know a single person whose band wasn't on hopscotch.
15:26
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
15:26
Oak City Slums
It was like, literally like band central, which is great.
15:29
DJ Iron Mic
Again, it wasn't on the official. They were on the. They were on the day party.
15:33
Oak City Slums
Yeah, right.
15:34
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
15:34
Oak City Slums
Well, I mean, again, but they still got it. They still got it promoted, you know, and so even so, one of the local publications said, oh, this is a hopscotch after party. We said, no, this is a Raleigh party. Yeah, this is happening during hopscotch, but this is a Raleigh party. Like, we did this just for people in Raleigh that didn't want to go to hopscot or don't have the money to go to hopscotch, but want to see something crazy, you know, I mean, I see.
15:57
DJ Iron Mic
I think, like, when it comes to especially like hip hop and electronic music, underground electronic music, like, not the stuff you see it like, you know, EDC and all that. Yeah, no, but like, you know, underground electronic music, hip hop, especially when you get to the point where you're depending on gatekeepers to put you on. It's always dangerous. Like, you know, and people, you know, people have called you a gatekeeper. I know you don't like. People call me a gatekeeper. I don't like hearing that either.
16:22
Oak City Slums
No.
16:22
DJ Iron Mic
Because that's not what the culture.
16:25
Oak City Slums
Honestly, all it takes is you. Somebody taking the time. You know, I spent money to put on shows. Yeah. I spent countless dollars to put people on BE or to make sure I had just enough money in my bank account to pay artists. I asked friends of mine who are wealthy to give me, like, just like, hey, I just need like a couple hundred dollars just in case it flops. Yeah. You know, to. So I can make sure the artist gets paid. And so it's like, people are not willing to do that. Put the work in or, you know, in my case, look out, look to my resources or people that I know can help. Again, like, I'm looking out for other people. There's been very Few times that I've made a lot of money off a show.
17:06
Oak City Slums
But if I made a lot of money, it means everybody.
17:07
DJ Iron Mic
Everybody else made.
17:08
Oak City Slums
Exactly. So, you know, and, you know, so to be called a gatekeeper, I'm not really down with that. But I definitely look out. I definitely look out for, like, all the homies, artists, you know, the. The way we handle ourselves in the community, the way we try to handle the community of musicians. I don't really care how you identify or don't identify. White, black, gay, straight, queer, whatever. If you're a musician, I dig it. You know what I'm saying? And so we're trying to handle everybody the same way. Like, hey, you do art. Let's hear your art. You know, I mean, if we dig it, cool. If not. And you think you're that hot, do what we did.
17:43
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
17:44
Oak City Slums
Like, we literally. I literally went out and bought sound equipment that I still own, and went into small spaces, like, nice price went to, you know, Cam invited us to come do a little show in Cam once, you know, and I brought myself. That was my equipment again. Like, I spent the money to. To, you know, put just me and the homies on.
18:06
DJ Iron Mic
Right.
18:06
Oak City Slums
I mean, like, we just want a place to, like, we don't want to make. We don't want to just show people in our home studios anymore. We want to show people out in the public. Yeah. You know, I'm saying. And so. And. And clubs weren't letting us in. Every club in here that I've played now at one point told me no.
18:20
DJ Iron Mic
Really?
18:21
Oak City Slums
Or just didn't holler back at me. Every single one of them. I don't care which one you're talking about. Except for Emerge. But Immersion wasn't anything when I started.
18:28
DJ Iron Mic
Well, yeah, okay. I was gonna ask about that.
18:29
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
18:30
DJ Iron Mic
You have a residency with them.
18:31
Oak City Slums
Yeah. So I. I spin at Emerge every Saturday night, and they pretty much give me Saturdays to do what I want with it. So I guess kind of jump in the gun, you know, we plan on doing some more showcasey shows. Like, not. Not like open mics or anything like that.
18:51
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
18:52
Oak City Slums
But, like, hey, you probably never heard of this person because it's their first show. Oh. Like we used to do with Sunday shakes.
18:57
DJ Iron Mic
On a Saturday.
18:58
Oak City Slums
On a Saturday.
18:58
DJ Iron Mic
That's what's up. Right, Right.
19:00
Oak City Slums
I mean, so, I mean, obviously, you have to have some type of polish to your. To your.
19:03
DJ Iron Mic
Obviously. Yeah. You're not. You're rapping over your vocals and.
19:06
Oak City Slums
Yeah, yeah, we're pro.
19:08
DJ Iron Mic
Not gonna.
19:08
Oak City Slums
Yeah. If you're if you're still at that level, then, you know, I don't know. I mean, maybe. I don't know. I. All we're trying to do is offer some type of like step. Like, hey, like, I mean, emerge is not like, you're not popping if you play to emerge, you know what I'm saying? Like, but it is something to say. Like, I did finally play my stuff on a really nice big system and then I finally, you know, I'm finally got that first show under my belt, which we like, were doing like, you know, a year and a half ago. Two years with Sunday Shake was basically for any. Pretty much anybody could play Sunday Shake. Yeah, if I had, if I never heard of you and somebody gave me your name and I thought, like, hey, this is pretty good.
19:45
Oak City Slums
Like, maybe it's not even my thing. Like, I probably put you on it, you know, I mean. And so the Saturday thing, we're going to be kind of mixing things up. Hopefully doing more hardware shows, you know, so probably leaning more towards house and techno and drum track type music, you know, but just trying to mix things up, make people, you know, trying to do things different, you know, I mean, like, obviously me being a hip hop head and really into electronic music, I have my own style. I'm into footwork, I'm into that side of electronic music. But you know, you got people like foot rocket. You know, he's. There's a lot of more kind of French house type thing. Like, I like all of it. So we're trying to put like.
