Homeboy Sandman Speaks On Stones Throw Deal, Creative Control, The Roots and More [Interview]

Stones Throw Records, the respected independent label that has been home to the likes of Madlib, MF Doom and the late J. Dilla, scored a major coup when they recently inked New York lyrical wizard Homeboy Sandman to a deal. Full details have not been made public yet, but it’s not surprising, considering the significant mark the Queens representative made on the worldwide rap landscape. Homeboy Sandman, our very first of several “Reasons Why New York Hip Hop Doesn’t Suck,” has been the recipient of an avalanche of positive reviews in recent years and has garnered a substantial following, all while largely shunning online social networking.

In real life, the Twitter-less Homeboy Sandman is extremely approachable and easily one of the most down to earth artists you will ever meet, despite his imposing height. At all times, his genuine love and appreciation for hip-hop shows, oozing out of him whenever he discusses the art of rhyming. More importantly though, he acknowledges his role in a hip-hop legacy that he’ll be leaving behind for future hip-hop generations.

Homeboy Sandman takes rap music seriously. This isn’t a game for him. This is real. There is no room for wackness.

Birthplace Magazine’s Steven Ortiz sat down with Homeboy Sandman shortly after his electric performance at this year’s Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, as he reflected about bombing his first live performance, having full creative control over his music and his affinity for The Roots.

What was your first live show like? When you first hit the stage for the very first time?

The first time I ever hit the stage was the Nuyorican Poets Café, when Bobbito was hosting the All That! and the Words!  I got up on stage and I had these bars, I can’t remember what they are now, I was so amped and so hyped. The place was packed. I got up on stage. I spit like the first four bars. I forgot everything. I got so nervous. I just put the mic on the stand and I just pulled it next to me, and I just put my head down and closed my eyes and tried to get through the bars.  And at the Nuyorican, they’re very supportive. They started clapping. I’ve never, ever – I would later go on to host the same show – and I never, ever saw anybody do as badly as I did, my first time, seriously. I forgot my bars. I was nervous, I was still, I was shook. And it was funny, because the rest of the night, you know, rappers are always like, ‘Yo sucka rappers, sucka rappers.’ These cats are talking about me.

So, what did you do to change after that? When you look back on that first outing, how did you evolve your live performance?

I just spend so much more time doing it now. I spend so much more time writing now. Like before, I was like, I’ll get up on stage. I could write a couple of things. I wasn’t rapping at all. I was a kid. Now, when I get up on stage, this is all I do. I spend hours doing this everyday, so I know my bars. I could say my bars in my sleep. I could fall down and wake up saying my bars. So, I could never forget anything up there. Plus, I’m a much more developed individual even though I still have a lot of work to do, obviously. I know myself more. So my bars are me, more. The energy is me, more. I love it up there. When I was up there before, I felt pressure. When I’m up there now, I’m free.

LISTEN: Homeboy Sandman “I Knew”

What goes into song selection, when you are doing a show?

I like to start off with something energetic a lot of the time or depending on the thing. Something big, like this, with a big crowd. I like to get the energy up, just to set it off.  Depending on the thing, I might start off with an acapella or start with a hand clap exercise, but I like to bring energy and get people excited.  My beat selection, a lot of  times, has a lot of thump involved in it, but I like to use that to transition into, once I have your attention, maybe something a little bit more mellow where it’s a little more lyric intensive. Even if you haven’t heard it before, you’re going to understand every word.  Like today, I started with “The Carpenter” which is real high energy, then went into “Yeah, But I Can Rhyme Though” which is more laid back. The flow is more broken up. It’s easier to get.

What’s going on now with the label situation? New album?

Look for news on that soon. I’m putting out an album, Kool Herc Fertile Crescent. I will be releasing it with a mighty ally that is all about not being corny.

LISTEN: Homeboy Sandman interview on WNYC radio’s “Soundcheck”

How much creative control do you have over your projects? Would you be willing to give up some of that control to a label?

I’m always going to be in control of my tracks. Always. I understand working with others as in, ‘You made 14 tracks. We like these 12,’ or something like that. Nobody tells me what to do. I do what I want and then people have the option of whether they want to back it. Whether it’s creatively to their standards or whatever. My records come from me. No one has input on my records, but I definitely have people, that I respect their musical acumen, so I look to them for advice. ‘What do you think of this? What do you think of this?’

One brother that I recently was talking to music about was Peanut Butter Wolf and I know him and how he gets down. He’s someone I listen to. People that I would listen to would never come out and tell me what to do. They would be people that I could learn from. So nobody tells me what to do except my pop and moms.

WATCH: Homeboy Sandman – “Calm Tornado” [VIDEO]

Did you go to any live shows growing up?

I used to go Roots shows. The Roots is my favorite crew ever. Black Thought is my favorite MC of all time. That’s mic mastery and that sound – that’s musicianship. I’ve never been a cat that listens to cats that couldn’t rap. Cats that can’t rap have been out for a while now.  When I was coming up, there were some big cats that couldn’t rap. Cats was like, ‘What you think of that?’ I was like, ‘Son, you listen to that?’ I listen to cats that can rap. I listen to music. Those have been the shows that I’ve learned from. I didn’t used to go to a lot of shows. I would’ve gone to a Jazzy Jeff/Fresh Prince show, I would’ve gone to a Kane show, I would’ve gone to an LL Cool J show. I definitely would have gone to a Tribe show. I could name shows I would have gone to, but I didn’t have an opportunity to go to a lot of shows, but I went to some Roots shows. I was like ‘The Roots is here, I’m going!’

New fans now harbor the same enthusiasm for Homeboy Sandman, who has developed into quite an exciting performer since those first days at the Nuyorican, and with the critical praise for his last album, The Good Sun, and placing his career in the hands of a label that clearly understands the importance of an artist’s creativity, we expect Homeboy Sandman will continue being one of the main “Reasons Why New York Hip Hop Doesn’t Suck,” and in fact, why hip hop in general doesn’t suck, for some time to come.

Homeboy Sandman performs “Table Cloth” at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest [via YouTube/Justin Hunte]