Fat Tony via Mylkweed / Fatboi Sharif via Tim Saccenti
If reading novels as “research” for the novel he’s writing counted towards the actual writing of said book, Will Schube would have written so many books.
Someone needs to make a buddy comedy about Fatboi Sharif and Fat Tony. I’d happily volunteer to write the screenplay, but considering I should have finished this story months ago, I couldn’t guarantee a first draft until the early 2030s.
After all, it’s hard to find two artists more charismatic on the mic and in front of the camera. Take a look at the visual for Tony’s “Drive-Thru” or Sharif’s “Phantasm” for a screen test. As for source material? We got plenty.
See Sharif’s 2021 macabre breakthrough, Gandhi Loves Children, made with his fellow Jerseyite, the beatmaker Roper Williams. There was 2022’s snuff film-on-wax Preaching in Havana and 2023’s excellent Steel Tipped Dove-produced Decay. Last year’s ten-minute black lodge nightmare Something About Shirley was named one of the year’s best by The Wire. Sharif is a demon that’ll lecture you for hours on the Cannibal Corpse discography before extolling some collection of ultra-rare slasher flicks from the ‘70s that not even the Criterion Collection has unearthed.
Tony hails from Houston but calls LA home (give his GoFundMe a peep; he tragically lost his home in the LA fires). He broke through in 2011 with his star-making turn on Live.Love.A$AP and continued to certify his reputation with Smart Ass Black Boy (2013). After four years off, he dropped Macgregor Park, an ode to his hometown that dove into Houston’s history with car-rattling low end and regular references to UGK.
In the following years he unleashed a bevy of projects, like 10,000 Hours, Exotica, and I Will Make A Baby in this Damn Economy. A cursory listen to these albums paints a portrait of an artist obsessed with rap but constantly itching to work outside its boundaries. His baseline hits all the markers we’ve come to expect from a rapper in their mid-30s. In his Above the Influence interview below, he mentions Nas, Future, and MJG as influences on Brain Candy.
He’s a Southern kid obsessed with the middle ground between emotion and lyricism — a fascination blended with his own desire to incorporate unexpected perspectives into his work. He dropped a BIPOC-focused magazine with writing from Alia Shawkat and Cadence Weapon and visuals from Flyger Woods. He can also lecture you on the importance of Z-Ro. “Swervin’” is Bun B homage but Tony is also a Bad Brains obsessive and earnestly croons over pedal steel guitar on “Got It out the Mud.”
Brain Candy has few predecessors or forebears because Tony and Sharif like the same things but regurgitate them in vastly different ways. You won’t find a ton of artists like this who can work together, let alone want to. It hits similarly to the first time I heard Armand Hammer; ELUCID free-associating from the heavens while billy woods explains the scene outside his window with the language of Amiri Baraka.
Tony is a punk kid and Sharif is a metalhead, though they both devour Three 6 Mafia and Minutemen in equal doses. In the below interview, Sharif puts on for Primus and Beck. Tony shouts out an overlooked yet integral cog of the Dungeon Family.
Fat Tony is the kid in the back of the class that isn’t paying attention because he’s writing down Hova rhymes bar for bar. Sharif is whatever is in that box at the end of Se7en. With Steel Tipped Dove cooking up beats that sound like what Lord Infamous might rap over if he was into Rhymesayers-era Aesop Rock, Sharif has the home field advantage – but that was all by design.
Tony explains, “I’ve always wanted to do a project with Steel Tipped because the beats he does are not typically the world that I live in musically. I’m not one for boundaries, and I thought it would be cool to go into Sharif’s world with a producer that already lives in that space.”
Brain Candy exists in this liminal space between the scariest shit you’ve ever heard and romance jams that David Lynch characters can get freaky to. Surrealism needs an updated definition. Who else names a song after Sade then raps about the room spinning due to Edible Arrangements? “X-Files or X-Videos” moves so slow it can cause panic attacks or a newfound obsession with DJ Screw. It’s a tightrope, but Fatboi Sharif and Fat Tony see the abyss and smile; asking for a blindfold before walking above a pit of alligators.
Fatboi Sharif
8Ball and MJG — In Our Lifetime
Fatboi Sharif: As much as dope underground East Coast shit influenced me coming up, I was also into down South hip-hop because I had a cousin from South Carolina named Andrew. He was the first person that played Outkast for me when I was super young. He introduced me to Goodie Mob when I was super young, all that stuff. That was in my brain a lot with creating this project, because both Tony and me were influenced by that world. This 1999 classic is the best. I own three different versions of this album, on vinyl, CD, and cassette.
