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Keeping It Gritty

Will Gonzalez | November 16, 2020

Topics: D.R.U.G.S. Beats, Gritty City Records, Johnny Ciggs, Lighters and Lightbulbs, Richmond hip hop, richmond music

Johnny Ciggs may regret the goofy name he gave himself at the start of his hip hop career, but with his new album, Lighters and Lightbulbs, the Gritty City Records label head shows that his talent is no joke.

Before Johnny Ciggs became a rapper and owner of Gritty City Records, the inspiration for a potential stage name came during a night out at Sticky Rice.

“There was a bunch of soft-ass rap playing up there, and I was just like ‘Man, this is soft as shit.’ So to my friends, I was like, ‘If I was gonna be a rapper, I’d be raw. I’d name myself MC Cigarettes,’” said Ciggs. “And then when I started rapping, I was like ‘I guess I gotta call myself that,’ because, you know, I said that I was gonna.”

The name didn’t last for long, and he decided to change it after referring to himself as Johnny Ciggs in a song.

“I hate the fuckin’ name. I wish I had a different name, but it is what it is,” said Ciggs. “It just doesn’t do anything for me, but other people say it’s dope, so that’s great.”

Ten years and ten releases as Johnny Ciggs later, Gritty City is promoting his newest full-length, Lighters and Lightbulbs, with producer D.R.U.G.S. Beats.

Originally from Alexandria, Ciggs first came to Richmond from Burke, where he grew up in 2002 as a student at VCU. Years later, he was tired of his job in sales and decided to do an internship at Da Spot Recording Studio.

“I learned a ton of stuff from them. I mean, the way that I go about recording sessions to this day is all based on what they taught me,” said Ciggs. “How to set up sessions and how to record in general, all those things I learned from there.”

As part of his homework for the internship, Ciggs was tasked with recording a song, which would become his first rap project. At the time, he was listening to classic East coast hip-hop from artists like Mobb Deep and Nas, which would continue to influence his work. Much of the subject matter in Ciggs’ lyrics is similar as well, what he would call “braggadocious rappity-rap,” but it also addresses his struggles with alcoholism and mental health issues.

“A lot of my music is more fun if you really listen to what I’m saying. I’m just making fun of myself and the ridiculous and crazy way I used to live,” said Ciggs. “Some days I wanted to die, other days I thought I was living the dream. But really, nothing changed, it was all nonsense.”

Lighters and Lightbulbs features many other artists, many of which are long-time friends of Ciggs and members of the Gritty City circle. However, some are new to working with the group, like Brooklyn rapper Agallah, who appears on the album’s opening track. Ciggs has collaborated with Agallah once before, but at first he was just a fan of his.

“I had always been a fan of Agallah’s music, he makes some really hard shit,” said Ciggs. “One day I was out drinking with [Gritty City artist Fan Ran], and he was like ‘You know, I bet if you hollered at that dude you could work with him.’ I was like ‘You think so?’” 

Timbo King, who appears on the album’s second track, is an affiliate of Wu-Tang Clan who now lives in Richmond. He came to know Ciggs when he was looking for a recording studio in Richmond, and the two were introduced by mutual friends. “Top Tens,” the seventh track on the album, featuring rapper Ben FM, is an ode to the Top Ten, a classic hi-top Adidas basketball shoe that’s worn by Ciggs almost every day. Ben FM, a Richmond rapper who has worked with Gritty City on multiple occasions, wears Top Tens while rapping.

“I wanted to make a song about Top Ten Adidas because they’re my favorite shoe, and he was the only dude I knew who wore them. He also happens to be a nasty rapper, so it’s just how it had to be,” said Ciggs. “Me and Ben have been talking about doing that song for years, and we finally got it done.”

In addition to his own rap career, Ciggs produces and engineers many of the releases put out by Gritty City, as well as booking many of their shows. The group used to perform at house parties regularly, but have more recently frequented The Camel and the now-closed Emilio’s, both on Broad Street near VCU. Gritty City has been doing an annual show for charity since 2014; the sixth Gritty City for the Kids show will be on December 18, and will be live-streamed on their Twitch channel, @grittycityrecs.

