This is it.

It hurts to see an early curtain call. The King of Pop came close to embarking on mission impossible—50 dates in London—but MJ wasn’t really ready for the show; maybe not the world either. Next to check out (not from the Earth) is the unsung heroes of Atlanta rap, Supreeme. This summer, weeks prior to the compilation of Supreeme’s best material on Untitled, the trio morphed into a duo, due to the departure of King Self. Shaka, Supreeme’s producer, and all-around brain-trust set their latest release, God Bless The Child as the mark of the group’s definite hiatus. It’s been a grueling journey, having been signed to Warner Music Group only to have their major-label debut Gold Medallion rust in pieces. Don’t hold your breath for that. Chew on GBTC for now.

Click here to download Supreeme’s God Bless The Child album.

Art and layout by In Stereo Design.

If you liked Deconstructing Mickey Factz, then you’ll like this. See the press release below for a full description.

“All across the atlas, any demographic…” The multi-culti audience of DJ Treats is witness to his new partnership with the torchbearers of Atlanta rap’s future, Supreeme. The opening statement describing their diverse sensibility declares the union, inspired by the first song on Supreeme and Treats’ untitled mixtape. The 23-track compilation, split between the lyricism of Negashi Armada, and stellar production by Tom Cruz is a crash course in the most underrated of rap’s freshmen.

While Supreeme’s debut precedes the current era of Internet hype, they are relatively new artists. Mickey Factz (GFC-NY) shared a stage during the nascent stages of both of their careers. Then at the Atlanta Indie Fest 2009, their paths crossed again, this time, with DJ Treats backing them up for their respective performances. Yet the newbie tag conflicts with their catalog of material leading up to their re-introduction with DJ Treats. In Supreeme’s six year run, they’ve amassed: three studio albums—Church & State, Supremacy, their officially distributed LP (via Record Collection, 2006), Silver Medallion; a mixtape in 2007, American Baddass; a greatest hits LP dubbed Bronze Medallion; and the long-awaited major label release with Warner Bros., Gold Medallion. This year marks a fresh start for the duo, especially since the recent departure of former member, King Self.

Having been familiar with Supreeme’s track record since working with Negashi as an intern at Complex magazine in 2005, Treats had intentions of cementing their name amidst New York’s established skateboarding brand by the esteemed James Jebbia. DJ Mick Boogie and DJ Treats enlisted the Atlanta natives eventually when their Complex-sponsored collaboration, Leaders of the New Cool gave exposure to hip-hop’s new wave of talent. Supreeme’s supply of “Roni,” and a freestyle outtake outshined the competition. Next, on Treats’ Sneaktip All-Stars mixtape, he leaked “Laying Around” where Tom Cruz and Negashi traded scandalous tales of trifling women, backed by trippy synth chords.

While Untitled by DJ Treats and Supreeme is predominated by the group’s existing material, it’s important to note that many of the reggae-tinged songs from early in the group’s recording fit in with today’s hybrid of dancehall and electronica. Tom Cruz, also of Jamaican descent, cites obscure roots/reggae records, along with Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My” for his educated beats. Treats pairs Supreeme’s sound with the warped reggae arrangement by Major Lazer (“it” DJ/producers Diplo and Switch), and rave-friendly jungle/drum and bass remixes.

As anticipation builds for the next studio album by Supreeme, DJ Treats gives a preview of new material to appear on Gold Medallion. Most of the album which was recorded with King Self before his exit from the group, also features guest appearances by Taz Arnold of Sa-Ra fame, Supreeme affiliates Killer T, Akim Allah, and underground rhyme animal Murs, who brokered Supreeme’s record deal with Warner Bros. Get a taste of Supreeme’s latest and greatest after downloading the mixtape below. Enclosed in the download is also the Untitled .GIF file to be opened using Quicktime, which will alternate the psychedelic colors of the Rorschach cover art (courtesy of In Stereo Design).

(From left to right Tom Cruz, Negashi Armada, King Self)
These tough days, it really doesn’t pay to jump at the first sign reading, “recession special.” Word to Chris Rock, “If a homeless person has a funny sign, he hasn’t been homeless that long. A real homeless person, is too hungry to be funny.” At least Chris is seeing the bigger picture to said crisis, like King Self (of Atlanta rap trifecta Supreeme) recently did when he was interviewed by NPR this past February.