20:24
Oak City Slums
And he, everybody, he got it, he got his start with me as well. Like, I mean, like, I know him since he was like shooting probably five or six man. And like. Yeah, yeah, no, he went to my church, like, and so like I, I was producing and so then he like. I don't know what made him start producing. I don't think I made him start producing, but he started kind of coming around and listening to my tracks and hanging out in the studio and I kind of helped him polish what he was already doing, you know, I mean, so we're trying, I'm trying to do the same thing. I'm just trying to offer outlets for all this stuff going on. And it doesn't have to be, you know, it doesn't have to be a big festival.
20:59
Oak City Slums
You don't have to want to try to, you know, get your first start on Mofest. That's probably not going to happen. Yeah, that's probably going to Happen anyways, like, you know, but, you know, or hopscotch or one of these big festivals or one of these huge shows, it's like, hey, look, I. I know there's great talent out here. And even that show we put on, a lot of people didn't know who. Any. Like, pretty much anybody else.
21:19
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
21:19
Oak City Slums
Except for, like, the three big names that were on there.
21:21
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
21:22
Oak City Slums
Including Juice.
21:22
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
21:23
Oak City Slums
And so a lot of people were like, oh, well, who. Who's this? Who's that? Where are they from? How'd you. How do you know? I mean, people I know that I talk to all the time, they're just like, who's that guy? And I'm like, I met him on Soundcloud or something, you know, I mean, like, he's from. He's from Boone, like, you know, so, like, my homie Laviere came through from Boone. My homie Accent. My homie Fells, they came through from Charlotte. And people like, where you know these guys from? It's like, man, just from around, man, like, you know, playing shows. I know guys all over Asheville that. Guys all through, you know, southeast, the Northeast, man. You know, it's just, you know, keep my ear out. But I can.
21:54
Oak City Slums
As much as I know those guys, I know there's people around here that I know, or nobody knows who they are. I don't even know who they are yet, but they're. They're. They're making hot music. Yeah.
22:03
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
22:03
Oak City Slums
Like, I just met. I met a guy named Black Box Theory. He's out of Greensboro. Dude, he's. Stuff is so hot, man. He does all hardware. And, like, we're trying to get him down here. And so it's. It's like, it's just trying to keep offering something fresh, something new, you know? I mean, it's like. I think, unfortunately, in Raleigh, the gatekeepers keep going to the exact same people. So the show might be a different venue, but it's the exact same lineup, you know, I'm saying. And we're trying to avoid that, you know, even for myself, I don't want to put myself on everything.
22:33
DJ Iron Mic
And a bunch of different genres, too. It's like, it's not just, you know.
22:35
Oak City Slums
Right.
22:35
DJ Iron Mic
Limited to one scene.
22:36
Oak City Slums
Like. No, no. Everybody does the same thing, right? Something gets hot and they just. They wear the death, man.
22:41
DJ Iron Mic
And that's the thing, though. It's like, you know. You know, this scene, even though, like, it's really kind of easy to. Not easy, but it's tangible to make your own movement in this City more than any other city. You can't do what we do in New York.
22:55
Oak City Slums
No, you just can't. No, you know you can, but it'd be hard.
22:58
DJ Iron Mic
It's hard. You have to have a lot more clout.
23:00
Oak City Slums
Yeah, your hustle got to be straight, man. I think it really comes down to, is your hustle, man. You got to get your hustle straight, man. People, what people get away with in Raleigh would never get. They would never get away with Atlanta and in LA or New York or Chicago. Any one of these bigger scenes of music. This, you know, this kind of, you.
23:19
DJ Iron Mic
Know, prime example, you know me.
23:22
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
23:22
DJ Iron Mic
Not touch you up, but prime example is my homeboy Layer Cake up in New York. Dope, dope ass street artists started off like Zulu Nation back in the day, tagging up in New York City, getting arrested for. For it, has felonies for it, all kinds of stuff. You know, he's been at it for years and years. He just got put last year in the World Trade center gallery. Wow. You know, but he's been doing his own. Like he hustles gallery shows, like the way you hustle music shows and stuff. Yeah, but he's been doing it. He did work for MTV Music Awards. Wow. No love at all.
24:00
Oak City Slums
That's crazy, man.
24:01
DJ Iron Mic
But then all of a sudden, you know, you finally get to that. So, like, you know what I'm saying is like, you can be super dope in another city and not get.
24:07
Oak City Slums
And get no love, man.
24:08
DJ Iron Mic
Work for mtv. You know what I mean?
24:11
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
24:11
DJ Iron Mic
So we are, we really are blessed here. But the problem with that is there's also no money.
24:17
Oak City Slums
There's no money. And you know, I don't believe that either, though. There's some money, there's money, but you got.
24:21
DJ Iron Mic
People don't want to sell it out.
24:22
Oak City Slums
They do, they do. I think it's both the artists don't want to take this low cut again. Like, if I wanted to, I could really stunt and really tell you how much I get for some of these shows I get. I play. I've been paid a lot of money for some shows. And then there's shows where I've been paid. They're like, yo, we got like 50 bucks. I'm like, all right, man, I'll come through. You know, I mean, like, yeah, you know, but you. Because you got to be willing. Because the fact is I'd rather see something cracking than to be like, oh, well, you don't have. You don't have the X amount of dollars to pay me for a show. Well, all right, well, I can't really come through. It's like I, I look at, I weigh things. I.
24:59
Oak City Slums
If I know you're making money at the door and you're making a certain amount of money at the door, I'm gonna weigh it knowing that, hey, there's probably going to be this many people there and you're selling tickets at such and such dollar.