The material on his new album was written a few years ago and recorded last year, and Ciggs is already moving towards the release of his next album. “Moonlight Pt. 5,” the final track on Lighters and Lightbulbs, is somewhat of a setup for it.

“The next album I have coming in a few months is an extremely serious album,” said Ciggs. “Because it’s about when, finally, everything came crumbling down.”

Stay tuned.

Lighters and Lightbulbs, as well as all of the Gritty City releases, can be found on the label’s bandcamp or website.

Photos via Johnny Ciggs/Facebook

Faced With A Pandemic, RVA Rap Elite Takes The Show Online

Jay Guevara | September 16, 2020

Topics: battle rap, Big B, coronavirus, COVID-19, cyphers, King Fizzle, O-Z, Radio B, Richmond hip hop, RVA Rap Elite, Spielburg, Synse, The Dark Room

In January, the RVA Rap Elite started their third season of cyphers and rap battles at The Dark Room in Scott’s Addition. In the small venue within the Hofheimer Building, the hip-hop based platform had established a consistent home after spending 2019 going from one venue to another. Then in March, the coronavirus pandemic stopped the world as we knew it. Gyms were closed, some people worked from home, while others were laid workers off or furloughed. And in the local music world, live events came to a sudden and complete stop.

As venues closed, artists lost their traditional way of connecting with fans, and the income they derived from tours and shows went away. In the darkness that the pandemic brought to the music culture, social media interaction between artists, fans, and platforms reached a new level. RVA Rap Elite evolved.

With their venue gone, they replaced their March cypher with a virtual March Madness bracket called Rap Elite Madness, featuring 64 emcees spitting to see who would come out on top. Followers watched videos of each head-to-head matchup and picked the winners in the comments. In addition to the virtual tournament, a weekly schedule of different live events were posted on their Instagram page each week. 

The usual schedule would go like this: 

  • Mondays were for interviews with an artist or battle rapper
  • Tuesdays featured live playlists hosted by Spielburg
  • Wednesday presented a recap of the previous week’s worth of Rap Elite Madness action
  • Thursdays focused on an open beat cypher hosted by producer NameBrand
  • Fridays brought Freestyle Fridays hosted by Radio B

I checked in with one of the RVA Rap Elite staff members and several of the emcees involved in Rap Elite Madness bracket to get the inside information about how the platform has worked to elevate its influence during an unprecedented time. 

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Big B. Photo via @bigb81dreaming on Instagram

Big B was one of the artists featured in the Rap Elite Madness tourney. I had a chance to chat with him on the platform. 

Jay Guevara: Tell me about your take on the March Madness bracket that RVA Rap Elite did. Did you think that it was beneficial for everybody, or just the winners of the later rounds?

Big B: I thought it was a great way to keep the platform going. Rap Elite was at an all-time high before COVID hit. I think they did a great job of still providing a way for artists to get recognized and [get] exposure. It also gave an opportunity for those who might not have been ready to cypher on stage to have access to the platform and be seen.

Jay: How did this push your pen to do better in the later rounds?

Big B: I had to really study my opponents. I couldn’t just write a verse and throw some bars in and expect to advance, so it added another element to the process.

Jay: If the pandemic didn’t happen, do you think the platform could’ve expanded the way it did, via social media with their weekday calendar of IG Live exclusive events?

Big B: I think it was a learning curve that I’m sure they will implement going forward.  These events during the week will keep people focused on Rap Elite for the whole month leading up to the big event. In a sense, that is a good thing that came out of a bad situation. These guys work hard to make the platform what it is, and I know it was devastating for this to happen right when everything was at a peak.

Jay: Who were some of your favorite emcees or surprise contestants in the March Madness bracket?

Big B: I had a lot of favorites.  Loved how O-Z added the visual element. Synse was dope the whole. My sleepers were Jason and Zo the poet!  They came through and did their thing.

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King Fizzle. Photo via @kingfizzle on Instagram

King Fizzle was the champion on Episode 7 of the RVA Rap Elite and was a competitor in the Rap Elite Madness Tourney.

Jay: Please give me your take on March Madness. Do you think it was beneficial for everybody, or just the winners?

King Fizzle: I can only answer that for myself. Emcees will have different goals and expectations for the competitions. If your intention was to build your fanbase or your domain, then can you demonstrate a measurable conversion in follower count or engagement on your platform? What metrics have you decided to use to determine your success?