What are your earliest memories of the album?
Fatboi Sharif: I remember seeing the “We Started This” video on Rap City back in the day. I love the griminess of it. It might have been the first time I was put onto them, but I had heard 8Ball’s double album from 1998 before that, Lost. That shit was dope.
I was put onto In Our Lifetime super young, that’s why I had the tape version of it. I played the tape to death and I loved listening to it over and over. it was an album that definitely stayed with me. Even in the past few years I’ve been going back to it and bumping it. It still holds up. They’ve put out classic albums over the years, but this might be their magnum opus.
Why do you think they work so well together?
Fatboi Sharif: They’re opposites of the same coin. You’ll hear them give different perspectives on something, but it paints a perfect picture when it comes together due to these different ranges of emotion. You might hear something that’s more conscious, then you might hear something that’s more street, but both sides retain the other aspect, too. Then you might hear of a concept, but it’s pushed in a super creative way that a lot of southern artists maybe wouldn’t do or maybe wouldn’t have that perspective on. When we made Brain Candy, we said early on that it would be dope because no one expected us to work together. It’s a strange duo, but it’s as hip-hop as it gets. It works.
Prince Paul — A Prince Among Thieves
Fatboi Sharif: Classic record. In the studio, Tony and I bonded over Prince Paul’s music. We were just talking about Paul and bringing up our favorite albums, and we both love this one. A Price Among Thieves is a big album for me because of the way he was able to paint pictures. He brought together artists that you might not hear on a song together, but everything connected and hit hard.
Is that your favorite Prince Paul-related project?
Fatboi Sharif: My particular favorite Prince Paul album is Psychoanalysis: What Is It?, but A Prince Among Thieves is a classic, too.
And when did you first hear this record?
Fatboi Sharif: Before I was going into college, so it was a while ago. I was obviously already familiar with Prince Paul, but this was the first album that got serious replay value. It was dope to sit back and listen to the story, hearing how everything could connect.
How did you discover the record?
Fatboi Sharif: Kind of just hearing it off the internet on some shit, doing the YouTube thing. I knew Paul, and then I dug deeper.
Saul Williams — The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!
Fatboi Sharif: Going back to what I was saying about Prince Paul and, to me, the beauty of Brain Candy, is the connection of two worlds, two different artistries. That’s the beauty of NiggyTardust!. You got Saul Williams and Trent Reznor coming together, and it’s somehow in the middle of their two sounds, you can see the bridge that’s built. I’m a big fan of both of those guys separately, but together it was almost like they created kind of a new genre or kind of a new way of presenting ideas that had already existed. This was another album I loved when it came out. I revisit “Black History Month,” all the time, but the whole thing is great. It’s one of the best albums ever.
What are some other of your favorite songs on the project?
Fatboi Sharif: You got shit like “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” which is like, what the fuck? It’s such an amazing joint. “Skin of a Drum,” the instrumentation on it. It’s a one of one project where the world they created was amazing. I want to give listeners the same type of experience when they listen to Brain Candy.
It defies labels.
Fatboi Sharif: I don’t even want to just call it a rap project. It exists outside of these genres.
Beck — Mellow Gold
Fatboi Sharif: I remember when I was first exposed to this album and I still go back and listen to it all the time. I still love the vibe and the energy of the project.
Was this the first Beck record you heard?
Fatboi Sharif: Yeah. I got put onto him by seeing the “Loser” video. Yeah, I grew up on rap, but I was super into the experimental punk, indie, and heavy metal scene. That was influencing me at the same time. This album served that side of my taste. I became a huge fan of his work after “Loser.” I love the way he connects the dots with his writing style The concepts on his album are dope, songs like “Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs,” “Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997,” is where you get perhaps a song like “X-Files or X-Videos” or “Chocolate Castle Kisses,” where it goes from something we might be joking about, shooting the shit, to like, ‘Yo, this is dope. Let’s make this a world.’
Is this your favorite Beck album?
Fatboi Sharif: My three favorites are Mellow Gold, Stereopathic Soulmanure, and the third is a split between Odelay and One Foot in the Grave.
Do you remember when you first heard Mellow Gold?
Fatboi Sharif: I saw “The Loser” video and the “Beercan” video. I remember hearing parts of that album and being like, “oh this shit is super dope.” I didn’t hear the full album until maybe a couple of years later and I remember recognizing those songs I saw the videos for.
Primus — Pork Soda
Fatboi Sharif: I want to say I got exposed to Primus as a kid back in the day. The first Primus song I remember hearing and falling in love with was “Shake Hands With Beef” from Brown Album. I remember I saw that video and I was like, “Yo, this shit is super dope.” The title was dope, too.
