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Interview w/Hustle Simmons (Dave Ghetto & Tha S Ence)
By: Justin Rizzio
Dave Ghetto might not be one of the most well known names, but he is by no means a newcomer to making records. Dave is a decade deep in the game and recently teamed up with Philadelphia producer, Tha S Ence, to form Hustle Simmons. In this interview, the word quality appears several times. That’s just what it is; a quality record. For all those reformed “backpackers” always complaining that hip hop is no good anymore, do yourself a favor, check out Hustle Simmons. Tha S Ence provides Dave with a classic style of boom bap backdrops that are complimented by Dave’s lyrics and wordplay. Together, it makes you realize why you even listen to hip hop in the first place. So, when you start hearing the name Hustle Simmons coming out of everyone’s mouth (and you will), don’t worry, I won’t say I told you so. Actually, I probably will.
215hiphop: First, introduce yourselves, and tell us what you do.
Dave Ghetto: Dave Ghetto, MC and one half of Hustle Simmons.
Tha S Ence: Tha S Ence, beat maker, producer. Soon to be DJ, graphic designer, baby father…just kidding. Other half of Hustle Simmons.
215: How would you describe Hustle Simmons, using only words that start with the letter L?
Dave & S Ence: (laughing)
215: S Ence, don’t laugh, you have the letter Q.
Dave Ghetto: Live. It’s some new boom bap shit, without trying to sound like Premo or Pete. It’s some new shit. We just took the whole boom bap feel and just ran with it throughout the album.
Tha S Ence: Quality, that’s my letter Q. It’s got that feel from ‘94, back when shit was really going good for hip hop. But it still sounds new. We put that new kind of swagger on it. Dave’s delivery is different every track.
215: Have you both been satisfied with the response so far?
Dave Ghetto: Very. It’s pushed us to actually step outside of the digital realm. We were going to go strictly digital, but there was a demand for cds, so we had to set up a situation to get the cd out.
Tha S Ence: Definitely satisfied. But there’s always room for more exposure. Seeing that we’re going physical, we can now push stuff out. People will actually see it, not just on the web. Not everybody has a computer. Not everybody has an iPod. My own people saying they only got a CD player in their car, they don’t use computers. They want the CD in the physical. I’m not gonna bootleg it.
215: What would be one thing you would want people to get from this record?
Dave Ghetto: That it’s just a dope fuckin’ record. There’s so much bullshit hitting the airwaves. Wack shit is being pushed out in every genre of music. We just want to be that diamond in the rough that people come across. I just want it to be some fresh shit that people aren’t expecting. Everybody’s looking for something different. People are trying to go so far left that they’re leaving this whole lane open. The fact that nobody is doing traditional hip hop, we’re trying to snatch that lane. It’s quality music.
Tha S Ence: I think just because there’s so much bad stuff out there, we just want to let everybody know that you can still have quality hip hop without sounding old or looking like a weirdo with tight pants. That’s actually pretty simple, but it’s been going on for a while.
215: With new MCs and producers coming out everyday, what are you guys doing to stand out?
Tha S Ence: Not being corny. I mean, for real, for real. Really, the new MCs and producers are just trying to sound like the hot people out now. They’re not knowing how to make quality music, instead of just trying to be the next hottest thing…
Dave Ghetto: …and we don’t have everybody and their grandma trying to do the same thing on our team. Another thing is that we’re individuals. We have similarities, but there’s a difference between people. The part of us we’re putting into our music, that creates lines of distinction. Pick a rapper, I’m not any of them. I can only be me. Me being me, and how it transfers into my music, is how I separate myself from others.
215: You both seem to compliment each other very well on this record. In Philly, egos tend to get in the way of people working together. Why do you think that is?
