bookies new and used books is a supporter of wxav 88.3 fm and wxav.com located at 10324 southwestern avenue in chicago bookies offers a selection of new and used books with orders available for books not currently in stock for more information visit their website at bookies bookstores.com support for wxav 88.3 is being provided by northwest community credit union located on campus inside the gram school of management the credit union provides members with a variety of financial products and services to help them achieve their financial goals members can access services and bank on nwccu's mobile app for more information visit their website at nwccu.com or call them at 1-800-2-BLONG this is a wxav 773 sounds podcast introducing you to the best local bands in the chicagoland area hi this is peter creighton with 773 sounds and i'm really excited for this week's featured artist of the week uh his name is rich jones and he is a veteran of the chicago local music scene and he brings hip-hop to the people and back to its roots by having a really fantastic turning of the lens onto the plight and the struggles of the everyday person and i'm really excited because we have rich jones here rich how are you today i'm doing well thank you great um so kind of let's start back at the beginning how did you first discover music um i mean i lived i grew up in a very musical household so music was very ever-present my parents showed me a lot of things and yeah i almost feel like some of my earliest memories would just be them putting on cassette tapes in the car or at home and you know i think going to the very beginning i feel like specifically i can remember listening to bob marley live on cassette tape with my mom when i was very young and um i like the music a lot but i also and this is timely given given when we're doing this uh this interview i couldn't understand how jacob marley from christmas carol and bob marley weren't related um and um you know my mom's like you know don't focus on that focus on the music so um but yeah so just from a very young age um you know just really was ever-present that's a fabulous story now would you say bob marley is one of your inspirations then uh sure i mean i really like his music a lot i can't do what bob marley does but you know i really like his music and i think in terms of you know really good songwriting and you know kind of catching music and stuff that sticks with you um obviously uh you know i i listened to a lot of his music growing up and i think from from here it's kind of interesting you know how you kind of these entry point artists and you're like wait there's like a whole other universe so um yeah obviously still a big fan but it's been cool to kind of dip off and explore other parts of the genre like dove and you know kind of listening to kind of the more psychedelic or like trivia stuff which i really like nice so um who then are some of your inspirations like if you're gonna throw a record on or a cassette on who are you gonna be listening to um it really just depends on the day and and what i'm trying to get done myself i feel like lately i've been either trying to keep abreast of the projects that my friends are putting out or i'm listening to you know beat packs from people and just trying to live with the music that people won't need to make with them and um so that's you know that can be not necessarily the most interesting answer but it's true um i feel like um yeah i'm honestly very inspired by my friends i have a lot of really talented people in my orbit and i you know i get energized off of what they're doing a lot of the time i mean if we're just talking about artists that have inspired me and that you know i think are part of like a kind of a core kind of listening thing i can i'd say like gangster and guru is big for me uh idon um charisma uh you know and then on kind of the musical side of i know i'm sorry like the band side of things i grew up listening to like the beatles donovan and bob dylan and stevie wonder motown you know all over the place with it and you know i guess if we're going to do a left field uh pick the latin playboys which is a los lobos spinoff group i believe um that was kind of more like they're like psychedelic chicano rock-esque venture and uh they have two really good albums i find myself going back to those a lot too and honestly if we're really talking about it jimmy hendrix electric lady land is like a comfort album for me so i don't know what to put on i definitely put that on that's awesome i love the eclectiveness and it really shows forth in your music i mean you're really um like a chameleon with how you develop your beats and your lyrics and things like that every album has its own like really cool and unique vibe and you just released a couple tracks uh back in october uh called swiss camo and it's really really cool i really really like the song um can you talk a little bit about your approach for writing that track for swiss camo yeah so that that was that's an ep with my friend nate fox and um for that it's funny that that song specifically it came about because i don't know about you but sometimes i wonder why facebook or instagram whoever is advertising what they're advertising to me and like for a while there i was getting a lot of like dead stock like vintage camo and like military stuff and one of the patterns that they had was swiss camo which actually that was the cover actually just like a screenshot just like save it and remember it and then i had my friend kind of stylize it because i thought it looked cool um but yeah so like that that honestly yeah so that came about it's just kind of like you know i i thought the look of it itself was very striking to me i like the combination of the colors and then you know the title itself i also found was kind of cheeky just because like especially in this day and age i think there's a lot to be said for the camouflage of neutrality both in terms of the ways that it's employed uh ways of cowardice and then also ways of being subversive i think it can cut both ways um because everyone