Below Tha Surface
Below the Surface Podcast
The Blueprint of Midwest Culture, Undiluted and Underground.
Before the algorithms and the streaming platforms, there was public access. Below the Surface Podcast is the direct evolution of The 411: Your Underground Connection, which originally hit the airwaves on Public Access Channel 16 in East Chicago, Indiana. Born from the raw, community-driven era of cable access television, the platform has spent decades documenting the architects of Midwest street and electronic music culture.
Now operating as a fully independent media network and LLC, Below the Surface continues its original mission: digging beneath the mainstream noise to preserve the true history of regional hip-hop, house music, and DJ culture. Through deep-dive artist interviews, vinyl archaeology, and unfiltered commentary, the podcast serves as a living archive for the innovators, the record collectors, and the independent collectives who built the Midwest sound from the ground up.
From Channel 16 to the digital landscape, we don't just cover the culture—we are a part of its lineage.
Below Tha Surface
Everything Add Up
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Vonnie E.C. / local Talent / New album Everything add up / B Lang / local artist / The Culture
https://tr.ee/_XT9zM3kTV
https://linktr.ee/Belowthasurface
https://tr.ee/fFhLGQMa6C
Yo all right. What's up, bro? Monday night. Monday night. A little changeup for us, man.
SPEAKER_02It's all good.
SPEAKER_01Kicking our ass.
SPEAKER_02Back at it below the surface.
SPEAKER_01Below the surface, y'all.
SPEAKER_02Special guest tonight. We have Bonnie EC. Yes, sir. We're glad to have you on, brother. One of EC's finest, you know.
SPEAKER_04Man, I appreciate y'all for having me, man. It's always a pleasure. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I know the last time, the last uh the interview I did with y'all, it was like a couple years back. It was on a Sunday, wasn't it? Yep. Yeah, we usually do them on Sundays. Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_01Yep. This is the Monday edition here. Uh oh.
SPEAKER_02Schedules and everything.
SPEAKER_04I'm trying to, yeah. Let me, you know what? Let me not touch nothing before I mess up. I was trying to see if I can make the screen bigger, but I'm just gonna leave it the way it is.
SPEAKER_02Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_01All right, man. We'll get kicked off. I'm your boy, Dirtbag Johnny, in the place to be.
SPEAKER_02I'm DJ Rick Rock.
SPEAKER_01It's your boy T Doug. And like Rick said before, we got Vonnie EC in the building, yo. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02EC's legend right here, boy.
SPEAKER_03Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir. Uh, we're missing Josh Tree tonight. He um he's in Florida.
SPEAKER_02Come to Florida, honey. We miss you.
SPEAKER_01Right, right.
SPEAKER_02Come to Florida, honey.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think the last time we had you on, bro, it was just me and Rick Rock, right? Or was T Dub there?
SPEAKER_06No, it's just you and Rick, it was just you two.
SPEAKER_01So we've expanded the the squad. Uh Josh, another one that's added to the to the squad, man. Pretty dope MC.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, man, what's been going on, bro?
SPEAKER_04Man, just staying out the way and um this music. That's that's that's about it, man. Everything add up. That's um new project that me and my partner B Lane just put out. When we put that out, we released November. Yeah, uh Black Friday, as a matter of fact.
SPEAKER_03Okay, Black Friday.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, that's something that we put together, man. We've been knowing each other for what close to probably about 15 years now. So it was only right, you know. He's been doing his thing for a long time. I've been doing my thing for a while. I we didn't know each other in high school, but we both started rapping in high school. He's from EC. No, he's from Gare. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, he was what third degree was the group he was with before, right?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. I think we met each other. We probably got cool with each other, got acquainted with each other, what, somewhere between 2010 through 2012, or probably, yeah, somewhere around that within those two years. And uh, you know, we just we've been cool ever since, man. It's just through time, man. Um you know, we'd have done features and worked with each other on each other's projects, so it was just only right that we do something together.
SPEAKER_01And oh yeah, that shit was dope, man.
SPEAKER_04Man, I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I got a chance to peep it at work, and I was like, hell yeah, man. We haven't had nothing like this drop in a while.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, man. I'm I'm I'm glad that we was able to put it together, man. And the thing that I like the most about it, um, number one, like everything that we was talking about is really just based. It was funny because it's basically it's just our conversations and stuff that we talk about amongst each other. But um I think that the project represents us because we older. You know what I'm saying? Just like you, John, you've been we all we all been rapping, we all been involved with music for a long time. So a lot of times, man, when a lot of people get older, they can't transition in art with them with their age. And I think I think we did that pretty good, you know what I'm saying? I'm really proud of it.
SPEAKER_02So shit was solid, man.
SPEAKER_01For an example, for me, it was like, because man, I don't care what nobody says. I always compare you to I call you East Chicago's Nas.
SPEAKER_03That's what I call you.
SPEAKER_01So for me, it was like it was like going from like the Ilmatic era and going into the uh the still matic era where you notice like everything changed and it was like grown man shit being set over the way. Right. And that's what I really appreciated about the album. That shit that shit was dope, man.
SPEAKER_04Man, I I appreciate it. That's that's one thing that uh because years ago, man, I thought I was gonna quit. Like, you know, when you're doing this music for a while and things don't happen the way you want them to happen, and then you start getting up to a certain age because we got the age is a thing in hip-hop and rap. Like you get to a certain age, you can't, you shouldn't be rapping. So that that'll start messing up.
SPEAKER_02No, they say hip hop is uh a young man's music, you know.
SPEAKER_04Right. But obviously, we see that is it's hip hop is for anybody that can do it. Yep, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_06So you come you can come back to this music stuff because like I said, I I took a break and left for probably 10 years or so to focus on the kids and and at home and whatnot, and and then just jumped right back in when I had more free time on my hands for everything to you know.
SPEAKER_02That's a lot of us living life raising children. Now the children are grown, we still want to continue our passions, you know.
SPEAKER_04Right. Right. Especially uh, you know, if you love doing this, you know, if you love doing this, man, I think it don't it don't even matter if uh about a record deal or nothing like that, man. If you if you really love this, you should always have some type of recording set up, computer, interface, it ain't gonna be nothing major, just at least that. So when you want to get something off your mind, you got something to record on, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yep, very true, very true. And then even if like this, if you if people can't afford a setup or anything like that, now the technology's on your phone. You there's apps on your phone you could get on there and spit some. You got no motherfucking excuses at least to get some exposure and then get connections with somebody who has a home studio or right studio that's willing to bring you in and record some music, so it's not hard, man.
