Category: Collectables

Interview: House Shoes

SHOES

Michael ‘House Shoes’ Buchanan is one of the most respected men in hip-hop. Although intrinsically tied to the music of his native Detroit, and the legacy of J Dilla, he’s been living in Los Angeles for the last decade, and here tells us about how his record label, Street Corner Music, has a vision that goes way beyond just local talent. Brutally honest as always, House Shoes also shares his thoughts on the shady side of Record Store Day.

Street Corner Music (SCM) is known for shining light on new and upcoming artists from Detroit. It is easy to find local talent, or is there a lot of filtering before you find someone with potential?

Street Corner Music has nothing to do with Detroit, or any specific region. It has to do with talent. I’m good at finding talent. My ears have no competition. The ones with potential are easy to find. It’s just a question of who gets the opportunities I am willing to provide.

With your status as an ambassador for Detroit hip-hop, is the preference for SCM to always choose a local artist who has potential but needs more development, over an artist not from Detroit who is already developed and ready to go?

Once again, this is not grounded in any specific region. I left Detroit 10 years ago. My perspective is that of the whole. I don’t care where you’re from. All I want is the heat. Definitely not here to groom someone who ain’t all the way there yet. I need the best. Period.

Would you say that helping local artists is altruistic, and therefore that SCM is more like a community project rather than a business?

Slightly. The mission of SCM is to give great records to those who actually deserve them. On both sides of the fence. The artists and the fans. I want to give the artists and the fans the best work possible.

 

You’ve been influential in the careers of many who moved in Dilla’s circle, like Phat Kat, Elzhi, Frank N Dank. Has there ever been talk of these guys releasing music through SCM?

No. I’m building my own thing.

The label is committed to releasing music on vinyl, CDs and tapes. Tell us more about your passion for these formats, and why they are important to keep alive.

I don’t do CDs for the most part. I may press some to give to the artist to do hand to hand at shows. The main focus is vinyl. Always has been. But in 2016 it takes a long fucking time to get records pressed. So the tapes come into play since they are so cheap and the turnaround is so quick.

Is it cost effective to press vinyl in today’s climate, or is there a risk of losing a lot of money if units don’t sell?

Takes money to make money. As long as you present quality time and time again, you should be straight. Records are definitely not cheap, but I keep quantities collectable low. The majority of my releases have grown in value.

Could a label like SCM survive without Fat Beats, Traffic and other companies willing to distribute independent hip-hop?

Definitely. It would be a lotta damn work though. I’m built for it though. Knock on wood Fat Beats ain’t going anywhere.


Despite the recent resurgence, new vinyl releases still feel mainly for us older heads, who have a historical appreciation, but also the tangible income to actually buy records. Is there a risk therefore of turning off the younger generation, who just want everything digitally, and immediately?

I sell my records to old and young cats. I’m not concerned with what people want or how they want it. I’m only concerned with what I do and what my squad does. Kids are buying records too. Shit’s cool again. You want digital? You go to iTunes and cop SCM digitally. I’m definitely not concerned with cats being turned off by any decisions I make regarding SCM. They can spend their money elsewhere. I do what I do.

As someone passionate about vinyl, and also having worked in a lot of record shops, what are your thoughts on Record Store Day being accused of taking all the capacity of pressing plants, making it hard for small labels to get their vinyl manufactured on time?

Record Store Day is trash. On so many levels. Initiated to expose indie labels and stores, now the majors are pressing up ridiculous amounts of records you can find in every dollar section or thrift store in the world. We don’t need 10,000 ‘Limited Edition’ copies of Whipped Cream and Other Delights.

So now it takes us seven months to get a record pressed and a lotta indie labels just can’t get shit pressed in time for Record Store Day. We do Record Store Night in LA once a month – SCM and the New Los Angeles label along with Novation. We pretty much take a piss on RSD every month.

Is Record Store Day something Street Corner Music has, or would take part in?

Nope.

