Covid-19 has forced a lot of musicians to get creative by moving the live show experience online, but doing a hip-hop show inside Minecraft is next level. Tell us more about the #NetherRap Minecraft Rap Show concept.
When the pandemic kicked off, I found myself cancelling world tour dates and recording sessions I’d had lined up throughout 2020. I had to quickly re-shuffle a lot of priorities and plans, and figure out a way to keep the lights on like a lot of indie musicians. In my downtime, I was playing a lot of Minecraft with my nephew because I realized it was one of the only age-appropriate games we could remotely play. He’s an only child. I’m a childless 38 year old who’s locked in the house. I accessed my inner 8 year old and allowed the obsessive video game part of my brain to re-activate itself.. the rest is history, as this idea snowballed and I talked about it more. As I was moving my creative life into all these new digital forms, I was also using the same platforms to kick it with my nephew and learn this game. Somehow in the weird 2020 sauce it all got blended together and became one thing… like The Fly. Minecraft was the bug caught in my transporter, and accidentally got incorporated into my creative DNA this year.
For those not up on Minecraft (me included – my kids aren’t quite old enough to be into it yet), how the hell do you stage a live show inside a virtual computer game?
What’s ill about Minecraft is that it’s not about a video game objective in the way we’re used to thinking about them; where there’s a flag to capture or a princess to save. There is an “End”, but no one really focuses on it. The game is meant to be sort of inhabited like a world where things are built, programmed, transformed into other things… and it has laws and rules like the physical world. Within them though, there’s an incredible range of stuff that can be done. The point I really got into it, was when I was able to make a drum machine in the game and play it.
Because it’s made to host massive multiplayer worlds, thousands of people can inhabit the same world, see each other and the same things, and ‘experience’ simultaneous events. Once I realized that, I knew we could build venues and have a show. Lots of folks have come along to help with the logistics since then, but that was the basic idea.
You have some great artists taking part. I’m guessing it was an easy sell to people who love gaming, like Mega Ran, but did others take some convincing to get their head around the concept?
Everyone responded pretty enthusiastically to it, and since we announced it a ton of folks have hit me up asking to play if we do another one. It’s such a speculative idea at this point, it remains to be seen if we can actually make enough money doing this for it to be a real model for virtual shows… but we’ve given it more than a fighting chance with this lineup. I reached out to all the people I thought would make a great first bill, and they all said yes. Mega Ran actually doesn’t play Minecraft. Kimya Dawson had. Kalyn from Wheelchair Sports Camp seems pumped to play for the first time. Pip seems totally lost and I think I’m gonna walk him through on a stream. However their players end up moving (or not moving) during their ‘set’, it promises to be an entertaining way to hang out with all of these folks.
You have Scoobius Pip on hosting duties. Tell me how that came about?
He was born in England. That was the first step. Americans love a British host. Something about that accent really prepares us for what’s happening or about to happen. Pip and I have been in touch throughout the pandemic, because we’re friends and shit’s been crazy. He’s been doing a lot of great podcast and movie work the past couple years, and I honestly have trouble remembering the last time we actually rapped onstage together. It may have been during the Speech Development Tour in 2015. Which is wild to consider. Once I knew we were doing this show, a gig Pip could host in his underwear using the same equipment he podcasts with… I knew he was the right agent for the job.
Virtual events like this look set to be the new normal for the foreseeable future, and probably beyond the end of the pandemic. How long do you think it will take for live music to get back to business as usual once this is all over?
I have no idea, honestly. It’s part of why I’ve really started to settle in. After years of talking about it and planning it, I’ve broken ground on a new studio in the backyard. I’m planning on doing more streaming and self-produced joints out there. I don’t know how long it’ll take for artists to really be comfortable touring the world, or be able to move as freely as we used to. I try not to think about it because nothing will truly replace live music or the experience of touring. In many ways, business as usual may be gone for good. I’ve accepted that, and while a lot of special things are in the past I’m hoping this will all bring about some new rebirth. There’s a lot of tragic stories when it comes to venues, artists, and fans… but I hope it’s also an opportunity for us to create something better from the ground up.
Its certainly been a shitty year for touring musicians. How badly has not being able to tour effected you personally, both financially and creatively?
It’s heavy, on a personal and creative wavelength. I’ve been lucky on the financial tip. It just so happened that I was in the process of transitioning to the Patreon/Twitch model of funding projects this year, and that has honestly saved me financially and creatively. In the absence of shows where you actually get to see and meet listeners, a lot of this online engagement stuff has also kept me actively connected to the people who most give a shit about what I do. I started giving them more content and they started supporting me more directly… the results have actually been pretty powerful. I feel like we’ve made a lot of headway during a time I might otherwise have gone way off the deep end or just stared at a wall for 6 months.
Artists need to learn that in 2020, posting and streaming on IG/Facebook for ‘Likes’ while having their content throttled or buying ads is self defeating. Fans will have to learn that streaming a song on Spotify 100 times or buying a $10 cd once every couple years doesn’t equal the type of support that will enable your favorite rappers to make a follow up anymore. So far, this new method has enabled me to keep things pushing forward.
What’s next for you music-wise? Any new Epic Beard Men music on the way?
I scored a movie called “VAULT” a little over two years ago, and the LP is finally getting a vinyl release early next year. We made like an old school music library worth of funk, soul and jazz for a heist movie set in 1975, and recorded with a lot of incredible musicians and equipment. I’ll be releasing a limited edition 12″ and a 45″ break record and sample pack from those sessions, as well as a digital version of the score, in early 2021.
In terms of rap music my next joint will be a solo record. I have a pretty big collection of demos at this point… possibly enough for two projects. I’m planning on finishing those and recording a lot through the winter, if all goes well. Patreon subscribers will get a lot of sneak peaks and additional content as I go, which is also part of the ‘new normal’.
Is there anything else you want people to know about #NetherRap?
Only that you don’t need Minecraft to watch and listen. We should make that clear to people. If you want to see what it looks like and hear the sets, tune in to Twitch.tv/BDolanOfficial on November 21, 2020 at 6pm. People who do play Minecraft are attending inside the game can learn how to do that at NETHERRAP.COM. It’ll be free to watch and listen, but we encourage people to donate to the artists and project if they wind up entertained. If it goes well, maybe I can convince Francis to reunite EBM in the Nether sometime soon. Thanks for the interview Grown Up Rap!
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#NetherRap takes place this Saturday (November 21). To find out more about and to join the experience, go to the official website and Facebook Event page. Follow B. Dolan on Twitter and Instagram. Interview by Ben Pedroche.