RAPS + CRAFTS 20: Angry Blackmen
1. Introduce yourself. Past projects? Current projects?
Quentin Branch: My name is Quentin Branch and I’m a part of the Chicago hip-hop duo Angry Blackmen. Our newest album The Legend of ABM dropped earlier this year in late January.
Brian Warren: My name is Brian, and I’m a part of a Chicago hip-hop duo called Angry Blackmen. Some of the past projects that I’ve worked on include three EPs (TALKSHIT!, HEADSHOTS!, REALITY!) and our newest album The Legend Of ABM.
2. Where do you write? Do you have a routine time you write? Do you discipline yourself, or just let the words come when they will? Do you typically write on a daily basis?
QB: I try to write wherever and whenever I can. Lately I’ve had a bit of writer's block because I’ve been dealing with so much stuff when it comes to the business side of things, but I try to stay very consistent.
BW: I personally prefer to sit and write at a desk. My favorite time to write is in the morning. I discipline myself from time to time, so I do write on the daily.
3. What’s your medium—pen and paper, laptop, on your phone? Or do you compose a verse in your head and keep it there until it’s time to record?
QB: It varies from time to time. Sometimes you’ll catch me with a pen and pad, and other times I’ll use my iPhone. Shout-out Steve Jobs!
BW: I typically type my verse out either on phone or laptop.
4. Do you write in bars, or is it more disorganized than that?
QB: I write bars. I keep things simple.
BW: I write in bars.
5. How long into writing a verse or a song do you know it’s not working out the way you had in mind? Do you trash the material forever, or do you keep the discarded material to be reworked later?
QB: I usually can tell very early on when something is not working or it feels forced. I don’t get rid of anything though! At some point I’ll save it and come back to the material when I’m more inspired.
BW: Most of the time I know it’s not going to work if I’m saying the verse over the beat and it’s just not coming out how I expected. I trash the material altogether and start fresh.
6. Have you engaged with any other type of writing, whether presently or in the past? Fiction? Poetry? Playwriting? If so, how has that mode influenced your songwriting?
QB: When I was younger, I used to write my own short stories and let my classmates read them. Currently, I’m getting into screenwriting! I love movies and they have influenced my songwriting in many ways.
BW: Yes, I have actually taught a part-time class about poetry writing and playwriting. Poetry helped me be more imaginative when it comes to creating my art, while playwriting helped me be more transparent and open.
7. How much editing do you do after initially writing a verse/song? Do you labor over verses, working on them over a long period of time, or do you start and finish a piece in a quick burst?
QB: It depends, really. When I first started rapping I used to say anything that pops up in my head and run with that shit, but now that I’m a bit older and in the last year of my 20s, I put a lot of effort into what I say, and I edit as much as possible to make everything fit like a puzzle piece.
BW: Honestly, It depends on how I’m feeling with a particular piece of art. It’s like cooking food; some meals take longer than others.
8. Do you write to a beat, or do you adjust and tweak lyrics to fit a beat?
QB: Sometimes I’ll write to a beat, and other times I find it easier if I tweak lyrics to fit said beat.
BW: I like to write to the beat.
9. What dictates the direction of your lyrics? Are you led by an idea or topic you have in mind beforehand? Is it stream-of-consciousness? Is what you come up with determined by the constraint of the rhymes?
QB: I try to write from a stream-of-consciousness, but if, for instance, the song has a hook with a consistent theme, I’ll try to match the lyrics in that direction.
BW: The topics generally define what direction I would have to take and what I choose to say. So, yes, sometimes it would be premeditated and other times I would not know what to expect until I got in the studio.
10. Do you like to experiment with different forms and rhyme schemes, or do you keep your bars free and flexible?
QB: Free and flexible, but I find myself having a reoccurring flow and rhyme scheme that I’m comfortable with.
BW: I keep it free and flexible.
11. What’s a verse you’re particularly proud of, one where you met the vision for what you desire to do with your lyrics?
QB: "Devil really stalking I can see the pitchfork, / Fuck a publication and those crackers up at Pitchfork."
BW: I actually have not gotten to the point where I have a personal favorite, but I will let you know when I do.
12. Can you pick a favorite bar of yours and describe the genesis of it?
QB: "It’s the return of the king like I’m Frodo with the ring." I fucking love Lord of the Rings.
BW: On our track "Sabotage," I said, “Thinking about a dream I’m going to scream if it’s not taking flight roll over looking slight.” I'm basically saying, Don’t give up even if it’s a slim chance you might not get on with the first, second, or third time, but you will out of persistence and dedication get to your destination.
13. Do you feel strongly one way or another about punch-ins? Will you whittle a bar down in order to account for breath control, or are you comfortable punching-in so you don’t have to sacrifice any words?
