by Reg Seeton
The great thing about Hip Hop is that diversity
has always been the key to breaking away from
the pack. Although diversity in the urban rap
game actually forced Hip Hop into existence in
the early '80s, passionate young artists picked
up the creative ball from the pioneers to form
the many different styles of rap and Hip Hop we
hear today. From the early days of Run-DMC and
The Beastie Boys to Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, 50, Kanye,
and new Hip Hop breakouts like Drake, rap and
Hip Hop have been led by powerful youth movements
that continue to shape and reshape rap as a genre
and Hip Hop as both a sound and lifestyle. The
latest up and coming act that caught our ears
and eyes is the Vancouver based two MC and vocalist
trio, Boombox Saints, that recently opened for
Kid Cudi in late December and took to the stage
ahead of Sean Paul on New Year's Eve not to mention
providing support for Talib Kweli and performing
for Beyonce. An Urban Hip Hop trio that emanates
diversity on many levels - rap, soul, funk, and
party rock - the guys of Boombox Saints have finally
found their musical identity after a nine year
journey that laid a foundation of contemporary
R&B that now compliments their collective style.
Traveling down a similar cultural Hip Hop road paved by Cypress Hill out of the Latin community, Boombox Saints bring their Filipino heritage into the mainstream while carving out their own unique path in the Urban Hip Hop scene. The Boombox Saints threesome of vocalist Adlib, MC Freeky P, and surreal lyricist Huggy Fresh, are hot on the heels of their most successful year as a Hip Hop collective, having toured North America in 2009 while also earning several top turntable honors and garnering attention for their booming live stage presence. Fresh on the heels of releasing their CD, "This Should've Been An Album Mixtape", plus the singles "Flip It" and "She Got", Boombox Saints are quickly becoming rising young stars to watch in the North American Urban Hip Hop scene. Not long after their support for Kid Cudi in Vancouver, we caught up with Boombox Saints in the recording studio for a quick chat about the evolution of Boombox Saints and where Adlib, Freeky P., and Huggy see themselves in the near Boombox future.
With
so many styles already at play in Urban Hip
Hop and R&B, how do each of the Boombox Saints
guys see their own styles as a compliment to
one another? For each member, it's a collective
recipe of soulful tradition, shock, and wordplay.
"We certainly all have different styles," admits
lead vocalist Adlib who sports his trademark
B-Boy glasses, "I grew up on a lot of R&B and
soul, so I think most of my sound comes from
that." For Huggy Fresh, the subtle but impacting
big man of the group, people don't know how
to react. "My style is more of the unexpected.
People see me and they don't know what's going
to come out. Then when they start to hear my
delivery and my flow, it's like a kick in the
face." As for Freeky P., who has his MC eye
on the pop-culture landscape, it's what's being
said that matters most. "I like to bring the
content, the lyricalness. Lyrics mean a lot
to me. So putting the words together, the right
words to say, that's more my style." Although
each Boombox Saint has their own style, Adlib
is quick to point out how they work together,
"We bounce off of each other a lot. It's a fusion
of three different styles that creates a different
combination and the dynamic of our sound. I
think that's why it works for us, because we
are all so different. We're not all the same."
Aside from individual styles, the Boombox Saints are unique on a cultural level given their Filipino heritage. Although rap and Hip Hop are rooted in culture, very few, if any Filipino acts have found a place in the mainstream scene. So how do Adlib, Freeky, and Huggy see their culture as an advantage in today's Hip Hop industry? As Freeky points out, being Filipino allows the guys to fill a few gaps in the scene. "There are advantages because there's no one really out there doing it right now at that level or pushing it to this point. There's a void in the game for us. There's a spot to claim." For Adlib, being Filipino also presents a challenge for the trio to overcome. "There's no real precedent for it yet," admits the young vocal sensation. "In general, making it in the game is hard already. Being Filipino, there might be a certain stigma or stereotype or whatever, but the time is right now for us. The door is definitely open." Although their cultural background gives the Boombox Saints opportunity, and Freeky P. admits certain stereotypes will organically factor into play anyway, Adlib is also quick to point out that the Boombox Saints aren't ready to be limited by their heritage. "We don't want to be known as the Filipino guys or those Filipino artists. We want to be known for our music and artists that happen to be Filipino rather than those Filipino guys."
In
filling a certain void in today's Hip Hop scene
via style and culture, the guys of Boombox Saints
have also filled a gap in the group by honing
in on the successful dynamics of their identity
both in the studio and on stage. As little big
man lyricist Huggy Fresh points out, there's
a live energy that also defines who the Boombox
Saints are as a collective with a goal. "I think
a lot of it has to do with the live aspect of
our shows, our stage shows. You try to incorporate
different things that a lot of groups don't
incorporate. We're not your typical rock group,"
admits Huggy. "We're not your typical Hip Hop
group. We're trying to bring back the fun, the
golden era of Hip Hop, which has been lacking."
So how does Freeky see the scene today from an MC perspective? "All that people are seeing is over saturation," reveals the flamboyant MC also known as Peeps. "There's a lot of anything and everything out there. We just want to continue to outdo ourselves. If you start comparing yourself to other people, it gets a little tricky. We're not trying to be better than other people, we're just bettering ourselves."
Click below for a FREE DOWNLOAD of Boombox Saints' "This Should Have Been An Album Mixtape"
