“A lot of people think they’ll be able to pay their rent and eat and paytheir bills off of just hip-hop,” says DNA, one-fourth of the Milwaukee rap crew KingHellBastard. “But thetruth is those people are few and far between, and at a local level it’s almostimpossible to make a living from rap alone.”
DNA says that for the rappers who stick with it and keep their financialexpectations in check, however, there are smaller successes to enjoy. After sixyears together, doors continue to open for KingHellBastard.
“Every year, we get to experience more cool things than we ever couldhave planned on,” DNA says. “We played to 5,000 people opening for Cypress Hillat Summerfest this year. We got some recognition from 88Nine, having beenchosen for artist of the year and video of the year in their listeners’ choiceawards. On Monday night, we sold 30 copies of our record to a store in GermanyI haveno idea how that happened. So we never feel stagnant. There are always newcities for us to play on tour that we’ve never been to, and bigger venuesaround town that keep asking us to play. Just this year, after having playedthe Rave probably 15 times before, we were on the main stage opening for RJD2.Like probably every music fan in the city, I’ve been going to that venue for aslong as I can remember, so to see your group’s name on the marquee out front isreally amazing.”
This week KingHellBastardrappers DNA, Dana Coppafeel and Clark Beez andDJ 1Lrelease their latest EP, Rememberthe Name. Showcasing the more party-friendly side of underground hip-hop,it nods to the beat-heavy ’90s output of The Native Tongues and Rawkus Records,and features production from Reason, the White Russian and LMNtlyst, all of whohad worked with KingHellBastard on previous projects.
“It’s always been a comfort issue for us,” DNA says of working withfamiliar faces. “There’s plenty of people who can make dope beats, but not alot of people that I want to sit in a studio with for hours and hours on end,since we like to have a good time. Nobody who has ever been in the studio withus has ever left sober. I remember when Reason came over to work with us forthe first time; he came with a bottle of Crown Royal and a couple of bottles ofCoke, and I thought, ‘I can work with this guy.’”
The band struck up similar camaraderie with the guest rappers featuredon the EP: Brand Nubian’s Sadat X, underground icon Akrobatik and Oakland’s Raashan Ahmad, as well as Milwaukee’s Stricklinall artists the grouphas met through touring or booking local shows.
“We didn’t want to make tracks with people that we just contactedthrough the Internet, paying them for a verse through PayPal without evensitting in the studio with them,” DNA says. “I see so many albums that play upthe names of all these big guests featured on them, and I’m like, ‘Man, I knowfor a fact you don’t know this rapper, and that you’ve never even hung out withhim.’ It’s inauthentic. We want to work with people we know. We’re not intohiring mercenaries.”
Backed by the live band FlyNeurotic (whose members also make up Fresh Cut Collective), KingHellBastardplays a release show at Mad Planet on Saturday, Aug. 21, at 9 p.m. with RaashanAhmad. The show will also be a video shoot for the song “I Believe,” and the$10 cover will include a vinyl copy of the Remember the NameEP.
