Q&A With Long Beach, CA Hip Hop Native A.P.

Yo A.P. x Talk2walls!! We really appreciate you guys rocking with UGHHBLOG! You’re definitely true stands. Please tell us how many years you guys have been making music? For those unfamiliar, please shed some light on your backgrounds in the Hip Hop game. Please detail.

A.P. “Talk2walls has been dropping music since 2014 & I’ve been putting out projects independently for over 10 years now. My older brother made a name for himself on the battle rap scene in Long Beach and was a major influence on me to pursue my love for writing rhymes & doing music. I started out making tracks for fun with my friends on low end equipment and as time progressed the software, the equipment, and the skills elevated. Eventually I linked with a crew from LB called the Hustle Holix and became an affiliate with them, recording & doing shows in LA, LB, and OC area, carving out a name in the Long Beach underground for myself. A list of acts I’ve opened for include: Masta Ace, Chino XL, Kxng Crooked, 2Mex & K Dot to name a few… After teaching myself pro tools I eventually attend school for audio engineering in Burbank. My first official mixtape was Tragic Radio Vol. 1 and since then I’ve released several projects, all in which I wrote, recorded, mixed & mastered including: Planet Cali, Lost Generation, Tragic Radio Vol. 2, The Chemtrails EP, Demon Halos ( Beat Tape) and a long list of singles leading up to this project with Talk2walls.”

Do you guys find most of your fanbase familiar with you from your old projects, or do you feel that you’ve been discovered in recent years more so on the merit of your new music. Please detail.

A.P. “Over then span of time I’ve been releasing music, sometimes I was caught up in life and had to take breaks here & there to handle business and family matters. Of course I have my day one A ones but over the last 3 years I’ve really been grinding and laser focused on pumping out new music. What I’ve learned from this game is that consistency is key and when I’m good to the game, its been good back to me. The more consistent I’ve been the more I’m noticing the sound is catching on little by little. I put a lot of love and time into my craft and I aim to create music that will stand the test of time instead of following trends and making cookie cutter formats that fall off after a couple summers… By the time people catch on they’ll have a deep rabbit hole to tumble down.”

When compared to other duos, what is it about A.P. x Talk2walls that stands out and makes you guys unique from the pack. Please detail.

A.P. “I linked with Talk2walls on IG when I saw a clip of him chopping some samples on his drum machine. Just off his selection of loops and how he chopped his samples I became a fan instantly. He eventually reached out and sent me a pack of beats to write too. I think his knowledge of the game and his ear for what sounds good brings a sort of unspoken understanding between the two of us. My background with recording and sound design makes things really easy when it comes to working together. No egos getting in the way. just two like minded guys who love music and share the same influence & views for quality control.”

Wow, your latest EP “The Green Destiny” is a true BANGER in our books, your guys delivery & style is truly out of this world! Tell us the story behind your recent project, And a little about the album cover concept!

A.P. “Much love and respect! We’re glad to hear everyone is enjoying the EP! After recording a few tracks and picking out the best ones I had a track titled “Green Destiny” which is the name of a sword from one of my favorite martial arts flicks “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” I used the Green Destiny as sort of a metaphor for getting money, staying on your hustle and smoking mad weed… I reached out to my homie/ artist from Chicago by the name of Johnny Garcia (johnnygarcia_urek) on IG, to put the whole idea together. I told him my idea, sent some pics for reference and what you see is the final product of me smoking a joint, in that stance holding the Green Destiny sword….”

What’s your guys favorite track off your latest album, and why? And please reference your favorite bar from this song that highlights your elite level lyricism.

A.P. “One of our favorite tracks is “White Widow”. The whole project is a lot of bravado and vibey type of music and I feel like this tracks breaks that up with a bit more thoughtful and introspective song writing. Favorite bar: (So welcome to the city of Angels/ mean mugs, street thugs, demons with halos)

I feel like that bar captures the duality of city life in general … You really get what you want out of LA/LB…People get lost in facade… It’s beautiful & dangerous at the same time…

For this new year 2021, what do we have to look forward to when it comes to new music? Please reference your forthcoming projects that you’re at liberty to speak of.

A.P. “I have some new singles/ solo material that I plan to start releasing in a couple months featuring SBX Chicago based producer Stone Flacco with a follow up EP to those singles as well later this year. I know Talk2walls is working on an instrumental project dropping on Valentines Day so keep an eye out for that! As for some more duo work with Talk2walls, we plan on linking back up soon.”

Due to the pandemic, how are you guys pivoting with making music around this whole Covid 19 situation?

A.P. “I’ve always been a bit of a hermit and home body anyways when it comes to making music so the isolation and stay home orders really don’t effect me that much. Although I really really miss doing shows, I look at this as a good time to grind hard in the studio and keep pumping out content on social media to further my reach and gain new listeners & supporters.”

We have to ask, with all this social discourse and revolt, protesting and rioting, exposed police brutality toward blacks and BLM, how do you guys feel about this? We would love your perspective on the climate we are living in right now?

A.P. “America is the bastard child born out of European imperialism and that foundation still holds true to this day. This country was built on the institution of racism, genocide, slavery, blood, sweat, & tears of the black, brown & indigenous people… When you look back at the time line from the Spanish Inquisition, Trans Atlantic Slave trade, civil war, Jim Crow era, to the civil rights movement you’ll see that this nation has been under the rule of oppression and racist legislation longer than its been a country of so called “freedom & equal rights”… Growing up in Long Beach I’ve witnessed police gun down an unarmed citizen & I’ve experienced profiling,harassment, and excessive force… The whole police bill of rights needs to be thrown in the trash and re written to hold killer cops accountable when excessive violence and unjust killings occur. This is a problem that will not be corrected with the passing of just one or two new laws… Malcom X & Dr. King wouldn’t see the change they fought for in their life time but they ended up laying the foundation for future generations to carry on. So I think its dope to see mad young people taking interest in making change and making their voices heard. We are laying down a foundation for the future to change things around. We as a people need to keep pressing the issue. These old ass politicians are almost out of there so its time to shape our youth into leaders who can take those seats and make change from within the system. Teach self reliance & spread love to the community. Its all about unity because when one of us suffers from injustice we all suffer… And a victory in the form of justice for any Black & Brown brother or sister is a victory for all of humanity.”