Hip Hop On Deck New Exclusive Interview With Militia
1. The Militia, how long have you been creating music?
I started making beats officially in early 2010, before that in about 2007 I started messing with the idea and played around with some free music software but it was only in March 2010 that I started to focus on consistently.
2. The Militia, break down your style and sound?
Yea my sound, it can be best be described as 90’s boom bap although that isn’t always the case. My love for that type of sound is quite obvious in my beats but it’s basically a case of old chopped up soul records with dirty drums layered on top. I love that static feel to the beats, I draw a lot of inspiration from DJ Premier, 9th Wonder and Apollo Brown. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a whole bunch of other producers who inspire me too such as Madlib, Alchemist, Khrysis and Marco Polo just to name a few.
3. The Militia, what are the pro's and con's of being a producers from South African?
Its tough, due to the fact that I’m trying to break in to the American market and work solely with US emcees and there is no personal contact – everything is done via e-mail, so ideas and concepts sometimes can’t be explained as thorough as it would be in person. Then again is the problem of visibility, my only presence is online and I can only be seen & heard via social media and blog coverage.
4. The Militia, You just dropped a record called Shade My Shine.What is the concept behind this record?
Yea man, full credit for that track must go to Oswin Benjamin for killing that beat. I sent the beat to Oz with the initial idea of making it a basketball themed track but I always prefer it of the artists come up with a theme or direction that they feel so the track is more authentic and does not feel forced. The track is basically about “Don’t let anybody take my shine or my spotlight”. Also a shout out to Christian Castro for linking Oswin and myself.
5. The Militia, what was the process of creating a record like Shade My Shine?
For a track like that and any other beat I do, I always find the sample first. I go through tons of samples to find the right one that I can connect with. Whether it’s the horns or the way the melody sounds – there has to be some kind of “emotional’’ connection with the record. Once I get it I just chop it up, find some dusty drums and just layer them. Create a bassline and depending on how the beat makes me feel or how I have chopped it up, that’s the title I will give the beat.
6. The Militia, what is the hardest thing in life you had to overcome and how did you overcome it?
There’s things for example like juggling music along with university which has always been a constant struggle. I am still battling with it but i can only try figure it out as I go along haha!
7. The Militia, where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Oh man, in 5 years? I would like to be able to be on a level where people like Action Bronson, Freddie Gibbs, Mac Miller and the like would hit me up asking for a beat. That’s one of my goals and something I would like to achieve within the next 5 years and also trying to put South African underground hip-hop on the map.