Feature: Brenton talks #9TeaseTuesdays, Miami Rap Scene & Huffington Post Performance

Growing up in a Jamaican household between New York and Miami what was it like for you?

Growing up in New York you have to hustle. Doesn’t matter if you live in the burbs or in the city you just learn about hustling and doing something. I built up that mentality there. Whether it was selling candy or all sort of crazy stuff. Moving down to Miami it was more relaxed dealing with the other side of things. Everything was just different it’s more chill down here. Musically they were all about Lil Jon, Lil Scrappy and Trick Daddy. I learned that I had to mix my raps with more upbeat tempos.

So with you being in the Miami rap scene while holding a sound so different I wonder how it is interacting throughout your career?

Well it’s still hard man. When it comes down to it people are not as receptive to it. Someone has to tell them that you’re hot for people to listen to take attention. It’s an unfortunate situation but I think that’s the case throughout the music industry. You have to have that grassroots following, that backing of people for everyone to say “Oh, maybe I should check him out”. It takes a little more time where as in a place like New York where if I said “Yo, I wanna be a rapper.” everyone would say “LET’S BUILD A GROUP!”. It doesn’t happen down there you have to pave your way more.

Speaking on building a grassroots movement is that what led you to start #9TeaseTuesdays? It’s been getting a bunch of spins every week.

Yeah I think that was definitely a good move. Coming from “The Brenton Brown Affair” which was my first commercial attempt at music then going into “The One Who Knocks” I think it opened up a different door for me. I could test myself against the greats and the old school music that everyone listens to and is nostalgia for. I can ask anyone and they will remember when “Reasonable Doubt” or “500 Degreez” dropped and that’s a great feeling because you’re remembering the music. You remember when it dropped and even if you still listen to it you think of when you first heard it on the radio. It’s truly a part of your life. The grassroots movement from it has been pretty good. With anything it’s a slow start but the fact that it’s building and I can feel the support its great, man.

I’d like to keep with the theme of the 90’s and ask you a few questions about that era since it’s pretty much been something you’ve owned as of late. We all love certain artists from that time period like Biggie, Nas, Pac and others but outside of the most known artists who is your favorite from that time period?

You know what? I was definitely a big fan of Method Man. I liked the fact that Method Man was able to be more than a rapper he was also character. The blacked out contacts, the crazy hair…it all looked crazy but it was cool as hell. Not to mention the fact he was a dope MC.

What’s your favorite album of that decade?

I’m going to say of all time, any genre, it would be “Reasonable Doubt” period. That was an album my brother put me on to and it was the first real rap album I got into. First one I heard the curse words to and all of that shit. It was authentic 90’s shit. When my brother first bought it I would get home and try to listen but my mom wasn’t trying to let me. I found a way to do it though and from beginning to end it was a complete album.

It is. The man said “We used to fight for building blocks, now we fight for blocks with buildings that make a killing”…oh my goodness!

Yes sir, every single line was crazy.

So what would you say is your favorite video from that time period?

Let’s see…..you know what it would have to be CL Smooth & Pete Rock “T.R.O.Y.” The beat was one of my favorites. When you hear it you AUTOMATICALLY know what time it is. It is an iconic track and  the whole story line is dope so its one of my favorites.

You just put together your “Deep Cover” video which had that real 90’s vibe. How did you put that together?

I got my guy @RaImage, he is a talented kid. The type of person who can create things at the drop of a hat, just a very artistic dude. It’s really good to work with him because we feed off each other’s energy. I told him I wanted a grungy, grimey type vibe in the video. I didn’t want to do it like the new videos. I didn’t have any cars in it, didnt want to have any fine girls in it. I didn’t want to do any of that I just wanted some old school, dope shit. Of course the difference between 90’s New York and Miami is definitely clear and you can tell but it still has that feel to it. As crazy as it sounds we shot the video in 2 hours maximum just bouncing around and getting a shot here and there. Just having fun with the music and that was it.

So did you already scout some areas or did you all just find those during the shoot? I ask because it looks like a completely different area.