The NPR special, which focused on President Obama’s first 100 days, gained some mixed reactions by local ATL-iens at Stone Soup Kitchen. We know Supreeme’s rep for cooking up some robust shit, but recently, King Self is putting in that real work as a part-time line chef. Sam Terrell, as he’s referred to in the article, has high hopes of entrepreneurship despite the economic downturn. That’s why this year, [quote me on this] the world will learn about Supreeme as the avant-garde of today’s rap rookies. Read an excerpt from NPR’s piece after the jump, and check for Supreeme’s “Laying Around” on The Sneaktip All-Stars.

King Self On The Upside Of A Downturn

Terrell, a soft-spoken 23-year-old, is actually a rapper. He’s happiest when he’s on the road, doing shows with Supreeme, his Atlanta-based hip-hop group.

He came outside with me so we could pop one of his CDs into my rental car.

“This is called ‘The Best Years’ right here,” Terrell said as one of his songs played. “We’re kind of being ironic. At the same time, this is the best time in our life, it’s also the economy’s bad, everything is sort of crazy, everybody’s losing their jobs, and, you know, record companies are kind of slow. But we’re still out here enjoying ourselves, making the best rap, just living it up the best we can, because these are the best years of our life.”

I bought Terrell’s CD for $10, so his message and his music are sticking with me as I drive on south.

[NPR]

Something about the Dirty South produces incredible variation and individuality among their hip-hop artists. From the groundbreaking Outkast, underground heroes CunninLynguists to crunk pimp Lil’ Jon, the South refuses to follow trends, instead blazing ferocious new ones.

Supreeme is another sterling example. Repping the ATL, Negashi, King Self and Dope Pope aka Tom Cruz make up the nucleus of a group that doesn’t give a shit about what other cats are doing. If the above video wasn’t enough evidence, peep their website. Hilarious.

Aside from their comedic stylings, they are actually producing some A-1 quality hip-hop. To make things even better, they are given much of it away for free. Here are three of their albums, straight from the artists themselves. Get your download on with a clear conscience.

DOWNLOAD – Supreeme – Silver Medallion

DOWNLOAD – Supreeme – Bronze Medallion (Best of their early stuff)

DOWNLOAD – Supreeme – American Badass (Mixtape)

Enjoy, and look out for these dudes when they come through your area.

I feel kind of weird posting a song that’s roughly five years old, but I’m more focused on sharing good music rather than new music. Chances are you haven’t even heard this track and when you do I promise you’ll be hard pressed to find anything dated about its sound. But yeah, it’s still five years old. Go ahead and revoke my hip blogger license if you must.

Supreeme – “Laying Around With Your Bitch”

I’ve never heard a song that so accurately portrays the glory that is messing with somebody else’s girl. Props to my man Modi for putting me up on this joint. See what Supreeme is currently working on here.

This album is not really new (it was released in the summer of 2008), but I ignored it up until now. The concept seemed so corny (white producers exploit “world music” genre with an African singer), but this project definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt. Once I finally decided to check it out, I was instantly won over by the innovative reconstruction of several more or less well-known songs from the last years (the Radioclit production duo uses ecclectic material ranging from Architecture in Helsinki to Vampire Weekend to Timbaland to Cannibal Ox!). Sometimes this is done in a very obvious way, i.e. just putting new vocals over jacked beats (as is done with MIA’s “Paper Planes” and “Boys”), other times fragments of several songs are deconstructed to create a completely new song with a new flavor (“Hide and Seek” etc.).  Overall, this is a very innovative and enjoyable album. The best part is, it is FOR FREE – get it right here.

Check out the video below to get an idea of the sound of The Very Best…

You may remeber the article Complex did on all the up and coming artists in hip hop right now. Well Complex along with Mick Boogie got all these guys together to do a dope mixtape Featuring 88 Keys, The Knux, The Cool Kids Tanya Morgan and tons more.