But what if you went in with the intention to train yourself for combat? How do you anticipate your enemy’s offense? How does the presentation of offense differ from the stage platform? That requires a different set of skills. If your intention was to play the game, and you didn’t make it into your expected bracket, by your predetermined metric of success, the competition was not beneficial for you.

For myself, I had several intentions: learn basic video editing techniques, train my audience on how to listen to my style of writing with the use of subtitles and typography, and among other things, to stay consistently writing. Under that criteria, it was highly beneficial for me.

Jay: How did you push your pen during the tourney and pandemic?

Fizzle: These one-minute raps are great for me to demonstrate how I stretch multis, without the subject of the scheme becoming abstract. If you notice when I stretch a rhyme pattern, I never have any repeating vocabulary. In a competition cypher setting, I don’t get to display the different rap forms I can deliver because certain forms are not appropriate for a given instrumental. For example, in my first round I used this as an opportunity to inject comedy, or I misdirect the audience by hitting them with something they didn’t expect me to say. The deliberate pacing of breath and motor expressions assist in landing that punch.

But this competition ain’t a measure of who really got techniques, fundamentals, or even bars on lock. Strategy for this competition will take you farther than good writing, in my opinion. My success criteria were different, so I didn’t play with strategy, and bad strategy can make even good writing sound like filler. And that’s what happened in my losing round. Out of context, as a stand-alone piece, the verse is alright, but with me and my opponent both being battle rappers, the verse was lacking. And you can tell I wasn’t trying to be savage. I used the word “brethren” in a rhyme against a woman. I clearly wasn’t writing for Zoe, and that was the wrong play.

It’s even deeper when you consider the format of presentation. O-Z done proved that Rap Elite as a platform tests every aspect of being an emcee, and it’s all considered. You could have everything flawless on paper as pun intended, but what overall impression you left on the voter weighs more than what you did with your pen.

Jay: If the pandemic didn’t happen, do you think the platform could’ve expanded more with social media?

Fizzle: The platform did expand as a result of the pandemic. Even purely quantitatively you had something like over sixty artists in the same event, versus a max of thirty we can do for a one night on a stage. Then those sixty people spread it to their domains, and Rap Elite got big looks for that. From an emcee’s perspective, Rap Elite is expanding when emcees are fighting just to make it to the platform/competition. When the competition becomes prestigious.

Like how we talk about how Juice and Eminem came out of the Rap Olympics — Rap Elite is going to do that for our emcees. Selective restriction doesn’t imply expansion, but with standards and a higher barrier of entry comes notoriety, and in that sense, there will be expansion in both the digital space and as a community event. We see all this happening already.

Jay: Who were some of your favorite emcees or surprise contestants?

Fizzle: It’s great to see other oratory artists play the brackets. We have some of the highest caliber poets, so shout-outs to Roscoe. It’s always a dope to see the intersectionality of arts and elements. I watched Synse open for KRS-ONE the year we had that big snowstorm, so when I saw him spit again, I said “Wait, this the same guy?” And it was. Quick follow. Big ups to all the performers who stay on their deen. That’s Jason and CGoss. Love to my homie Robalu, because this is the closest you would see us battle. There were some ill verses in the brackets. Kilroy’s verse stood out to me. I always award points to emcees who can present words differently, and he did that. And you know the emcees who stay consistent on Rap Elite are always a crowd favorite.

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Spielburg. Photo via @spielburg on Instagram

Spielburg is the social media contributor for the RVA Rap Elite platform. His responsibilities range from IG Live/On Site interviews to hosting a weekly IG Live Playlist, on which he plays music by artists from Virginia and the DMV. 

Jay: Was the March Madness bracket successful to you? And what rounds stood out the most to you?

Spielburg: Extremely successful; it drove much warranted traffic towards the platform. Plus, the engagement from the MCs who participated gave RVA Rap Elite a broader audience. The rounds I enjoyed the most were the Sweet 16 rounds and Final 4. The showman and penmanship rose as the competition stiffened.

Jay: If the pandemic didn’t happen, what would’ve been the direction that the platform went next in elevating their influence?