25:08
DJ Iron Mic
Right.
25:08
Oak City Slums
Well, I need a piece of that because now I'm the headliner. I'm the co headliner. Wherever position I might be in the lineup, it's going to change all those dynamics where if I know this is like a local show, they're. They're charging a couple bucks to get in or it's free. The guy's putting it on. I know he's in the hole already for how much he spent. It's gonna be like, okay, hey, look, man, just throw me some gas money. I know you got gas money. Yeah, all right, well, I'm just down the street. I was just. It's at the club down the street. Great, I'll be there. No problem. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, it's different.
25:40
Oak City Slums
I think the money is there, but the artists have to be willing to take a smaller cut when they're talking about, you know, regular, you know, regular town shows. You know what I'm saying? Little, you know, you're playing a show at Slims or something like that or, you know, we're not talking about Red Hat, we're talking about. We're talking or even Lincoln. Right. Like, you know, when you start packing out Lincoln and Red Hat, there's some significant amount of money that came through now.
26:05
DJ Iron Mic
Right?
26:05
Oak City Slums
Hey, I wanna, I, I need a piece of that. No, but then when you start talking about, you know, a place like Emerge, you start talking about kings, you start talking about some of these clubs that, you know, 200 cap, you know, I mean, like, you're charging, you know, and the guy is like charging, you know, 15 bucks a ticket for some guy. Like, for us. Yeah, we live here. Like, I mean, you are not likely to come to a show and it's $15 in tickets. Yeah, but I just saw him last week for free.
26:28
DJ Iron Mic
Right, right.
26:29
Oak City Slums
You know, so it's like, so you have to kind of balance it all out, I think. And I think promoters, I don't think. I mean, some promoters are pretty slimy, but I Don't think anybody around here can be properly defined as a promoter. Like every. It's pretty much artists putting on shows.
26:44
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
26:44
Oak City Slums
Including myself.
26:45
DJ Iron Mic
Absolutely.
26:45
Oak City Slums
I wouldn't call myself a promoter. I call myself an artist.
26:48
DJ Iron Mic
Now there are. There are promoters.
26:50
Oak City Slums
Yeah. And they're probably slimy.
26:52
DJ Iron Mic
Right. But I'm not, you know.
26:55
Oak City Slums
Right.
26:55
DJ Iron Mic
But the types of promoters that are doing stuff on Capitol Boulevard with like, you know, having young Ma come for like, oh, my Gosh, for like 10.
27:02
Oak City Slums
Minutes, we don't play those shows. So. Yeah, but. Yeah, I mean, but that's. That's a whole different scene of people. They're not involved in the music scene.
27:10
DJ Iron Mic
They're.
27:10
Oak City Slums
They're. They're businessmen, you know, or want to be businessmen. And I think when it comes down to it, everybody's trying. I mean, me. Even me and Tree City talked about it, you know, a day ago. Like, I don't feel comfortable asking females to play for free. So that. That limits my. My. Because I feel uncomfortable doing that. I just feel like it's already a problem, females getting paid a certain dollar amount because, you know, there is some. Some misogyny and chauvinistic attitude. And, you know, us, particularly in electronic music. I don't. I don't. I don't. I. I've never partaken in it. I pr. If I can't pay a female the exact amount as all the other guys, I'll try to pay her more.
27:59
DJ Iron Mic
Okay.
28:00
Oak City Slums
So just to be fair, you know, I mean, and show love, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm always trying to show love if I can, but I don't feel comfortable asking females to play a show for free. So that's why the party last week. I know Sarah, the instrumentals. Yeah, that's a friend, you know, I know away message. Those are friends of mine that I don't. I. I still don't feel comfortable asking employee for free, but if I'm like, if I have a small amount of money, I'll ask them, you know, But I. I typically don't. I just don't. I just don't feel comfortable doing it if somebody else feels comfortable asking for me, I guess. But, you know, like, so. So, I mean, so that actually it really limits my ability sometimes to put together some of these.
28:42
Oak City Slums
These, like, you know, free shows, you know, because. Because, you know, now if a female tells me, hey, holler me anytime, well, I'm a holler at you then, you know, I mean, I'm gonna let you know, like, hey, I Got a show. Like, we ain't got no money or whatever, but it's gonna be, you know, fly. You know, I mean, like, again, the after hopscotch party, I told all the guys, look, I, I will have you something. Like, it's not going to be even. It'll probably be enough to get you a happy meal, you know what I mean? But I'm promise you, this gonna. It's gonna, it's gonna go off. So I gave them an experience rather than I didn't have like a whole bunch of money.
29:21
Oak City Slums
And that kind of goes into a different conversation of, you know, guys saying, like, you know, I'll give you exposure. Like, oh, I don't even offer that.
29:28
DJ Iron Mic
Yes.
29:29
Oak City Slums
It's like, yeah, look, I'm telling you, like, it's gonna be fly because of, like, who's on the bill. I know what we're about to do, you know, I mean, but at the.
29:36
DJ Iron Mic
Same time, it was still exposure.
29:38
Oak City Slums
It was regardless. Right, but. But that was a part of the.
29:41
DJ Iron Mic
Conversation, though, even for Juice's set, you know?
29:43
Oak City Slums
Yeah. You know, crazy.
29:45
DJ Iron Mic
There were a whole bunch of unfamiliar faces.
29:48
Oak City Slums
Everybody in the room. I didn't recognize hat three fourths of the room.
29:51
DJ Iron Mic
No. I had. One of my old bosses was showed up.
29:55
Oak City Slums
That's crazy.
29:55
DJ Iron Mic
Drunk as hell.
29:56
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
29:57
DJ Iron Mic
He's like, oh, what's going on?