Father. Label boss. DJ. Producer. Businessman. Which title do you feel most comfortable with?

Father. Being a father is a blessing. Fuck rap. Buy my records though.

See here for more on House Shoes and Street Corner Music. Follow on Twitter @HouseShoes. Illustration by Gleenhouse.

Interview: Cas Metah

CAS METAH

There are few genres of music as cutting edge as hip-hop, with the latest technology, social trends and pop culture references having been rapped about on wax since the beginning. But it is also music that constantly looks back, and definitely the most self-referential. ‘Throwback’ is a term not always used kindly, but it nicely sums up the music of an artist like Cas Metah, who makes hip-hop that takes people back to a time many consider to have been better. Don’t get it twisted though, because this is an artist also at that same cutting edge, straddling both the old and new. We spoke to him about that balance, his recent Old Fashioned album, and the tools available to indy artists in a landscape where selling music is almost impossible. Make sure you keep reading until the end for an exclusive first listen of his new single One Nation Under Fraud.

Your music feels like a throwback to the classic era of hip-hop. Do you get a sense that heads of a certain age are looking for modern hip-hop that takes them back to those times?

Yeah for sure. That’s the era I grew up in, so my music definitely reflects that. As a fan, that’s mostly the sound I like to listen to. I try to stay relevant with who is new and noteworthy too, but I still get really excited when someone from back in the day drops new material.

The Old Fashioned project feels very much like a complete album, rather than a bunch of songs strung together. Was that a conscious decision, to remind people about the power of a properly structured album?

I’m glad you think so! It was definitely a conscious decision. I spent a lot of time making sure it had that vibe. I wanted to showcase my storytelling abilities as well as my punchline abilities, and keep everything sonically in the same range. Having Mista Sinista and EF Cuttin played such a big factor. Their turntablism was the icing on the cohesive cake.

We love how independent artists like you are still getting physical copies of albums pressed up, even on cassette. Is that another throwback decision or something for the collectors?

Both. I’m an old head and a physical collector, so I’ll always do it. In regards to Old Fashioned, the whole concept behind it goes beyond just the throwback sound. Everything from the artwork to the cassette tapes and CD’s was meant to take us older heads back in time for the nostalgia of it. And it gives the younger generation an opportunity to see what they missed. What rapper from the 90’s never dreamed of having their own tape? It’s a must!

How much of a risk is it pressing CDs and vinyl, knowing that you might struggle to sell them all?

It can be a risk, especially if you are ordering in bulk. I still have boxes left from my first project because we simply ordered way more than our demand required at the time. That was 2004, so I’ve learned to stay away from that. For the past decade, I’ve been pressing through a company that does short runs, so there are fewer boxes sitting around. I have a large catalog, so I may have twenty-something projects in stock, but only a few copies of each one.

You seem to be an artist who has definitely embraced Bandcamp. Tell us about the advantages of it to an independent artist?

I love Bandcamp! It’s simple to use and the most artist friendly format I know of. You get paid direct to your PayPal account when you make a sale, as opposed to any other service like iTunes where you have to wait on quarterly statements. Just everything about it is more convenient. The ‘Stats’ feature is pretty cool, and if you have a Pro account the perks are well worth it to me. Not only is it a store where I can sell digital and/or physical copies, T-shirts, whatever, it also doubles as an information hub for my show dates and social media links. It even collects buyers email addresses for me so I can always keep an up to date email newsletter. Every independent artist should use it.

Do you even need a label anymore?

Not really. The key is learning the business for yourself. You can always outsource and hire specific people for jobs like marketing or publicity if you’re willing to finance your own product. If you’ve got the desire, you can learn to handle most tasks yourself. It’s all about building relationships and building your budget while building your brand. I can’t reach the sky if I’m always sitting in the basement. I’m still working with labels from time to time based on long standing relationships with the people behind them. They know my true desire is to be self-sufficient, and they respect it.

Cas Metah’s Old Fashioned album is out now. Listen to the latest single One Nation Under Fraud below.