Have you heard The Strange Passenger? Best get on this fresh piece of hip hop by Horton the Irrelevant and August the Creep.

The following is an exclusive interview with Horton and August, the new titans of the Midwest hip-hop underground. If you're in Madison, WI, find them for a live show, and while you read, listen to their album.

Individually, where are you guys from and how did you become interested in making music? More specifically, how did you get interested in doing hip hop?

August: Not to come across as something I'm not... but my love for hip hop was most definitely shaped by the early 90's New York City scene. Not that I was really a part of it or anything, but the shit that was coming out at that time just seemed to grab me by the throat. I remember walking to school in the city, listening to Midnight Marauders until I had memorized every last word (I used to take Q-Tip's verses and throw my name into every other line... it was weird). When I moved out of New York, I felt like the music I had grown up with was something that I could really take with me, and that hasn't changed since. Eventually, the love for this shit became so ridiculous that the only option I had was to start doing it myself.

Horton: The Midwest (Madison, WI), the region home to some of the best and most original hip-hop that never gets the proper acknowledgment. I was born into a love of music, all music. Music was a big thing in my family. Naturally, as I grew with it I wanted to make it myself. At first I just played around with it for fun, self taught shit, just playing with beat production and freestylin'. Then I started getting confident with it and started realizing that I could really do this shit for real.

The Author (

)

What were you doing musically before Horton the Irrelevant and August the Creep?

August: The first real "organized" thing I ever did was in 7th grade, with three middle school kids in Connecticut. As you can guess, that shit was amazing. I think we stole the beats from Mobb Deep and Brand Nubian, and the lyrics from Buckshot or something. Anyways, me and one other kid from that group split off, and actually did something for a while. We had a group called "Sons of Belial" that got about as big as any Greenwich, CT High School rap group could get... meaning our friends dug our shit. We did like 3 albums before changing the name to He's Hers, and for the most part I have a lot of pride in what we were able to do. Two years ago, in New Orleans, that whole collaboration ended... which is when I decided to 1. concentrate only on producing, and 2. find a rapper who more than 10 people wanted to hear on a given night. Things are working out on both ends.

Horton: Making solo shit, producing and rapping. Some of the most fun shit was before that, years back when we were kids. It was playing whatever song, turning the bass way up and turning the treble way down so that you couldn't really hear the lyrics, then freestylin' over that shit. That's where I built my confidence, that's where I found my style. That was music to me. Oh, and 7th grade chorus, killing 'em before my voice dropped about 8 octaves.

Megaman (

)

Can you guide us through your creative process? How did this record come to be?

August: I would say, for the most part, that the beats come first. When I finish a beat, I'll usually pass it to Horton and then he'll disappear for two days. When I see him again, I know that it's time to hit the studio. The only little story I'll tell here is of the first track we ever did together. I hadn't seen Horton in like three years (since Arizona)... and hadn't really spoken to him either. I had heard from a mutual friend that he had gotten into writing and producing. At first, I really had no idea what to expect... but by the time I had gotten through the 4 tracks on his myspace page, I knew that I had to get involved. Eventually, I found him on instant messenger, and while we were catching up on the past three years, I just happened to be finishing up a beat in my basement. On a whim, I sent him the beat... and literally the next day he sent me back Sleeping With Strangers (

). Needless to say, that was all I needed to hear. Six months later I was in Madison, and we were doing this with our lives.

What I Know (

)

Strange Passengers is fresh because it has remarkable range. The album presents an extensive mix of styles so that there's something new to hear every time you listen. How do you reconcile having disparate tracks like June, July, and... (

), 3 Headed w/ Kalo (

Buy Song

 

), Dude w/ Blue Ox (

Buy Song

 

), and June, July and Isabel Garcia (

Buy Song

 

) on the same album?

August: Every artist/group says this shit, but... we're just trying to incorporate all the things that influenced us as kids growing up with this music. You wouldn't know it by the music I listen to now, but I used to love Ice Cube. I used to wear the Lethal Injection t-shirt to school, and was once told by the principal to turn it inside out because they didn't want me promoting the "guy who made the cop-killer song." The fact that Ice T made that song (and not Ice Cube) didn't really seem to matter. Anyways, the beat for "June, July, and..." was my tribute to the Ice Cube that I knew as a kid. He always used to give me my summer anthems... so I thought I'd try to make one myself. "June, July, and Isabel Garcia" (the last track on our album) is definitely one that I hold close. I made the beat a couple years ago, back when I really into jazz records and trippy shit. I never thought there would be lyrics on it... nor did I want lyrics on it, until I heard what Horton had done with it when I was out of town for a week. It was like having the best beat that I had ever made brought to an entirely new level, and I am eternally grateful to Horton for that.

Horton: I get bored with an album with 15 tracks that all sound the same. I don't want our shit to be like that. I like so many different styles of hip-hop, of music in general. If I was gonna rap the same way on every track then what's the point in ever making another song? I don't care if we make a song singing in Arabic if we like that shit it's going on the album, right after the track I rap double time on.

The Why (

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I hear that performing is really important to you guys. Why is that? What do you guys get out of live shows?

Horton: I love doing shows, love it. The energy I get from them is crazy, the energy I put into them is crazy. Whether it's a 60 minute set, or 20, by the end I'm dripping sweat and my voice is gone. I like to touch the crowd, stage dives find their place in almost every show. The live show is so important, especially to less known acts. See, even if someone doesn't know your music, if you're up on stage doing some wild shit, they're gonna watch and listen. Besides a show is a "show," it's not someone listening to your shit in headphones... We put on a show.

How's the hip hop scene in Madison? Is it a good place for you guys to be coming up?

Horton: Man, sometimes it's good sometimes it's bad. It's full of young people who love hip-hop so that helps. A few years ago it was great. A friend, Josh Williams, along with many predecessors, ran the student organization Hip Hop Generation for the University of Wisconsin. That group over the years brought in a lot of acts and did a lot of good for hip-hop here. It put up a good positive image for hip-hop. Recently, violence has unfairly fucked us in the this community. Let me explain something. If two kids get in a fight outside any average bar then the two kids are responsible. However, anytime two kids get in a fight outside a hip-hop show then somehow hip-hop's responsible. Then hip-hop suffers. There are only a few venues left in Madison that will still have hip-hop shows, it's sad to see. On a positive note, the artists are still here and so are the fans.

Save the Brunettes (

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Any last words, thoughts, shout-outs?

August: I just wanna say Rest in Peace to Bodie... gone but never forgotten. This album's for you man.

Horton: Support your local artists whoever they are. We're all broke. If you're broke to, burn that shit. Support it by listening...spreading the word. We always love to hear from you all as well, so hit us up on www.myspace.com/hortontheirrelevant, www.amiestreet.com, and www.settingworldrecords.com.