Spielburg: Radio B is constantly seeking ways to expand the reach of RVA Rap Elite. If COVID-19 never happened, there would have been a strong presence from us, not only on IG but on other streaming platforms. 

Jay: When you get submissions in the playlists, what’s a common pattern you hear that artists can improve on?

Spielburg: For the most part, every submission has been well received, but if I’m looking for areas of improvement, I would say sound quality, delivery and content. That’s relative to most of the MCs starting out.

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Synse. Photo via @iamsynse on Instagram

For my last two interviews, I spoke with the two emcees that faced off in the final battle of Rap Elite Madness. First up: Synse.

Jay: How did the tourney push your pen to do better in the later rounds?

Synse: For me it didn’t have anything to do with rounds. It had everything to do with being an emcee. The fact I participated in the tournament itself was all I needed to continue to push myself and my pen. I had at that point already been doing weekly rap drops on my IG; I called them #SynseSundays. I challenged myself to them every Sunday for a year straight.

Jay: If the pandemic didn’t happen, do you think the platform could’ve expanded more the way it did via social media, with their weekday calendar of IG Live exclusive events?

Synse: Anything is possible. I think anyone with great ideas always bumps into the “Now how do I get this to the people” stage. I guess it was a bound-to-happen kind of thing, the pandemic just sped it up.

Jay: With the return of the open cyphers taking place outdoors, how do you see the outside aspect affecting the performers? Do you see it affecting some artists in a way that affected battle rappers when empty room battles became a norm? Some artists and performers thrive from a small or large room crowd, so do you feel like that’s going to affect the emcees and battle rappers at all?

Snyse: Crowd or no crowd always affects an artist. In my opinion, whether it helps or hurts, I believe it depends on the artist’s familiarity to surroundings/settings. It also could depend on what stage of the career that artist is in. Any given night can be a bad night or a good night.

Jay: If you had to formulate a COVID RVA Rap Elite starting five, who would be on the squad? Who would you call the most improved emcee during all this?

Synse: I’m a newcomer so I wouldn’t. I’m still learning the scene and the artists, so I don’t think I know them well enough to begin grouping people. Salute to all those who participated and even bothered to check out the work that I’ve done. Continue to grind, continue to shine. I’m Just Here To Rap.

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O-Z. Photo via @odashz on Instagram

Finally, the emcee who won it all in the Rap Elite Madness tourney: O-Z.

Jay: How did the tourney push your pen to do better in the later rounds?

O-Z: First, I want to shout out RVA Rap Elite. Thanks for having me. Shoutout to @ogmelrose, @rich_homie_rheese, @willjungmusic, @killroyg, @_c_slick, and @iamsynse. These were the guys that inspired me and pushed me. All dope artist and def should be tapped into. 

Honestly, initially, I didn’t know what to expect. For the first two rounds, I used recycled verses. At the time the verses felt comfortable and they fit well with the beats. In my mind, which was the wrong approach totally, I assumed everyone would use recycled verses. I’m sure some did; however, it was very clear to see those that did not. Further along, or more specifically with round 3, the sweet 16, the production inspired me, and I instantly wrote my verse the night it was sent. Ironically, during the very next Rap Elite live recap discussion, they made remarks about artists recycling verses. From then on, I wrote every bar for every round. The competition demanded it.

Jay: If the pandemic didn’t happen, do you think the platform could’ve expanded more the way it did via social media, with their weekday calendar of IG Live exclusive events?

O-Z: Absolutely. With zero doubts. There isn’t much to say besides the simple fact that prior to shutting down we were selling out the Dark Room the past few events. The trajectory was extreme, when you really think about it. I’m talking, the venue is at capacity by 7:30. I haven’t seen that before here in Richmond on a consistent basis. The expansion is still happening. I can promise you that.

Jay: As the champion of the Rap Elite Madness tourney, how does this influence you going forward?

O-Z: Winning the tournament was beyond inspiring. You’d be surprised how many new people you meet when we were all isolated. That was our first time experiencing the kind of environment we were exposed to and being able to come together for such a great experience. You couldn’t ask for better. These kinds of things can’t be written. It’s a story to tell when time passes us all and we look back and say, “Oh yeah!” Or even when we are possibly put in that predicament again.

