A Moment in Thought: Why did you starting doing rap remixes on Youtube?
NoneLikeJoshua: It was from one of my college mates, named G-eazy. He's a very well known rapper, but more on the side of pop and hip-hop kind of sound. I saw that he would rap over those crappy American rap songs, and it got him more promotion. So I thought, "Hey, why don't I do the same but with better music?" I was really into underground electronica and trip-hop, so I started rapping over those beats and put them out on YouTube. When my Emancipator remix kind of took off, I rolled with it and started doing more and more, all the while trying to graduate college and produce my own music.
AMIT: I've noticed you've done a lot of collaborations. What do you like about working with other rappers and singers?
NLJ: I'm willing to collaborate with anyone who has the same values as I have. I value insightful lyrics and very good music. Most of the people I've worked with are into the same music I am into and avoid the crappy mainstream cliches. I like people like that. It's always nice to change things up and add a new face and sound to my music. I'm very picky about whom I work with, so I feel I choose from the best of the best, whether or not they are well-known in music.
AMIT: What influences your lyrics and music production?
NLJ: Well, that's quite a question. I have many different influences for many different parts of my music. My lyrics are influenced by what goes on around me. The news, people in my life, my past and future, my own reflections are just a few of the things I write about. My style of rhyming and flow come from a rapper named Buck 65. He is the one that got me into rapping. I wanted to be just like him. My music and production work take on many different influences. I was into mainstream Hip-Hop and 90's Rock when I was 9. Then I got into Nu-Metal during middle school Then I got into Hardcore Metal at the beginning of high school. Then at the end of high school, I was into Jazz and Classical. Then by the time I got to college, I was really into Indie Hip-Hop and Indie Folk, and this was about the time I started rapping. I also got into Underground Electronica and Trip-Hop during college. By my junior year, someone had asked me if I had ever heard of Dubstep. After listening to a few songs, my world was flipped upside down. Now my music takes on many different influences, and you can hear all of them in it.
AMIT: You just released you're latest album "The Imperament". What sounds and ideas did you put into that album?
NLJ: I remember reading "What The Buddha Taught" and his ideas on the impermanence of life. The album is really a collection of angst. The songs are about things in the world I was angry at, bothered me, and even tore away at me. Yet in the end, it didn't really matter, because it would pass like anything else does in life, hence the album name.
For the sounds, they kind of change halfway through the album. I got a better mic and controller to make music. I had already produced and released some electronica and hip-hop tracks, but I wanted to try and make dubstep without sounding too generic. I thought of mixing my trip-hop and hip-hop roots with dubstep, and I found that I made a whole new sound I had never heard. I mixed the sample-based productions and beats of hip-hop with the build-ups and wobble bass of dubstep. While my old sound is also in the album, I have a new sound as well that's introduced in this album.
AMIT: Is there anything you would like to say to the readers of this article?
NLJ: Let's see, I guess look out for the EP with Veela and me. More epic tracks are coming, and I think even though there are a lot of big changes already, more are to come very soon. Three months ago, I was planning on graduating with a music business degree and take a job at some enterprise doing music on the side. Now I am in Canada, working full time trying to avoid that and build my own dream. Everyday is a dream, and it's great to live it. I am amazed at how far the words in my mind have taken my body, and I can only imagine how much further I will go. I am ready to take anyone who is willing along the way. When I am too old to rap, I want to teach everything I've learned along the way. Others can do the same as I have, and try to change the world and touch people's lives.
NoneLikeJoshua's rap remixes can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/NoneLikeJoshua
His original music can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/nonelikejoshuamusic
And finally, his work with singer Veela can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/joshandveela
More to come in Music Month, where I do music related articles all month.
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