SoBlu Music Group Recording Artists’ Likeblood are from D.C. but they are currently spending most of their time in New York, working their single “Money Over Here” that features R&B sensation Bobby V and their upcoming mixtape titled “Capital Wasteland.”
Check out this exclusive interview with Likeblood, as they sit down with NewYorkHipHopNews. For more information on Likeblood or SoBlu Music Group go to www.soblu.com
NYHHN: Tell the people who you are and where you are from.
[Yung E] We are Likeblood – Yung E, Dre Strong, Mbea Da 1. We are from D.C.
[Dre Strong] We are really from D.C. I’m from uptown to be exact, but like my man Bey Lova always said, I don’t need to specify where in D.C. I’m from. I’ve lived in so many hoods and in every quadrant of the city except S.W.
NYHHN: You go by the name of Likeblood — What does that name represent both to and for you as a group?
[Mbea Da 1] The name “Likeblood” means “like family” – like we are flesh and blood.
[Dre Strong] It’s almost like in another lifetime we were probably kin. We are brothers.
NYHHN: When did you all first become interested in music? And, how did it all begin for Likeblood?
[Mbea Da 1] We were all interested in music as kids and we gravitated towards hip-hop because we were exposed to it a lot. We started to record in our early teen years, but we were all friends before we got fully into music. That’s what differentiates us from many groups.
[Dre Strong] Our folks were involved in music and the arts. So it’s only natural that it passed on to our generation. Growing up we were exposed to a lot of music. All different types of music.
NYHHN: Growing up, who all influenced both your sound and style?
[Yung E] I am influenced by the universe (laughs)
[Mbea Da 1] I like a lot of rock music. Alice in Chains, Pink Floyd. I am listening to a lot of that right now.
[Dre Strong] We all listen to other forms of music and we are influenced by a lot just being from D.C We love hip-hop a lot. But when you’re from a city that hasn’t blown up, you are really able to develop a new sound. When you have established artists from your city, it’s easy to fall into the same lane as them because that’s what’s working. But here, we are not limited and we don’t have anyone or any group to look at. We have go-go here, so that’s obviously an influence, but we are really able to just pull from everything. All experiences, all forms of music.
NYHHN: Describe for me your musical vibe?
[Yung E] Our music vibe can’t really be defined. I would say universal, mass-appealing. We touch on many different emotions. Whatever you’re going through in the day, we have a song you can relate to, to help you get through it, listening to our music. All genres can be included.
[Dre Strong] When you have three different artists making music together, there is no definition you can put on it. We just mesh and it is what it is. It’s good music. It can’t really be labeled as conscious or gangsta. It’s just the life of some D.C. niggas.
NYHHN: When did you know that music was your calling?
[Mbea Da 1] I would say that we knew when we put out our first cassette together. It was like six songs. I took the cassette tape down to my neighborhood, Cappers, and all three of us had copies of the tape, and I would sit and do work and listen to our tapes. And people would come to see me and they would hear it. And that one tape was passed around the neighborhood until I lost it (laughs). Everyone was giving us props, so that is when I really started taking it more seriously. I knew we had something then.
[Yung E] I would rock the joint at school. Let people hear it on my headphones. Just spread it around. And people were feeling it.
NYHHN: Tell us about your current single and/or projects.
[Yung E] “Capital Wasteland” is our next mixtape, dropping June 8th. It’s based on the video game “Fallout 3.” It takes place in the future and people are living in D.C. in the aftermath of a nuclear war. So we are relating a lot of the concepts from the experiences that the characters have in the game to what we are going through now.
[Mbea Da 1] We have no outlet to make music here. So we are going to do whatever we can to establish a civilization. We are trying to establish an industry here. We are in a wasteland now. Things are in disarray here. And we are working on getting things organized to bring this city to the light.
NYHHN: What do you want people to take away from your music?
[Dre Strong] I want people to get a sense of our style. Get a new-found love of hip-hop and a new-found respect for D.C. I’m tryna talk to that person that society is not gonna try to speak to or can’t speak too… and in the end, of course, they love to jam to it.
[Mbea Da 1] We want to give people who we are through our music. We are the BFF’s of hip-hop (laughs).
[Yung E] I want to inspire people to do whatever it is that they want to do. Put the fire under people. Listen to what we’re doing, take our experiences, and learn that you can overcome whatever your going through if you have enough hustle and enough strength. Inspire people to be better than us. I know that’s pretty hard (laughs).
NYHHN: Where can the people find you?
[Mbea Da 1] The easiest way to get at us is on our website, www.likeblood.com, or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/likeblood.
[Dre Strong] You can also check out new episodes of our web TV series, #DABINESS TV, on our YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/likebloodsworld.
NYHHN: Leave the readers with some final words.
[Dre Strong] Likeblood is the future.
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