29:58
Oak City Slums
But like, crazy.
29:59
DJ Iron Mic
He was like, you know, someone I wouldn't expect to be at a party. Middle aged guy.
30:04
Oak City Slums
That's what we're trying to do though, man.
30:05
DJ Iron Mic
That's, you know, that kind of. I was going to ask this too. I think one of the biggest obstacles for local artists, especially local artists who curate their own shows, is that separation between the scene, the people who, you know, are going to be out. You can do a show. I can, I can put up. Put together a show for next month. I know exactly who. Who I can depend on being there.
30:26
Oak City Slums
Right.
30:27
DJ Iron Mic
You know, but the block is always, how do you get into the people in Raleigh that don't even know that there's a music scene out here? You know, the people who hang out at, like, Cornerstone.
30:38
Oak City Slums
Right.
30:38
DJ Iron Mic
You know, Glenwood South? For the most part. Yeah.
30:42
Oak City Slums
I think it's being realistic. Right. So you're. It takes the community to kind of get it popping again. I, I pride myself on knowing a lot of different people. So I, you know, and that kind of makes its way into kind of people I keep around me. Like, I don't keep people around me that are just like, they're just one dimensional Right. You know, I mean, so the kind of people I keep around me are people that are into other people or into other cultures or into other, you know, lifestyles. And so. And that they're not just. They're not just one dimensional. They don't just do one thing that's not into one thing. So that makes its way into the people they keep around them. Right? So the fact is, a lot of people I talk to, hang around, they're not like.
31:31
Oak City Slums
Most of them are not like me, actually, and my music and my influences. I think it takes a lot more. It takes a lot more than just saying, like, I want to reach these other people. If you don't know, speak their language, you don't speak their lifestyle, you don't speak their. Their culture. Yeah, you're not gonna get them. They're not gonna. They're not gonna relate to you. You know, I mean, and I think a lot of it is, you know, it gets. At one, a certain point, it's. You're just. It is just your friends showing it to your shows. Then it's your friends saying, like, you gotta compare. Check my homie out.
32:04
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
32:04
Oak City Slums
Then they come and then that.
32:06
DJ Iron Mic
Just.
32:06
Oak City Slums
Then it's the random, hey, yo, I'm going out to such and such. I saw him a week ago or two weeks ago.
32:13
DJ Iron Mic
Let's go.
32:14
Oak City Slums
Come, come check them out with me, right? And being realistic about the. The expectation. And. And. And then when you see 10 people there and you're like, okay, I want to see 15 people there next time. Okay, I want to see 20 people the next time. And you're reaching out. And again, as you keep hustling, you keep trying to reach for those goals. You keep the goal real small, right? And then as you keep reaching these small goals, you're also, simultaneously, you're putting forth 110% if there's five people in front of you, right?
32:43
DJ Iron Mic
That's.
32:44
Oak City Slums
You're putting together 110. If one person shows up. I've played to an empty room and I went in. Yeah, I'm telling you, I played to any room and I went in. Like. I'm like, yo, somebody should have seen this set. This was crazy.
32:55
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah, right? Me Juice did that actually, a few weeks ago. One of my. One of. One of the people I work with, he has a band. They're putting out an album. They. They've never put on a show before. Tried to help them kind of like, figure it out. There's a lot of work that you got to do for yourself. You know what I mean? And they just, you know, it was their first show. They couldn't get it together. They were like 15 people, 20 people. Like, went hard as hell, but those 15 people that were there, you know, show love.
33:25
Oak City Slums
Right?
33:25
DJ Iron Mic
Exactly.
33:25
Oak City Slums
So next time, what's going to happen, those 15 people are going to meet up with your 30 people. Now you got 45 people right at your show.
33:31
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah. Now.
33:32
Oak City Slums
Now, again, you're going to get the. The people that just walk in or kind of haphazardly find out about the show. And it's. It's just a progress of always putting forth your best work.
33:42
DJ Iron Mic
You never know who's watching.
33:44
Oak City Slums
Here's a fact. I always tell people this. Every big opportunity I've had, big shows I've played, major shows I've played have come from small shows. Yeah. Like, I've talked to somebody at a show I played, and there was five people there.
33:55
DJ Iron Mic
Well, that's.
33:56
Oak City Slums
But this person happened to be there, and boom, like, now they put me in front of a thousand, two thousand people. You know, I mean, like, it's kind of crazy.
34:04
DJ Iron Mic
That's. That's just facts. Like, you go to, like, big festivals, like A3C, south by Southwest, the A R is. And the. The rich dudes aren't chilling at the show with like a million people because they don't want to be involved in all. They don't.
34:16
Oak City Slums
You're right.
34:16
DJ Iron Mic
They're going to the one that they can just, like, sit in the back.
34:19
Oak City Slums
That's right, man. You're absolutely right. And it's, you know, nothing is the exact same way for everybody. I just know for myself, I've. My whole time I've been producing and playing shows is. I've put my best foot forward. And that's. And that's. For me, I try to do that with my life.
34:37
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
34:37
Oak City Slums
You know, so with my children and my wife, I'm trying to be the best husband I possibly can be. Even I don't feel good or I don't feel right in my head. I'm trying to be the best father I can possibly be when it's like those days are hard to be that. You know, I'm saying. So there's. It's hard to see five people in front of you when you just played in front of 2,000 people, like a couple weeks ago.
34:56
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah, absolutely.
