Features
World, Meet Boy: Fashawn Talks Hip Hop
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On a frigid Paris afternoon, hung-over grey skies complemented the after affects of a Tuesday evening spent at the Fashawn, Exile and Blu show. Over coffee and cigarettes, cornered in at a typical French Bistro I got to speak with the not so typical, 21 year-old MC, Fashawn.
Concealed behind Orisue sunglasses, Fashawn brushes off the waiter with a cold glance as he spreads out into a slouch. But when pressed on life, and especially how Hip Hop has helped define his life, Fashawn pulls himself up in his seat. When speaking about what he has experienced he is candid and upfront but when speaking about music he is just plain excited to be part of Hip Hop.
The combination of these two attitudes makes for a formidable MC. Something recognized by some of Hip Hop’s luminaries. Fashawn’s first tour was alongside Planet Asia at age 17, he first visited Europe with Evidence and at the end of last year he accompanied Ghostface Killah on the ‘Wizard of Poetry’ tour. And in 2009 another West Coast veteran, Exile, blessed Fashawn’s debut album, ‘Boy Meets World’ with a combination of boom bap and Joanna Newsom harp samples.
Fashawn relies on his own experiences and basic truths to explain how is has got to where he is today. And the beauty of the story is the pleasure found in a life not always surround by pleasant circumstance. A pleasure found in and articulated through Hip Hop.
Now caught up in the middle of West Coast rejuvenation that seems as wrapped in integrity as the 90s were controversy, Fashawn took some time to discuss the basis of this movement, the origins of the album, the future of Hip Hop and some of the more difficult moments of writing rhymes.
We are here in Paris, France with Fashawn and you’re coming out of California?
Yeah, Fresno California to be specific.
What’s that city like?
It’s very, at first glance, plain and country-like, because there is a lot of agricultural land out there, but I represent the actual city, it’s a small city buts its dope. I loved my childhood growing up there. The graffiti culture, the skate culture and beautiful people. That’s my home, that’s what I know it as – home.
What brings you all this way to tell us about your life through music? What gave you music?
Just the shit I’ve experienced and how I was raised.
I have always lived in a musical orientated family. My mother used to sing back up for Toni Braxton, my uncle used to DJ and my brother introduced me to Hip Hop. He’s about as old as Hip Hop.
He introduced me to Cypress Hill, Ice T, Ice Cube. I’d come home and listen to that shit after being in school.
“Eighty Eight out the gate,” you are still a young man, but I see a lot of maturity in your lyrics, it sounds like you have been through a lot to get to where you are today?
Just simple things man, simple things in life, simple lessons. Don’t disrespect people, (because) you can get murdered, wipe your feet before you come in the house, say “thank you” and “your welcome.” Just the basic shit man.
But I know the shit I have seen growing up wasn’t basic, but it taught me basic lessons in life.
The most basic signs of respect.
Word.
Something I see is that you respect the origins of this genre, and while I see a lot of reference to the past, I also see a lot of creativity in your music. Where does creativity stand in pushing the genre forward?
Right in the middle man, without creativity you cant have progress. They go hand in hand.
Last night for example it was dope to see a legend like DJ Babu so taken back by Exile on the MPC.
Its dope, it’s a beautiful thing. That kinda shit makes me enjoy my job, what I do, Moments like that.
Part of this is I see a bit of West Coast renaissance focused around people like you, Blu and Exile. Where do you think this rejuvenation in West Coast Hip Hop comes from?
I think it comes from artists that are from the West Coast, experiencing West Coast music for the past decade, decade or two. And you got young artists like myself that want to come into the game who are hungry to redefine it and really rebuild this shit.
That’s the new regime man, me, Blu, Exile all these cats that you hearing about coming out the West. The place has been shut out for a while, the South was dominant, the East Coast was dominant, ours was really dominant in the 90s, and we been waiting to come back for so long. I’m just happy to be considered one of the soldiers in the movement.
I think Blu said that it’s a movement in the metaphorical sense, but it also a movement in the physical sense of the word.
If you look we are one of the only movements moving.
Part of the movement I think is, while you had the very much 90’s sound of West Coast music, you have a distinct approach, and while I hate to use the “conscious” label, as it means everyone else is asleep…
You know what’s the opposite of conscious, unconscious. Asleep.
Why do you think artists are so ready to sacrifice their personal and social realities when it comes to making music? Why are they happy to be unconscious?
I think people like to be numb, like numbed to pain. They don’t want to face their reality. Like when you go to the dentist, and they about to rip out your tooth, they give you some anesthesia so you don’t feel.
Even though people are really ripping out teeth, artists are like that, people in general are like that. They don’t want to face the pain they just want to inject that anesthesia, which is garbage.
People get too comfortable in their comfort zone and they don’t want to go outside of their box. That they built.
What about the box built by the music industry? Why does the music industry seem to be happy to cut off honesty and creativity?
I think because it is driven by money, man, whatever is hot at the time, shit that the masses are consuming they’re going to jump towards that.
I want to talk about “Boy Meets World,” this is the 2009 debut LP, I’m going to make a bold comparison and compare it to “Illmatic.”
OK? Why, Why?
In the way that you are a young man, you are coming from a difficult background, (somewhat), but you also see a beauty in where you came from and been through. The same way Nas says the “world is yours,” something you directly reference on the album.
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Simon is a regular contributor to Deft Magazine and active in the hip hop community in Paris. He earned his Bachelors of Law and Arts from New Zealand's University of Otago, Simon was also a DJ on Radio One Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand.
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