Interviews
A collection of interviews and Q&As published between 2005 and 2024.
- Chill Mac Interview ()
Chill Mac has had a prolific output over the past ten months, following up last summer’s AKA Chill Mac EP with his new full-length release titled None Chiller. Dropping in April, the album’s 12 tracks cover a wide swath of hip-hop, while regularly leaning in on a slowed, pitched-down style that’d fit well within the […]
- Bryon Dudley Interview ()
Bryon Dudley is a man of many talents and he’s applied them in myriad ways relating to the state’s music scene over the past couple decades. In no particular order: He’s a musician, playing and releasing music with a wide range of acts including Strong Like Bear; he’s the owner/operator of a recording studio called […]
- Geneviève Salamone Interview ()
Listen to the villin podcast via… Geneviève Salamone bills herself as “The One Woman Symphony,” but even that could be a limiting description when compared to the true reach of her artistic vision. Releasing her debut solo album, Catharsis, a few years ago, she has taken that work and transformed it into a sprawling multimedia […]
- Nasty Collective Interview ()
Making a Scene is an ongoing feature focused around discussions on the Iowa music scene. For this edition, Miguel of the Nasty Collective tapped in to give some background on his work and the local scene where he’s at in Sioux City. Focusing primarily on video production in western Iowa, Miguel has created music videos for […]
- Lennie Quest Interview ()
In some ways, Lennie Quest is the product of a small Midwestern town, while in others the culmination of a lifetime of experience from a globetrotting traveler. The name itself is the moniker of Dalton Krum, who adopted it to produce his pop-inspired rap over the past several years, but the music which followed hasn’t […]
- Traevfx on “328ix” (Singled Out) ()
Singled Out is a feature focusing on the stories behind a song as told by the artists who made it. This edition finds Traevfx discussing the video he directed for the track “328ix” by lui*. Based in Cedar Rapids, Trae ventured to Des Moines for the shoot, which took an unexpected turn when it was […]
- Oliver Young Interview ()
Making a Scen is a new feature focused around discussions about the Iowa music scene. The inaugural edition features an exchange with Oliver Young, who publishes the Iowa Outcast Zine, which is a self-released zine that “document[s] the Iowan punk and metal scenes,” covering the “oddball goofy bands, the serious ones, and the angrily militant […]
- Husoul Interview ()
Listen to the villin podcast via… Husoul is a Des Moines-based drum and bass musician. In this edition of the villin podcast he discusses how he has transitioned from a rapper/producer to a gamer to where he’s currently at, music’s influence on and relationship to mental health, and the ability to find identity and individuality […]
- Imma Interview ()
Listen to the villin podcast via… Imma is a Des Moines-based MC and he just released a new EP titled GOOD. In this discussion we spoke about the release and the influences that contributed to its sound. One such genre that swayed its direction is R&B from the ’90s and 2000s and as we continued, […]
- Annie Kemble Interview ()
Listen to the villin podcast via… Annie Kemble is a Des Moines-based singer, songwriter and musician who just released her seven track debut titled Dive Bar. In our discussion we talked about a sort of dual nature inherent in the release, as it’s simultaneously autobiographical while bearing aspects of a performative persona. Annie also discussed […]
- Zachary Lint (aka Coolzey) Interview ()
Listen to the villin podcast via… Zachary Lint is a multi-medium creator from Fairfield, Iowa, widely known for his music recorded and released as Coolzey. In our conversation we talked about his musical history, including the two albums he’s released this year, but also his new short film called Burlington Paranormal. The horror comedy is […]
- That Honorroll KID Interview ()
Listen to the villin podcast via… That Honorroll KID is an MC based in Des Moines who just released a new album titled Peace God. In our conversation we discussed how the 18 track full-length differs from past work, including the Phase 2 EP which he dropped earlier this year with 1400slim. We also touched […]
- 20 Years Awesome ()
“Music was everything,” said Rick Noggle from behind the counter of his vintage store, 20 Years Awesome, located in downtown Cedar Rapids. “Work was not relevant. Money was not relevant.” Writing, recording and performing under the name imperfekt for roughly two decades, music was Noggle’s main focus—his baby, even—until he had an actual child. Then his world […]
- Chris Jones Interview ()
Listen to the villin podcast via… Chris Jones is an MC and producer based in Des Moines, Iowa and he just released his debut album titled Unplugged. In our discussion we exchanged thoughts on social media, finding personal meaning in the creation of art, the branding of self, and a story of self-sabotage revolving around […]
- Gifo Interview ()
Listen to the villin podcast via… Gifo is a rapper based in Sioux City, Iowa and his new release, Hell Bound, is out now. In our discussion we connected on ideas around creative growth, the Hometown Heroes collective, Latino and Hispanic representation, and “Tears,” which is one of seven new tracks on the EP. villin: The […]