SPEAKER_02No, that's what this internet's about. That's why we're doing this.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02We all at the crib, everybody's home, chilling.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, exactly. And technology, technology is so advanced these days, you know. I see a lot of people making videos with the AI, so one of these days I'm gonna have to sit down and really start learning how to mess with it myself.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, we've done we've done a couple of videos AI, but we paid them to have them done. So, I mean, to me that was easier because the the cost of actually doing the AI stuff was to get it all done after learning, it would probably cost the same amount as it was uh having it paid to get done. Because those sites they're they're they're expensive to get enough credits to actually put together like a full song and whatnot. It's it gets really expensive. Oh shit. So to me, it would to me it was just even easier to hire somebody that's already doing it to make the AI videos. It came out pretty dope though.
SPEAKER_04Okay, okay. Yeah, um I don't you know what I've never made a video, but like when I first got introduced to Chat GPT, which I was pretty late to it, I didn't really start messing with Chat GPT until like last year. It's been out, it's been out for some years already, but you know, you I started creating my own uh you know how you you create your own images and things of that nature. So that was really exciting. It blew my mind.
SPEAKER_06I'm being real, I'm still behind. I don't even mess with Chat GPT. I don't think I know shit about it.
SPEAKER_02You can do a lot with it, you can do a lot with it. You just gotta know what to tell it. You just they're called prompts, they're called prompts, and you can even Google to have AI find you prompts to ask AI to help you make shit happen. With other uh AI applications, you know.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_02You know, if you're looking, if you're if you're effort and interest, you're looking to get down, you'll find it. You it's just a quick way, you just gotta get on the internet.
SPEAKER_01When uh when did this project that you started up the uh what is it everything add up? When did all you guys start talking about making it?
SPEAKER_04We probably started 23, like we probably started talking about it in 23. Like the songs just kind of came together just casually, you know what I'm saying? It wasn't like we just we was working hard for like two years and you know, brainstorming, like we was just, you know, because we both got stuff going on in our lives, you know, we both moving around, moving and shaking, but we would just casually make the songs, send them back to each other, um, you know, just being real picky about the beats and and things of that nature. But as the project started coming to a close, um that's when we really started focusing on things, hooks, um, you know, excerpts and things of that nature. But I I say it's been in the making, it was in the maker for about two years. But we was just like I said, we was just it was just a casual thing. Then I think within those two years, I think I dropped a project if I'm not mistaken. I think I dropped one in 2024. It was either 23 or 24, but I know he had dropped like two projects, so we was doing our own thing too in between time. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01So and this this thing this album's streaming everywhere because I I pulled a couple videos off of YouTube, but it's streaming on every site, right?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um I gotta revisit the 2024 project. I'm asleep, man.
SPEAKER_04The last project that I put out was um what the hell? I think hey he did this last time.
SPEAKER_05It was like, I don't even remember it.
SPEAKER_04I didn't man I didn't put out so many projects, man. I'd be forgetting the name of what the hell is the name? I know okay. Because I put out Grind and Wake. I think the the next one after that was uh what was the next one after that? Uh Note to Myself.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think we we played a little bit of that last time.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and his third one. What the hell? I think it was called Purpose and Quotas, if I'm not mistaken. Okay. I think that's what it was. Damn, that's a that's a damn shame, man. That's a that's a damn shame. But you know what? I don't I don't I don't feel bad because just like studying rap, studying other artists and stuff, man. Everybody, you got rappers, man, people who we revere, they be forgetting their words on stage and stuff like that. It happens, man. We human.
SPEAKER_02I forgot the words here, you sing it.
SPEAKER_01All right, right. That's what's so dope. Like if you see Rock Emperor, he won't perform most of the songs. The crowd will perform most of the songs for him and shit.
SPEAKER_04See, that's that's the point that I want to get to, man. But you gotta put in work to get to that point to where you don't have to do no work. But if people don't, if people not familiar with you, or if you're not at that legendary status, you're gonna be working, so you're gonna always have to be rapping. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I've been talking with my guy Righteous Man from Righteous Beats to get up with you, man, to make to make the fucking dopest album I know that could be made. I'm telling you right now. I've been prepping him, so I gotta connect you with Righteous Man. He's down, he's from uh East Chicago. Well, he's actually from Illinois, but I think he stays in EC right now.
SPEAKER_04Okay, okay. You know, long as I'm alive, man, you know, it's always room to uh continue to work, to continue to create. You know, I ain't gonna never stop, man. I I made that decision a long time ago, like um years ago, like once I got into the trucking industry, I thought that I was gonna quit rapping because I'm like, okay, this is gonna take up a lot of my time. But I look up, I'm riding in the truck rapping, I'm still rapping, never gave it up. So I just decided it's just like, you know what, man, I ain't gonna never get this up. I'm sticking with it. You know, for as long as I got the energy and the will and the passion to do it, I'm gonna keep doing it. So yeah, you know, that the album can can can always be made for sure.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Yeah, we gotta uh we gotta plan it out too to get uh B Lang down on the podcast with us too, man. Chop it up with him.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, definitely, man. He uh he had just left overseas. When was that Sunday? The Sunday that we were supposed to do the uh the first interview, but yeah, he had left, so he's gonna be out there for a few months. So like we didn't already started working on the next project, and uh we once again now we gotta fix now now. Things that got harder because he finna be overseas for the next coming back and forth for the next two years. So we it's it's gonna be another challenge to another challenge and another testament to you know us putting this work in. But definitely when he comes back, um when I know that he gets when he's coming back, I'll let you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that'll be good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's just been like my gig, dude. Last time I got stuck there until like eight o'clock, and I'm like, damn, I forgot all about it. I'm like, oh, I'm supposed to do a podcast tonight. But like my relief got caught up in traffic. That's when the weather was getting bad, too.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I was traffic again.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, by the time I got home, it'd have been too late.
SPEAKER_04No, it's all good, man. It's all good. We like, hey, I'm always in, man. You call, we make it happen.
SPEAKER_01Hell yeah. Let's get into some of the uh the new songs, man. I got a few queued up. Let's check out one of these uh songs. T Dub picked his top four from the album, so we're gonna go with those. Okay, he's got good taste in music, and I I do believe they've been following you for quite some time.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, ever since my boy Andrew put me on to you, Rest in Peace Reaper.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, definitely, man. Rest in peace, Drew, man.
SPEAKER_06I was just saying Drew's who put me onto you back in the day, man.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, man.
SPEAKER_06I think I remember too, man. It was so long ago, but uh back in the Indiana Rap.com was uh how I met up with Drew and ran it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_06Man, that's a long time ago.
