Brooklyn, New York emcee SupaWave Osbourne presents the midnightpatrolfilm-directed music video for “Left Shoes”, his new single produced by Wale collaborator Best Kept Secret of Flawless Tracks. “Left Shoes” will appear on The Mandela Effect, SupaWave’s forthcoming album dropping in 2017. Representing Brooklyn’s Bushwick and Flatbush sections, SupaWave has collaborated with Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox and Copywrite, and has shared the stage with the likes of MF DOOM, Sean Price and Machine Gun Kelly. Regarding the song, SupaWave says “Growing up I always was into skateboarding and hung out with skateboarders whom anyone who knows them would agree, are relentless pranksters. And, I’m just giving descriptions of my personality by saying that if we were friends I’d be the type to sleep over at your house and wake up, hide all your left shoes on you and then leave before you wake up.”
Full Q&A, links, and the new video below.
How do you think the Hip Hop landscape has evolved for more idiosyncratic rap personalities such as yourself?
I think that it has opened up a bit as far as style but substance is seriously suffering. There aren’t that many rules anymore stylistically but lyrically it’s getting tougher to get through to people and that much harder to hold their attention in comparison to how is was before the internet. Now you can have the wildest style and presentation and people will be into it versus before when everyone pretty much presented their music in certain styles that were overall accepted but they would diverge a lot substance wise. Now if you’re getting ‘deep’ with what you’re saying then you won’t be as accepted overall.
What song of yours do you recommend people listen to first and why?
Left Shoes is the one I’d recommend first. I just think it’s a dope track. Everything about it.
How do you feel about the direction hiphop is going in?
Hip hop is going in a non-favorable direction as far as appreciation and advancement of that for it goes. I just heard that J Dilla’s equipment may be going to the Smithsonian Museum. While that in itself is a whole other problematic issue to me, I think it’s kinda wack how the Smithsonian Institute can express that kind of appreciation for the art but our major outlets that really affect the content just simply don’t. And that makes it seem like hip hop itself and the uplifting of it is not what’s hip – pun intended. At one point appreciating hip hop and the progression of articulate talented artists was the cool shit like with Tribe and De La Soul etc… They pushed the game so far ahead that it’s crazy to look back at it I think. It just got stagnant and though i still love the game and I love a lot of artists , I feel like those artists don’t really give a fuck or even really know about how to excel the art. It’s annoying because if the biggest artists and media outlets supported that , then hip hop could be a thing that could take over and be an integral part of ALL facets of society from policy making to architecture. Imagine what that would do for the justice and policing systems ? i really see all that as possible but there’s a prevailing attitude with most young heads where they don’t want to or think they need to think on those levels with hip hop. and that’s what’s kind of annoying about the direction it’s going in.
What’s your process for writing songs?
Sorry , can’t give up my trade secrets now… Kidding. I have several processes I go through. I guess I have no one specific formula. I’m always looking for ways to improve and sound better. That’s my only real rule when creating. It has to be better than what I did before.
What’s your favorite line you ever wrote and why?
That’s like asking a mother which child they love the most. I think I’ve got some truly classic lines but if be hard pressed to find one I think is my favorite over the others. I’ll give you one though, not to say it’s my favorite favorite but on Left Shoes when I say – “who’s gonna be Medici? / sway HAD the answers / human race that’s the cancer” . Because it’s funny, quick, easy to get, loaded, and real as fuck, all at once.