I live near the beach so I drive a scooter, it’s easier and I don’t have to worry about gas prices. So I was riding around and was in this area called Wynwood in Miami. It was a good looking area to use from an artistic standpoint. It had this real raw, gritty-looking vibe. The funniest part about it though is that all of those locations were by the highest-end stores. The scene with the blue lights was right in front of the Hermes store. It’s funny because it looks so different you wouldn’t know that just looking at the video. You’d think we were somewhere downtown and just added the blue lights, but nah, it’s in front of the Hermes store which is right across from the Tom Ford store. Near that was this immaculate graffiti scene with posters and all that. Around the corner was this overpass that had the gritty look too. It was crazy how it all came together.

I was reading a few tweets you were mentioning writing Volume 6 of the #9TeaseTuesdays series. How long do you think you’ll keep it going?

You just never know man. It’s like Facebook, when Mark Zuckerberg was creating it they wanted to put ads on it and he was like “Nah man, we don’t even know what it’s going to do yet”. I’m in a similar mind frame so write now I’m just writing to be writing. That way I’m sitting on a bunch of tracks and I can either put them out, do some features and play around with it that way or add someone to the tracks. Who knows? It could be a year from now and bigger artists will think “You know what this kid is blowing up, maybe I should get on it”. I actually recently got some backlash from the “Triumph” joint I did. I saw a few comments like “You shouldn’t have done this.” but that’s a part of it. You open yourself up for the scrutiny whether its people who feel I’m ruining the classics or if they rock with it. Right now the time and longevity depends on how it grows. In my mind I actually want to see how it goes for a year. I honestly think I can do a year.

How long has it been going so far it seems like it’s been about 6 months already?

Yeah we started about the first week in December. We just kept going and going and going. I didn’t want to take much time after dropping “The One Who Knocks”. That was right around August or September. I put that out and decided I wanted to do videos and all that. I did the “I’m Cool” video, had some fun and it carried over for a little while. My dude Marvelous Mag was like “You need to go! You need to push the button stop waiting and shit”. So we went ahead and put it out and let it rock.

Since you’ve made it obvious you’re writing can I make a beat suggestion? I think you and Marvelous Mag would sound good over that Goodie Mob “Cell Therapy”. I say that because it doesn’t get more southern than Organized Noise but I feel that beat would fit you two great.

Ok! I was already looking at some old school southern beats like Master P and Silkk The Shocker. I want to go as far as I can go with it.  I think it would be a bigger challenge for me because they are major classics but also a different style. You want to approach it from the right way.  Going from something like “On and On” which I used for “Heroin” to something like the “Make Em Say Ugh” instrumental is going to be a challenge but I’m looking forward to it. I’m ready.

We know you will be keeping the Tuesday releases coming but I understand you also have a Huffington Post performance coming up soon. Could you tell us more about that?

So I had this friend I went to high school with. He knows that I rap and mentioned he was putting together a “Freestyle Friday” show for Huffington Post. I was “stalking” his instagram and Facebook watching it grow and everything. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to jump on it automatically it was just a timing thing. I needed a little bit of time to set things up and get ready. It’s a blessing though because Huffington Post is really involved in the music business. They have people who aren’t the standard reporters asking the same shit but they enjoy the music. They actually know it and are taste makers in a sense too. I’m definitely looking forward to it.

I’ll be looking forward to it as well. Will certainly catch that. Outside of the Huffington Post what else can we look out for?

New York won’t just be the Huffington Post. You know how it is when you are there you have to do as much as you can with the time you have. I’m hoping to get some videos done. Definitely want to catch up with the homie Casanova and shoot for the joint we did for Phife Dawg. Outside of that I don’t care. I will shoot a video for whatever if the opportunity presents itself. Just want to make more happen so we’re going to do it.

And 1stDayFresh is getting one of those video premiers right?

Most definitely! To kind of jump to the last question again that’s a big thing for me. I want to add more videos as a whole. Truthfully anybody can drop a song but to put out a video the fans can see you having fun and feel your energy.

That’s how you blow up these days though. You have to have the nice visual packages or Drake has to dance to your song on Instagram.

Haha, Exactly! True Shit. We will see though I definitely want to get some other things done too. I reached out to the radio stations and even some of the labels. Not that I’m looking to get signed or anything at the current time but to get on their radar is something I’m looking forward to.

Well that’s about all that I have. Is there anything else you want to put out there before we finish up?

I just want to say if you’re thinking of joining the music business nothing is overnight. It takes time and it’s going to be frustrating as hell but at the end of the day it’s worth it. People will comment and even with the bad comments it can help you decide what you could’ve done better. When it comes to music it’s a message, just put out the message.

 

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