Going forward, it has allowed me to open up in a way, to where now I’m living outside of my comfort zone. Before I was just stepping outside of it. I’m influenced to live outside of it now, because the idea is to never be comfortable, and to always keep climbing. 

Jay: RVA Rap Elite has been recording private cyphers at the Dark Room to continue with this season’s team battles they’ve been keeping points for. Do you think this is something we’ll see in the following seasons to come? And if so, has this been a justifiable substitute in a time where events in small spaces are restricted due to the pandemic?

O-Z: I think we will continue to see this going forward, and I also expect to see new things added as well. There is always something new going on at Rap Elite. As far as the justification of the events and where [they’re held] due to restrictions… maybe so, but in reality, a lot was implemented prior to the pandemic. So if anything, not being able to have the events with conviction, it will be hard to look at numbers and stats with that same level if we aren’t even able to know specifically when and where the events will take place. That comes with understanding that this is a very unpredictable year we are forced to rely on. Most things we have going on now were things we already had planned prior, and are trying to implement to the best of our abilities. Whether I’m involved or not, I can see the work being done and the measures being made to continue the movement. Big love.

In addition to continuing with weekly Instagram Live events, RVA Rap Elite has recently begun hosting socially-distanced outdoor rap battles around the city. To keep up with what they have going on, stay tuned to their Instagram @rvarap.elite.

Ant The Symbol Teams With Eliturite To Remind Us That The World Carries On With “Sometimes”

Marilyn Drew Necci | August 20, 2020

Topics: Ant The Symbol, Days Of Distance, Eliturite, Holyfield, Nowhere In Particular, Richmond hip hop, Sometimes, The What?!

There’s a ton of music coming out of Richmond all the time, and while RVA Mag attempts to celebrate it all, we’re human, and we’ve got our favorites. Where Richmond hip hop is concerned, certain of my fellow staffers seem to favor the AGM posse (Nickelus F, Radio B, Michael Millions, NameBrand) above all others. And that’s fair — but for me, the guy who’s most consistently got my ear is Ant The Symbol.

Ant’s been a talented, hard-working producer on the Richmond scene for a solid decade now, cranking out beat tapes, instrumental soundscapes, and full-length projects that find him teaming his rock-solid beats with one murderer’s row of local rappers after another. He’s been grinding particularly hard over the past 12-month period, beginning with last November’s collaborative magnum opus, The What?!, released by Gritty City and featuring Johnny Ciggs, Michael Millions, Fan Ran, Graphic Melee, Chance Fischer, and a ton of other super-talented Richmond MCs. In March, just as the pandemic was hitting, he followed it up with Holyfield, a full-length reinterpretation that was somewhere between a remix album and a whole new project.

Now, in the same way that a lot of us spent April fucking around with sourdough starter, Ant is using using the pandemic as an opportunity to try something different. For the past few months, he’s been doing a project called Days Of Distance, in which he releases a new collaborative single every Friday. There are 15 so far, enough to count as an entire new album — and meanwhile, he also dropped a new instrumental project, Nowhere In Particular, in May. Like I said, the man’s staying busy.

Today, we’re concerning ourselves with “Sometimes,” one of the Days Of Distance singles, this one featuring rhymes from veteran Ant The Symbol collaborator Eliturite. Its smooth, introspective sound blends well with the moody visuals of the city going on with life amid a pandemic. At points, we see Ant The Symbol (rocking a Smashing Pumpkins shirt — love it) and Eliturite hanging out together on a rock by the river, drinking beers and watching the world go by. Halfway through the song, as Eliturite raps about trying to find a positive approach to life, the video suddenly transforms from black and white to color, and despite everything, we find a way to go on. “This is a real, optimistic, and necessary song right now,” Ant The Symbol says of this song. “I think everyone needs it.” Sounds about right to me.

Skillz for a New Generation: Q & A with Richmond Rap Royalty Mad Skillz

Landon Shroder | June 24, 2020

Topics: black lives matter, Confederate monuments, mad skillz, Michael Millions, Richmond hip hop, richmond music, Richmond protests, Robert E. Lee Monument, Skillz

In the midst of big changes in the local landscape, RVA Mag caught up with Richmond hip hop legend (Mad) Skillz to talk monuments, music, and making real change in the Commonwealth.