Bonus: Shake It Off [Aeon Remix] ft. Torae and Supastition – Tanya Morgan
Check after the jump for Full Tracklist and the Link

Download:Leaders of the New Cool

Bonus:

I’m crazy. The second cat, Negashi Armada, bodies this one. I’m crazy.

Below is the video ‘I’m Crazy‘ by Atlanta based trio, Supreeme. You may have heard, but if you haven’t, the video was solely shot on a VHS camera over two days.. “the chase scene in one day, the studio scenes the next day” was the official word from one third of the quirky group often slotted under the term ‘hipster rap’, Negashi Armada. I got the MySpace email earlier tonight from the guys and I’m glad I did because thinking outside the box and bringing something different is always a good move in my book.

Their mixtape Silver Medallion drops September 12th as a prequel to the Warner Bros. released album, Gold Medallion.

Here’s a new mixtape from the homeys Supreeme, a three member group (Tom Cruz, Nagashi Armada, and King Self) out of Atlanta. These guys were signed to Warner Bros. a couple of years ago (by Murs, actually) and have been making some noise since. This mixtape is a retrospective that pulls together their favorite tracks from previous projects Church & State, Supremacy and American Badass. Click the cover above to download.

Shouts to my countryman Modi at DCtoBC for the look

An Atlanta based trio made up of rapper/producer Tom Cruz (Dope Pope) and emcees King Self & Negashi Armada. So no, everyone pictured above isn’t in the group. But since when was it not cool to post fly ladies on 2DB? Ha! Supreeme have been closely running with Murs and I even posted a track they did together awhile back that was produced by my man Embassy (the Hitmaker!!). I admit I haven’t followed these dudes as close as others. And after downloading this best of type project I’ll have to politely disagree with modi’s best thing out the A since Outkast talk but these guys have something going for them. I can dig their music for the most part and realize they all have talent. So maybe after grabbing their other joints I’ll become more of a fan. Until then, ya’ll can join me on the journey to maybe feeling Supreeme as much as modi. Ha!

Tracklist + Download link after the jump…

01 Harm
02 Nothin Like
03 Back to School
04 International Awareness
05 Time Out f. Killa T
06 Keep It Studio
07 Sleep
08 Trouble
09 Rockin Out f. Killer T
10 Supreeme Court
11 Not a Gangsta f. J-Young
12 The Days of Old
13 Fear Factor
14 Girlfriend Rock
15 High Risk
16 You Feel Lucky
17 Farewell Wenches
18 The Steel f. Murs
19 Come Back to the Crew
20 Supply & Demand f. J-Young & Murs
21 Rap Catalog

DOWNLOAD: Supreeme – Bronze Medallion ( 2003-2008 )

Some remixes to start, some dirty electro to finish… Oh, and turn up your speakers.

M.I.A – Bird Flu (Berlin Remix)

Supreeme – Who We Are (Royal Rumble Remix)

The Whip – Trash (South Central Remix)

The Fire & Reason – NME (Toxic Avenger Remix)

Boys Noize – & Down (Lil Bro Peep’s Haunted House Remix)

Atomic Hooligan – I don’t Care (Tomcraft Remix)

Martin Solveig – C’est La Vie (Bloody Beetroots Remix)

Decalicious – La Faviere 76 (Larsz Chaptier Remix)

Ghosthustler – Someone Else’s Ride (Not a remix… just quite fun)

Fantastadon – Anesthesiologist

Thanks to Slutty Fringe, MissingToof and BIGSTEREO

i think thats one of the hardest lines ever spat. as in past tense spit.

Prodigy – Keep It Thoro (9th Wonder remix)

i already said it.

Oddisee – A Song For That (prod by M-phazes)

Australian producer Mphazes takes a beat you can’t not like, and then Washington emcee/producer Oddisee gets to MCing in a way you can’t not like. if you can’t find anything to like on this shit, i dunno what’s wrong with you. stop sleeping.

flick is his: RU22IAN

Supreeme – I Get Around

the mixtape is finally out. American Badass. ripers get at it. i can’t be saying someone’s gonna blow (pause, that’s what the kids say now, right? pause?) all the damn time, but yeah, shit’s hot.

Knowledge – Any Day Now

myspace this fool, and let him know his shit’s hot. probably about to turn up in your favorite new album’s production credits in a minute.

