I recently was introduced to Freddy Guwap, an upcoming local West Philadelphia rap artist who has received some big-name cosigns in the music industry. We got a chance to catch up and discuss where he’s coming from.
What’s up man – how are you, and what are you up to right now?
Wassup fam I’m doing good, maintaining my work.
How old are you, and what part of Philadelphia are you from?
I’m an 18yr old artist born in Brooklyn, raised in West Philly 61st and Jefferson.
What kind of role does your music play in your life right now?
Music plays a big role in my life, keeps me out of trouble and it’s always been a dream to inspire others with my craft.
What kind of music/rap did you listen to growing up?
Growing up I listened to artists such as Soulja Boy and Chief Keef. It’s many other artists I listened to, but I don’t have a specific genre, it’s whatever that gets my attention.
What made you want to be a rapper?
What made me want to rap truthfully was my childhood friend Joshua who passed away a few years ago. Every day at lunch from 2nd grade to the beginning of high school they put me on the spot to rap, as he made beats on the lunchroom tables. It helped me get better and it’s a big part of how I make my music and why I choose beats with a lot of hard bass. I also had a friend named Tamir who passed away during middle school that was already into making music in the studio. Honestly, he inspired me to go to the studio because if it wasn’t for him being the only 7th grader in the studio, I probably wouldn’t have taken action to go and record. But after he passed, I took music more seriously.
How would you describe your style?
My style is indescribable it’s just Wapstar shit, ain’t no telling what I’m gonna record.
Young M.A. recently cosigned you, how did that come about, and how does it feel having the support of one of the biggest female rap artists out there?
The Young M.A co-sign came through my team, my manager and most importantly my music and work ethic. It feels good to have an inspiration like the Queen showing love. I’ve had many people show me love in the industry such as Slim Jimmi from Rae Sremmurd, YBN Nahmir, PnB Rock and Loso Loaded, that’s why I know it was destined for me to make it in music. But M.A. was actually genuine, it’s a few more who are too but not everybody is going to like you for your music, it’s about if you have a fan base behind you.
She was into your new track Da Skeechie, it’s been gaining some traction.
Da Skeechie is the hottest song out, video shot by ShuggC the hardest videographer, you’re gonna hear a lot more about him too.
What can we expect in terms of the future? What kind of goals do you have for 2019?
I don’t know what the future holds but expect success. My goal for 2k19 is just to have an even better work ethic than I do right now, the more I work the more I’m going to see progress.
Any shout-outs?
I wanna shout out my family, my supporters and everyone on my team.
Thanks Freddy, appreciate your time, looking forward to what you got coming.
I’m looking forward to what I have coming too, we don’t know what else is in store. Thanks for your time.
The White Bronco Tour rode its way to an overwhelmingly warm welcome at Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia last Saturday. Action Bronson: rap artist, chef, painter, tv personality and author who released the album White Bronco last November, brought along his long-time friend and fellow rapper Meyhem Lauren, and the legend Roc Marciano for a tundra-flurry of raps. At the merch booth, there were Blue Chips 7000 tapes available along with t-shirts, hoodies and physicals of White Bronco, along with limited edition prints of Bronson’s paintings selling for $100. The show’s audience grew slowly as the show went on, behind each puff of smoke arrived more people until Action took the stage and the venue was packed floor to ceiling.
Meyhem Lauren, co-host of Action Bronson’s Viceland show Fuck, that’s delicious opened with a heavy 30-minute set, performing largely songs from the 2017 DJ Muggs collaborative album: Gems from The Equinox. Although in moments the crowd became lost during some of Muggs’s rawer production, they were brought back into form as Meyhem splintered off into some beat-free verses, flexing his rap muscles. He also debuted a song off of a brand-new Alchemist collaboration entitled Still Playing Celo. His performance was remnant of an opener but exceeded all barriers of talent that accompany that term.
“What’s poppin’ pidgeon
Feed ’em with dollar bills
But never give ’em wisdom
Being exhausted keeps the bezel frosted
Lost it. My mind that is, Braun Aromatic couldn’t have a grind like this”
-Meyhem Lauren
Shortly after Mayhem left the stage, Roc Marciano strolled to the forefront, Hennessey bottle in hand and his team behind him. He sipped his bottle before blessing the crowd with a sturdy, head-on-my-shoulders continuum of bars. He spat verses from a plethora of albums, more notably Rosebudd’s Revenge, RR2: The Bitter Dose and his own DJ Muggs collaborative album KAOS. Almost the same way that Marciano is able to switch his flow from rugged to flush, he handed off his Hennessey for a Fiji bottle in-between songs. Roc’s fans were in the crowd strong, some of which leaving immediately after his performance, solidifying his role as a co-headliner on this tour. For those who know Roc Marciano, seeing him perform is a wild sight, yet his comfort onstage was undeniable and his demeanor was true to his word.