SPEAKER_04And you know what? I do remember your name, man. I do remember you, it was just like I haven't seen you since then. That was like over two years ago.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yep.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so yeah, yeah, definitely familiar with you, man. Yeah, um, but yeah, rest in peace to Drew though, man.
SPEAKER_06Always, man. I got a tattoo on my leg for him.
SPEAKER_04Man, that's what's up, man. That's what's up.
SPEAKER_06Hell yeah, man. Um, all right, let's let's get into music instead of the sad stuff.
SPEAKER_01I know I there we go, man. Vonnie EC, B Lang. Everything add up below the surface. Check it out.
SPEAKER_02Check it out.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Yeah, we stayed at the top one. We're just gonna have to demonstrate. They gonna wish you well and hope you go to hell so fuck off the light and stop the yard on the stage hell.
SPEAKER_06Hell yeah. Yeah, there we go.
SPEAKER_04Man, you know what I noticed? I was trying to rap along the song, but like when I was rapping, it seemed like the music was getting low. You you noticed that? I don't know, maybe. I didn't catch that. I didn't catch that. Maybe I I was hearing it on my end, like anytime I said something, I noticed the music was getting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it usually uh mutes all of us too when the when the music's playing.
SPEAKER_04Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_01So it's probably just whatever you're uh streaming on.
SPEAKER_04Okay, okay, okay.
SPEAKER_01Who did uh the production?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Uh who made that beat? Man, I can be honest with you, I can't even remember, man. Like we've been we've been getting these beats. Um, who made that beat? That particular beat. If I'm not mistaken, I think it's uh a cat named Scott Zilla, if I'm not mistaken. That particular beat. Um but shit, a lot of the beats, man, I can't even I can't even remember. Like we we mess with, we we pick the beats that we like, and that's what we rock with. You know what I'm saying? As far as like who made the it was mainly people who we found on the internet. It wasn't nobody that we knew personally, you know what I'm saying? Okay. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we definitely gotta connect you with righteous man. That way you could actually he could send you a folder of beats to go through and then you could just pick whatever.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, definitely, definitely, man.
SPEAKER_01Definitely shout outs to righteous man. I just man, guess who I ran? I don't know if remember if you know uh you know remember short fuse?
SPEAKER_04That name sounds familiar.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, fuse. I I ran into him uh Saturday, man.
SPEAKER_04Short Fuse, didn't didn't you didn't you used to rap with him?
SPEAKER_01Yep. He was uh he was on the uh what's the name of that album? The Gatekeepers, I think. Way back in the day. He knew T Lo.
SPEAKER_04So he was on the first Gatekeepers. I think so. I have to uh short It sounds familiar. It definitely sounds familiar. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You you gotta know them. It's man, like I said, we've been in the game so long. There's so many names and faces.
SPEAKER_04Right, right, right, right. You know, a lot of people, a lot of people our age, man, has been doing it since they was well, when we was young, you know, there's a lot of people that fell off the music, you know what I'm saying? They ain't thinking about music no more. But it's a few of us that's out here that's still left, so that matters, man. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02You were featured on uh mid-class mobsters, am I right?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, a few times.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah, those are those are some uh those are some classics right there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All the music that was out in this area at that time, man.
SPEAKER_04So man, one thing that I always think about, I've been thinking about this all the time. Like back in those days, like late 90s, early 2000s, man. I don't think people realized like we had a sound that was starting to cultivate. Yeah, but it just seemed like somewhere along the lines, it's just like people started jacking everybody else's style, you know what I'm saying? And one of the things that I I remember that I just I do not like, and it kind of pisses me off when I think about it. You'll have people who will leave the area, right? They'll they'll leave Northwest Indiana, go wherever they go, and then they'll come back giving people advice. So you got things people will tell people like, well, you gotta make sure you have your city behind you, and then you gotta do this, and you gotta do this, like this. And I feel like all that type of stuff, man, just killed the momentum that we could have built on our own. Because instead of just becoming comfortable on our own sound and letting it grow the way they were supposed to grow, it's just like we just sound like everybody else.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yep. It was a lot of uh it was a lot of biting styles back in the day, too, man. Like somebody here, you do, and that's why I like the the rap battle shit that I used to do. People would steal lines from you, man. They they would steal them and make them their own and shit.
SPEAKER_02So that's bogus as hell.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but I believe it, man. That's uh yeah, that that that was that's been one of the things about me, one of my hardest challenges, like something that I wish I would have done a long time ago. I wish I would have took my music out of this area and pushed it because you can't, it's only so much you can do within the area, yeah. So that's what I wish I would have did like a long time ago, would have took you know took the music out further out. But uh, you know, it is what it is, you know what I mean. It's we still got time to uh to push it.
SPEAKER_01So the thing for us, we do this podcast, and like I was telling the fellas, man, we've been getting some hits overseas and stuff too. So I got a pretty stuff following overseas. Check out all the artists from our hair probably bumping it out there, like, damn, that's just dope. Like, how can I cop this? Where can I stream it at and all that?
SPEAKER_04Right. Yeah, that's dope, man. That's that's one thing.
SPEAKER_02Reach out to motherfuckers like in Tokyo, you know what I'm saying? Spain and shit. You know, motherfuckers be digging that Midwest shit. Yeah, you know what I mean? They can't get this kind of shit mainstream, you know. But like I said, the technologies out there, shit, they can find everything we offer, you know.
SPEAKER_01Okay, right, like the top countries we got right now, Australia, Germany, Singapore, man. Singapore has been rocking with us pretty big, so that's pretty dope.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, wow, that's dope, man. That's that's good to hear, man. That's that's a win for all of us.
SPEAKER_03Hell yeah.
SPEAKER_04You know, for uh that's like one of the challenges for me because I never really like my style of music was never I never tried to chase what was what sounded like what on the radio. So, you know, we know just as well as anybody else, you know, most people from where we from, they're gonna gravitate towards what's on the radio, what's the popular sound. So if you're making me if you're not uh doing anything that got something to do with that or making music that sound like what's the status quo, it's gonna be harder. It's gonna be harder for you. So, but you know what? I've grown to embrace that challenge, and I'd rather it be like that. Just cut cut my little space out over here, the rest of y'all go over there.
SPEAKER_06That's right, and that originality is what's gonna help because everybody's gonna get tired of hearing the same shit, and then they're gonna start looking out for something else.
SPEAKER_04Is it's already happening, it's already happening, yeah. Definitely, for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. We gotta uh, I know Rick Rock's been talking about putting the next mixtape out for below the surface.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, gotta get a couple tracks from you, man, to put out some music on that mixtape, man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you were on he was on the last one, right? Vonnie Z was on the last below the surface mixtape. We gotta get you a copy of that.