Ta’Raach – Jeed Demo #1

there is a reason I called this man one of THE best MC/producer combo. if you want to get into more of the production side of what he does, a highly recommended item, Poo Bah Records 10″, Raach City Riot. forreal.

Gangstar – Ex Girl To Next Girl

i just felt like starting off with a classic about girls, and how Guru doesn’t need them.

 Supreeme ft. Murs – Bang Bang remix

if you’ve still been sleeping on Supreeme, the Atlanta-based, currently-in-LA trio was scouted by Murs a few years ago, and they’re now signed to Warner Brothers. convinient, no? they revisit a banger off their debut album, Supremacy, smooth it out, throw on some arrogance and a dash of Murs. dope, bang bang.

Busta Rhymes ft. The Flipmode Squad – The Starz Come Out Tonight (prod. Jay Dee)

Busta was a Dilla collaborator since the Tribe days, so it’s not surprise that he’d have access to all kinds of beats, including this one that ultimately was used by Madlib on Champion Sound.

Jay Electronica – Dealing

it’s been a long time, but the Black Atom is back. stay tuned for more on this man.

Guilty Simpson – Get Riches, Get Bitches or Rides or whatever

conflicting titles aside, this track is as good as anything i’ve heard off Guilty’s debut, Ode To The Ghetto. it’s like Kool G Rap meets Beanie Sigel meets that Detroit rawness meets dope beats.

CD-R’s back again. shit’s been hectic, but all for the better.

photo (c) Ji-San Lee

Macy Gray – I Try (Jay Dee remix)

this one’s crazy. the beat is very, very reminiscent of ‘A Film Called Pimp’ off LWFC, but not quite. when i stumbled onto this one, it made me think of how beatmakers can go through phases, much like old jazz artists and painters, in which their art has a similar steez and feel to it before they switch it all up and do something new.

photo (c) Maritha Chan

Raekwon – Flawless Crowns

you should have heard this by now, it’s why Cuban Linx II should be dope.

Pete Rock & CL Smooth – One In A Million

you should have heard this by now, it’s why Pete and CL are one of the foundation duos in Hip Hop.

Guilty Simpson – GUILTY (Pause freestyle)

Guilty rips shit, simple as that. most are accustomed to having Frank and Dank over this beat orginally, but Guilty makes it all his own in this version. hopefully more people take this kind of approach to mixtapes.

Supreeme – The Truth

Negasi Armada, King Self aka Sam, Tom Cruz aka Shaka aka Dope Pope

photo (c) Ji-San Lee

Murs & Slug – 20 Answers

this track was a bonus off of Felt 2: a tribute to Lisa Bonet, and was one of those, should-have-been-on-the-real-thing joints.

Busta Rhymes – So Hardcore

so hardcore like Quick Draw McGraw. this is the lanky, King-Louie-from-the-Jungle-Book-look-alike, dread-swinging, hand-where-my-eyes-can-see-putting Busta, which I prefer.

‘heyyo, Lincoln wasn’t Cuban!’

i’m not a DJ. Blueprint is tho, and he asked me to make him a mix for his site, so after he gave me an elbow of that ‘dro, I gave him these 11 gems, which he mixed.

1. Track 05 – Gaslamp Killer aka DJ Willow
2. Murder, Murder – Eminem
3. Still Gettin’ My Dick Sucked – DJ Paul
4. Now You’re Gone – Supreeme
5. Whoop! Whoop! – Kam
6. untitled – E-Stouff
7. The Number One – Atmosphere
8. Raw Shit – illa Jay
9. Weekend Girl – Cam’ron
10. Sun In My Face – Blu and Miguel Sanchez
11. Me and the Biz – Masta Ace and Biz Markie

CDRexThisIsTomorrowMIX

or if you just want it track by track 

Back in the first part of the interview, the guys of Supreeme, Tom Cruz, Negashi & King Self talked about how they began, how they’re bring a new perspective to their music and they told us they were from the future. Here’s part two.

interview originally published here

Yeah, I’ve caught one of your shows before. That free show that Murs had in LA last summer-

Tom – that’s like our worst show ever.