Skillz has the wisdom of experience, having worked with everyone from The Roots and Nas to Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj. A veteran of the game, Skillz has not only presaged current events, but laid the foundation for generations of artists to come. During this time of protest, unrest, and political upheaval, who better to help navigate the many complex realities of life in the commonwealth?

RVA Mag caught up with Skillz and Richmond rapper Michael Millions one rainy day last week at the (soon to be removed) statue of Robert E. Lee to chat about the movement, Richmond, and how rap and hip hop has accelerated our consciousness.

RVA Mag: You’re a Richmond hero, rap legend, you have national prominence: With all of your experience, what’s this movement mean to you right now, where we at? 

Skillz: I’m proud to see the city take a stand. Some of these objects have been here for as long as I can remember [points to the statue of Robert E. Lee]. For people to take a stand against systematic oppression and racism, I knew it was a bubble that was going to burst at some point — I’m just glad that I’m here to see it. 

Michael Millions [to Skillz]: Prior to the civil unrest, have you ever been this close to this monument?

Skillz: No, not this close. 

Michael Millions: Driving through the city or utilizing this roundabout, have you ever even intentionally looked up at this statue? 

Skillz: I’ve been in Richmond since 1987 and I have never looked to the top of this monument. During the VCU days when I was living a block away, I never looked up going around this corner. 

Michael Millions: And you’ve never steeped foot on this soil in this city? 

Skillz: I have never stepped on this soil. 

RVA Mag: When you guys saw this statue in its current form, what was the first thing that popped into your mind?

Michael Millions: When I think of structures going up, I look at structure and shapes, everything they laid down, the foundations — there is a lot of intention to raise this, this high. And on top of all this, there is this statue on top. 

Everything returns to the earth. Even if they left it up in this form, the people have reclaimed the land. We like this now — it is definitely an art piece. 

Skillz: I have talked to plenty of people from out of town who had to come down here and take photos, and let their children see it before they take it down. 

RVA Mag: Skillz, coming up in the 90s, what’s it like to see this transitional moment, not just in Richmond but also in the US. Is Richmond playing a deeper role than most people think? 

Skillz: The difference between the 90s and now is about moving around the city — we chose to ignore these [Confederate statues], because they were never speaking to us. We never saw ourselves. They have way more of these than we had any representation. Now, for this to be a space that the oppressed feels to have taken over and reclaimed, it feels good. I believe this generation can be the generation to push forward for real change, because it is different now. A lot of things that used to fly can’t fly anymore; not without question, revolt, or repercussions. 

RVA Mag: Did you ever expect to see this in your lifetime? 

Skillz: In Virginia, in the Commonwealth? No, never. Whatever this is going to be, it needs to represent all people, not just some people. 

RVA Mag: What does this movement look like to you as a man of conscience, a creator? You have also been the artist-in-residence at University of Richmond. You sit at the nexus of all these things. 

Skillz: You might feel as if there is no change you can make, but what I want to say is that you can make that change. People at my age, not all, but some, have become complacent. I’m proud of all the young people stepping forward to make change. Now, when these cops stand in front of the protest groups and they see these people standing in front of them, it’s not just black people; it’s also gay people, Latino people, trans people. The army of “you’re not going to oppress us” is way bigger than just Black people. 

Sooner or later they’re going to have to realize that this is a whole new thing. 

RVA Mag: As someone who has articulated the Black experience in the 90s through their music, does this movement feel different?

Skillz: Yes. This is at my front door. I came back from LA to buildings burning and buses burning on Broad St. I’ve never seen that shit in my life. To see that, I can’t even imagine these people living here and seeing this thinking, “this shit is really happening outside my window.” And that’s how change happens. You almost don’t believe it is right at your front door, but it is. It is uncomfortable and uneasy, but that is what change is. 

RVA Mag: It seems like the boundaries of American culture have shifted quite rapidly in the past two weeks. The NFL, NASCAR, major corporations — even if its disingenuous, it’s still happening. What role has rap and hip hop culture played in pushing this national consciousness over the past 20 to 30 years?

Skillz: It has shown that it can’t be ignored. From day one people always thought it was a fad and it would fade away. No one saw this coming — that it would be a major global trillion-dollar business. Black culture is culture; this shit ain’t cool until we do it. And then when everyone else starts doing it, we stop and start doing something else. It is a transition, a cycle. These voices will be heard one way or another. This is the most popular music in the world — it is so prevalent in today’s society that you almost overlook it, because it is in everything. 