How old were you and how did you discover them?
Fatboi Sharif: I was nine or 10, and just like everything else, it was from MTV. It came across my radar and I got exposed from that. I just went back into the catalog. Pork Soda was one of those albums that was an experience from top to bottom. There was so much different stuff on there. Obviously, “My Name is Mud” is a classic song, but to me, you get something new from it each time. The song comes from the perspective of a serial killer, and that shit is amazing. It’s one of their biggest songs and it’s one of their darkest songs. I love the dark elements and it highlights the quirkiness within their songwriting.
When I hear that album, it reminds me of how me and Tony was when we were making Brain Candy. It was a fun experience. You can listen to it and have fun, but there are serious elements on it that we touch on. On “Brainstorming,” Tony talks about the economy being messed up, losing jobs. The song Medicine Man is a big song that a lot of people love, which is dope because it’s more serious. It made a full picture for us. We needed that on top of some of the more playful songs, to give it a full experience.
Fat Tony
MJG — “Keep Your Mind”
Fat Tony: From the end of 2022 through most of 2023 I was in a bad funk, just in a head space where I was really down on myself and feeling overwhelmed by things happening in my life — my personal life and my professional life. I just started to hit a point where I felt like I couldn’t get my mind out of the path of negative thinking. I started going to therapy, but it wasn’t working. It was all virtual and the virtual shit just ain’t really for me. Now I have an in-person therapist, and they’re way fucking better. They actually have helped me out tremendously. But I came across this song from that writer Noz. He had a mix that he did for NTS, I think for this show called Hollow Points. This song was in it. I had never heard this song before.
What MJG is saying in this song is so powerful, about how a lot of times these thoughts that we have, these thoughts can be meaningless and can be hurtful, and it’s not really a true reflection of what is happening in our lives and what could happen in our lives. I love how the method of this song is like, no matter what you’re going through, any trouble, drama, whatever, you have to keep your mind and not spiral out of control. I was obsessed with this song, especially last year around my birthday in March, 2023. It was just one of those songs that I probably listened to every day for about a year straight. It gave me a lot of hope and just put me on the right path. IThere’s a song on our project called “Medicine Man.” The MJG song really, really inspired me to write that.
Were you big on 8Ball and MJG growing up?
Fat Tony: I really love their Coming Out Hard album. They have a song called “Space Age Pimpin.” That’s one of my all time favorite songs. It’s just fucking smooth. I love the MJG verse on that too. They are just really good at that Southern slick talk that reminds me of why I love music. I grew up loving how my family members talk, especially the old heads.
Nas — “Drunk By Myself”
Fat Tony: I tried to even reference it on “Medicine Man” with one of my opening lyrics, which says, “being drunk in a car like Nas.” I can’t remember exactly what I said, but I was like, “rather than Nas drunk driving by himself, I’m drunk in a cab that’s all stemming from the same place that I was in for the last year or so.” Many of the songs that I listed here are on the same topic of introspection. “Medicine Man” is probably the most obvious time that I talked like this on our project, but I think that it really matches the music of the project. The music is really bass heavy and kind of on a downer vibe.
The record still sounds fun despite that.
Fat Tony: Totally. When I’m making music, even if I’m talking about something that’s difficult to talk about, I’m having fun. I’m laughing in the studio. It is a joy to get this out of me. The painful part is dealing with it in my head and not having an outlet.
The recording is a relief for you.
Fat Tony: Any time I’ve ever made a song that was angry or sad or anything like that, I’m having fun making it because I’m getting it out of me. Making music and being around music is my ultimate passion. Even the MJG song or this Nas song, when I’m feeling down, it makes me happy. It breaks me out of the downward spiral of thoughts in my mind and makes me hopeful even if I am feeling depressed.
Are you a Lost Tapes guy?
Fat Tony: Yes, I am. That is why I picked that song. I grew up listening to hella Nas. Now, I gravitate more towards outtakes and loosies because I don’t think I ever need to listen to Illmatic again for the rest of my life.
Did you wear it out as a kid?
Fat Tony: Duh. I’m a 36-year-old rapper. Of course I wore out Illmatic.
Were other kids in Houston into it?
Fat Tony: Me and all my friends in middle school and high school, we fucking loved Nas. I got put onto Nas personally when Stillmatic came out. I was in the eighth grade, and that was the first Nas CD that I ever bought.