has an opinion it's just a question whether they're going to share it with you or not and i think given where we're at in this country i think that there's you know again there's people that are going to keep their mouth shut as our neighbors and our friends and family are taken away and that's going to be swiss camo there's also going to be people that you think are down with the program they're they're doing other stuff and they just don't tell you about it and that's swiss camo so i think it's both uh an encouragement and an indictment in the same breath yeah and that's one thing i really appreciate with your music is you're taking all these horrible things that are happening right now and you're putting it front and center and you're essentially calling people out and saying you know you have to make that choice you have to decide what side you're going to be on so when you go in and you're making your music and everything um is that one of your goals is to get um people educated when they're listening to your music i mean i i i think there's a lot to be said for not being i guess too literal when we're you know like i i hate the concept of of this is a protest song or this is you know it's just when you're when you're putting it on the nose like that i think you lose a lot of the the poetry and magic of it all i think when it comes to where i'm at i mean i spend a lot of time kind of ruminating on everything and whether that's the good the bad you know the ridiculous the profane and i think it's it's finding ways to show how you know everything is kind of connected for lack of a better way of putting it and i think it just so happens that for me that leads to kind of trying to hold up the you know hold up the um the magnifying glass to you know certain inconvenient truths and you know trying to confront some of this stuff but i think at the end of the day it's also as much as it's scary to do that there's hope in that because once you do that you can start moving hopefully in a way that that kind of maybe gets us away from these things or pushes us in a different direction i feel like i saw something the other day that i've been honestly saying at my shows recently i'm just like look like i don't think any of us has the solution but we can all be part of it and you know we all have to do like our little bit to to kind of just like change things and make things better and i think when you look at it that way it becomes far less overwhelming and it's also far less lonely because it's not some weird one person army experience it's like you know we're all kind of in this together and i think that's something that i i really am trying to impress upon people it's like you know the need that the need that we have for each other um you know even even not in this moment of peril you know i think you know quill a chris cavalier and denmark put it on the put it right on the head when they said we don't need each other and i think that's true um so you know i think that that's definitely something i i think a lot about is like human you know the human connection that can't exist and i say on the um i say on on something i'm writing recently you know you ain't gonna see heaven just because you repent and i i you know because i yeah i i i just like that you see a lot of people that want to put a religious symbol on their body to say but i'm but i'm protected and that that is is what allows them to justify whatever awful stuff they're trying to do and it's because because i'm a believer and i just think that's ridiculous i think i think it's really profane and uh it really gets away from uh kind of the whole point of it all um you know the weaponization of uh religion that's something that should be a source of good or can be a source of good advice i should say especially here it's alarming and you have a lot of people that are going to go to best you know quite sound because they're a believer that you know and looking the other way as as we see what is you know we're in the early end right now yeah no that's really powerful now you have two great shows coming up next week one on the 17th and one on the 18th both are at shuba's which is at 3159 north southport up in lakeview uh the 17th year with bruiser wolf and then there's an album release party on the 18th at you and uh tomorrow kings and then death scene the opus for anyone who has never seen uh you live or any of the other acts what can they expect from these shows well so real real quick so the the show on the 18th i've you know those i'm just gonna i'm just hyping it up because it's the next night i'm actually not performing um but but i couldn't resist uh the the carnival parker and he couldn't resist promoting this as a double header just because like you know it's pretty epic that we have my show with bruiser wolf which i think is awesome you know especially like as i'm pushing to see more activity and relations in the region between you know the different cities i feel like folks folks don't leave their areas to go to other places as frequently as they should and that's something i've been pushing pretty hard like guys like we're not that far from each other we need to be seeing each other more frequently and so to see that that was able to happen with me and bruiser like that's just so exciting he's just so amazing i'm such a fan um and then you know the next night then having my big brothers and tomorrow kings and then my brother defsy and then the opus who are incredible i mean it's you know if anything i almost feel like you know that's that's the victory lap for me as i just get to enjoy myself the next night so so come come meet me both nights uh you know definitely definitely pull up both nights um but the second night i'm just going to be uh worshiping at the altar of hip hop and enjoying myself um and enjoying what my friends have made on tomorrow kings you know we we all got our start at this place called the lyricist loft at clinton and lake above uh where st lou's assembly and money gun is on lake street it's just this loft space that uh bi-weekly was having