Really? (Laughs) How so?

Tom – well, I have family in LA and my cousin was there—

Yeah, the guy with the dreads and the henny that come out and spat a verse?

Tom – Yeah, well I won’t say what exactly he does, but the thing is he tried to show me a good time, and basically I was too drunk when it was time to perform.You where there you saw how I was, insulting the crowd and all that, I was out of my mind. I learned a lesson that show for real, I don’t need drugs, not that exaggerated. That shit was too hot for tv. On the performance aspect, it kinda messed us up, I messed up the vibe because we feed off each other. That wasn’t no novice shit tho, that wasn’t our first show, that was like our 300th show.

N – It was definetly a lesson learner, I was looking at this dude like he was crazy. Our shows are like a real intense experience normally, people leave sweaty, crying. I’m not exaggerating when I say crying.

Tom – It’s like a religious experience, we incorporate alot of different things into the performance. We give you something to behold.

N – We give you pop-rock.

Pop Rocks?

N – Yeah, we give you pop rocks.

I gotta ask you, when I was telling people I was gon’ interview you guys, the friend I went ot the show with wanted me to ask, what was up with the face paint? I guess that’s directed at you Negasi.

N – Well, during my tenure in Supreeme, I got into Bowie and Fela Kuti alot. I got into the performative aspect. The facepaint is like a transformation, like when Superman takes off his glasses, its something simple that changes your whole feeling. Its funny cuz at that LA show people didn’t know what to think, like ‘where does this come from?’ the future!

Tom – Anything we do, its already been done, that’s what people forgot.We’re from the future, we know what’s gonna be hot, we know whats gonna be lame, so there is no way we’d do that lame shit. So when we perform, when we make music, there’s an element of trust.

N – Yo thats mad metaphysical

Tom –Also, in the future, we don’t wear moon shoes and shiny suits, like what everyone thinks. We dont do funk, funk is great, but we don’t do funk

N – Funk came out a long time ago, it’s not future music

Tom – Just cuz you got them peeew, peeew, sounds, that don’t make you futuristic, we don’t do that. Alotta weed and ex is not futuristic, you fakin the future with that, the funk as well, and if you do, we’ll look back upon you with scorn

With scorn?

N – And malice.

Aight, switching gears real quick, just off the top. What’s the best/worst thing about being “In” hip hop for you guys?

N – You mean now that we broke the rap hymen? Well, the worst thing…lemme see, it’s not that I mind listening to people’s shit, really I don’t its just that I don’t really like when –

Tom – I want a copy of it tho, you can be damned sure I’ll listen to it, over and over.

N – We gon keep showing it to everyone till someone likes it.

Tom – Oh shit, my favorite demo, this dude named Hen –

Hen? Like laying eggs hen?

Tom – Nah, i think it was short for Hennessy, the shit was hilarious *Tom Cruz and Negasi proceed to sing a hook off Henn’s demo*

Tom – Nah, but the best aspect: I always felt elite, ever since I was a child, like I was the president of something. Now I go into a club and the DJ shouts me out, I like the respect I get off making dope shit. I’m trynna do something so tight that everyone will respect me for, I mean everyone, from Glenn Close to Dick Cheney to Quincy Jones

Negasi – I like that when I see my record label people, I can act like a spoiled kid. I make them take me out to eat, eat their food at home and all that.

T – You can do that tho, because the shits tight. If what you do is tight, is undeniable. If you can make your shit tight, you can do anything, you can—

N – Kill somebody, shiit look at OJ.

Tom – Being tight, being dope, it makes you above the law, you know? Above the law of gravity too, we’re fly. It’s all about Supreeme ho.

Going back to the demo shit though, is that how the wack demo skit on the album came about?

N – Yeah, i mean it was about how everyone we knew from high school that heard we got a deal or whatever tried to show us their shit. Them clowns. We got this dude to do the skit, when we were in Cali, the dude was off rehab, we met him at 7-11 i think, was it 7-11?

Tom – Nah, Rollins Donuts, we met him there. The shit took like half a take, we did half a take and we had to stop cuz we were laughing so hard. I think we did another take and that was it. I did the beat too

N– He made it wack on purpose

Tom – Don’t tell nobody tho, cuz in the future people were all like ‘oh you produced that? That shits wack.’ So i’m rewriting history, dont tell nobody

How did the Record Collection deal come about?