34:56
Oak City Slums
And then you're. You're standing in front and nobody cares about what you're doing right now, you know, and you. But you're like, you know, I'M going to go in anyways. And that's happened to me many times, you know, where I've. I've played a big, huge show or the. Even the show wasn't huge and big in number. The energy was crazy. And that reciprocation from the crowd was there. And then I go to another crowd or, you know, or, you know, or a different venue even, or a different state, and I don't get the same love. And you're like, man, you know, it's popping. Last week. I did the exact same set last week, you know, but you have to be willing to be like, hey, but that just happens, you know, I mean, and so. Because there's going to be that one person there.
35:37
Oak City Slums
So 20 people came to my show last week. That one person was really digging my set, and I got 21 people that came to my show.
35:44
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
35:44
Oak City Slums
And people don't think of it like that. They're looking. They want to. They want to sell a show out first, go around. It's like, you think that's gonna happen? No, absolutely not. And even some of the shows I've. On, some of the events I've played and some things I've done, it's like, it doesn't make up for a whole career, you know? I mean, it doesn't make up for, you know. You know, J. Cole's in town and I'm playing. I'm playing the same night as J. Cole. It's like, okay, well, you know, you got. You got your name right, you know?
36:09
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah, exactly. You can't even expect your friends to. Right, man.
36:12
Oak City Slums
So, you know, even, like, so it's like, tomorrow night, we got the show at Runaway. We're doing a shirt release collaboration. Your shirt is fire, right?
36:20
DJ Iron Mic
It's the album cover.
36:21
Oak City Slums
It is.
36:22
DJ Iron Mic
I. I literally just. Yeah, so.
36:26
Oak City Slums
So. So, yeah, it was. It was part of this album is like one. One whole thing. The. The party we're having Tomorrow, it's from 8 to 11. You know, I try to make it where if anything else was cracking off, people could at least stop in my joint and then go some. Somewhere else.
36:44
DJ Iron Mic
Somewhere else. Yeah.
36:45
Oak City Slums
And so Gemini Tennis are playing at the Pin Hook tomorrow night with Lee.
36:52
DJ Iron Mic
With Leaf. Yeah, that's right.
36:53
Oak City Slums
So I expect everybody down the block. It's literally not even right at the corner. Yeah. So, you know, for me, I know I'm not worried about whether. Whether people will be at my joint. I know people be at my joint and different people be at my joints. And Leaf, you know, I mean, like, Everybody thinks, like, oh. Cause leaf's gonna pop. Like, ain't gonna be. You know, the way I'll be here, it's like, no, people definitely be there. They'll only get a whole different vibe, you know? I mean, but what we're gonna do, too, is we're gonna pack up and we're gonna go walk in the Leaf, you know, saying, like, yeah. So, like, you know, for me, it's all about, like, momentum, you know, kind of bringing everything full circle. It's. I'm great.
37:32
Oak City Slums
I'm happy that hopscotch is putting on shows or putting on events. I'm happy Mofest puts on events. Would I like to see more locals and them putting a spotlight on locals? Most definitely.
37:44
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
37:44
Oak City Slums
But I'm not looking for big companies to do that for me. The fact is, we are doing that all year long, and it takes everybody who's even listening now to say, hey, I'm gonna start going to some local joints. The fact is, if you missed our party, you missed out big time. I'm not talking like. I'm not talking like, yo, it was kind of late, yo. It was like, no. Literally everybody named mom swung through that party.
38:06
DJ Iron Mic
Everybody except for you.
38:09
Oak City Slums
And you weren't there. I don't know why, but you weren't there. And it's literally for free. Like, how. What else can we do for you to put on the hot. One of the hottest shows that happens all year? You. All you had to do is just get out of your bed or walk down the block and go walk.
38:24
DJ Iron Mic
That's really just what the culture is about. Either way. Like, you know, hip hop and electronic music, because it all started free. Park jams.
38:30
Oak City Slums
Yeah.
38:30
DJ Iron Mic
House shows, all that kind of stuff.
38:32
Oak City Slums
Exactly. I offer what I could offer to the artists. They said, cool. A lot of artists didn't want to play it because they didn't. The money wasn't.
38:38
DJ Iron Mic
Money wasn't there.
38:41
Oak City Slums
Hey, look, it's not even whack. That's their preference, right? You didn't want, like, so you. So you want to play. You know, you get your little 200, right, or whatever, and you play some whack show. Did you got your 200? That's cool, right? Nobody's talking about your show for the rest of the year. You got your 200 that you're gonna spend on a light bill. Okay. All right.
39:02
DJ Iron Mic
Or.
39:03
Oak City Slums
Or you could have been like, you know what? I'm gonna play that show because I know how Oak City does.
39:08
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah, right. You know. You know what's crazy? It's like, what was crazy about that show is like, me and Juice. Well, Juice and me, whatever. I dj, I'm replaceable either way. We did our set and it was amazing. Crazy. Best one of definitely top two sets we've ever done. I get off the stage and Silvanesso, you know, two of them just there, like, oh, you got. You guys were amazing.
39:39
Oak City Slums
You weren't gonna let that one slide. You're just gonna throw, you're gonna name drop. They were in like, hey, no, you.
39:44
DJ Iron Mic
Don't have the name drop point here because I. Okay, I got you. But no. So, like, someone like that, seeing them out of town really kind of put them into perspective for me. I always tell people when I went to south by last year and this year, they like not only packed out the crowd, had a whole city block wound up to see them.
40:06
Oak City Slums
Right?
40:07
DJ Iron Mic
You know, like, that really put that in perspective because as you said, these are just the homies. These, they do stuff for the love and you know, to have that in there. But you have these people that are like, you know, literally driving people insane outside of the, outside of this market.
40:23
Oak City Slums
Right?
40:24
DJ Iron Mic
Just to be there, just to show support.
40:26
Oak City Slums
Right.