Prior to that I had heard “If I Rule the World” because the music video was always on and it was on the radio, but the Jay-Z/Nas beef was the thing that made me want to check out both of those artists, even though I only knew them from what I heard on MTV or BET or the radio. Their beef and all the energy around it made me go buy albums by both of those artists for the first time. They both became two of my favorite artists ever.
Future — “Xanax Damage”
Fat Tony: “Xanax Damage” is another one of those super emo introspective songs. Future is at his best when he’s in this mode. Many of my favorite Future songs are songs where he’s going through it. “Codeine Crazy,” “March Madness.”
I love to make songs where half the time I’m bragging and flexing and half the time I’m talking about how I have sadness or I have grief or I regret something that I did. I like going back and forth between both of those modes because both of them kind of balance me out. When I’m feeling super down and sad or I’m insecure or something, it’s not that hard for me to flip a switch and start feeling like I’m the fucking man. When I’m in that mode, I can also get into a zone where I’m like, “Yo, I’m feeling myself a little bit too much. Lemme remind myself about some of the shit I’m actually going through.”
What’s your favorite Future project?
Fat Tony: My favorite Future projects are Hndrxx and 56 Nights. Hndrxx means a lot to me because it is kind of like his love song album. I love the love songs that Future does. That album came out in 2017, when I had a big change in my life. That’s when I moved back to LA for the second time. I met a lot of really important people in my life during that period and I would listen to that album. Even my girlfriend now remembers when we met back then and how I used to listen to that album all the time. That album always reminds her of me. So Hndrxx is my personal go-to Future album, but I would say hands down 56 Nights is his best project. I can listen to every song with zero skips. I’m going to do a couple skips on Hndrxx, but that’s the album that means the most to me.
I just love “Xanax Damage” because it sounds like he was getting on to a new sound that we never heard before. I love his vocal tone. It feels like a great blues song, you know what I mean? I love how short it is because I can sit and just listen to that song four times in a row and feel like I’m getting a whole song that way rather than wanting him to do some extra verses or something that could have been filler. He has given me every introspective mood I need to feel in that one song.
UGK — “Diamonds & Wood”
Fat Tony: UGK is my favorite rap group of all time, and “Diamonds & Woods” is my favorite song by them. I love the Bootsy Collins sample in it. It’s just one of those songs that no matter how many times I’ve heard it or when I hear it, it always makes me feel something. There are so many times where I’ve started tearing up to Pimp’s verse on the song, it hits me every time. It’s the only duo song I have on my list, and it represents what me and Sharif are doing on this project, as two artists coming together with different styles to make something that feels like one.
I love how Bun and Pimp C have totally different modes of rapping. I feel like Bun has the intricate cadence, heavy flow, who could probably be super ill in a rap battle, and is just such a great performer. In his prime, Bun B was just perfect. One of the best rappers ever. He just sounds effortless, cramming so many words and ideas and imagery into all of his verses. I love the Pimp C stuff because it’s a lot like Future where it’s very bluesy and very emotional and heartfelt and you can just feel the vulnerability in all of the Pimp lyrics. I think the mix of vulnerable bars with very “I’m the Greatest of All Time” bars is the perfect marriage that UGK gives you.
Kilo Ali — “Lost Y’all Mind”
Fat Tony: I thought it’d be dope to start off with “Keep Your Mind” and end on “Lost Y’all Mind” because this is a cycle that I go through as a human being. I first heard the Kilo song when I was visiting my producer’s brother. GLDNEYE is from ATL and I was visiting his brother in 2013 or something. I had never heard of Kilo because Kilo was big in his time, but I feel like he was most famous in his region in Georgia. GLDNEYE’s brother had a Kilo Ali Organized Bass album and I had never heard it before. He put the CD in and I was just blown away because Kilo is one of the most original and unique rappers I’ve ever heard in my whole fucking life. From the way that his voice sounds to the way that he flows to the things that he talks about, he’s one of the most outrageous artists I’ve ever heard in my life on the mic and in his personal life.
I love this song because I feel like this is him doing what all the other artists in this list do. It’s him being vulnerable, him being introspective, him giving some social commentary, him giving some commentary on his city — for better or worse. The whole mood of that song is what I was trying to bring to this project too.
He was big in Atlanta, right?
Fat Tony: He was signed to Dungeon Family and worked with Organized Noize on this project. There’s a Big Boy feature, there’s a Cee-Lo feature. He’s a very interesting character. He had a substance abuse problem, and he actually burned his own house down and went to jail for it for several years, which really hindered his music career. He has one of the craziest stories ever. He tried to battle André 3000 once. He claims that he was going to be in OutKast at one point. There’s a great Sleepy Brown interview where he talks about Kilo and you really get a sense of who Kilo is. He was just a star in his time. He had tons of popular songs. He was one of Atlanta’s first big stars. He’s been putting out music since the late eighties, early nineties. Organized Bass came out in ’97 and it was kind of like the peak of his popularity.