- Please Yourself ()
December 2017… There was a little voice inside me saying, “Don’t do that because, really, who the fuck are you, anyways?” but in August I sent Ron Gallo an email asking for an interview. “Aside from your music,” I wrote him, “I’m really interested in talking about some philosophical ideas… for instance, I’d read (or […]
- FJØRA Interview ()
Born in Canada and now stationed in New York City, FJØRA isn’t a traditional “Nashville artist,” despite the roots of her debut release being firmly planted in the city’s musical landscape. Having moved to Nashville to attend Belmont, she expanded her presence in the city’s scene following her graduation last year, establishing herself within an […]
- Jon Santana ()
“I used to get kind of stressed about my age,” says Jon Santana, sitting outside Steadfast Coffee in Germantown, reflecting in between sips of a coffee soda. “Especially when I was twenty-one [or] twenty-two. I was like, ‘Zedd’s twenty-three – I got two more years! I gotta make it!’” But that sense of artistic dread […]
- Magnetic Forces ()
“Lots of people think they’re thriving, and all they’re doing is surviving,” reflected Aaron McNutt (aka MC Nutts), speaking of his rhymes on Magnetic Forces’s “VITAL VINYL.” “And I’ve been there, so I recognize that.” The meaning behind McNutt’s personal favorite from the duo’s new album, The Vision on Multiple Occasions ÷x+-, eclipses his prescribed […]
- Kevin Kendall ()
“I always half-assed doing something in those first seven years,” says Kevin Kendall, reflecting on his time in Nashville prior to relocating to South Western Mexico in 2014. “The Mexico thing was me deciding to do something different, and I wasn’t sure if I was coming back here or not.” Having moved to Nashville from […]
- Taking it Slow ()
“It was a big blessing in disguise.” Early in 2012, six songs that had been recorded for Penicillin Baby’s debut LP were mistakenly deleted. Someone got ahead of themselves at the studio and in an attempt to clear up some hard drive space, wiped the session without double-checking to make sure it’d been backed up. […]
- Identity Control ()
“The old me and the new me are in a fist fight!” As howled in PUJOL’s “Manufactured Crisis Control,” the lyrics help paint an obvious scene of conflict, revealing an individual struggling for an objective view while commentating on an overbearing I against I scenario. While the new album, KLUDGE, “idiosyncratically captures life as it […]
- Day Old Bred ()
“Everyone’s in it to make music, not to make money.” There’s nothing new about musicians giving their work away for free, forfeiting track or album sales to encourage future gains. Free downloads hypothetically attract more fans to listen, encouraging increased attention and exposure, and potentially leading to performance income or merch sales. The formula isn’t […]
- Zion I Interview ()
MC, writer, and father, veteran MC Zumbi (of west coast hip-hop stalwarts Zion I) is also a self-professed free-thinking tai chi fanatic. Somewhere within this web of persona is a balance between the family, spiritual and physical self that developing MCs would do well to emulate. Without disregarding each important layer that speaks to who […]
- Mac L’s “Raw Material” ()
It was just about 10 months ago that I first met Mac L. In a number of ways the cocksure MC served as my introduction to a side of Nashville that I didn’t know much about when first moving here, and certainly a sector that isn’t entirely visible unless you’re actively looking for it: the […]
- Wugazi Interview ()
It has been less than three weeks since Wugazi first reared its head on the Internet, the Fugazi/Wu-Tang Clan mashup project debuting in the form of the “I’m So Tired”/”C.R.E.A.M.” bootleg “Sleep Rules Everything Around Me” (which has since seen 135k Soundcloud plays). Though its creators were initially silent, the project was eventually pinned to Twin Cities artists Cecil Otter (Doomtree) and Swiss Andy (the Millionth Word, […]
- William Tyler Interview ()
Last year’s release from Nashville’s William Tyler, Behold the Spirit, conjures immediate feelings of warmth. Without a rough edge in sight, the recording serves as one massive gallery, each track standing as a unique showcase for a thought, style, or emotion. Much of the power of the album comes as a result of the years […]
- Doug Stanhope Interview ()
It’s hard to know where exactly to start in terms of introducing Doug Stanhope. With two decades of flight time already logged in his career as a stand-up comedian, the man’s long since established his voice amongst the infinitely vast sea of artists in the medium. Yet while Nashville Standup calls him one of “the […]
- Classic Williams Interview ()
Having just recently dropped his #SMH mixtape last month, Nashville’s Classic Williams is now inching his way closer to the release of his full length debut, Epic Win. Serving as an introduction to the MC, #SMH includes a wide range of genres reaching all the way from club-focused dance to no fuss hip hop. It’s […]
- Talib Kweli Interview ()
At the age of 36 Talib Kweli is moving into an interesting stage of his career. In the wake of 2007′s Eardrum he reopened the books on Reflection Eternal with Hi-Tek, hitting the road as part of the Rock the Bells tour before eventually releasing Revolutions per Minute last year. Now once again claiming independence […]