N– That was all Murs, all Murs right there. He hooked that up.

How did you guys hook up with Murs?

N– Well, when I was 16, I was dating this girl that was a huge murs fan, I didn’t even know who he was. She was skipping school to go to a Murs instore, and me and Tom, he was working at a radio station at the time and for some reason they let him drive a 22 inc chrome rimmed jeep. So we get to the instore and Murs is there, he’s looking kinda uncomfortable, he’s the only black guy in the room, well besides us. And Tom, he had listened to the 9th edition, and he goes up to Murs and hes like, “its aight”

Tom– I swear, I went up to him and said, serious as hell, ‘I listened to your shit, its ok.’

N– Then Murs got a look in his eye, that only after knowing him for so long, I can now recognize. The thing about Murs is, Murs is a very patient man, he didn’t snap or anything at shaka, he just got a look like “get the fuck out my face, but I won’t say that, cuz you a patron.” Thing is Tom knew the 9th edition was more than just ok

Tom– I knew it was more than just ok, I knew it was something dope (pause) but sometimes it just be’s like that. Then I was like ‘but this guy, he can rap.’ So I beatboxed and Negasi freestyled and Murs was like ‘oh shit’ and told us to keep in touch.

N– We just kept in touch through email, sent him our first mixtapes–

Church and State?

N– Nah, we had two out before Church and State. So we’re sending him shit, and while working on Church and State he was working on the 2nd album with 9th, he told us to go to North Carolina to meet him up. So we drove up there, fucked up King Self’s car and all types of shit. We get there, play Church and State for him and he loved it, so we ended up being the first and only group he signed to Record Collection.

Yeah, because Murs doesn’t work for them anymore right?

N–Yeah, hes not signed to them either, hes Warner Bros. Now, so are we actually.

Oh…so you guys are on a major label now?

N– Yeah, I guess so.

How did that happen?

N– I have no fucking idea, they just called us up and asked if we’d like to make more music, and we were like yeah, they asked when we wanted to start, we said now, so here we are now, in the studio, working on our new shit.

Damn, so what’s next for you guys then?

N– My birthday is in April, so we’re gonna have a big ass show, a celebration in LA, with hopefully Sa-Ra and Pacific Division. Then something else like that in March if everything goes right, and then maybe a tour with Brother Ali in the same month. He’s a good friend of ours so hopefully that can work out.

What about the album?

T– It’ll be out, probably later this year, we don’t have a date for it yet. We’re really making this shit dope, if you heard Supremacy, that shit was real gorilla style for us. This is gonna be a little more thought out. All the kids out there that took time to listen to Supremacy, I really appreciate that, because it wasn’t force fed to them. At most of the shows, I always give it up to whoever listened to that album because i feel like they understand us. It’s like you belong to an elite club, you weren’t force fed our shit, if you listen to me, I assume that theres something similar, something we have in common, every single one of them.

N– sorry to cut you off, but we gotta cut this soon cuz my phone’s running out of battery

Any last words? Anthing you want to say before we peace?

T– To anyone out there doing art, wether it be movies, music whatever, any art youre making, there’s a bottom line, how compelling is your art? Nothing else is a bottom line, because once your art is compelling, that’s real power, thats true power, you have power over people’s emotions, you can lead people anywhere and everywhere

At this point Tom Cruz says something about ho’s and the wife-ing of them, but their battery was dying so that was that.

Atlanta-based Hip Hop trio, Supreeme, consists of Negashi (pronounced Neh-Gah-See), King Self and Dope Pope aka Tom Cruz, and they are from the future. No really, they’re from the future. While you’re scratching your head wondering what to make of that, listen to their debut Supremacy, and you can see how it’s almost plausible. Their music sounds like something that could very well be a taste of what Hip Hop will sound like in the near-future. Heavy synths, yet organic samples flipped in familiar, yet fresh ways gelled together by some fly ass rapping. There’s little talk of dope, but plenty of passport stamp-braggadoccio, and they don’t want to teach you about self-love or burn some nag champa, they’d rather fuck your girl. When I asked Negashi to describe Supreeme a little, he informed me they’re “basically like the male pussycat dolls, except we don’t sing.” Bouncing humor and ideas off one another, it’s easy to see the chemistry that unifies the group.

interview originally published here

How did you guys meet?

