Atlanta-based emcee Bambu de Asiatic presents “The Good Life”, his new Croup-produced single featuring Yamin Semali, Supastition and Simms Serenade. “The Good Life” is his first single from Family Matters, his forthcoming album also featuring Cappuccino Meeks and Jon Doe, BLKMjkjr, Ugeorge the Emcee, Sum, DT of The Difference Machine, DJ Pocket, DJ Fudge, Binkis Recs, and Audessey of Sound Sci, as well as Ben Hameen, his crewmate in Collective Efforts, which released four albums in the US and two in Japan (stream “I Get Down” featuring Diamond D, Nicolay and STS9). Bambu’s debut was 2011’s Inspiration EP (stream on Bandcamp here and watch the music video here). Bambu says his new single is about “enjoying the things in life that really matter. I want people to think back to when they were young kids just living life and enjoying the adventure. It was just about being alive and I see that happiness and curiosity in my own kids, which kind of inspired the concept for the song.”
How did you get your stage name?
Wow. You're taking me way back here. If I remember right, I wasn't trying to think of a stage name, exactly, but more of a tag name that mirrored my personality. The name Bambu just kind of came out of nowhere. One day me and my boy Basheem were riding around in my dusty '77 Malibu Classic and it just came to me. For some reason it just fit perfectly, so it stuck. The "De Asiatic" part came later. I added it because Asiatic means related to or deriving from Asia and it represents my Half Filipino side and I just liked how it rolled off the tongue.
What made you decide to become a rapper?
I was introduced to hip hop back in 1984 when Beat Street came out. I actually started B-Boying first, but I wasn't that good at it. I had a couple homies that started rhyming and I just kind of gravitated toward emceeing. I wasn't very good at that either, at first, but I just kept working at it and it just became something that I loved to do and still love to do now.
What’s the first rap song you ever heard? Describe the moment.
The first rap song that I heard was Kurtis Blow's "Basketball" joint. I was really into basketball back then and when I heard that song on a tape that my mom's friend made for her I kept rewinding it and playing it over and over. I liked the song a lot, but what really set it off for me is when I heard King of Rock for the first time. From that moment on, I was all in. I would take whatever money I could scrounge up and go straight to the record store and buy anything that looked like it was hip hop. Back then they didn't have a "Hip Hop" section. I literally spent hours going through the entire store looking for anything that looked remotely like a Hip Hip album. And when I discovered those maxi-cassette singles with the instrumentals on the B side....
How did “The Good Life” come together?
Supastition hit me up out of the blue one day and said he was moving to Atlanta. Once he got down here we started hanging out and he let me hear some of the beats that Croup had been sending him. He actually sent me a different track first and we recorded a song called Live For The Day, which is yet to be released....anyway..I asked him to see if Croup would be okay to let me rock on one of his beats and he ended up sending me the Good Life track. I sent that track to Simms, told him the concept I had in mind, and he laid the hook. I sent the track with the hook to Supastition and Yamin and the rest is history.
What are your predictions for 2016?
I predict that the Dallas Cowboys will finally trade Tony Romo, the Atlanta Falcons will trade Matt Ryan, and that Caitlyn Jenner will try to become a surrogate mom. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will end up fighting again in November and win or lose Mayweather will buy another Bugatti. On a more serious note, I predict that this is the year that Yamin Semali and Illustrate blow up. Their Monday/Friday album is a classic and I think that they are on the cusp of doing something really big this year..mark my words. As for myself, the Family Matters album will drop in late February/ early March and will sell 10 million copies worldwide......maybe not 10 million, but it’s definitely dropping early this year and I plan to follow that release with more music. Stay tuned...