When I hear that album, it reminds me of how me and Tony was when we were making Brain Candy. It was a fun experience. You can listen to it and have fun, but there are serious elements on it that we touch on. On “Brainstorming,” Tony talks about the economy being messed up, losing jobs. The song Medicine Man is a big song that a lot of people love, which is dope because it’s more serious. It made a full picture for us. We needed that on top of some of the more playful songs, to give it a full experience.
Fat Tony
MJG — “Keep Your Mind”
Fat Tony: From the end of 2022 through most of 2023 I was in a bad funk, just in a head space where I was really down on myself and feeling overwhelmed by things happening in my life — my personal life and my professional life. I just started to hit a point where I felt like I couldn’t get my mind out of the path of negative thinking. I started going to therapy, but it wasn’t working. It was all virtual and the virtual shit just ain’t really for me. Now I have an in-person therapist, and they’re way fucking better. They actually have helped me out tremendously. But I came across this song from that writer Noz. He had a mix that he did for NTS, I think for this show called Hollow Points. This song was in it. I had never heard this song before.
What MJG is saying in this song is so powerful, about how a lot of times these thoughts that we have, these thoughts can be meaningless and can be hurtful, and it’s not really a true reflection of what is happening in our lives and what could happen in our lives. I love how the method of this song is like, no matter what you’re going through, any trouble, drama, whatever, you have to keep your mind and not spiral out of control. I was obsessed with this song, especially last year around my birthday in March, 2023. It was just one of those songs that I probably listened to every day for about a year straight. It gave me a lot of hope and just put me on the right path. IThere’s a song on our project called “Medicine Man.” The MJG song really, really inspired me to write that.
Were you big on 8Ball and MJG growing up?
Fat Tony: I really love their Coming Out Hard album. They have a song called “Space Age Pimpin.” That’s one of my all time favorite songs. It’s just fucking smooth. I love the MJG verse on that too. They are just really good at that Southern slick talk that reminds me of why I love music. I grew up loving how my family members talk, especially the old heads.
Nas — “Drunk By Myself”
Fat Tony: I tried to even reference it on “Medicine Man” with one of my opening lyrics, which says, “being drunk in a car like Nas.” I can’t remember exactly what I said, but I was like, “rather than Nas drunk driving by himself, I’m drunk in a cab that’s all stemming from the same place that I was in for the last year or so.” Many of the songs that I listed here are on the same topic of introspection. “Medicine Man” is probably the most obvious time that I talked like this on our project, but I think that it really matches the music of the project. The music is really bass heavy and kind of on a downer vibe.
The record still sounds fun despite that.
Fat Tony: Totally. When I’m making music, even if I’m talking about something that’s difficult to talk about, I’m having fun. I’m laughing in the studio. It is a joy to get this out of me. The painful part is dealing with it in my head and not having an outlet.
The recording is a relief for you.
Fat Tony: Any time I’ve ever made a song that was angry or sad or anything like that, I’m having fun making it because I’m getting it out of me. Making music and being around music is my ultimate passion. Even the MJG song or this Nas song, when I’m feeling down, it makes me happy. It breaks me out of the downward spiral of thoughts in my mind and makes me hopeful even if I am feeling depressed.
Are you a Lost Tapes guy?
Fat Tony: Yes, I am. That is why I picked that song. I grew up listening to hella Nas. Now, I gravitate more towards outtakes and loosies because I don’t think I ever need to listen to Illmatic again for the rest of my life.
Did you wear it out as a kid?
Fat Tony: Duh. I’m a 36-year-old rapper. Of course I wore out Illmatic.
Were other kids in Houston into it?
Fat Tony: Me and all my friends in middle school and high school, we fucking loved Nas. I got put onto Nas personally when Stillmatic came out. I was in the eighth grade, and that was the first Nas CD that I ever bought.
Prior to that I had heard “If I Rule the World” because the music video was always on and it was on the radio, but the Jay-Z/Nas beef was the thing that made me want to check out both of those artists, even though I only knew them from what I heard on MTV or BET or the radio. Their beef and all the energy around it made me go buy albums by both of those artists for the first time. They both became two of my favorite artists ever.
