Olympia, Washington emcee Ang P presents “Groundhog Day”, his new single produced by Smoke M2D6, best known for his work as a member of Washington crew Oldominion. “Groundhog Day” appears on L.I.F.E.: Living In Fear Everyday, his sophomore album featuring Macklemore collaborator XP, MIZ, Lega’C Jones and Dice Cunningham as well as production from Royce Da 5’9”/Fred Da Godson producer Nemisis, Know Life and Page Turner. Born in central New Jersey, Ang moved to the Pacific Northwest at age 8, where he became part of indie crew The Real Life Click (stream the SANGVIS REGVM: Blood of Kings EP on Spotify). “With everything going on in our communities around the country I wanted to make a song I felt might hammer in the idea of taking a stand for issues people may feel strongly about,” Ang says. “I wanted to highlight some interactions of everyday life throughout out the record. I wanted the song to be personal yet general enough for anyone going through a tough time or dealing with injustices to be able to relate to it no matter what their walk of life is.”
How did you get the name Ang P? What have reactions to it been?
Ang P comes from a nickname I had when I was younger. My name being Angel and my last name being Perez... Ang is almost naturally short for Angel. And well, the P is self-explanatory. Reaction has been difficult I'd say lol. People don't necessarily know my name is "Angel" so they don't always make the connection. I remember back when we would get drops from various artists and djs and they'd have the hardest time. We've gotten "Ong" "Aeng" "Aeng Puh". Try to imagine the sounds of those? lol.
What made you decide to become a rapper?
We'd have to blame my brother for that. You guys can thank him for all this music I make lol. At a young age hip hop was pretty much embedded in my soul. Being from Jersey we got a good dosage of it for sure and my brother being older than me... We'd always bump what was hot. Obviously a 5 year old wasn't going to learn "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" on his own... But he thought it was cool to have his little brother with him rapping these joints lol. That's how the delivery comes naturally. Think delivery and your voice HAS to pop on record. So rapping at the bus stop, or the neighborhood kick it spot helped with the ability to even rap. And of course I liked it because they thought I was cool. Plus I could curse my ass off... What little chump doesn't like to curse? Haha
What’s the first rap song you ever heard? Describe the moment.
Man, this one is hard to say. I was listening to hip hop out the womb pretty much. But the first one I always remember my father playing for us. He used to love quality audio equipment because he used to play music himself... But he had some really good headphones. And I remember sitting in my grandmother's living room with "Dre Day" blasting out the headphones. That'd have to be the first song I can really pinpoint.
How did “Groundhog Day” come together?
I heard the beat and had it for a while. It was pretty basic, had a couple changes throughout. The producer is Smoke M2D6 of Old Dominion. But I had the idea of an awareness building song somewhat. Didn't wanna go crazy with it, sometimes things like that can be kind of corny. But with a level of motivation, packed with emotion. That's why progressively the songs mood and delivery of the verses change as we get later in the song. Third verse having the "drained" feeling. Smoke eventually went off and killed the progressions while we were in studio. One of the stronger tracks on the album in my opinion.
What are your predictions for 2016 personally and globally?
Myself, work work work work work. No Rihanna... Yet lol. But nahh just want to increase the body of work. The transformation I've been putting myself through. Cut the ponytail off, hitting the gym and dropped about 50. All of that has helped with the image, my personal energy, charisma in general. Feels great. But overall just continue to make real music with real substance and deliver it creatively. More and more work.
And globally... Damn. That's scary really. I'm 26 going on 27 and so much has changed in the last 2 years never mind the last 20, and what's potentially happening next. Hopefully it isn't Trump. Wish that was a prediction we could accurately make. But I really hope we make some progress in our communities. I'm a firm believer that it starts with the adults in the community to direct the youth but that's a whole different interview right there.
L.I.F.E. on iTunes | Spotify |
Twitter [@angthefuture] | Twitter [@smokem2d6] | Youtube | Insta
Twitter [@angthefuture] | Twitter [@smokem2d6] | Youtube | Insta