Dave Ghetto: People think they’re better than they are. People try to embrace this thing like Philly needs to love Philly. If you’re wack, you’re wack. I don’t care where you’re from. With that being said, people aren’t really placing themselves in the right lane. I try to surround myself with like minded people. In the circle I keep myself in, everybody’s dope, so there’s really no room for ego. Shawn (S Ence), Fel Sweetenberg, Blaak The 9th Man. Everybody on the team is really strong and they can stand alone. But when we come together, the music is so good that it’s undeniable. Jazz musicians don’t have egos. When Thelonious Monk was around his peers, he knew everybody in his circle was strong. Just know you’re lane. If you’re new, respect the people that came before you. Respect the fact that there is a Jedi Mind Tricks, a Nuthouse, a Hezekiah, a Grand Agent. Artists like that are a foundation to what we do. A lot of people don’t understand you have to pay homage to those that came before you. A lot of the ego comes from new dudes. Like I feel as though I should be getting more respect than I do. It’s nothing to hear Hez on a track with me, or Last Emperor with Baby Blak, or 84 and Bahamadia. We just come to a level of understanding that good music needs to be created by people who make good music. If your ego is coming between us and making good music, there’s no room for it.
215: As far as working with other artists, what guests are are on the Hustle Simmons album?
DaveGhetto: We kept it pretty much in house. The only one outside of our immediate circle was Buff1. That’s just because I’m a fan. I think he’s dope. Everybody else is in house. Richie Rasheen, Fel Sweetenberg, Al Mighty from MAGr (pronounced “major”) and Mars5. These are people that we can be seen with. If you walk down the street and see us together, it’s not surprising. We also have other projects where we work with different people. It’s just good to hold our people up. We got dope people in our circle.
215: S Ence, for all the production heads, what did you use to make this album?
Tha S Ence: Initially, Dave picked a lot of tracks from the MPC 1000. When I got my new equipment, he liked the ones from the 4000. It’s usually just the MPC, the Mackie board, Pro Tools, and some live instrumentation. I had P Slang play the bass on two tracks. We had some live percussion and stuff like that.
215: Who would win in a fight, Hustle Simmons or Kidz in the Hall?
Dave & S Ence: (laughing)
Dave Ghetto: You’re a funny dude.That’s like my past time. I wasn’t always a school dude. Nawledge is from Chicago, there’s some tough niggas in Chicago. But there’s also some not so tough niggas in Chicago. I fight, so I’ll always put the money on myself. Plus, we’re closer to the people. We’re people of the people. Niggas came to my graduation cause they thought I was in jail the whole time. They didn’t believe I was in school. I hustled my way out the hood. Going back to that question, hell yeah, we’ll definitely bust they ass.
Tha S Ence: I’m kinda offended you asked that…(laughing)…that’s not even a contest.
215: Should I have said the Cool Kids?
S Ence: We’ll steal their bikes.
Dave Ghetto: Cool Kids ain’t cool around my way.
Tha S Ence: I wanna see them try to run away with them tight ass pants (laughing).
Dave Ghetto: I don’t know, I’m just not a fan. So fuck ‘em, we’ll bust all they asses. Us two against all four.
Dave & S Ence: ( laughing )
215: S Ence, as a new artist, what was it like working with Dave?
Tha S Ence: It still hasn’t even hit me yet. Dave actually made it real comfortable. He wasn’t on some superstar shit. He knew me before he even knew I had beats. Once he found that out, he was easy to work with. Once you know someone on a personal level, it’s easy to work on a music level or a business level. It’s definitely an experience. I’m happy he reached out to me because I know tons of people who would have liked this opportunity.
Dave: Aww (laughing)
215: Being that you guys are both black, was it hard to break into a genre of music known for being dominated by white people?
Dave & S Ence: (laughing)
Dave: We have black fans, so it’s not like they’re not there. We appreciate all fans. Helps feed my babies and supplements that child support I’m being ripped off for. I never really thought about it though. White people are the majority of the world anyway. If you’re a fan, be a fan. I don’t care what color you are. If you like what we do, support. That was funny.