Future — “Xanax Damage”
Fat Tony: “Xanax Damage” is another one of those super emo introspective songs. Future is at his best when he’s in this mode. Many of my favorite Future songs are songs where he’s going through it. “Codeine Crazy,” “March Madness.”
I love to make songs where half the time I’m bragging and flexing and half the time I’m talking about how I have sadness or I have grief or I regret something that I did. I like going back and forth between both of those modes because both of them kind of balance me out. When I’m feeling super down and sad or I’m insecure or something, it’s not that hard for me to flip a switch and start feeling like I’m the fucking man. When I’m in that mode, I can also get into a zone where I’m like, “Yo, I’m feeling myself a little bit too much. Lemme remind myself about some of the shit I’m actually going through.”
What’s your favorite Future project?
Fat Tony: My favorite Future projects are Hndrxx and 56 Nights. Hndrxx means a lot to me because it is kind of like his love song album. I love the love songs that Future does. That album came out in 2017, when I had a big change in my life. That’s when I moved back to LA for the second time. I met a lot of really important people in my life during that period and I would listen to that album. Even my girlfriend now remembers when we met back then and how I used to listen to that album all the time. That album always reminds her of me. So Hndrxx is my personal go-to Future album, but I would say hands down 56 Nights is his best project. I can listen to every song with zero skips. I’m going to do a couple skips on Hndrxx, but that’s the album that means the most to me.
I just love “Xanax Damage” because it sounds like he was getting on to a new sound that we never heard before. I love his vocal tone. It feels like a great blues song, you know what I mean? I love how short it is because I can sit and just listen to that song four times in a row and feel like I’m getting a whole song that way rather than wanting him to do some extra verses or something that could have been filler. He has given me every introspective mood I need to feel in that one song.
UGK — “Diamonds & Wood”
Fat Tony: UGK is my favorite rap group of all time, and “Diamonds & Woods” is my favorite song by them. I love the Bootsy Collins sample in it. It’s just one of those songs that no matter how many times I’ve heard it or when I hear it, it always makes me feel something. There are so many times where I’ve started tearing up to Pimp’s verse on the song, it hits me every time. It’s the only duo song I have on my list, and it represents what me and Sharif are doing on this project, as two artists coming together with different styles to make something that feels like one.
I love how Bun and Pimp C have totally different modes of rapping. I feel like Bun has the intricate cadence, heavy flow, who could probably be super ill in a rap battle, and is just such a great performer. In his prime, Bun B was just perfect. One of the best rappers ever. He just sounds effortless, cramming so many words and ideas and imagery into all of his verses. I love the Pimp C stuff because it’s a lot like Future where it’s very bluesy and very emotional and heartfelt and you can just feel the vulnerability in all of the Pimp lyrics. I think the mix of vulnerable bars with very “I’m the Greatest of All Time” bars is the perfect marriage that UGK gives you.
Kilo Ali — “Lost Y’all Mind”
Fat Tony: I thought it’d be dope to start off with “Keep Your Mind” and end on “Lost Y’all Mind” because this is a cycle that I go through as a human being. I first heard the Kilo song when I was visiting my producer’s brother. GLDNEYE is from ATL and I was visiting his brother in 2013 or something. I had never heard of Kilo because Kilo was big in his time, but I feel like he was most famous in his region in Georgia. GLDNEYE’s brother had a Kilo Ali Organized Bass album and I had never heard it before. He put the CD in and I was just blown away because Kilo is one of the most original and unique rappers I’ve ever heard in my whole fucking life. From the way that his voice sounds to the way that he flows to the things that he talks about, he’s one of the most outrageous artists I’ve ever heard in my life on the mic and in his personal life.
I love this song because I feel like this is him doing what all the other artists in this list do. It’s him being vulnerable, him being introspective, him giving some social commentary, him giving some commentary on his city — for better or worse. The whole mood of that song is what I was trying to bring to this project too.
He was big in Atlanta, right?
Fat Tony: He was signed to Dungeon Family and worked with Organized Noize on this project. There’s a Big Boy feature, there’s a Cee-Lo feature. He’s a very interesting character. He had a substance abuse problem, and he actually burned his own house down and went to jail for it for several years, which really hindered his music career. He has one of the craziest stories ever. He tried to battle André 3000 once. He claims that he was going to be in OutKast at one point. There’s a great Sleepy Brown interview where he talks about Kilo and you really get a sense of who Kilo is. He was just a star in his time. He had tons of popular songs. He was one of Atlanta’s first big stars. He’s been putting out music since the late eighties, early nineties. Organized Bass came out in ’97 and it was kind of like the peak of his popularity.