these open mics and you know it it really i consider myself immensely lucky that my first foray into music when i was 18 and you know my first experiences were with such amazing people i you know it's it's awesome to have people that can both mentor you as a person and as an artist and to be fair i was not good i was not good so the fact that they were able to show me such patience and grace and and to just you know stick with me and push me it just i'm immensely grateful and forever grateful for that especially just because you know and there's you know the lesson i got from that is like sometimes maybe somebody doesn't have all the tools then but if they have the desire and the ethic you know you still know where things can go and i think i'm a great example of that you know i think about how nervous i used to get you know just even thinking about rapping but it's the thing i wanted to do and now it's like breathing and and that you know i could be more grateful that i i did that you know and if anything like i feel i feel great about myself because if the goal was to get really good at that thing well i did that at least you know maybe maybe the money part doesn't have to do the same way but whatever like you know i i feel like the it's not just the 10,000 hours the 20,000 hours the 30,000 hours you know it just keeps going and so i um to be able to to say that is also in great part because of the the people that helped push me you know between tomorrow kings and my brother montana max and and you know coming up with def c and everything it's just stuff yeah it's exciting to see everyone so active and making quite critical work and you know i think in a lot of respects getting getting their flowers you know that's not something that's inherently typical for artists from here or you know just artists in general there's so many of us now that are throwing things out into the wind and just hoping something connects and so it's hard to say what will or won't do but you know i again i'm just so immensely grateful that uh that all of us can be be thriving together in this moment that's wonderful and again both shows are happening at shubas up in lakeview uh shubas is at 3159 north southport doors are at 7 30 shows starts at 8 and they're both uh 18 and over show so for more information go to lh-st.com uh rich final question for you how would you rate the current local hip-hop scene here in chicago that's a really great question i'll put it to you like this when i was coming up 20 years ago the the big thing was chicago was called haterville and it's because no one was working with each other really and you know it was kind of also in that time where people were trying to change that narrative and a big part of that was the mole men putting together a multi-label jam at the metro called chicago rocks and you know um at one point it was even multiple nights and they had they had you know one night at the abbey one night at the metro etc it just is they really were making a point to you know i think try to push that the other way and also it was drawing from a lot of different styles as well so you have gangster rappers next to conscious rappers next to backpackers next to you know whatever just insert whatever sub lane you can think of they were you know they were trying to do that and i think that was really important and really special and i think there was starting around the time of chance too with all the extra attention coming to chicago and and all these these feelings of just like extreme possibility i you know i think that was a really beautiful moment i think that moment is over and now we're living in the in the i don't know the wreckage isn't the wrong term but i mean that kind of activity is gone i think the pandemic has a huge part to play in that as well because the the special thing about where things were at before everything shut down is there was such beautiful cross-pollination happening between the genres and people were hanging out like i feel like our diy scene was like inherently bringing different genres together every weekend damn near and like i i i just feel like that was so beautiful and awesome and i feel like hip-hop was super strong because you're showcasing your talents for everybody it's not necessarily just your diehard hardcore rap fan it's people that just want to be entertained and people that want to see good stuff and so i think that that as the standard was really awesome and healthy and i think allowed people to i think have more imagination in terms of like what they might do or what was possible with things opening back up in the last few years one thing i've noticed is a lot of groups kind of went back to their individual lily pads so to speak and i just feel like that things didn't come back together as they were how could that you know what i mean like people have died people have moved venues have closed um you know there's there's all manner of reasons why you know things would have died out anyway even without a pandemic so like i i would say right now we're in process i have a lot of faith in our ability to do really special things um i think there's some artists that are carrying the mantle really well and i think are going to do incredible stuff we're not working together we're not connected in the ways that we should be and you know i think again to make that change you gotta call it out and if this is me doing that it's done with love because i just want to see i want to see everyone everyone everyone everyone And I want to see everyone succeed as much as they're meant to or can. And, you know, I think a big part of that in terms of, you know, not necessarily having this, like, closed off kind of negative competitive energy in the mix is getting people out and getting people to other cities and moving around. And all of a sudden it's maybe not as important to be the most important artist here because you're doing stuff all over the place. You know, I feel like that's been a big part of my model is, like, I'm obviously concerned about where I stand in Chicago to some extent.
