Q&A: California rapper Antwon does things the punk way

by Mish Way

January 8, 2014

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California-based Antwon is a new breed of rapper. He’s got the charm and rhythm of Notorious B.I.G or Big Pun, but swears his greatest influence is Kid Rock. Growing up on pop-punk and hardcore as much as rap, Antwon’s nihilistic approach to life is backed by the softness of a big, bad macho teddy bear. His End of Earth mixtape was heralded on year-end lists in 2012, and he’s been releasing non-stop since then. Now fresh off a tour with Le1f and currently on tour with my band White Lung, Antwon and I sat down before our sets in El Paso, Texas to talk careers for a minute over some tequila.

AUX: To me, being a rapper is hard because it’s just you. I often equate rapping to stand-up comedy in the sense that it’s just as intimidating as stand-up. You have nothing but yourself, really. What do you think?

Antwon: It’s the same thing, but I basically had to do stand-up comedy at Fun Fun Fun Fest because the sound kept going out and being shitty so I just had to tell jokes.

You also like to do Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync songs on stage.

Those songs are very hip-hop.

What’s your lyrical process like? Do you need to hear a beat first?

No, I just write little notes. I could be walking around the venue or on tour, whatever. I will have a tempo in my head. But then later, I’ll get a beat sent over and something I had from before can be made to work. I like working with my friends, so I usually know the person I work with them first. My favorite beat I ever got was for the track “Boomerang” by Shawn Bowie. He lives in New York now, but he’s from Florida. I loved what he did.

So, you are pretty good at the internet. That’s how we met. Do you think that’s something that imperative in hip-hop culture today?

Yeah, I’m good at the internet. [Laughs] But you still have to win people over in real life. People come to show who don’t know shit. You have to win the people in the audience who don’t know who you are on the web over.

But that’s something we are all battling, I think? Sites like Pitchfork have created this middle-ground, taste-maker popularity we kind of get looped into, which leaves us broke but credible and kinda known to a select group. How does it translate for you?

Sometimes it doesn’t. There is this internet realm and then this live show realm. Some people from the internet try to go out and do the live show thing and they can’t do it. They suck at it. If you go out and tour and play live shows, you don’t need the internet anymore.

You do it the punk way.

Yeah.

Do you like touring?

Yeah. Sad Andy [Antwon’s self-appointed “son” and 21-year-old DJ] was making a joke about you guys hating us.

What? Why?

It’s a funny joke. I’ll tell you later.

We love you guys. We especially like it when you are doing that song where you say “cootchie tastes real good” and Sad Andy sings that line with you, because he’s, like, 15 years old.

He’s 12. Talking about cootchies.

How did you meet Sad Andy?

I knew his cousin. She used to date my friend. I met him when he dropped her off one time. I liked his North Face [jacket]. Then I met him later and he came on a road trip with us to play a show in Santa Ana, California, and it kind of just started happening. We started working together.

Does Sad Andy rap by himself?

Yeah. He’s good. He talks about loving Mish.

Photo: Antwon with Mish Way, the writer of this story.

Oh, shut up. So, what’s coming up for Antwon?

I’m working on an album with Lars Stalfors. He has done engineering for Matt and Kim and The Mars Volta. He knows the sound I want and how to push it. I haven’t decided how many songs yet, but maybe I’ll do like Metallica and do a six-song banger.

Speaking of that, you do a nice, short set. You leave them wanting more, which I believe in.

Totally, that and I don’t want to play for that long because sometimes I am tired. I think I played for 15 minutes last night. I wanted to go to sleep. Some people still want to hear a whole other verse of the song, but I don’t care to do that. I’m not built like that. Your boy isn’t built that way. I don’t want people to get bored of me.

So our tour, I think we’re having fun. But I think it was weird that when people were interviewing me for this tour they were kept questioning the combination of our acts.

Yeah. I saw a lot of people asking you if you thought my music was misogynistic, or implying that I was misogynistic, and how you, as a “feminist,” could handle that. No one has ever asked me if I was misogynistic. They never ask me. They talk about how I write lyrics about women, and loving women, but never call me out right misogynistic.

I think that people do that because I have been branded as this “feminist” and they play on that. I don’t find any of your lyrics misogynistic at all. I find you quite feminist, actually. You aren’t opposed to gender equality.

Dang.

I think people just hear you say the word “pussy” or call a girl hot and assume I would find that offensive. It’s limiting and ignorant and not actually paying attention to your lyrics. It’s assumption based towards both your music and my own. Anyways, you just dropped a new seven-inch?

I have a new seven-inch that just came out on a UK label called Bella Union. It’s owned by the second bassist of Cocteau Twins, Simon Raymonde. He heard my song “Lorelei” where I sample that band and he asked me to do a seven-inch. The songs on the record are “Helicopter” and a remix of “Laugh Now.”

How do you feel about playing the outside stage daytime festival stuff?

It’s cool, but it’s a really big stage. I don’t move around that much anymore. It’s a lot of space. Maybe I need some props. Rappers don’t do a lot. They need stuff to make them cool. I have a good banner and good merchandise.

You have very good merchandise.

I have pushed my own career very hard, before my manager came along. However, I got lazy, so it’s good I have him now. We work as one. Compared to some managers who just work for the person. I don’t trust a lot of people anymore. It’s all business. You can’t trust people. You think they were cool and you know how it is. Women don’t trust me no more. Most girls get worried that you think they are groupies. It’s like, “I never said you were.” Weird jealousy and stuff.

I love you.

You too.

Tags: Music, Interviews, Antwon, AUX Magazine December 2013, white lung

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