40:26
DJ Iron Mic
Like, that's, that's.
40:28
Oak City Slums
I mean, yeah, I wasn't going to name drop. I mean, they're, they're. It's not uncommon to see them around. It's not uncommon to see the people that they're associated with. I mean, you know, when they're around, there's a likelihood there's going to be other big name, right. Well known artists around with them. And so, you know, Bon Iver has been at shows that, and you know, I, I guess he's has some correlation to North Carolina, but definitely because, you know, Nick and Amelia are around, they're probably doing some project together, I.
40:59
DJ Iron Mic
Don't know, but make me feel stupid for name dropping. But that's okay.
41:03
Oak City Slums
I just thought, I just, I think it's pointless. I just, I'm not saying like you do it on purpose or you like, whatever. I think it's pointless because I know a lot of famous people, right? I know a lot of big name producers. I'm linked up with a lot of big name producers and the fact is they're doing their thing and I've always appreciated that. They've shown me love and they've put me on to certain things, but they never handicapped me by putting me on when it was unnecessary.
41:29
DJ Iron Mic
Right?
41:29
Oak City Slums
Or I was undeserving, you know, I'm saying. So the fact is, Nick has been a big supporter of my music. He's been a big supporter of Roundhouse, the people around him. Amelia, his wife, Amelia, manager, all of them have done a lot of stuff for me. And I can name drop a lot of big name producers in the area that have done a lot for me. But when it comes down to it, I know for a fact I hustled to. To gain that respect from them.
41:59
DJ Iron Mic
Right.
41:59
Oak City Slums
So the fact is, I know for a fact that Nick would not support something that was corny. Right. I know for a fact they wouldn't be at the party if it was corny. So the fact is, when Juice is doing his thing and you're DJing and is. I saw their faces while you guys were performing. I felt the energy in the room while you guys were performing. And I know for a fact that was just a moment and they happened to be there. Yeah.
42:25
DJ Iron Mic
So that's.
42:26
Oak City Slums
It's not. They didn't. They didn't come to see. Even really see me. They didn't come to see Juice or anybody, but they were surprised by the energy in the room. I know. I know that because they told me that. But again, that's why I tell people, it's like you really missed out. It wasn't. It's not. Again, I'm not trying to flex. It's just like real artists that you even respect and listen to are at these parties. Just tell you something about the parties we're throwing, you know, I mean, and the artists that we're putting on, you're just missing out. And the fact is, you know, even if they didn't, you still would be missing out. If Nick and Amelia weren't there, if some of the other big name artists.
43:02
DJ Iron Mic
That weren't what made the night. That's the thing. That's what's cool about it.
43:05
Oak City Slums
What was that was. That's funny you say that, because I was telling somebody usually, like. Because Nick always slides through every event that we throw around the area. Not always, but I mean, if he's in town, he's probably gonna pop through. But most of the people weren't there to see Nick.
43:21
DJ Iron Mic
Usually.
43:22
Oak City Slums
It's like. It's usually like Maid of Oak, or if we. Nick, if he's on the flyers, Nick Sanborn or Made of Oak, it's like this huge crowd there just to see him. And then when he plays, they bounce.
43:33
DJ Iron Mic
It goes ghost town.
43:35
Oak City Slums
That was like Laviere went on after him. And he killed.
43:39
DJ Iron Mic
He did. Yeah, he killed it. Yeah.
43:41
Oak City Slums
I was like. And people. I mean, the room felt like the room got more packed. It was crazy. And so the. The. The. The fact that Nick was there was. It was cool for me, just because that's the homie, you know? I mean, like, Nick has shown me a lot of love. I'm. I'm appreciative when he slides through and supports and then tells me, great job, you know, I mean, like, so that's just a. You know, it's not even for my ego at this point. I've played bigger shows with Nick.
44:06
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
44:06
Oak City Slums
I've done bigger things with Nick and Amelia. And so that show wasn't about that. It wasn't about. It was just about. Again, I was just as appreciative that Juice was there for, like, doing his thing. I was just appreciative that Laviere was there. Accent Fels, you know, Sarah Foot Rocket, everybody. Who.
44:26
DJ Iron Mic
Sarah was amazing, by the way. I've never seen her live. I'm sure I've heard some stuff.
44:30
Oak City Slums
That was the best set she's ever done in my. I've seen her. I've seen it quite a few times, and it was the best that she's ever done. I feel like everybody put their best foot forward, which, again, that's what is so surprising about the people I keep around me. The fact is, like, nobody was making money. I didn't make any money. I think I made $14 by the end of. It was all said and done.
44:48
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
44:49
Oak City Slums
Wow. And nobody made much more than I did.
44:51
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah. Right.
44:52
Oak City Slums
Except for, like, the guys who traveled together. We gave them a little more money because they. They drove here, you know, to be a part of it. But the fact is, I felt like. I know for a fact that's the best I've seen Foot Rocket. I know for a fact that's the best I've seen. Sarah. I know. I think it was one of my worst sets, to be honest. But I felt like you had a.
45:15
DJ Iron Mic
Lot going on, though.
45:16
Oak City Slums
Yeah, I know.
45:17
DJ Iron Mic
You were really like, I'll give you. I'll definitely give you props because you were like, I got my throwing that thing like crazy. Really.
45:24
Oak City Slums
So. But everybody I saw, except for Nick, I've seen. Nick's always amazing to me. Like, everything he does is pretty crazy, but he's on a certain level of expertise. Right. You know, I mean, like, he comes through with his thing and he does his thing like it's on the level he ever does it with. Anything else is the Level he brings each time he's done an event with us. But everybody else that was on there, I feel like they did their best I've ever seen, and I think partially because most of them have never been in a room with that kind of energy. I'd say most.
