The plot was simple enough: they came from Brooklyn and had a thirst for bath salt. Yet four years, two mixtapes, an EP and countless guest appearances since they first arose in some lysergic haze, Flatbush Zombies continue to confound expectation, taking the forward-thinking ethos of psychedelia and running with it to create unorthodox new sounds.
Like the J Dilla inspired drones of Madlib and MF DOOM to hallucinogenic hues of Flying Lotus and Frank Ocean’s Blonde, Flatbush Zombies are one of growing number of hip hop and r&b artists using psychedelia as byword for anything that disrupts the structural components of hip hop in standard time. On recently released debut 3001: A Laced Odyssey (a riff on Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 magnum opus), the trio eschew the sunshine and lollipops end of the genre, diving headlong into both highs and lows; paranoia and depression; the demise of physical music releases and even suicide. It’s a bold move: lacking the standout hit of their 60’s namesakes similarly titled album but making up for it in darkly, cinematic dream – nae – nightscapes and some of Erick the Architect’s tightest production.
As they prepare to invade the UK, we had a nice chat with the group about paying the bills, watching your sugar intake and working with Skepta. Turn on, tune in and drop out below.
3001: A Laced Odyssey was such a long time coming… How did it build on what you’d done before? Did you approach it any differently to how you approached the mixtapes?
Erick: Yeah we did. We wanted to pay homage to the old stuff, which is why I used samples from Nephilim on The Odyssey. So ironically, the song is about the future, but I used something from the past for the old fans. As far as how we approached it differently, an album is something to be sold so you always look at it as something to take more even more seriously, I suppose.
How important was it that you released on your own label? And how important was it for you, Erick, to be the only producer on the record?
E: To do it on our own label was a big deal because I saw always myself as an indie artist and never saw myself signed to a label. It’s important to maintain control. And to be the only producer is a big achievement. I don’t think many people do that anymore and it really gave it a consistent sound.
There’s a real dark, cinematic feel to the record… Kubrick aside, what movies were you watching around the time you made it? Do you have plans to flip any others into music?
Meech: American Psycho, Natural Born Killers, Friday, Friday After Next etc. Really whatever we feel like watching. We watch a lot of different movies while working on an album. As for future plans, why would we give away the surprise? We don’t want you to know everything before it’s supposed to happen.
Thinking about that darkness on the record… Was it important that you addressed things like depression on the album? It feels like something that doesn’t get spoken about a whole lot, especially in hip-hop…
M: It’s important that everyone is honest about who and what they are. It’s not just hip-hop. You listen to pop and everyone is acting like it’s all good. We’re human beings so we like to talk about the good and the bad side of everything. It’s about duality.
Similarly, thinking about the political situation in the States at the moment… It’s certainly something that’s been in your work from the very beginning on tracks like Amerikkkan Pie but did you feel an increased pressure to talk about what’s happening?
Juice: The only pressure to talk about this comes from the media asking us to talk about it. I don’t know what’s going to happen in America, fuck politics. What we should be talking about is how to get people out of jail that have been wrongfully convicted of drug charges. We should be talking about how about to fix our food system. Sugar intake, GMOs etc. The FDA are crooks. They’ve been doing this shit for years.
Have people ever done your music a disservice by concentrating solely on the drug aspect of your music? There’s a real range of topics on this record… Didn’t you actually quit smoking for the record, Meech?
M: Yeah, I quit smoking for the record. For the record, I didn’t really quit smoking for the record. For the record, I quit smoking for myself for the record. Yeah, people. I don’t know. They have preconceived notions and they follow them. I’m going to do what I do, same with Juice, same with Erick. The people and the fans that we attract are going to be who we attract. We’re not trying to change that for anyone. I’ve got a job to do. Bills to pay.
How would you describe the state of hip-hop in New York at the moment? What do you think your place in that lineage is?
J: The state of hip-hop in New York is that it’s very slept on. There are tons of great artists, like us, that never get talked about or the recognition they deserve. Joey (Bada$$), Underachievers, Desiigner, Dave East etc. There’s a whole world of New York rap in need of more spotlight and credit.
Has the internet changed the old tribalism at all? Obviously there have always been non-New York hip-hop influences in your sound… Are people coming round to the idea that psychedelic music has a rich history as a part of black culture, for instance?
E: I think at this point, hip-hop is a genre built around the samples it came from. I’m from NYC and hip-hop was created in the Bronx. Take the abundance of jazz samples and with Jazz coming from New Orleans etc. With the internet, now that cycle is even more diverse. The internet is here for us to listen to all types of music. And to me, psychedelic music and Black people are synonymous.
M: There’s a misconception that black people and psychedelia is really new age. It’s been reintroduced to people openly. I think that we’re a part of the people that helped bring that out. The tribalism? Shit has changed. It’s not the same. No mixtapes being sold on the street. I can go outside of my tribe by sitting in front of the screen and connecting with Russia.
You worked with Skepta on Red Eye To Paris… Why do you think grime is having its moment right now?
M: Skeppy!
E: It feels like the world opened their pallet more to these different sounds. I can’t speak for other people but I gravitate towards reggae because I’m from Flatbush. Grime reminds me of that.
Talking of grime, what can we expect when you come to London?E: Shut down.
M: Tings dem shut down.
J: Same shit. It’s lit fam.
Flatbush Zombies are at London’s KOKO tonight (12) and tomorrow (13) and throughout the UK until the 18 September.
Credits
Text Matthew Whitehouse