SPEAKER_02Right after we go, we did that interview. We cut, we uh we got uh track, two tracks from you.
SPEAKER_01I'll send you the link.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, send me the link, yeah. Whatever, you know what I'm saying? Whatever y'all want to do, man. Let me know.
SPEAKER_02Well, we'd love to have you on the next mixtape, man. We're getting into it.
SPEAKER_01Hell yeah, hell yeah.
SPEAKER_04I'm down for it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we reached out to quite a few artists from like out of the area, yeah.
SPEAKER_02St. Louis. St.
SPEAKER_01Louis, um Vegas. Yeah, uh, mostly St. Louis. We've been riding with a couple of years.
SPEAKER_02What's that? Somebody with Detroit, somebody oh Detroit, Detroit too.
SPEAKER_01Um Mr. Furious Styles.
SPEAKER_02Furious Styles, yeah, so I mean we had a lot of chats from Macrobats, Macrobats from Chicago, uh filthy records, yeah. From Chicago, um and transhate. We have Sam BMC.
SPEAKER_04Uh Sam IM. Uh-huh. You know what I noticed, man? Not because I know y'all into like um, well, I know when we was at John House the last time, you got like records, like actual lot of vinyls. Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm noticing? Like, I'm starting to see mainstream artists get up on selling vinyls as merch, but they weren't doing that. It was the underground artists doing that. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? So it's starting to look like it's like who really who finna run rap? Yep. You know what I'm saying? Like, who's leading who? You say what?
SPEAKER_01It's like who's leading who now?
SPEAKER_04Exactly, exactly, exactly.
SPEAKER_01Because me and uh my homie Yoda Rock, we dropped a cassette like uh four years, four or five years ago. We had we had a uh an album drop on cassette, and it's got two remixes. Yeah, it's just two remixes on there you can only hear on the cassette, okay, streaming anywhere else. So I mean, it's dope, man. I'm I'm all with the nostalgia of the sound, the analog sound, and all that. Right. Right. Me and my squad, we just dropped the Posse Cuts, which is on it's on vinyl as well. It's first time any of my lyrics have been on vinyl, and it felt pretty good to play it. So that's dope, man. That's pretty dope.
SPEAKER_02So you're gonna scratch it and shit, scratch the record. I know you're gonna do it, but you know, I'm not gonna so when you play the record, are you like that static? It's clear, like the butt popcorn. Yeah, that's good.
SPEAKER_01That's a dusty ass record. That's what that sounds like. You're gonna clean your records, that's what they sound like. Or if they're like real old and they're they're dirty, that's what they sound like.
SPEAKER_02That's nice. That's what those are.
SPEAKER_01No, like actually, vinyls is like the clearest sound you could actually get, man. If your records are clean, your needles are clean, and you got a good setup. So like a lot of times I'll go downstairs, I'll bump like some some old school, like Al Green and stylistics, and it sounds like Al Green's in the basement just chilling with me singing in front of me. That's how clear it is.
SPEAKER_04So you know that's crazy because like my pops got vinyls too, but he never really uh I get back back when he was young, you know what I mean. I think he he my pops used to DJ, but just growing up in a household, he never used no turntables, but he collected vinyls. But I always was under the impression that all vinyls sounded like that, the popcorn effect. No, oh yeah, okay, okay.
SPEAKER_01It sounds good. You got a good turntable, it sounds really good. But you are gonna have older records that got that popcorn, and that popcorn actually adds flavor to the record sometimes, especially if it's like something that's hard to find.
SPEAKER_04You know, you know what record I think of, like off the bat, they got that effect. Was that uh it's off that second Mild Deep album? Well, I guess it we could really be considered a third, but it's off the hello hello nerve uh album. It was uh it was the song they was dissing pop.
SPEAKER_01Okay, I have that album too.
SPEAKER_04So uh damn, what the hell is the name of that song? I forgot the name of the song, but like at the very beginning, you can hear a record being put on. You hear that popcorn effect in the sound.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. That's an actual effect now. Like if you're producing or if you're doing an album, you could put that effect on the song.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06Oh, yeah, yeah. I just looked it up.
SPEAKER_04Okay, you found it okay. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06In 96. Yeah, go back and revisit that, man.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that was a cold song, man. I think they was I I remember they was playing it on the radio, but I think Pac had got killed or got shot like right during that time. So they took that song down or whatnot. That's why I didn't get too much play. But it was I do remember that song, getting some spin on the radio back in the day.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. A lot of the the old diss songs, like the um uh what was the song that um I want to say it was a junior mafia song or a uh big song where they were dissing pop and Lil Kim said some fucking like really hardcore shit, but they cut it from the record because I think Pac had died. A lot of that shit's resurfacing now. Like you could actually like go on YouTube and search it up.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I'm gonna have to look that up.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, let's get into some more Vonnie E. C and B Lang, man. Uh we got you as the name of the track. Let's check that out, man. Below the surface, Vonnie EC.
SPEAKER_03Check it out.
SPEAKER_00Don't let this flight sit move. Get out of line one time. I'ma do something too. Compact bullets in the bulletin white move. Okay, put some pressure on the bullet and move. Don't let this flight sit move. Uh compact bus and the bullets go right through. Okay, put some pressure on the womb by standards get the move, you nigga. Don't let this flat get food. Get out of the line one time, I'ma do something too. Uh-huh. Up compact bucks and the bullets go right through. Okay. Put some pressure on the womb by standards get the move, you nigga.
unknownHell yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Oh yeah. That was that shit right there.
SPEAKER_01I like when we when we interview the artists, it's so funny, dude. Like, we'll get like straight up boom bap artists and like straight up hip hop heads, like, you know what I mean? Like the flipping the wordplay and all of that. And then we'll get casts like Bonnie EC, or um, who else do we have on it? And Tow's like, yeah, that's my speed right there.
SPEAKER_06Oh man, that was cast.
SPEAKER_01That was like this. This is my speed.
SPEAKER_06That was um man. Oh girl, a good citizen.
SPEAKER_01Oh, Bates and uh G A bars. Yeah. GA bars, man, for always repping us, man. For sure.
SPEAKER_06She just out right now on the book, too. But yeah, this is more my style of everything.
SPEAKER_01I like it all, dude.
SPEAKER_06I mean, oh don't get me wrong, I like it all too, but this is yeah, I know I really get into. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02What I like about you, Bonnie, is is is your your on time, your you're very sharp on the on the timing, man. It's so clean, man. That's what I appreciate about that shit. It's like, damn.