Negashi – I used to play futbol (note: not football) with King Self and I was in this nerdy ass school club with Dope Pope aka Tom Cruz’s brother since I was 11. King Self and Tom Cruz have been in school together since kindergarden.

When did the group Supreeme start?

Negashi –We started this roughly before April 2003. We were all skipping class, I was like 15, and we were in King Self’s bonneville.

King Self –It was a purple bonneville. The car is named after the salf flats in Utah.

Negashi –So we took the car down to Deston, Florida for spring break, and 3 year late, we got into Supreme Clientele, the Ghostface album. We always liked Wu Tang, Raekwon and all them, but we got into Ghostface at the same time.

One thing I want to talk to you guys about is the internationality in your music. You guys mention and incorporate many cultures outside of the States which is kind of rare.

Negashi—Well, that comes from our parents really. King Self’s mother is Brittish, read hair and freckles and all that

Tom Cruz –My dad’s a Jamaican musician, and he’s taken me on tours since I was little, so I’ve always travelled alot and been around different places.

Negashi –My stepfather is Nigerian, so we’ve all had alot of excuses to travel during our childhood and young adulthood. It’s definetly an important part of us and the group.

What do you get out of being exposed to different places, people and cultures?

Negashi—It’s one thing to read about a place, or see pictures of it, but to travel to a different lace and live there; you’re living different culture, you’re seeing it, you’re feeling it –

Tom Cruz – you’re licking it.

King Self –Exposing yourself to more cultures makes you a more interesting individual period. And as an artist, it makes you more creative, it gives you a bigger palatte to work with.

Tom Cruz – It’s like all the exposure builds you into something special, more than a normal person, something different like a government secret weapon—

Kind of like Captain America? With the whole super-soldier serum shit?

Tom Cruz –Yeah, a super-government MC weapon, Captain Americana

Negashi –Rap is so regionalized now anyways, it’s west coast, down south, new york. We citizens of the world rappers, I don’t care where your girl is from.

Tom Cruz—We represent everywhere, every city-state. Some dudes represent their block, or their couch. We represent everywhere, except Antartica

Negashi –Or a frat house, I ain’t fucking with that.

Tom Cruz –It’s like this: I have a Jamaican father and a Jamaican stepmother, and growing up with my father, i grew up IN reggae, there was always reggae playing in the house. My grandfather, he was a diplomat for Africa and South America, so he lived all over the place and brought all that music into the house. I mean everything, brazillian, caribbean, all kinds, from all four corners of the world. So coming up, I was built like a robot, with all those different elements making up different parts. So when it came to making up my shit, it was like I’m enterpreting my generation’s steez through the means of how I was raised. I can’t lose because, all those other producers out now, even your Kanye’s and all them, they might kick a little latin influence or whatever, but they do it in a very corny and obvious way. I’m attempting to take all those things I heard and make it very now, not throwback, not retro. I’m weaving a beautiful tapestry in the noew, for the next generation. I’m not revival anything, i’m trying to revive the future.

Supreeme, reviving the future. That’s going to have to be the title of the interview now!

Tom Cruz – We’re actually from the future, we came back and we’re just playing oldies from the future. We know what’s gonna be a hit, so we can’t lose, we know what’s good.

Heading back to what you were saying about your sound, what equipment do you use to produce?

Tom Cruz –I use Cool Edit Pro and Fruity Loops. I’m respected though, I’ll tell you why. My dad’s musician friend, back in 98 or 97, had the first prototype of Fruity Loops, so I had that shit at like 11 or 12 and, no lie, I was tight from the first beat I made on that, dead serious.

Negashi –The way the program looks, Fruity Loops, it looks like the way he thinks, he thinks in Fruity Loops.

Tom Cruz –Fruity Loops is the way I see music. I’ve spent over half my life using FL, I’m about to celebrate 10 years of doing this shit seriously. It’ll be 10 years in 2008.