“like a bum eatin’ out the dump, I’m the illest out the bunch. The butterfly was a caterpillar once. Son, if it’s love, then why bring it up like a grudge?
…blood drunk but, nah, I ain’t spiked the punch”-Roc Marciano
Once Roc Marciano had eaten his proverbial fill, Action Bronson “The Human Highlight Reel” took to the stage slowly, with a fist raised high and a stern look that emphasized his role as the main attraction. His entrance to the stage brought with it an applause that matched the volume of the amps I was fortunate enough to be next to. Shortly into his set it was clear Action had blown out his vocal chords slightly, and was experiencing the occasional voice crack on his higher notes. Either due to luck or his abilities, he was still able to produce an awe-inspiring performance, at one point being resourceful enough to do a cover of Biz Markie’s classic raspy voiced single Just a Friend. He continued effortlessly through the new album, tracks like Irishman Freestyle and Prince Charming were only elevated by Bronson’s live delivery and aerobatic ambience. Midway through his set, in memorial to the late Mac Miller, Action took a moment to perform the song Red Dot Music off of Miller’s Watching Movies with the Sound Off, which played out as a somber yet empowering service to his past collaborator and friend. For those who are in the know, the one and only Big Body Bes made a short appearance during Action’s set only to receive an encore in which he returned the stage yelling, “GOD BLESS, WHO ELSE? PHILLY WE OUT HERE!”. Action finished his set with an encore as well, performing a brand-new song with a lackadaisical flow and guitar strum layered production, it seemed like a well-fitted bonus track off of White Bronco. Action Bronson’s larger than life personality was humbled during his performance and he made sure to show love to the fans that had been with him for the long haul.
The White Bronco Tour is coming to a city near you and I suggest you get those tickets before they’re gone. No lack of substance, no Auto-Tone or background vocals, real hip-hop shared between the artist and the individual.
“Understand I’m only rhyming for this son of mine
And so my daughter can be a lawyer and reap the spoils
We ate the tuna, it’s suede puma, my look is Jay Buhner
Dawgie cause some of us just age sooner
I’m still twisted, rocking lizards from a strange river
Forbidden jungle in the joint paper, point shaver
Check the bio, I fixed the game between Kentucky and Miami of Ohio
I been wild” -Action Bronson
Before Clipping.’s Union Transfer gig with Shabazz Palaces last week, the LA-based trio came into the studio for a live session with us. The monster set includes seven songs separated into two tracks on our bandcamp site.
The session will be available to download for one week, and will stay streaming afterwards. Listen below!
Matthew Law FKA DJ PHSH is a man that really shouldn’t need an introduction.
He’s rocked pretty much every spot in Philly, and has been moving asses in clubs before he was even allowed to drink. He was the tour DJ for Dave Chappelle’s Oddball Comedy Tour, the Northeast champion of the 2013 Red Bull 3Style Contest, and has spun numerous highly acclaimed gigs including LA’s the Do-Over and Low End Theory.
Matthew Law on the 1’s and 2’s at his July Friends and Fam party, as WKDU’s own DJ Lil’ Dave vibes out. Photo cred: Tim Blackwell, Shots Fired
It seems like forever ago that I sat down with Matt, and since then, he’s recorded the official Roots Picnic Mixtape and opened up the annual PSK event for J. Rocc, Rich Medina, Cosmo Baker, Cash Money, and Questlove – amongst his normal crazy schedule.
Peep his dope set from PSK, and read our chat to get hype for his 3rd annual PHSH TANK Block Party this weekend.
ML: I’m Matthew Law – you might know me from before as DJ PHSH. I’m a DJ, producer, vision guy – I have a lot of ideas.
CB: What were your first musical memories?
ML: My parents had a theatre company together, up until I was 14. I grew up with that, and also played violin for six years.
Growing up in West Philly in the 90s, the hip hop and alternative rock stuff was really poppin, so I remember that. My Dad liked the modern rock too, so we’d go on drives and listen to Y100 or WMMR and joke around. I still remember being like 7, and listening to Pearl Jam and making fun of Eddie Vedder with all the aaayyyyy-eee-yayy-yuhhh’s.