SPEAKER_01He's been doing it for a long time. I like I said, I always remember Bonnie, like he was always in the smoke room at the casino writing.
SPEAKER_03What you doing, man?
SPEAKER_01Oh, just writing, man. Just gotta trying to keep the trying to keep the mind sharp. And I'm like, that's what's up, dude.
SPEAKER_04Man, it's the it's the same thing now, man. Even when I'm driving, man, that's most of the time, that's when I'm coming up, like I have to be moving. Like sometimes, well, I don't I don't really do it in public too much. Like, probably like when I'm in the gym, I'm listening to beats. When I'm driving in the truck, I'm listening to beats. You know, I don't really walk around with headphones on in public because you gotta be able to hear and be aware what's going on. But uh surroundings, right, exactly.
SPEAKER_01I just don't want to say that he's outside shoveling snow, headphones on. I'm calling him and calling him and calling him, and nothing like, hey, take those headphones off. I could have been anybody and ran up on you.
SPEAKER_04Right, exactly.
SPEAKER_01But we're from a different era, man. We're from a different time and place where you had to be like you said, you gotta be aware of your surroundings at all times.
SPEAKER_04All times, all times. But yeah, that that particular song right there, man. B Lane had that. I think he was, I think he actually was gonna do something with that song for like one of his per a personal projects. But um, I think that was like the one of the last songs that we had made, and he came up with that, and uh I just laid my verse down. Um but that's the type of stuff that he be on. You know what I'm saying? You listen to his his his projects, that's that's what he on. Like he, I mean, he got other smooth, other smooth shit, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_06This is wheelhouse though.
SPEAKER_04You say what?
SPEAKER_06So this is wheelhouse though.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like when I heard the hook, I'm like, oh, that hook is nasty. Okay, I gotta, I gotta do what I do what I need to do to it. But yeah, that was uh he spearheaded that track.
SPEAKER_01Super dope, dude. That album's got such a feel to it though, like oh man, it's so grimy, and yet you could you could cruise to that album like it's uh like back in the day when we used to put on like the Midwest mobster tracks or the straight up gangster shit mixes, you could cruise to that shit and ride, you know, and just vibe out, and that's the type of feel this album has, man.
SPEAKER_04Right, right. You know, just like moving forward, man. Like the one thing I want to do is create how can I say it? Because I still go back, I still listen to the old stuff we grew up on, man. I still be listening to old CCA stuff, I still be listening to Brian.
SPEAKER_06I was just listening to One Like to Live the other day, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Classic, classic, still still be listening to a lot of Rick Jill old stuff, you know what I'm saying? Just all a lot of that stuff from back in the day, so you know, been doing this for so long, you're gonna advance. Uh, I feel like I'm more lyrically advanced than I was years ago, so it's like, but I still want to push the envelope, but I still want to make sure that you know, when a person hear me, man, or when they hear the music, they can smell the man west. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? You still get a feel like of where I'm from or where we represent from. So, you know, I'm I'm thinking global, you know, but this I'm I'm still representing the Korea, you know, I'm still this is where I'm from.
SPEAKER_01You know, like so back in the day when I when I first got into the music scene and I was listening to a lot of like hip hop, and like some of my most memorable albums I still go back and listen to, like one of my favorite albums from back in the day, and it dropped the same time, I want to say it dropped the same time or around the same era because like Outcast came out with AT Aliens, was that Dayton family FBI, man? That album is so to this day, yeah, yeah. Man, probably like in my top 10, top 15, whatever albums of all time, like I could still go back to that album and be like, oh, you could smell fucking rough belt. Oh man, you fucking you can just fucking taste it, and man, you just feel like you're there with them. It's so grimy.
SPEAKER_04And and if you think about it, the lyrics back then weren't as advanced as we are now, like as far as like uh vocabulary and all that, but you can still put it on, man, and you can still vibe out and like man, you know you know, you know who was advanced, like and I still be going. I I know y'all listen to this album too, but I still be going back listening to it, and I still be like, damn, man, like he was just who was that uh that adrenaline rush.
SPEAKER_01Yep, yep, yeah, put it on the other day, still got the CD.
SPEAKER_04Man, that album, man. Like, I still one of my favorite songs is Feel So Good and Emotions. Yep, then my two foot song.
SPEAKER_06You know what else was uh oh, I'm not gonna I'm gonna draw a blank now, but uh with a speeding out mobsters album. Yep, yeah, front portion on the front porch and uh Warm Embrace and oh yeah, classic and then then even the first though you go back with some of the compilations he had with Turtle Banks when he had that song by apartment, where it just was slowed down, it was smooth, it was about him and a chick, and it was like it just you could still write to it. It wasn't like it all had to be just straight gangster with it, too. That was what was crazy about it, right?
SPEAKER_04Like going back, listening to a lot of that old stuff, man, it takes me back to a feeling, it takes me back what people was wearing. You know, I listened to a lot of that classic Midwest stuff. I think cold weather and pelly jackets, that's what I think. Just like when you think about a lot of East Coast music from back then, I think cold weather and like army fatigue, yeah, material ends and fucking bubble coats and stuff like that. So, but so we got our own flavor too, man. We we got it, you know. It's just um just gotta still keep pushing it, man.
SPEAKER_01Yep, you're doing it, man.
SPEAKER_04Man, I appreciate it. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01We'll get into another track, man. So we're gonna keep them in order. I got a song called Gone, man. Like I said, man, go check out the album, man. It's shit everywhere.
SPEAKER_04Definitely, definitely.
SPEAKER_01Check it out, man. Bonnie EC and B Lane below the surface.
SPEAKER_04Hey, how we looking, B? Hey, where we going? We're gonna take these niggas with us. Oh Factor Fifth Factors gotta be correct, big correct, breaking out the trap first in a race, got the time flying out.
SPEAKER_00Grab to the lights now, take it off. You win over your head like a blister without the screen. Well I miss that the grab in a grab it without the team.
SPEAKER_06Ain't no boost. Y'all better go stream this whole fucking album over here. You ain't lying, dude.
SPEAKER_03I don't know what they wait for.
SPEAKER_06Tell your people about it, pass it around and let them know.