Tha S Ence: With music, I don’t think it’s a racial thing. You got cats traveling over to wherever, and all races would appreciate that. It seems different in America because I guess black people are prone to hearing the radio a lot more than the kids that can go to shows a lot more. We’ll (black people) go out to a Lil Wayne or a Jay-Z show in a heartbeat. But a Little Brother show, you’re not gonna see that. It’s like the mind state.
Dave Ghetto: It’s what is directed at us. Lil Wayne is pushed on us. Soulja Boy is pushed on us. Certain outlets are willing to push other sounds, while urban programming is the same five records.
Tha S Ence: Fuckin’ BET. It’s BET’s motherfuckin’ fault and 106 & Park and Rap City when it went to shit after Tigger left.
215: So how would you feel if BET picked up the Rundown video and then said it was over the heads of their audience, like they did with the Little Brother video?
Dave Ghetto: First of all, I understand who BET’s audience is. They try to serve people of a particular age range. The stations that we have, for people of our age, don’t support the music that we make. When you get 25 or older, the stations that target you as a consumer only play oldies or slow music. They don’t play hip hop. Rock has been indie for years, way before hip hop jumped on the indie bandwagon. People who are fans of music like that are more willing to dig and find music as opposed to just dealing with the surface shit that’s presented to them every day. Like being in school and only reading text books and saying fuck the library. That’s why the faces that come out and support are more white than black.
215: With this album, what are you bringing to the table individually? I want you to answer that for each other.
Dave Ghetto: Top notch production, hands down. S Ence brings you the perspective of a fan and a student. He learned the craft before he tried to put his feet in the water. Most people do it ass backwards. You can tell that he studied the masters. You wanna be a classic pianist, you listen to Mozart and Chopin. He did that with the J Dilla’s and the Pete Rock’s. It comes out clearly in his music. That’s why, for his first project, shit is so bangin. He took the time to figure out what he wanted to do and developed a sound. He brings classic shit, without being dated. He’s 50% of the reason the project sounds the way it does.
Tha S Ence: That’s hard…
215: And I’m gonna say “pause” to that.
Dave & S Ence: (laughing)
Dave Ghetto: Wow. (laughing)
Tha S Ence: Dave brought classic stories like the ones you love to hear from Nas and Jay-Z. Like real life situations they went through. Not only that, he did a couple point of view joints from a kid fighting for his country then the point of view from a soldier then to the war zone on the street. He just killed that shit. It was amazing to me the stuff he was laying down. I didn’t have much input, if any, on his delivery or his wordplay. His delivery was so ill, I didn’t have to say anything. I thought on my first album I’d get to say something to the MC about how I want them to rhyme. I didn’t have to do that. It was just straight up here’s what I got, here’s what you got. Let’s click it together. I’m still trying to fathom this right now. I’m kinda blown away by it. This is an ill project man, on both sides.
215: Last words?
Dave Ghetto: Hustle Simmons is that new shit. That “new millennium boom bap” is what we call it. Just look out for more from us, look out for more from Break Bread. Cop Fel Sweetenberg’s Sweet’s Day Off and 84’s Ourselves. We’re building a brand right now. Anything you see with that “slice of bread” on it, expect quality. Hustle Simmons is a brick in the foundation that we’re trying to build.
Tha S Ence: Last words…Don’t pigeonhole yourself into just listening to what you know. We have all types of stuff on Break Bread. We know all types of cats from videographers, photographers, MCs, producers, DJs, graffiti writers, we got all that shit. It’s not just on the music tip.
Dave Ghetto: Buy the album. Hustle Simmons. It’s on iTunes now and physical copies available at Fat Beats (NY, LA), Pedestrian (Philly& Baltimore), Amoebas, Newbury Comics, Amazon.com, Ear X-Stacy, Sound Garden, Independent Records, Exclusive Company, UGHH.com, Magnolia Thunderpussy, Sandboxautomatic.com, Hiphopvinyl.de, Zia Records, J&R Music World, and more.
dope spek….thanks fam.
good read!
whoever did this interview is funny as shit yo