Prior to that I had heard “If I Rule the World” because the music video was always on and it was on the radio, but the Jay-Z/Nas beef was the thing that made me want to check out both of those artists, even though I only knew them from what I heard on MTV or BET or the radio. Their beef and all the energy around it made me go buy albums by both of those artists for the first time. They both became two of my favorite artists ever.
Future — “Xanax Damage”
Fat Tony: “Xanax Damage” is another one of those super emo introspective songs. Future is at his best when he’s in this mode. Many of my favorite Future songs are songs where he’s going through it. “Codeine Crazy,” “March Madness.”
I love to make songs where half the time I’m bragging and flexing and half the time I’m talking about how I have sadness or I have grief or I regret something that I did. I like going back and forth between both of those modes because both of them kind of balance me out. When I’m feeling super down and sad or I’m insecure or something, it’s not that hard for me to flip a switch and start feeling like I’m the fucking man. When I’m in that mode, I can also get into a zone where I’m like, “Yo, I’m feeling myself a little bit too much. Lemme remind myself about some of the shit I’m actually going through.”
What’s your favorite Future project?
Fat Tony: My favorite Future projects are Hndrxx and 56 Nights. Hndrxx means a lot to me because it is kind of like his love song album. I love the love songs that Future does. That album came out in 2017, when I had a big change in my life. That’s when I moved back to LA for the second time. I met a lot of really important people in my life during that period and I would listen to that album. Even my girlfriend now remembers when we met back then and how I used to listen to that album all the time. That album always reminds her of me. So Hndrxx is my personal go-to Future album, but I would say hands down 56 Nights is his best project. I can listen to every song with zero skips. I’m going to do a couple skips on Hndrxx, but that’s the album that means the most to me.
I just love “Xanax Damage” because it sounds like he was getting on to a new sound that we never heard before. I love his vocal tone. It feels like a great blues song, you know what I mean? I love how short it is because I can sit and just listen to that song four times in a row and feel like I’m getting a whole song that way rather than wanting him to do some extra verses or something that could have been filler. He has given me every introspective mood I need to feel in that one song.
UGK — “Diamonds & Wood”
Fat Tony: UGK is my favorite rap group of all time, and “Diamonds & Woods” is my favorite song by them. I love the Bootsy Collins sample in it. It’s just one of those songs that no matter how many times I’ve heard it or when I hear it, it always makes me feel something. There are so many times where I’ve started tearing up to Pimp’s verse on the song, it hits me every time. It’s the only duo song I have on my list, and it represents what me and Sharif are doing on this project, as two artists coming together with different styles to make something that feels like one.
I love how Bun and Pimp C have totally different modes of rapping. I feel like Bun has the intricate cadence, heavy flow, who could probably be super ill in a rap battle, and is just such a great performer. In his prime, Bun B was just perfect. One of the best rappers ever. He just sounds effortless, cramming so many words and ideas and imagery into all of his verses. I love the Pimp C stuff because it’s a lot like Future where it’s very bluesy and very emotional and heartfelt and you can just feel the vulnerability in all of the Pimp lyrics. I think the mix of vulnerable bars with very “I’m the Greatest of All Time” bars is the perfect marriage that UGK gives you.
Kilo Ali — “Lost Y’all Mind”
Fat Tony: I thought it’d be dope to start off with “Keep Your Mind” and end on “Lost Y’all Mind” because this is a cycle that I go through as a human being. I first heard the Kilo song when I was visiting my producer’s brother. GLDNEYE is from ATL and I was visiting his brother in 2013 or something. I had never heard of Kilo because Kilo was big in his time, but I feel like he was most famous in his region in Georgia. GLDNEYE’s brother had a Kilo Ali Organized Bass album and I had never heard it before. He put the CD in and I was just blown away because Kilo is one of the most original and unique rappers I’ve ever heard in my whole fucking life. From the way that his voice sounds to the way that he flows to the things that he talks about, he’s one of the most outrageous artists I’ve ever heard in my life on the mic and in his personal life.
I love this song because I feel like this is him doing what all the other artists in this list do. It’s him being vulnerable, him being introspective, him giving some social commentary, him giving some commentary on his city — for better or worse. The whole mood of that song is what I was trying to bring to this project too.
He was big in Atlanta, right?