Negashi –Vote Supreeme in ’08. It’s never too late, Supreeme in ’08.

The reason I was asking is because I’ve heard a lot of criticism of software use from older heads, and I wanted to get your take on it. Personally though, I feel like that just gives people who wouldn’t normally have access to making music more of a chance to do their thing. What do you think?

Tom Cruz –Yeah man, music is music. Wether you’re making it with pots out your kitchen or whatever. The thing about it is, only a certain individual can make beautiful pot music.

Negashi – only Louis Armstrong could make sounding like a frog beautiful.

How would you explain your sound?

Negashi – I read in a newspaper once, that we combined alot of audio and visual inluences. Our music is definetly visual. To me, visually, Supreeme is like chilling on a beach with red wine, and sonically, like between synth futuristic and very organic-tropical based music. Or it just sounds like three dumbass kids trying to be the best rappers possible. Not dumb though, just acting dumb.

What would you say your influences are?

Negashi—Three albums that really played a major part for me, as far as influence and sound are David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust, Marvin Gaye –What’s Going On? And Bunny Wailer—Black Heart Man. Rapping-wise, I grew up on alot of that New York super-lyrical shit, that classic stuff, and also that down south Hot Boys-type shit. My mother’s from New York, so automatically New York got lay at my house, but as I spent more time in the A, I started identifying more and more with the 36 Mafia’s and all them. King Self was already up on all that. Tom was more into Dungeon Family and Mobb Deep, alot of Mobb Deep. So it was basically like alot of lyrical stuf that didn’t necessaril have instantly memorable lines but were dope, and stuff that sounds good, but isn’t necessarily saying too much.

Who’s out now that you’re feeling?

Negashi—Right now, out of these rap cats that are doing it now? Lil Wayne and E-40. Not saying thats the best music right now, it’s like –

King Self –They’re not particularly intelligent or the most clever thing in the world, but for the most part, it’s music for the massses, and it does that well.

Tom, what about production wise. You feeling anyone one right now?

Tom Cruz –Well, I’m feeling Lil Wayne and E-40 like Negashi said, but production wise right now, I’m feeling Polow Da Don and Ryan Lesley.

Ryan Lesley? I’m not familiar with that name.

Tom Cruz – He’s Cassie’s producer. He studied music at Harvard and he makes great pop tunes. Oh and Snoop. Snoop’s new shit is crazy.

Negashi—No other rappers tho, other than Supreeme.

Tom Cruz –I’m not feeling anyone but my girlfriend.

Another thing I wanted to talk about was the live show aspect. I’m no orthodox hip hop head, but one thing I do agree with is that new emcee’s lack where the golden era shined at…which is the live show. How do you guys tackle that?

Negashi—Well, at first we used to perform really arrogant. Like, our shit and our songs are so hot that we don’t have to say shit, just perform the songs and leave. We’re Supreeme, we don’t need to address the audience. But we evolved out of that, and we’re alot better with it now.

Tom Cruz –One of the spots where this was evident was in the hip hop tent @ Warped Tour. It’s just like one tent with a bunch of acts playing, rotating in it. In it, you usually hear, ‘when I say HIP, you say HOP.’ Personally, I’ll never conduct a spelling bee at a show, so back in our days of teenage angst, we were like, ‘that shit is lame, we don’t wanna acknolowdge the audience, they came to see us perform, we didn’t come to see them.’

Negashi –Yeah, we didn’t come to do that lame ass spelling shit.

Tom Cruz –Now, we start every show with a toast, and we party like its 1999. That’s what it’s about now, I just want to party with the audience, not do no spelling, no fucking math problems. I’m not trying to see who’s the biggest head, like ‘do you remember?’ Nah, do you remember, how to show your titties? That’s what its about.

Negashi—Our show is real theatrical now, at times intimate. Definetly theatrical and entertaining though.

I’ve actually seen you guys perform. I was at that free show Murs had in L.A. last summer…

Tom Cruz –That’s like our worst show ever.

Check back to soon to read part 2 of the Supreeme interview, find out why that show was their worst, how they dissed Murs when they first met him, why they love listening to people’s demos and what’s next for the group.