45:56
DJ Iron Mic
No, that was.
45:56
Oak City Slums
90% of the people on the bill had not played a show like that.
45:59
DJ Iron Mic
I've never. I've literally. I don't think I've ever seen a local show. Like, of all locals, I think that the most energy I've seen, like, that level of energy, I think, was matched at, like, moog Fest in 2016 when. When Denzel Curry played it. That was crazy. But it was that level of energy. Yeah.
46:18
Oak City Slums
Right. So everybody was going crazy. It was like. I mean, like. Like, it sounded like wild banshees, and it was crazy, man.
46:26
DJ Iron Mic
Like.
46:26
Oak City Slums
Yeah. I remember thinking, like, man, like, this is. This is great. If nothing else happens, good tonight.
46:32
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
46:33
Oak City Slums
It's already reached a level that was,
46:34
DJ Iron Mic
Like, for me, I didn't even cover it for Indie Week.
46:37
Oak City Slums
So, Yeah, a lot of people felt the same way, and I was happy about that, and I'm glad. You know, hip hop looked good that night. Electronic music looked good that night. Raleigh looked really put together, man.
46:50
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
46:51
Oak City Slums
You know, I'm saying, like, I'm not. It's like, again, it was. It was. Is nothing against hopscotch. There's nothing against. But there how you have all that money, you can't put something hot on. You know what I mean? Like, something that, like, the people that, you know are in your city. Yeah, these are people, you know in your city.
47:06
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah. And you got to see every day.
47:08
Oak City Slums
Yeah, man, every day. And so. And. And again, that's not my party. And for some people, hopscotch was crazy. They got to see Miguel. They got to see Thundercat. They got to see a lot of artists they were looking to see.
47:20
DJ Iron Mic
I heard Vic Mensa's set was.
47:22
Oak City Slums
Oh, yeah, I forgot. Yeah. Big Mensa was on it. Yeah. I mean, and Bala was on it. That's a good look for her.
47:27
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah.
47:28
Oak City Slums
Right. So a lot of this stuff is a good look for a lot of people, man. But, you know, again, what it comes down to, is it. What is it doing for the culture here? Like, as an artist in Raleigh, I think, like, is this really, like, what is this doing for, like, everybody else?
47:41
DJ Iron Mic
Right?
47:42
Oak City Slums
And for me, it didn't look like. It didn't look like it really benefited everybody else the same way. I. I mean, no slight. The Mofest but these guys have to make money. They're trying to come up with the best side ways and ideas to keep that festival going.
47:56
DJ Iron Mic
Mo Fest had a bit of a PR disaster right in the middle of the thing, though.
48:00
Oak City Slums
Like, it's okay, though. It's okay. That's their thing. It's there. Again, to me that. That's none of my business what y' all decide to do as a PR plan or, you know, you devise the. The plan to make things most appealing to the. The community around you. That's great. I don't have to agree with it. I don't have to be a part of it. I don't have to, you know, but. And then, and then. And we did the same thing at Milk Fest, right through a party that blew the doors off.
48:25
DJ Iron Mic
The doors off.
48:26
Oak City Slums
Every artist that was on. I mean, I. I swear I felt like every artist that was playing Mokefest swung through the party.
48:32
DJ Iron Mic
Right?
48:32
Oak City Slums
You know, I mean, and that. And that was like, to us, for us, was like even a better party because we made it where it literally only like 50 or 60 people can actually fit into the actual place.
48:42
DJ Iron Mic
That's the best way to do it.
48:43
Oak City Slums
Yeah, but the system that was in there was bonkers.
48:46
DJ Iron Mic
Really.
48:46
Oak City Slums
Yeah, it was bonkers. We had. We had Sean Hennessy. Subs provided by Party Illegal, Tree City Queen. Please play. Play. That's their equipment. They provided the subs. And then I brought my QSCs. I have these big QSCs. Okay. And blew the doors off. I mean, the Durham Hotel at 4 o' clock in the morning was calling the cops on us.
49:09
DJ Iron Mic
Really?
49:10
Oak City Slums
And that's like, almost like. That's like. I mean, that's. That's many doors down. And they were saying how loud it was. I was like, man, thank you. The cops came and shut it down. It was awesome. Everybody was super cool about it. I mean, I think everybody. Raleigh's not used to partying that late night. So 4 o' clock came around. I think everybody was ready to go home. Nobody wanted to tap out and look.
49:29
DJ Iron Mic
Like a punk, you know, like their excuse. I was like, oh, cops are here.
49:32
Oak City Slums
We gotta go.
49:34
DJ Iron Mic
But we're actually almost out of time.
49:36
Oak City Slums
But, yeah, see, I'm a chatterbox man. Sorry.
49:39
DJ Iron Mic
It's all good, man. But yeah, so I think everybody, like you just, you know, you're killing it over here. I think everybody who's a fan of you, a follower, wants to see you do.
49:52
Oak City Slums
Hey, there's more things.
49:55
DJ Iron Mic
You got the album out. The album's amazing.
49:57
Oak City Slums
Yeah. Thank you.
49:58
DJ Iron Mic
You know, it's. Yeah, it's everything I would expect from you because you have a very like, you know, high bar you set for yourself and the people around you.
50:07
Oak City Slums
Yeah, sure. You know, for sure.
50:09
DJ Iron Mic
So that, you know. So I feel like that album could bring you to other places.
