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  Lushlife Interview
interview 0349 added 17.11.05 words: Nikesh
technical:
QED
Lushlife, MC, producer, bootlegger, pond-hopping American on UK label. Quite a few strings to his bow. You’d be forgiven for only knowing him for his mash-up/bootleg of Kanye West’s “College Dropout” over beats compiled from “Pet Sounds” by the Beach Boys, Grey Album-style. It seems like his album, “Order of Operations” out on Scenario, kinda just crept into the pile of records on my desk with quite a muted delivery. But on listening to it, you hear gorgeous textured autumnal jazzy hip-hop, definitely in the vein of “golden age” hip-hop. It’s a really nice listen and Lushlife’s skills as a producer are definitely evident. There is clever sampling of jazz records, nice swinging drum patterns and excellent piano flourishes. And then there’s the rhyming. He definitely has a nice listenable voice that sits well in the mix, exuding confidence. This is a wicked little album and deserves your attention, even if the bootleg/mash-up Lush is known for isn’t your cup of hot cocoa.
Nikesh caught up with the US multi-tasker over an e-mail session, and he tried to gain an insight into a Lush life… (argh, puns…)
Introduce yourself to ukhh.com and tell us the lushest thing about your life?
Hello. I’m the double L, Lushlife. I guess everyone’s just getting to know me. Well in short I like making rap songs, cooking, and staying faded. On a serious tip, my life is lush because of my perception. I still get excited about things. That’s the key. Like, I’m in the studio right now, and this shit is still as fun for me as it was the first time. That’s how I stay lush, man.
You have a formidable musical history. Tell us what got you into music, what the first instrument you learnt was and how you progressed into hiphop?
I honestly can’t even recall a life without music. I mean even before formal piano lessons and buying records, pop music was something that I paid a lot of attention to. But things really started coming together in the late 80s; I was around eight or nine years old, and my older brother was turning me onto a lot of shit that I started to really hold dear and consider my own. Mostly like The Smiths, The Pixies… a lot of borderline Indie Rock. That’s when I started to feel like I owned the music I liked, and that I was in on a secret. That’s always been important to me; the feeling that you’re intimately connected to the musicians you dig. Hip-Hop wise, though, I fell in love with the shit from the early 90s. I guess it isn’t so hip to not be oldest-school, youknowhatimsaying, but even now, I can feel a stark difference in terms of how the lush arrangements of the ninety-two, ninety-three stuff moved me as opposed to the minimalist late 80s rap records.
“...I was looking to create an album that’s really listenable from beginning to end. Something cohesive that tallies a range of emotions and musical ideas...”
Your hiphop sound is very jazzy and very mid 90's East Coast. Would you say this was your favourite era in hiphop? What are your memories of listening to hiphop at that time?
 It’s probably fair to say that the 90s was and still is the loveliest time for me. Don’t get it twisted though, I really think that musical genres are living, breathing entities, and there’s something to feel from every period. I think the 90s was the time for me because that’s when I was a pre-teen/teenager and I think we all romanticise that time in our lives. That era is also pretty resonant in my mind because I felt part of that NY/Brick City movement. Even just as a hip-hop fan, youknowhatimsayin, I felt part of something.
You are an MC/Producer... how difficult is it to make sure one doesn't suffer at the hands of the other? Who is your favourite MC/Producer?
That’s actually something that I’ve been thinking about a lot. You know, like what if I were to a do a record where I was only rhyming and other cats did the production… It’s really difficult for me to think on those terms. I’ve done cameos and tracks over other people’s beats, but at this stage my instrumentals, my rhymes, and the overarching feeling of an album are all intertwined. I can’t really say if one suffers without the other; I just feel at this point, that Lush the em-cee can’t really exist without Lush the producer. Did those Artifacts dudes do some of their production? I think they did some of the joints on their first record. That shit was fresh.
As an Indian, what does your cultural identity mean to you in terms of music? Do you get any flack for using the 'N' word?
Yeah man, being Indian is important to me for sure. Being a minority has shaped me. Being a second-generation kid in the US has shaped me. But before my culture, and before my religion I consider myself an artist. As a musician, my goal is to make the most true and genuine music I can. We grew up talking like we talked and that’s translated into my rhymes… and that’s really just me. Cats can take issue with a lot of the things I say; that’s fine, because that’s just me, for good or for bad.
“...But before my culture, and before my religion I consider myself an artist...”
How did you put the album together? What was your mission statement for making it?
 ‘Order of Operations’ was a huge growing process for me. I started out just making beats for the record at nineteen, and looking for em-cees to rhyme on them. I quickly realised that I’m the dude that I heard on the beats. I gotta be honest, the second track on the album is a testament to the first rhymes I ever wrote in my whole life. And the record has grown from there. In terms of the mission, man, I was looking to create an album that’s really listenable from beginning to end. Something cohesive that tallies a range of emotions and musical ideas.
How did you hook up with Scenario? Have you heard any of your uk label mates like Nextmen or Blufoot?
I was out in the UK right after I finished university signing contracts with another label, and I had an early form of the ‘Order of Operations’ LP finished and I thought that I’d shop it with some labels while I was out there. I contacted the A&Rs at Scenario and met with them. At that point they told me they felt the album, but were concerned about me being in New York and them handling the release. It turns out that I ended up moving to London later that year, so I just bum rushed them, and I was like “lets go.” It’s turned out to be a great home for me, I really dig their aesthetic and their releases. And for real, there’s a family vibe with all of my label mates where we’re all contributes remixes and shit.
What is next for you?
Right now, I’ve got the ‘West Sounds’ release bubbling; a mash-up joint that I did with Kanye West’s ‘College Dropout’ and The Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds.’ That’s jumping off. I’ll be doing DJ sets and live shows towards the end of this year and into 2006.
“...I just feel at this point, that Lush the em-cee can’t really exist without Lush the producer...”
Who in the music scene are you feeling at the moment?
I’m feeling 9th Wonder, MF Doom… oh yeah, he’s a really dope em-cee/producer. But I’ve always been really into songs not necessarily just a fan of certain artists. Especially in Hip-Hop, where shit is so single driven.
Final shout outs/shameless plugs?
Word. Check the websites www.lushlifemedia.com
and www.kanyewestsounds.com
and big up to my Brick City Magnate Crew. Respect.
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Nikesh
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