SPEAKER_01It got a big pop, man. I'm not gonna lie. That's how I found out about it because I didn't even know. And I kept seeing, like, yeah, Vonnie, you seeing B Lang, just this just hot, man. I thought it was an older album, and I'm like, everybody just kept talking about it. The buzz was there through social media, and I'm like, this is a new album. I I'm asleep, so I peeped it out. I'm like, hell yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we just we just threw it out. But that that particular beat was made by a cat named uh Jimmy Duke. And I've been I've been buying tracks from him for a long time. So I remember where that track came from. Okay, yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_01All the production, man, it it it it fits the whole album. Like it's like a constant. You know what I mean? They all match together. They fit really well together. All the production, man, with the with the vocals and all that, man, is really dope, man.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I I just I think it all come together like that because it's just where we both at in our life, you know what I'm saying? We on similar frequencies in life. So uh a lot of the stuff that we talking about, man, is it just mess because that's the same, that's the same frequency that we on. So things come together easy, the type of beats, uh, you know, that we into. We like, you know, we into some of the same music. We just yeah, it just all clicked together. So when you when you mess with somebody, uh it makes it easier, it makes it easier, and um, you know, iron sharpens iron too, you know what I'm saying? Like we made each other better on this project, you know, just working being able to work with each other, and we're gonna continue to make each other better moving forward. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And uh each other's energies too, like catch a lot of that through the album.
SPEAKER_04Exactly, exactly. Yeah, and it it makes you know, it's funny because all these years I've been doing all solo projects. So this is the first time I ever did a project with somebody else, so it act it actually makes things easier, yeah. You come up with your one verse or whatever, how whatever whatever you need to come up with for the song, and that's it. But when you by yourself, you know, you gotta have two or three verses.
SPEAKER_06That's a question I want to ask you. Um, going back from back in the day, song structure. How do you feel how it's gone to today? Because back in the day, you had to have your four verses, at least three choruses, you're pushing four minutes, four and a half minute tracks, and now you're finding one and a half minute to two and a half minute tracks. I mean, what's your what's your opinion on the way song structure has changed over the years?
SPEAKER_04Um it definitely has changed, you know, back in the day. Yeah, three verses used to be a standard. I'm trying to think on my projects. I don't know if I ever did three verses. I think like if things started changing probably like around 2010. Because I don't remember doing like three verses, but when you listen to a lot of them older projects from like the mid, you know, the 90s, or you know, our what we call the golden era, a lot of them songs had three verses. Now, today we live in a microwave society, we live in a society where people have low attention spans, so it's it's it's that's just how it's gonna be social media. It it messes with me too. Even we old school, but it it bothers me too. Like I'll see stuff, I can't even watch the whole thing because I'm ready to go to the next one. That's that's terrible, yeah. You know what I'm saying? So and I know it affects me too, and I try to fight that. So I know it's not, I know it's a it's it's a it's a global problem, man. It's just where we at today. We got so much in front of our face. So as far as like song structure, yeah, like who who who um like who one of the hottest artists out now? What's his name? Uh D Lo. Y'all know what I'm talking about? See, y'all real hip hop, y'all don't listen to that type of music.
SPEAKER_01I was like, who?
SPEAKER_04But yeah, this he he made you know music popular shit that people like, but a lot of his song structures made one verse hook is out of there, you know what I'm saying? But that's all people gonna have the room to listen for anyway. So yeah, the music structure has changed. I'm not really upset about it, it's just that's just where we at today. So you kind of gotta you gotta grow with the time. So even moving forward, like I'm even thinking, like, well, damn, there's two verses too much today. You post up a video, it's like there's so much for people to look at. They not uh a five-minute song, that's a story. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? So uh it's just it's just where we at it with with the times, man. And uh I'm not necessarily mad at it, but uh it is a difference. It is a difference.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's it's just something me and my my uh my guy DK something that we struggle with because we're used to putting out two or three song two or three verse songs, and it's like it's hard to gravitate away from what you know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but you you gotta look at it like this, man, and make it in the sense that it'll make it easier. The shorter it is, the the the less work you you have to do, or not necessarily less work, the less time you have you'll be focusing on one track. You can be getting other tracks.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah. But it's it's hard to tell that story in that short time, though. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's true.
SPEAKER_06I guess um So I that's I just wanted your opinion because it's something that was it's not my habit, it's not my mind a lot. I think about it how much it's changed, and I'm just like that's great, it's crazy to me.
SPEAKER_04Well, as far as I'm concerned, I'm still I'm still with at least a two-verse format. But I heard the songs out there, they only like a minute and a half, they would they be they got bugs, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01So I think with the storytelling though, like you gotta have three verses sometimes. Like me, I I've gravitated more towards the storytelling and shit like that when I do music now because like it's only so much shit you can rap about, you know. But I change it up to where I do a lot of storytelling and a lot of scenarios and shit. Sometimes I got three verses, sometimes I could tell it in two. But it has a lot to do with the audience tensions, man. Like that's why there's a lot of two-verse songs. Sometimes you'll do like one hook, and then you're like, all right, that's too much, we don't need another hook, you know what I mean? Right, right, right. It depends on the artists and your workflow and all that, like you said. I'm just tired of like you know, like I said, there's there's only so much uh we call it rapid-y rap. You could do like you only spit so many bars just like dropping punchlines and all like that. Like, I got gravitated more towards the storyline shit and the real life shit. That's why I appreciate this album because it's a lot of like real life scenarios and like you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01Basically dropping knowledge on somebody that's different, but like with the the the fucking punchlines and all that shit, there's only so much I can take myself, you know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's it's it's it's cool. It's uh it's a it's a lane for everything and it's a time for everything. Um, you know, like writing, I remember when I was younger, you know what I'm saying, I was influenced by what was going on. So we all grew up listening to gangster shit for the most part. We that's what we appreciated, so that's what I emulated when I was young. But as I've gotten older, you know, you embrace who you are, and the the more you embrace who you are, and you're honest about what you put in your art and your music per se, the easier it'll come. So, like with this project that me and D Lane just came out with, it wasn't hard to make. You know what I'm saying? It ain't hard because I'm doing me. I know how to rap about my life and what's going on. Like, I don't, I'm not rapping from a template, you know what I'm saying? I'm doing I'm rapping doing me. So uh it's a it's a it's a time and place for everything, man. Like you say, you don't want to hear the rapity raps. I don't, I don't yeah, I don't really want to hear the rapid e raps all the all the time either. You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01It's cool, like you be like, oh, but after a while, you're like, all right, man, like let's get into some content. I want to hear some stories and shit, you know. Yeah, I want something that's gonna make me think a little bit or feel something.