CB: Y100, RIP! I remember them making fun of Creed also.
ML: Oh Y100 would rag on Creed so hard.
It’s a weird segway – but I remember there being such a weird feeling of race separation once I started hearing Beastie Boys and Eminem on Y100, but not any other rap. I was like, “Oh so I guess if they’re white guys it’s OK for them to be on Y100?” I thought that was really strange, and even at 12, I boycotted them for like two months. My first concert was at Veterans Stadium with Dave Matthews Band, The Roots, and Santana. I was 10, and I came for Dave Matthews Band. I had no idea who The Roots were.
I don’t have any older siblings, so when it came to hip hop, the reason I probably attached to it so much, besides a few key people, was that I really had to discover it on my own, and make it my own.
CB: So how’d you get into DJing, and what was your first set up like?
ML: I saw Scratch, the documentary, and I was like, that’s what I wanna do, I wanna try it out. I didn’t really have anybody to show me anything up until I met Illvibe Collective. It was just watching Scratch over and over again.
It’s funny because on the special edition of it, Z-Trip gave a 20 minute tutorial on how to be a DJ for the most part. Last year, I was DJing at Output with Rich Medina, Questlove, and Z-Trip, and I was like, “Yo, you were my first DJ teacher!”
My first set up was the Stanton STR 880 DJ in a box. The first pair of turntables I saw in person was from this kid I went to Hebrew school with, he got those for his Bar Mitzvah. His Bar Mitzvah was after mine, and when I saw his, I was like, “Man, I shouldn’t have gotten a guitar!”
Two generations of amazing West Philly artists unite – Matthew Law, King Britt, and Questlove. Photo from @djphsh Instagram
CB: How did you start to build up a name for yourself in Philly and beyond?
ML: I started DJing the Gathering, the longest running hip hop event in Philadelphia. When I was 18, I had my first consistent gig in a club at Medusa Lounge on Tuesdays. I didn’t try to drink, and I think I got a way with a lot of stuff because I knew I was there to work. I wasn’t there to party – I was there to make the party happen.
Then in 2009, everything blew up with my first party, Superdope. Nose Go, Yis Goodwin, had a magazine called McJawn with Gwen Vo, and Leah Kauffman had just started the blog Phrequency. Sammy Slice had his party Mo Money Mo Problems, and while we were somewhat in competition, as far as the kids that were our age, we all were working together in some way.
I started Superdope when I was 20, still not drinking, and on my 21st birthday, there was a thunderstorm. I thought nobody was gonna come out, and we had over 350 people that night.
CB: How was Low End Theory when you spun out there?
ML: Low End Theory was great. It was the first time in a while that I understood that a large crowd of people might not be there to dance, cuz it’s beat heads. So they’re just looking at you like, yeah, you might hear a ‘wooh’.
CB: Let’s talk about the Matthew Law name change.
ML: My full name is Matthew Lawrence Fishman-Dickerson. I came up with DJ PHSH in 10th grade chemistry – I just needed a name. I’m producing now, and I don’t want people to get the wrong idea about what I’m capable of, so that’s why I’m going with Matthew Law.
Plus, a lot of my mentors go by their names, Statik is now Mr. Sonny James, King Britt’s real name is King Britt, Rich Medina’s real name is Rich Medina, and I thought I’d get on the bus.
CB: Tell us what to expect from your new EP.
ML: I’m currently working on it. It’s a storytelling record. Originally it was like oh I’m breaking up from DJ PHSH, but it ended up being like oh I’m breaking up with a girl and then going into a new relationship, new girl. Each track is it’s own thing – it’s a score to my own short film in my mind. I just got a bass player on it, there’s some funky samples and modern funk electronics, and a slow jam with a really ill guitar solo from Joe Jordan.
CB: Favorite closing track:
ML: Between two records.
I’m always the first one there and last one to leave, somebody better be going home with something.
It was sampled for SWV’s – The Rain.
*editor’s note – I linked to the live version of this song because it’s the shit*
CB: What’s something interesting about you outside of music?
ML: I grew up watching a lot of anime. Not like oh Pokemon’s on, Dragonball Z’s on – no, I watched Akira in a dark room by myself when I was 11. I saw Ninja Scroll when I was 9. I think it’s really funny when people try to rag on anime and act like that shit’s for nerds – it was the foundation for your entire childhood! All those cartoons you used to watch were outsourced to Asia, stop bullshitting. Do not front. I take the strongest approach possible when it comes to defending watching good anime.
