Ho99o9 (pronounced ‘horror,’ obviously) are the freakish offspring of hip hop, punk and metal, and we’re obsessed. By combining the hip hop they grew up surrounded by with more alternative and animated sounds they encountered along the way, Eaddy and The OGM have just released their debut EP, Horrors of 1999. Speaking with the surprisingly subdued duo before they took to the stage at The Great Escape, they drove home their belief in the importance of an energetic live show, fanning the flaming rumors we’d heard of the impending madness. Sure enough, the night went on to feature wedding dresses, beer-sharing performance art, barrier jumping, a pit and a whole lot of nakedness. May they long continue to blow both minds and speakers!
How was Ho99o9 first conceived? Was there a creative goal?
OGM: It kind of just happened in all honesty. We’ve been friends for a couple of years, way before the band and we just decided to start working on the project. We didn’t take it seriously at first, it was kind of just a project to have some fun with and see what we got out of it… then we started being real good and took it a bit more serious.
You’re both from New Jersey. Would you say that your sound is a product of the area?
OGM: Definitely. We’re from urban areas where the music is pretty much straight rap. We grew up in the hood with drug dealers and gangs, you know? So if we brought some punk stuff to the hood, they be like ‘what the fuck is this?’ They look at us like we weirdos.
Eaddy: Yeah, we crazy.
And when you did eventually bring the punk side of things into the equation, how did that change things?
OGM: Well it definitely brought some change into the scene that we were in. Before the band, we used to throw shows – we were part of a collective and we would put on hip hop shows and mix it with some punk, some rock, and some art, and people gradually started to open up to it, you know? The hood is only gonna know what they know cause they not gonna go outside of that. So, you know, if you bring it to them and it’s kinda cool, they gonna accept it.
You’ve previously mentioned your frustration that people don’t really move at hip hop shows… that it’s all quite static. Why is performance and that level of interaction so important to you?
OGM: That’s what grabs your attention. People come to see you perform so you gotta entertain. People are coming to see you – you don’t wanna give a half-assed show.
Eaddy: It’s one thing to hear music and it’s another thing to see it live. It’s a whole different experience. You gotta work for that.
OGM: Both gotta be sharp, the music and the performance.
Eaddy: Yeah, cause if the music’s good you go see it live…
OGM: … and then if the performance is good too, you’re like ‘god, this is my favorite shit!’ I liked a few bands and then I went to see them live and I was real disappointed cause they just didn’t move me, it’s a real bummer.
Do you see your live show as a kind of performance art?
Eaddy: Yeah, I guess so…
How do you want your audience to feel?
Eaddy: I want them to feel excited, I want them to feel happy, I want them to feel like they’re letting out all their aggression from the week. I just want them to feel free and feel that energy.
OGM: But also kind of like, ‘what the hell just happened? Let’s do that again!’
How important is your look?
Eaddy: It plays a role in what we do on stage… just like playing with different characters and alter egos. That’s just like childhood stuff, from watching movies and cartoons and superheroes and stuff. We just get inspired by other characters.
OGM: Even off stage, we like to play around.
Well you both have an awesome look. Growing up, were there any shows that had a big influence on you?
Eaddy: I wasn’t going to concerts man. I grew up with a strict family so I wasn’t going to concerts at a young age. We were going to parties though. Jersey is known for Jersey club music, dance music, and we would go to stuff like that. I didn’t start going to concerts until I started hanging out with y’all.
OGM: Yeah, when I was a kid we were just poor. We didn’t really leave the neighborhood. I couldn’t get my mother to bring me to anything. Plus I didn’t really know about anything.
Eaddy: I couldn’t go anywhere. Even if I knew where it was, I couldn’t go. My parents were just like, no you can’t go out with friends, you can’t go here, you can’t go there.
OGM: Yeah, I started seeing shows and things late in high school.
It must have blown your mind a bit when you finally did?
Eaddy: Yeah, totally.
You’re kind of merging genres here. Do you think that there’s a need in the music industry for new sounds? To get away from the banality of traditional genres?
Eaddy: Yeah, we need a little bit of excitement man! If everything was the same all the time, you’d just get bored really fast. That’s why when something different comes along, you just grab it because it’s exciting. So yeah, definitely needed.
What movie do you think your music would be a good soundtrack for?
Eaddy: Anything by Rob Zombie, like The Devil’s Rejects.
So basically anything fucked up?
Eaddy: Pretty much… that shit’s pretty fucked up.
OGM: Or Quentin Tarentino. We need to get involved.
Get on it! Your new EP is called Horrors of 1999… what happened in 1999?
OGM: A lot of fucked up stuff.
Anything in particular?
OGM: Well, the project itself is centered around a bunch of different things that happened. Like Columbine, the high school massacre where these kids just started shooting everybody. That happened in 1999, you know? And then we just started looking up other stuff that happened and it’s crazy what you find. You know, just life.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
OGM: I guess be patient? I think be patient is the best advice I’ve gotten. Cause we’ve been hanging out doing shows for a while and sometimes when you’re making your art you think that nothing’s gonna come along to take you to that next level. But it just takes hard work and patience, and shit happens!
Credits
Text Francesca Dunn