SPEAKER_04But but you this is you know, this is what I notice about myself too, because I used to discriminate against a lot of the the the new uh uh younger music, you know what I'm saying? Stuff that was coming out after our time when we was coming of age. But one thing that I've learned and which gave me which made me open up to listen to other people's music, you know, stuff that we would call dumb, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, but a lot of this type of music I'll let ride, like man, y'all probably be mad at me, man. But like some of sexy red stuff, I'll let it play, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm not gonna ride around to it, yeah. But I'll let it, but if like in the gym, like she, you know what I'm saying? Like stuff like that, like you'll let you you'll let it ride out. But I I say this. I grew up listening to Three Six Mafia, yeah. I grew up listening to Master P Sip the Soccer, like who was them?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they weren't no lyricists, especially stoke the shocker. Man, somebody said somebody said he raps in cursive.
SPEAKER_04Hey, you know what I'm saying? So when I thought about it, I'm like, damn, I grew up listening to these dudes and and and and swore by their music at one point in time. Like, yeah, that's when I started realizing like sometimes it ain't all about the lyrics all the time, sometimes it's just about the vibe. The vibe, exactly. Yeah, and I just use sexy red because she's like the worst case example, you know what I'm saying? But y'all know what I mean. Like, so a lot of stuff I I listen to it, I give it a chance, you know what I'm saying? I'm a little bit more lighter on music that ain't necessarily my speed, but I had to think about some of the people I grew up listening to, and they wasn't bar for bar, the great you know.
SPEAKER_01Like I got kids, my kids are they're in their teens, and then you know, I got a kid that's in his 20s now, and my oldest listens to a lot of shit I listen to, man. He'll listen to like uh MF Doom. Okay, uh, but then he like I got a rock side too, so he'll listen to like Black Sabbath and Slipknot and all that. But my 18-year-old listens to a lot of the newer stuff, and you know, I I sometimes I'm like, man, turn that bullshit off, but I accept it because there's a lot of shit that I listen to that they'll probably be like, man, you gonna shut that bullshit up.
SPEAKER_06You know what I mean? Yeah, I I feel there's I don't know. As I got older, my range of music has expanded more too. And some of these younger cats, like Rod Wade, I went through a second there where I really got into my kids. I don't know what it was about his sound, but it just it grabbed me, and I never thought I would have really been into that type, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01But it just about the new, the the new music, like especially like they call it the trap music or whatever, like that. If you're gonna give me trap music, I want it violent and ignorant as possible. That's exactly how I like my trap music.
SPEAKER_02Let me say this. I want to say something. Just check this out. Here's something to think about. For me, when I started listening to hip hop, the music, I thought that was original. But as I got into DJing, I started learning the artists from the 80s and the 90s, they were doing a lot of sampling. And that was that was a big thing, even uh uh on uh copyright infringement. But that's not my point about that. But what I'm saying is from that time up until now, as a DJ, I would listen to hip hop all the way up to all the gangster shit, your 36 Mafia, you know, Scarface, Tupac, everybody, you know? Uh from all that whole duration of time, all these samples and from like the mid-2000s on, a lot of that music I'm not hating because it's it's even better, because uh a lot of the music was generating original beats. Because I think the access to getting and making beats was more uh uh easier, and I think uh hip hop started uh origin making original shit, you know. That's how Midwest music, a lot of it was original, yeah, dude.
SPEAKER_04Some old boss keypads and all that right. You know, you got a point, you got a point, bro. You got a point. I'm I'm thinking about uh I remember it was a car that I had just bought. It was it was a beautiful I had just bought. This was in 2010, and I remember coming, I had bought it from this old lady in Mantino, Illinois, and I remember coming back, and that's when that walker flopped and oh let's do it first came out. I remember listening to it on the radio when I was on uh on the highway, and you're right, like that beat. When you listen to it, ain't nothing sample about that beat, all original. So yeah, you're right, you're right, definitely.
SPEAKER_02Because one of my first numbers that I thought was a shit was uh the Beastie Boys license to Ill album, and the reason why I like that album so much is because of all the samples they use from rock and so and and all over, man. Those are some badass Jews.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you know what? I have to go back to that one, man. I still I've listened to a lot of music, but it's still stuff that I haven't I haven't heard. I used somebody uh somebody I think it was, I think it was you, John. You mentioned uh Black Sabbath. Yeah. I'm heavy on Black Sabbath, but it's funny when I was young, I used to think they was devil worshippers. Yeah, no. I went along with the name of everybody else, yeah. When I got older, I started listening to them. I okay, I'm like, yeah, they talking about something. They really got it's just they got their own thing, but it's real substance, you know what I mean? So yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it all came from them. Uh I guess they seen like a horror movie called Black Sabbath. It was playing, and they went to see it, and they're like, because they were like a blues band, if I'm not mistaken, before they became heavy metal, and they watched that scary movie, and they're like, What if we can make this horror movie music? And that's when they put out the Black Sabbath album, and everybody was like, What is this? This is fucking wild, right? And then they took off from there. So, I mean, they're the creators of heavy metal, and now look at it, you got dark metal, you know, so many fucking genres of metal now. It's ridiculous.
SPEAKER_04And it's crazy. That's that's when you know, just like just like um when T Dove said he liked uh Rye Wade, that showed that you that's growth, even though that's a younger genre, that's growth opening up to appreciate it. So same thing like with the Black Sabbath, like a lot really, man, a lot of their music was really spiritual, but it's just the way it's presented.
SPEAKER_06The way it sounded, yeah, the way it's presented.
SPEAKER_04Right, exactly. You you thinking they talking about worshiping the devil, no, they talking about God versus the devil and a lot of their music, like it's it's deep, it's deep. So, yeah, yeah, definitely, man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. Music, yeah, music is like it's like growing, growing up, man. Like you start listening to new shit, new different genres. Um, like me and T Dub talked about before, listening to the country, trap music, and shit. Like that, there's a lot of shit I like, man, like shabbuzy and all that. Uh jelly rolls.
SPEAKER_06There's pop artists that I listen to that people look at me when they hear it and they're like, the fuck you got Halsey on for? I'm like, the bitch can sing. What are you talking about?
SPEAKER_04This shit is real, right?
SPEAKER_06Like, listen to it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. See, I'm the same way too, man. Like, I listen to a lot of um, I listen to a lot of Brazilian trap music, a lot of Brazilian music, but they got man, and they dope. See, but people here, we not the col the average collective here, we not listening to no shit that we can't understand. Yeah, yeah. Because they making their music in Portuguese, but they beats it hard, the melodies, the way they flow over the beat. So they get a lot of their influence from us, you know what I'm saying? Um, but it's dope, and I listen to a lot of it, you know what I mean? A lot of it because I go, I've been to Brazil quite a few times, so I didn't got adapted to the culture, and uh I understand a lot about their music, so yeah, I know a lot about their music.