But, like, when it's all said and done at this point, like, I'm a national artist to a degree. And that allows me to not feel the same pressures or angst that one might feel when your whole world is just one place. And so, you know, I'm encouraging people to get out and see some new things, go to some new places, make some new friends. And as, on my end, both as a performer and promoter, because, you know, we show you stuff from AirCredits and I, we just rebooted our showcase series, Dream Blunt Rotation, which, like, if we're doing it right, every single time is going to feature artists from out of state.
And who knows, we're out of the country. But, like, the whole point is we're doing our part to kind of jog that back again. And, like, again, from the multi-genre standpoint, you know, I go to all sorts of shows. So if I'm going to find a way to, like, create a captive-like situation where everyone's going to have to be in a room together and enjoy being awesome and so be it, that sounds fun.
Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah, so I started to take what should be a simple answer and draw it out. But, yeah, I really think we're in process. I think that once we start locking in or at least, I think, start getting out of our comfort zones more frequently and supporting each other, I think things could go a long way.
But I also think, you know, to my earlier point of why things, I think, we're moving a certain way and more fun, I think it's how are we finding or cultivating rooms where the standard is just being good, kind of regardless of what you do. Like, one thing I like, I don't necessarily have to like what an artist is doing on stage to appreciate what they're doing, especially if they can commit. If they can commit and go hard and, like, it's very obvious that they care about what they're doing, I'll give it to them because there's just obvious passion there. And, you know, hard could also be, you know, they could be a very gentle presence and just the fact that they're able to get lost in that world with themselves and present that way, you know, that's super important and special, too.
So I just, I really, I'm easy in that way. I can be a bit hard on this, but I really do try to put myself in the shoes of the people that I'm listening to or observing and think about what they're doing. And especially just as a listener, you know, I want to hear different things because that's the beautiful thing about hip-hop is you take any genre and can make it hip-hop or have it inform your practice as need be. And I think that's where sampling is, like, extra cool.
It's just, like, kind of, like, making something new out of something old and getting folks excited about that and kind of hopefully sparking their interest in maybe trying to go back and rediscover some new stuff. Yeah, no, absolutely. And I really appreciate just, like, the whole focus on, like, building up that community and everything and giving people the space to be their authentic self and working together. Because ultimately, at the end of the day, we're all in this together, and we all want to appreciate the music and the art.
And not everything's going to speak to us the way it may speak to someone else. So learning how to appreciate that. No, I really appreciate that response. Thank you.
Rich, if people want to follow you on social media, where can they go and check you out? You can find me at richjones__music, which is my Instagram. And then, for now, I'm on X, I guess, until they turn out the lights on Twitter. So Jones So Ruthless.
And then, yeah, if you just look up Rich Jones' music, I should pop up real nice. But more importantly, look for me out in the world, man, the Internet ain't everything. And I think likes don't pay the bills. So let's get in person and let's get to know each other.
You know, I'd rather that than you just being an armchair fan. No, I appreciate that. Rich Jones, thank you so much for spending some time with us here on 773 Sounds. Thank you so much for having me.
Thank you for listening to this WXAV 773 Sounds podcast. For more information on 773 Sounds, please visit our website, WXAV.com.