RVA Mag: From a certain perspective, it is America’s number one cultural export. 

Skillz: Without a doubt. I’ve been to places where they don’t even speak English and they know the words to 50 Cent, “In The Club” — some people have learned English through hip hop. 

RVA Mag: Do you feel Virginia ever really took ownership of its rap and hip hop scene? Given the sheer number of national and international acts that have come out of Virginia, it has always seemed strange to not represent that the way New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and other places would have. Do you think Virginia has come full circle in terms of national rap and hip hop culture? 

Skillz: No I don’t think we have. It takes perseverance, more soldiers, more cracks in the armor. When you look at some things that you never thought would happen, they have happened. So you can’t say that the history has to be absorbed and respected, because amazing things have happened here, and there are more amazing things to come. 

RVA Mag: Michael, let me ask you something. Based on what Skillz said, what is the next step for Richmond rap and hip hop? 

Michael Millions: More perseverance. Richmond is such a special place, our awareness in music is what makes artists from Richmond so special. If we could get in front of the curve, in terms of bringing that craftsmanship back to music. Look at where we live, there is not an artist here that is not impacted by this city. Where we live makes our writing and thoughts very special. I don’t think anything is going to stop us coming out of this area. 

RVA Mag: Skillz, as the artist-in-residence at University of Richmond — given that the students which go to that school are quite privileged and it’s one of the most expensive schools in the US — what was your main takeaway from there?

Skillz: In the midst of being there and seeing the diverse students, our class was one of the most popular on campus — it was definitely something that took me to a place where I could acknowledge that this music [rap and hip hop] was the voice of America. I worked at VCU too, so I can’t say that I want to be exclusive to [University of] Richmond. I think it would be dope to teach all across the city. I would teach this class at all schools if I could, because I feel like everyone can absorb something from that. When they take my class on the first day, I ask, “Why did you take this class?” A lot of them come and think it is going to be an easy A, but it’s not; they have to do the work. 

The big takeaway is that you never stop learning. You’re always going to be a student. 

RVA Mag:

Great seeing you guys. Thanks for the lessons.

Birds Flyin’ High: Weekend Playlist by Harsh World

RVA Staff | June 5, 2020

Topics: 757, harsh, hip hop, richmond, Richmond hip hop, richmond rap, richmond va, richmond va bands, RVA, rva magazine weekend playlist, rvamag playlist, VA beach, Virginia Beach, virginia beach music, Weekend Playlist

Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you an epic, glorious playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This weekend, we’re flying high and going hard with a playlist from Harsh World, a Virginia rapper with ties to 804 and 757. Also known as Chef Boyarbing, Harsh World, who has an EP coming soon called Smorgasbord, is all about the good life — good food, fine wine, and plenty of trap beats to keep the bass pumping. Spend your weekend bumping this collection of hard-hitting tracks from Dipset, Chief Keef, and plenty more — it’ll be a great soundtrack while you’re getting ready to hit the streets and peacefully protest.

Get fly, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Survival Of The Fittest: Weekend Playlist by Yung Sums

RVA Staff | May 29, 2020

Topics: Black Friday, hip hop, Mayflower, richmond, Richmond hip hop, richmond va, richmond va bands, richmond va rappers, RVA, RVA hip hop, rva magazine weekend playlist, rvamag playlist, Weekend Playlist, Yung Sums

Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you an epic, glorious playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This week’s comes to us from up-and-coming Richmond rapper Yung Sums, who has made a name for himself around town as a battle rapper with strong displays at Southpaw Battle Coalition events, among others. His studio skills are strong as well, and he demonstrated that fact on 2019’s Mayflower, an album that represented a step up from his already impressive 2018 effort, Black Friday.

Yung Sums will lead you into the weekend with a playlist full of hip hop goodness, mixing classics of the genre with some of the best being laid down today. And of course, there are some leading lights of the RVA hip hop scene mixed in, just to keep that local flavor. So even if the storm clouds hang over the river city all weekend, you’re sure to have some killer beats and dope rhymes to get through until Monday with a smile on your face.

Keep it hype, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

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