QB: I don’t have any problems punching-in. I actually punch-in quite a bit, but with our newest album I tried to cut back.
BW: I like to get the entire verse in one go. It becomes very tedious when punching-in, especially when it comes to mixing and mastering.
14. What non-hiphop material do you turn to for inspiration? What non-music has influenced your work recently?
QB: The works of Philip K. Dick.
BW: Been listening to a lot of AC/DC for inspiration and energy. Recently watched Shadow of a Doubt by Alfred Hitchcock.
15. Writers are often saddled with self-doubt. Do you struggle to like your own shit, or does it all sound dope to you?
QB: I only struggle with it when I hear it back sometimes, but recently I heard some stuff from our project HEADSHOTS! and thought it held up pretty well.
BW: To be completely honest, it sound dope to me. Just don’t run up and play my shit in front of me - that comes off cringe.
16. Who’s a rapper you listen to with such a distinguishable style that you need to resist the urge to imitate them?
QB: Danny Brown and sometimes early Kanye.
BW: Kendrick Lamar.
17. Do you have an agenda as an artist? Are there overarching concerns you want to communicate to the listener?
QB: I think all artists should have some sort of agenda. I always knew I wanted to be as "me" as possible and comfortable with who I am with the art that gives me an outlet. So I hope when people listen to us they feel inspired! When we originally created Angry Blackmen, we knew we wanted to shake some shit up!
BW: Absolutely, I have an agenda. I want a following of people that are not afraid to live their dreams and fight for what they believe in despite their environment. I don’t want people to get caught up in a life where they're pressured to conform due to capitalistic limitations.
RAPS + CRAFTS is a series of questions posed to rappers about their craft and process. It is designed to give respect and credit to their engagement with the art of songwriting. The format is inspired, in part, by Rob McLennan’s 12 or 20 interview series.
Photo credit: courtesy of the artists
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Listed: Angry Blackmen
Photo by Joseph Torres
Since joining forces in late 2016, Chicago rappers Quentin Branch and Brian Warren have become more lyrically pointed and sonically experimental with each new release. Their 2017 debut Ok! sounds positively poppy despite the self-lacerating lyrics. By 2019 on the EP Talkshit!, the music is darker, drawing from Detroit techno and industrial music as much as underground acts like Clipping and Dälek. On their latest album, The Legend of ABM, the pair combine ferocious dexterity and radical truth-telling with the coruscating sonic architecture of producer Formants. As Andrew Forell noted in his recent review, “Rapping from within the belly of a diseased beast, the pair rely on human rhythms that dodge and weave the noise of the city ricocheting around them.”
Quentin
Philip K. Dick — Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
A lot of Dick’s novels inspired some of the writing for The Legend of ABM, especially the themes that deal with existential struggles with technology, authoritarian governments, paranoia, and consumerism. A lot of those core themes are explored in his book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
Wu-Tang Clan — Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
One of the most influential albums in music history. This album taught us how to channel some of the most traumatic aspects of being Black in America with humor and charisma while being accessible to people unfamiliar with said aspects.
Charles Bukowski — Women and Factotum
Most of his poems came from the perspective of the dying working class: working while pursuing art, alcoholism, suicide, and the American dream. His books, most notably Women and Factotum heavily influenced the writing on this album.
Public Enemy — Fear of a Black Planet
This group is very significant to us. The way they infused political messages critiquing American racism and the media have had a profound effect on our own music. One project that has had a huge influence on our style is Fear of a Black Planet.
Paul Thomas Anderson — There Will Be Blood
2007 American classic directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film explores the dark side of capitalism and the American dream in late 19th and early 20th centuries. Similar themes are exposed in The Legend of ABM.
Brian
OutKast — Stankonia
The duo perfected the art of juggling themes of self-inflicted struggles and interpersonal relationships. They also helped me with my approach towards some of the writing process on The Legend Of ABM, especially the album Stankonia.
Kendrick Lamar — Damn
This project taught me the art of balancing the flaws within oneself and keeping a level head in a crazy world.
Safdie Brothers — Uncut Gems
A movie directed by the Safdie bros with its unique and unsettling camera speed and turbulent atmosphere gave me the inspiration to rap as chaotic as the feeling you get when watching this film.
Earl Sweatshirt — Some Rap Songs
An artist that has a profound Influence on my lyrical content as well as my approach to the artistry. His ability to step out of the box while pushing his artistic integrity to new levels is unmatched.
Coen Brothers — No Country for Old Men
A huge theme that stuck out to me was the passing of time and generational change. I wanted to make lyrics that made the listener feel as uncomfortable as Anton Chigur's cold but calculated nihilism.
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