Interview: New Jersey Rap Artist and Producer Kwab aka Y.E.S!
Kwab aka Y.E.S! is a New Jersey based rap artist and producer who we've connected with for an exclusive interview to discuss his new EP "Voices & Vices", what he wants listeners to take away from the experience of streaming the EP and much more.
After reading our Q&A with Kwab aka Y.E.S!, be sure to stream the "Voices & Vices" EP and follow him on his social media.
Salute to you for putting together a very dope new EP. Tell us your creative process for
five songs that made it on the release?
Thank you. I definitely appreciate you checking it out. My creative process for this EP was simply to put together a cohesive project with all the songs having a similar vibe and subject matter. I wrote all the songs on this project while I was creating the beats around them so that when it came time to record it was a quick and easy transition. I actually recorded a lot more records that could have pushed this project to a full album but I decided to stick with only the five songs. I liked how each record transitioned to the next and stuck with the concept of "Voices & Vices".
What does the EP titled “Voices & Vices” symbolize?
I titled this project "Voices & Vices" because of a couple of different factors. First part of the title "Voices" was because each beat had a vocal loop or sample of sorts. Most times it was my own voice sampled on the beat or on the chorus to create a different layer or simply just add to the vibe of the song. Now the "Vices" aspect of this project is the concept of relationship vices. That's in terms of fighting to stay in a relationship because it feels good even though you aware its a bad situation. Each song touches on that with different concepts but does it in a playful way over club type beats. In addition, there always seems to be a bunch of different people voicing their opinion concerning your vices or your relationship. This is kind of my way of addressing personal issues but using a creative approach.
From a production standpoint, which producers did you work with and was there a cohesive sound that you were looking for?
With this project I basically created and produced all the beats myself. The first part of the first song on the project included piano production from a producer, Kyle Cochran, that I usually work with. Other than that I produced all the beats personally and actually recorded and mixed each song. That hands on approach allowed me to make sure the project would have that cohesive sound and concept I had in mind.
Can we expect a visual for “Hard Time” or another track off the EP?
Eventually I might put out a visual if I can create the right one representing the songs on the EP.
When someone listens to the EP for the first time, what do you want them to take away from the experience?
Obviously I want a listener to first enjoy the records on the EP but I also want them to actually know how layered the project is. It might just seem like a project with some club sounding beats but the sounds and lyrics does paint a picture. From the first song where I mention the line about "shallow girls in my deep thoughts" to the last song where I'm talking about fighting for love, I want a listener to be able to grasp the entire concept of the project. There might be part two of this project where I tackle a different personal vice but hopefully each listener can come away understanding the idea of this one.