One of the highly anticipated musical collabs of this year is the Paul Wall – Lil Keke album “Slab Talk”, set to drop June 6th. Recently, the two put out the second single off that album, entitled “So Trill”, which also featured Slim Thug.
Paul Wall and Lil Keke were kind enough to sit down with Barion McQueen of Digital Buzz Now, for a quick chat.
They talked about everything from the single itself, the creative process behind it, as well as weighed in on the difficult situation we’re all going through right now with the lockdown.
BM: So what’s your process in collaborating and coming out with this project? Do you bounce ideas off each other? What’s your process in the studio?
PW: Sometimes we start off with an idea and we work around that, sometimes we start off with a beat. It’s been a little bit of everything.
BM: Our platform focuses both on entrepreneurship and artists. Paul, I know you’re doing a lot, trying to find balance between spreading your wings both as an entrepreneur and finding time to do your music.
PW: Yeah, it’s just part of the hustle, you know? I saw lots of people around me grow from not having a business, to having an extremely successful one. So I saw the proof that it was possible for me to do it, if you put in the work.
BM: Keke, I know you’ve got the Screwed Up Click, what are your future plans with that?
LK: Well, the Screwed Up Click isn’t something that I individually own, you know. As far as the next Screwed Up Click thing I’ve got lined up, I’ve got something going with the movies they’re doing, I’ve got my merchandise line going, I’m tapped into other things too. See, being an entrepreneur came natural to us. As far as my personal brand’s concerned, I’m spreading my wings toward quite a few things.
BM: Nice, I like that aspect of it, because I think that’s one of the things a lot of young artists don’t understand. That music is a business. What kind of advice would you give to a talent right now looking to break into the business?
PW: I would say you gotta think long and hard about what’s important to you. There’s an intersection between art and commerce and a lot of people don’t understand where the money comes from. The money don’t necessarily come from the art, it comes from the business side of it. Now, that can affect the way you do the art. ‘Cause certain songs and types of art will sell more than others. But that don’t mean that’s your best art. You need to find the common ground between making art and making money. Just understand what you want from this. This isn’t like a talent show, like once you’ve made it, you’ve made it. It’s a constant grind. Just like in sports, there’s only so many spots on the team.
BM: That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. How have you guys remained relevant for so long in the music business?
LK: From my stand point, I just never had a problem with trying to reinvent myself as well as I could. Doing things with the younger artists, just not get out of touch, you know?
BM: As a fan, I wanted to talk to you about how the Texas Music influenced the car culture? How do both of those connect?
PW: Well, Houston is really spread out, so transportation is a big deal. Having a car is a big part of day to day life in Houston. We take a lot of pride in our cars, it’s a big part of yourself. What wheels, you put on, what music you listen to, how your motor is. The whole output of the car is a reflection of yourself. But in terms of influencing the car culture, I don’t know. In hip hop, we aim to make music specifically for cars. In Texas, we definitely make music for cars, ‘cause we listen to a lot of our music in our cars. So there’d be a lot of heavy bass, a lot of drops in the music where you can hear the lyrics.
BM: Right. So I know you guys are heavily into sports, so how are you guys handling everything that’s going on right now? This no-sports situation?
LK: Well, I see a lot of teams are going back to practice on May 1st, beginning of May. So, you know, I’m praying for that, praying we at least get football. (laughs) I’m tired of watching movies.
BM: So what’s your favorite, football, basketball…?
LK: Man, I love a variety of teams from a variety of sports. I love the Lakers, the Packers, the Rockets, the Cowboys. I love a lot of teams for all sorts of reasons. Sentimental reasons, growing-up, good players.
BM : I get that. Well, I appreciate you guys taking the time to talk to me. Any last words or anything other than the album on June 6th that you want our readers to be aware of? An official video for ‘So Trill’, maybe?
LK: I would hope so, it’d mean things have got better. ‘So Trill’ is out on all platforms now, Paul Wall and Lil Keke, our first project together. The unofficial video is out with it, the album drops June 6th. And just for everybody, stay healthy, peace and bliss to everyone through this coronavirus thing.
BM: Thank you guys. We’ll definitely be looking forward to it.
Overall, we had so much fun doing this interview. Both Paul Wall and Lil Keke are class acts and a delight to talk to, so we’d like to thank them again for taking the time, and remind you all to be on the lookout for their new album “Slab Talk” (Pre-Order Here) in June!
Make sure you get their new single “So Trill” featuring Slim Thug available on all platforms.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD “SO TRILL”
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