Friday, May 13, 2016

Black Matt Talks About Upcoming Project, Duo 'Cool Neighbors' + More In Q+A


In 2016, Chicago continues to be hub of great artist bringing their own personalities, sounds, ideas, contributing to a better local scene. Sometimes it may feel as if one sound gets more shine, but once you expand your ears further than you're own little bubble, you will see just how many sounds can prosper at once. Chicago's underground goes deep, seeming as if the underground has a underground, with rappers that make pretty good music with a very small following, working to be that next wave of artist the world will be talking about. Its a up hill battle.

Black Matt is one artist who've stayed consistent over the years delivering hard raps. While others have switched up the styles, fell victim to the Migos flow, and chasing waves, he's stayed focus on being the champion of his own sound. Upon stumbling across his music, we heard a chill track that was definitely lyric driven raps on a song called "Sucka Free". This would be the start of continued coverage and a introduction to producer/rapper combination that is RMB Justize and Matt.

In a city where we are self proclaiming to not want to see each other make it, there's been a lot of team ups. Chicago is a city of squads and matching pieces, with crews from the PIVOT Gang to SaveMoney, LOD, and Treated Crew. Black Matt has had his fair share of friends he continues to work with, such as the LOD crew, who seems to be still around but moving separately. RMB Justize and Black Matt created one my favorite duos called Cool Neighbors, releasing multiple project under the moniker, most recently a EP titled "ANTI". Matt went some time without release a solo project with the latest being "Green Ketchup", possibly due to working on new content with another collective going by HFNS(Hurt Feelings Not Sorry).


As we head deeper into the month of May, we're getting closer to a new project Matty. Originally we were going to hear "Call 4 Help 99", but some time after we got a different titled, "MERCH". These past few months he's released a few loose tracks, which include "Mob Dylan", "Out Here Boyz", and the most recent "PHONE". With the in-your-face rap style, and knowing what he wants in production, and bringing his cultural experiences into the lyrics, there is a growing interest in what he's working on with his upcoming project "MERCH".

Read our Q+A with Matt below:

- Our first coverage of your music was a song called "Sucka Free". Almost six years ago. Before that how long had you been into creating music and did you always raps under the moniker 'Black Matt?

Sucka Free was actually created for a midwest compilation project that was never released. Before that I had only been creating and releasing music for about a year.  Before I was Black Matt they called my Channels in the battle rap circuit in my area because I always switched shit up on cats that always rapped 1 dimensional, or stayed on one "channel"

- By that time you and RMB Justize were already on volume 2 of the "Cool Neighbors" project. How did you two come to team up on that project?

RMB Justize is my Day 0. I've literally known buddy from the dirt. He got me started rapping at like 15,16, but I was just fucking around with it back then. Random freestyles and what not. We teamed up as Cool Neighbors at a time where literally everyone from where we're from was trying to rap and all that shit was trash to us. We just wanted to make shit that we liked to listen to.

- You also teamed up as a rap duo. What came first the project "Cool Neighbors" or the duo?

It's always been Cool Neighbors but RMB has been producing for me prior to that for a minute.  The project went hand in hand with the initial crafting of the name.

- A one word description of you style is brash. How would you describe your rapping style?

This punk rap. This lifestyle music. No holds barred. No whammies. I don't play games.

- You took aim at a couple of your fellow artist on "SumnLight", that you previously had a relationship with. What was that falling out about?

It was just a lot of sneak dissing and Internet thuggin' going on. Nobody said my name since. I'm me. This isn't a persona. Niggas is hoes out here for real for real.


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- You have a new project on the way called "MERCH". But before that there was another title, "Call 4 Help 1999". Was that a whole other project or did you go with a different name this upcoming one?

Call 4 Help 1999 has been on ice for like a year. "MERCH" is all new joints no one has really heard yet. No leaks. Completely produced/mixed/engineered by RMB Justize for Glitch Realm. I'm back on my dark wavy shit.

- Will MERCH drop this month, May?

I was planning to drop this month but I still have a few things cooking up for the roll out process. i want to do this one right. No shenanigans this time around.

- You recently released a song called "Phone". What was your reaction when you first heard the beat? Will this be on "MERCH"?

"Phone" won't be on "MERCH". I just decided to drop it to get people hype for what's coming. When it comes to the beat the funny thing is RMB and I bounce mad ideas off each other when it comes to my solo joints hella.  I'll toss out some concepts of how I want shit to sound and he throws his touch on it then elevates that shit. On Mommy, buddy is a genius.  I just need something that was going to ring off soon as it dropped and we  made that happen.

- What was a main source of inspiration for "MERCH? Why did you choose that name?

The main source of inspiration for MERCH was just a fucked up past couple of months or so.  I'll say about a clean 3 months. Just a lot of weak ass phony shit went down and I eventually got fed up. I had to get back to work. I chose to name the project MERCH because this "mufugga" serious. Like if you think somebody lying or bullshitting and you tell em' to "merch it on woo woo woo".  This shit is that serious. I'm shaking the block for the summer whole time. Merch that shit on me.

- Every year we seem catch a new wave of artist? What are your plans for the future?

I'm trying to be an underground legend. period.


Interview conducted by Curtis "Rewind It DJ" Carey

Follow Black Matt on Twitter: @MATTYDIDTHAT  IG: @mattydidthat

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