Making hip hop communal with Lost Dialect Crew
Inglewood hip hop trio Lost Dialect Crew are a quirky, fun and engaging hip hop group. Kind of doesn’t sound right to put those words together to describe a hip hop crew, but it’s exactly what these trio lads comprise of. They all met as teenagers ActRight and Mistah Redd were the ones who started together with J. Qwest being a later addition. Lost Dialect pays homage to hip hop’s golden era with each verse, opting to challenge every notion of hip hop and what it represents. Focusing on bringing hip hop together as opposed to ‘everyone for themselves’ mentality that often drives the industry today.
We chat to Lost Dialect Crew about their latest EP ‘Prime Dialect,’ what communal hip hop means to them and how their tailored live shows are their claim to fame. Margaret Tra writes.
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You just dropped Prime Dialect tell us about it? Prime Dialect was a collective effort to make a timeless project with one of our favorite producers Ahptimus Prime (ActRight's older brother). Hence the name of the project fit accordingly. This project is definitely another step towards our ever progressive sound. And, as we always do, this project depicts our movements in our journey to be in conversation among the greats in hip hop. Taking the ups and the downs that life throws us and turning them into theme music to help someone else in their own journey. You guys have done quite a few sold out shows in the States, what was that like? Our live shows have always been a strong point and our claim to fame. Of course we put a lot of work into our studio work but what sets us aside from your normal run of the mil rap groups is the work we put into our performances. We practice, practice and practice some more just to be sure we have every second of our show is polished, eventful and engaging. So when our fans come to see us rock the mic they know they will get a professional show, no matter what venue we play. Our fans appreciate the dedication we put into our work. Its only right we give them that love back with a great show.
As hip hop heads, who has influenced you? We can't call ourselves the Tribe and not give homage to the greatest Tribe to do it and that's A Tribe Called Quest. We also pull inspiration from Little Brother, the Roots, the Pharcyde, Outkast, BlackStar, Poetic Republic, all of the Native Tongues. The list goes on. The common thread between all these artists is the push for the improvement of self. You talk about a communal view of hip hop, what do you mean? In today's hip hop there is a lot of talk about "me and mine," "I’ma do me and you get in if you can." There is no more talk of a family unit and if there is its only if its in your immediate camp. When we speak of the communal view of hip hop we mean setting things up for the next man/woman to benefit. We believe there is a need to reestablish some of the principals hip hop was founded on with one of them being building the family unit.
You both met as teenagers, how has it been watching each other grow? We all meet as teenagers. ActRight and Mistah Redd were the ones who started together with J. Qwest being a later addition. To watch each other grow, however, has been great to see. From freestyling at parties to writing sessions in our first studio to learning each others movements on stage, we can for sure see each others growth and progression! We also challenge each other to grow. Sometimes one of us will come in to lay a verse down and after hearing him body the track it makes the rest of us go back and write something to match if not surpass. We all enjoy the competition side of rap just as much as we enjoy the team spirit of the group. Are you working on any other projects? Currently we are pushing this Prime Dialect EP as well as getting the gears turning for our first full LP album. What stimulates your soul? Good music, great friends and better vibes. Want to hear more? Website: http://lostdialect.com/ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lost-dialect itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/primedialect-ep/id873779896 |
