#38 - Adé Hakim INTERVIEW

(Go to 0:55 to skip the intro)

This is a podcast on hip-hop... a genre of musical expression that has always been intertwined with the culture and politics that surround it. Therefore, understanding the artists that make the music, naturally means diving into their thoughts and opinions both directly, and indirectly related to their music.

So with Adé Hakim in Episode 38, this is certainly one of those times when the conversation went deep into some topics that some may find uncomfortable and politically-charged. Although I personally disagree with Adé on a lot of the political topics we discuss, I hope you appreciate Adé and I having a raw and honest conversation... even if our lack of agreement on the facts prove to be irreconcilable in some cases. 

Adé is a hip-hop artist that has made a significant impact on the underground hip-hop landscape over the past half-decade, through his work with New York's sLUms collective, his own solo work, and some famous production credits on albums such as Earl Sweatshirt's Some Rap Songs.

We first discussed his beginnings as an artist (6:07), and Adé's remarkably distinct production style (20:00). 

Next, we talked about how Kanye West played a part in inspiring Adé, along with Kanye's much-maligned "slavery was a choice" comments from 2018 (25:33).

Adé then spoke on the influence he had on the current underground scene in hip-hop (38:15).

We spoke about Adé's work with Earl Sweatshirt on Some Rap Songs, and what independent artists can learn from the unfortunate label issues he encountered during that experience (42:52).

Fast-forwarding to 2020, we talk about the creation of The Walk Off, and how the creation process differed from his previous album, HAPPIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WIDE WEB (1:00:35).

Next, we discuss Adé's views on the protests that stemmed from the murder of George Floyd in 2020 (1:09:41).

We transitioned to talk about Adé's stance on COVID-19 and our differing conceptions of reality began to crystallize (1:24:57), along with the controversial summer show Adé held in 2020 (1:28:40).

Moving back to The Walk Off, we talk about how the lyrical approach to messaging on this album was more aggressive and urgent than Adé's previous work (1:53:56).

Lastly, Adé shows us a sneak peek at a song candidate for his upcoming EP (2:13:05).  

Stream/Buy The Walk Off here: https://6press.bandcamp.com/album/the-walk-off

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