Fat Tony: He was signed to Dungeon Family and worked with Organized Noize on this project. There’s a Big Boy feature, there’s a Cee-Lo feature. He’s a very interesting character. He had a substance abuse problem, and he actually burned his own house down and went to jail for it for several years, which really hindered his music career. He has one of the craziest stories ever. He tried to battle André 3000 once. He claims that he was going to be in OutKast at one point. There’s a great Sleepy Brown interview where he talks about Kilo and you really get a sense of who Kilo is. He was just a star in his time. He had tons of popular songs. He was one of Atlanta’s first big stars. He’s been putting out music since the late eighties, early nineties. Organized Bass came out in ’97 and it was kind of like the peak of his popularity.
I just love “Xanax Damage” because it sounds like he was getting on to a new sound that we never heard before. I love his vocal tone. It feels like a great blues song, you know what I mean? I love how short it is because I can sit and just listen to that song four times in a row and feel like I’m getting a whole song that way rather than wanting him to do some extra verses or something that could have been filler. He has given me every introspective mood I need to feel in that one song.
UGK — “Diamonds & Wood”
Fat Tony: UGK is my favorite rap group of all time, and “Diamonds & Woods” is my favorite song by them. I love the Bootsy Collins sample in it. It’s just one of those songs that no matter how many times I’ve heard it or when I hear it, it always makes me feel something. There are so many times where I’ve started tearing up to Pimp’s verse on the song, it hits me every time. It’s the only duo song I have on my list, and it represents what me and Sharif are doing on this project, as two artists coming together with different styles to make something that feels like one.
I love how Bun and Pimp C have totally different modes of rapping. I feel like Bun has the intricate cadence, heavy flow, who could probably be super ill in a rap battle, and is just such a great performer. In his prime, Bun B was just perfect. One of the best rappers ever. He just sounds effortless, cramming so many words and ideas and imagery into all of his verses. I love the Pimp C stuff because it’s a lot like Future where it’s very bluesy and very emotional and heartfelt and you can just feel the vulnerability in all of the Pimp lyrics. I think the mix of vulnerable bars with very “I’m the Greatest of All Time” bars is the perfect marriage that UGK gives you.
Kilo Ali — “Lost Y’all Mind”
Fat Tony: I thought it’d be dope to start off with “Keep Your Mind” and end on “Lost Y’all Mind” because this is a cycle that I go through as a human being. I first heard the Kilo song when I was visiting my producer’s brother. GLDNEYE is from ATL and I was visiting his brother in 2013 or something. I had never heard of Kilo because Kilo was big in his time, but I feel like he was most famous in his region in Georgia. GLDNEYE’s brother had a Kilo Ali Organized Bass album and I had never heard it before. He put the CD in and I was just blown away because Kilo is one of the most original and unique rappers I’ve ever heard in my whole fucking life. From the way that his voice sounds to the way that he flows to the things that he talks about, he’s one of the most outrageous artists I’ve ever heard in my life on the mic and in his personal life.
I love this song because I feel like this is him doing what all the other artists in this list do. It’s him being vulnerable, him being introspective, him giving some social commentary, him giving some commentary on his city — for better or worse. The whole mood of that song is what I was trying to bring to this project too.
He was big in Atlanta, right?
Fat Tony: He was signed to Dungeon Family and worked with Organized Noize on this project. There’s a Big Boy feature, there’s a Cee-Lo feature. He’s a very interesting character. He had a substance abuse problem, and he actually burned his own house down and went to jail for it for several years, which really hindered his music career. He has one of the craziest stories ever. He tried to battle André 3000 once. He claims that he was going to be in OutKast at one point. There’s a great Sleepy Brown interview where he talks about Kilo and you really get a sense of who Kilo is. He was just a star in his time. He had tons of popular songs. He was one of Atlanta’s first big stars. He’s been putting out music since the late eighties, early nineties. Organized Bass came out in ’97 and it was kind of like the peak of his popularity.
I love this song because I feel like this is him doing what all the other artists in this list do. It’s him being vulnerable, him being introspective, him giving some social commentary, him giving some commentary on his city — for better or worse. The whole mood of that song is what I was trying to bring to this project too.
He was big in Atlanta, right?
Fat Tony: He was signed to Dungeon Family and worked with Organized Noize on this project. There’s a Big Boy feature, there’s a Cee-Lo feature. He’s a very interesting character. He had a substance abuse problem, and he actually burned his own house down and went to jail for it for several years, which really hindered his music career. He has one of the craziest stories ever. He tried to battle André 3000 once. He claims that he was going to be in OutKast at one point. There’s a great Sleepy Brown interview where he talks about Kilo and you really get a sense of who Kilo is. He was just a star in his time. He had tons of popular songs. He was one of Atlanta’s first big stars. He’s been putting out music since the late eighties, early nineties. Organized Bass came out in ’97 and it was kind of like the peak of his popularity.