50:14
Oak City Slums
Yeah. I mean, the numbers look like they're. They're going up and up on Spotify, and I don't know really how to check the numbers on Apple or Music or Bandcamp, but I. I think I'm getting a lot of good reception for the record, you know, Tomorrow at the Runaway store in Durham off Main street at 8 o' clock until 11 o', clock, they're gonna put on a little party. We're just gonna get together. Pony Source sponsored the party. Red Bull sponsored the party. So swing through. And if you're just a mooch and you just want to get free beer and Red Bull come through. Show love. Dap me up. Dab the homies up. The shirt will be on sale tomorrow at the store. So that's the immediate future. Don't forget, you know, there's lots going on in Raleigh.
51:01
Oak City Slums
I'm always a supporter of all the parties and all those shows going on. Groove in the Garden is on this weekend. You got the Leaf show with Gemini and Tennis Rodman. So that's a lot of the immediate future stuff. And then the further future we're still doing. We're always going to be Saturday nights. Ed emerge from 10 to 2 on the resident DJ there. But I'm inviting friends to come. DJ. So get your tables ready. You know, I mean, like, we're, you know, we're just gonna. We're just trying to make it a nice. A nice vibe there. We're gonna have different music, you know, probably play a bunch of Drake too.
51:38
DJ Iron Mic
And then King's doing the Drake night thing.
51:42
Oak City Slums
I don't know. I know, I know. Ray does a lot of that stuff. Yeah, so. But we're not. We're not. I'm not just gonna play Drake. I'll probably play some. I don't play Takashi at all. I've not played no Trayway, not in my set. Maybe somebody else's set. I just won't do it, man. And then I usually play a lot of house music, some throughout the night, but. So we're gonna keep doing that through on Saturdays from 10 to 2. And then we have. I will be starting some workshops at Emerge, some free Ableton workshops, some free Logic workshops and free hardware workshops. I'll be inviting some friends to come show. You know, basically it'll be free, but it'll be limited space. So people can come learn how to use Ableton. They can come learn how. How to implement hardware into their. Their setup.
52:39
Oak City Slums
Maybe learn how to use a piece of hardware for their live setup. It's pretty much production, music performance. We're going to cover just varying topics over time. You know, the basics of maybe some small music theory, you know, so to kind of get them up to speed on how to. How to actually use the gear they're owning or using. And then 2019 is looking pretty crazy so far. I've got some dates I can't say are actually happening yet, but some stuff out of. Out of state and then some big stuff in state that have been whispered to me but haven't been confirmed and then. So. But I'm looking forward to just basically connecting with more musicians in the area. I've. I've already met a bunch of. I met a math who I meet. 19. You heard 19? No, 19 beats.
53:32
Oak City Slums
No, she's out of Durham.
53:35
DJ Iron Mic
Okay.
53:37
Oak City Slums
Super dope. Like, I've already, like, met, like, somebody. I'm like, wow, this person's amazing. Like, never heard of him. Psalm. I think Nick Gappa from Roundhouse, he. He knew about it. Tree also actually Tree City put me on to 19 first and then. But was. She was already booked for their little Beats and Bars party.
54:03
DJ Iron Mic
Oh, okay.
54:04
Oak City Slums
They did at Quarter Horse. Yeah.
54:05
DJ Iron Mic
All right.
54:06
Oak City Slums
So, yeah, just more. More. More community stuff. I'm looking forward to more, you know, getting more people interested in music production and giving them opportunities to perform. Yeah. I mean, I want to see more hot shows, man. I want to see more people put on shows. And Party Legal seems to be getting a little more active, so I'm excited about that.
54:27
DJ Iron Mic
And yeah, they've been away for a while.
54:29
Oak City Slums
Yeah. Yeah. But they. They did something a few weeks ago with tn. Made a appearance, played a set. Who else? The girl was on it and Queen, please were on it.
54:43
DJ Iron Mic
Nice. Party League was actually the first show I ever covered.
54:46
Oak City Slums
Really?
54:46
DJ Iron Mic
You can see. Wow. Yeah.
54:48
Oak City Slums
Yeah, that's what they're.
54:49
DJ Iron Mic
I thought.
54:50
Oak City Slums
Powerhouses, man.
54:50
DJ Iron Mic
Yeah, it was awesome. All right, well, we're. We're out of time, but y' all.
54:55
Oak City Slums
Didn't get to listen to anything.
54:56
DJ Iron Mic
Definitely. Yeah. Right. I'll. I'll exit the hour with one of the tracks. What do you want to play coming out of the hour off the new.
55:03
Oak City Slums
I'm just gonna… off my new album. Yeah, play the title track Not Well.
55:09
DJ Iron Mic
All right, we'll do Not Well. Okay, title track.
55:13
Oak City Slums
There we go.
55:14
DJ Iron Mic
Easy to boom.
55:15
Oak City Slums
Come out to the party. Add me on Instagram at Oak City Slums. Say what's up.
55:22
DJ Iron Mic
Word.
55:23
Oak City Slums
Thank you, guys.
55:23
DJ Iron Mic
Buy the T shirt.
55:24
Oak City Slums
Buy the T shirt. For sure.
55:25
DJ Iron Mic
I can't say that, but you can't say that.
55:27
Oak City Slums
Oh, man, you're screwing up, man.
55:29
DJ Iron Mic
I'm messing up. I'm almost cursing online, man. You just get, you know, whatever way. But yeah, check out Oak City Slums new album, not well on all the streaming services. And you can tune in next week. I'll be on here playing more music. Definitely playing some Oak City Slums and juice and all those good people that you love and tune in for. Follow us on all the social media platforms @wknc881. You can follow me on Instagram at Real Iron Mic with a C, not ke.
56:02
DJ Iron Mic
That's. And that's what it is. All right, this is going to be not well from Oak City Slums, and I will see y' all next week. Peace.
57:05
Oak City Slums
There you go.