SPEAKER_01We'll get into one more song, man, and we'll come back and do some shout-outs, man. Okay, let's go uh uh the drop. Uh-oh. Let's check it out, man.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, right here. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yo, look, if I gotta force a smile and I ain't never coming round, my life bill gon' stay low, cause I begin out of time. And my dog wanna mouse the space to try to speak in. I don't need no honey bag, no one cut the fast one up, but I'm not gonna do it.
SPEAKER_00I can still hold for the couple well. It's gonna sell. If it's a never stuff, I'm trying to force my atom. Which is been the babylon. I'm forced me at the ability. I don't force it out of the land, you walk up last week of wheel, gotta be the wheel, gotta be a bit, I don't think it's not with us, we are all hit the twist, gotta be the wheel, gotta be the wheel, gotta be, I'll hit the big nobody fucking with us, we are all hit the up, we need to put the wheel, that's the thing, that's the thing, you know.
SPEAKER_01Go check it out, man. Whole album streaming on air. I'll post the links in the comments when I drop the episode.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, check out the links. Everything added up.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man.
SPEAKER_04Streaming on all DSPs.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. We're gonna post a couple links and all that when I drop the episode tonight. And uh, man, again, dude, it's always a pleasure having you on the podcast, dude.
SPEAKER_04Hey man, it's always a pleasure for y'all to have me, man. I just we can sit up here, man, talk all day.
SPEAKER_01All night.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, man.
SPEAKER_01Um, you got any well, you said you're gonna start working on another project with B Lang, and then uh you got any solo projects you're working on right now?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I am. Matter of fact, I'm working on the next project with me and him, and working on my next uh project. Um, like with this project, the one thing we want to do better with the next project is roll it out better. Like this, you know, we once we got done with the project, we threw it out there. We didn't have no videos, no visuals. So we still won't make visuals um for this project. But when we do our next project, man, like moving forward, man, we gotta roll it out better, you know what I'm saying? So like I said, we just threw this out there, man, because we just we we like to rap, so we want people to hear the raps, you know what I'm saying? Next time around, man, we definitely want to roll the project out better. But nevertheless, man, it's out there and it's available and it's uh you can't escape it. It's it's it's on every DSP you're listening to, so everything add up.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. Um, when you do get ready to drop it, holler at us and we'll put you guys on a podcast as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, man. Anytime, anytime.
SPEAKER_04I appreciate that, man. We're gonna we're gonna take y'all up on that for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, man. Um what else, what else, what else? I think that's about it, man. Um to the next episode, but uh we'll get into some shoutouts real quick, man. First of all, shout outs to Vonnie EC for joining us tonight, man. Like I said, always a pleasure. Uh always got dope music to show us and dope conversations. We get to reminisce a lot.
SPEAKER_02Um yeah, man.
SPEAKER_01Shout outs to my family, shout out to my kids, man, for setting, putting the setup upstairs for me, man. So I ain't gotta be in the basement freezing. Um, shout outs to uh shout outs to my wife, man, always representing, sharing the episodes. Uh our St. Louis Connects, uh GA Barr is always showing support. Yes, sharing it. Um make sure you check her out. Uh the Fault Keys. We got a new uh a new song out, new single called Um Blast, streaming everywhere. Check that out. Uh shout out to the Raw Offices Man. Uh dude, I was there for the Midwest Desk performance of uh Yuri Bosho Lane. You want to check out some dope beatboxing, dude? He put on a fucking whole movie out with just beatboxing, dude. It felt like I was in an action movie. And um shout out to the Raw officers, man. We got Posse Cuts 2, volume 2. Uh we've been dropping some verses for that. That shit sounds hot. And uh man, I just want to send some uh some prayers and some blessings up to Yoda's uh Pops, man. I hope he gets better. Yeah, man, get well soon. Uh shout out to Short Fuse. I ain't seen him in a minute, man. It was good seeing him. And uh man, shout out to Josh Ree, man. Have some fun in Florida for us, man. Rick Rock, what you got?
SPEAKER_02If you're ever in the harbor, check out my man DJ Hobby Hob, that crazy. 98.3 FM, playing all kinds of uh freestyle, salsa, all kind of hits, man. So if you're ever out here, check him out. Uh shout out to my daughter, uh, hustling and grinding at a young age, girl, make your money. She's ready to be a pimp. She wants to pimp motherfuckers out. So that's like live your dream, baby, do what you gotta do. That's all I got.
SPEAKER_06T dub man. As always, I want to put a you know, shout out to my family, my wife, my kids for you know being there for me to everything, you guys for having me as part of the podcast. Bonnie, it was great to see you, man. Great talking to you. Really appreciate you coming here. Big shout out to my boy DK, Default Keys. Y'all keep checking them out. He watched them on Facebook, you've been giving away free beats lately. So look for them on Facebook and you can check them out, beatsbydk.com. Also, go straight to his Beat Star page. Um, there is another dirtbag Johnny and Default Keys song coming soon. I'm not gonna say quite when, but there is another one coming out. Put that out there, and uh like I would say everybody, man, just keep following your dream and fuck what these haters gotta say and do what you feel you gotta do to be you.
SPEAKER_01And righteous, if you're watching or listening. Get up with Von EC, make the dream project.
SPEAKER_04You know, I would you know, I didn't when you gave me the mic, I don't I didn't send no shout outs. I I didn't know we were sending shout outs, but I was like, it's on you now, bro. Yeah, you you uh definitely want to just tell everybody, man, who've been supporting me, people who've been supporting this project, man. We we really appreciate it. Shout out to everybody that uh that rock with what I do, man. Um, and I definitely wanna because if I get the name and names, man, it's like that. I gotta remember all the people. But one person I definitely want to send a shout out to, man, is a cat named Adam Murphy, man. You know, he uh he run the Midwest mix, yeah. Midwest mixtapes website. So every time I drop something, me and B Land, he been doing this for years. Like every time we drop something, he always put our stuff up on the site, man. So there's love. So I just want to make sure I shout him out. Um, and it's and it's other people, man, but you know, definitely somebody that uh actually got a platform, man, they be showing us love, man. So I want to shout him out, and just everybody, man, who rocking on what we're doing.
SPEAKER_01Hell yeah. And shout out to B Lang, man. Get with us, man.
SPEAKER_04Yes, yes, for sure.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, man. This has been another episode of Below the Surface. I'm your boy Dirtbag Johnny in the place to be.
SPEAKER_04I'm DJ Rick Rock.
SPEAKER_01It's your boy T Doug.
SPEAKER_04Ronnie E C.
SPEAKER_01Hey, we out this piece, man. Everybody stay warm and stay safe on the streets. Be safe, y'all.