AWAR ended 2018 with the release of his LP Spoils of War and a string of live shows including Asbury Park Hip-Hop Fest. The album was well received and featured guest verses and production from legendary artists like Scarface and members of The Lox and Wu-Tang.
As 2019 gets underway NJ Next checks in with AWAR to talk about his approach to music, the difference between New York and New Jersey and which iteration of The Firm was best.
When do you become a Hip-Hop fan and when do you make the transition to artist?
I started as a fan and avid listener of Hip-Hop when I was in seventh grade. I started recording radio shows and collecting mixtapes and catching dubs from homies. I took an instant interest in it once I was exposed to groups like Wu-Tang, Gang Starr, Mobb Deep and artists like Biggie, Nas, Redman, Jay-Z and Scarface. I grew up in Upstate New York … the 518, and it was harder to get your hands on certain stuff but there was a heavy influence from the city, and shout to all the college radio DJs and whatnot for holding it down for many years.
I was interested in writing and musically Hip-Hop had so much more to offer in terms of lyrics at the time, I thought verses were the coolest format to write in ever, even before I learned how to count bars and put songs together structurally I was writing slick lines and shit. I remember making pause tapes of like the introduction to certain beats because I didn’t have access to any instrumentals early on. I started writing and recording my little bars and mapping them out in a Tascam 4-track I acquired while I was in high school. Eventually I ended up going to school and living in the Bronx, skipping class and attending classic shows and just building relationships and developing my craft as an MC.
I got a bunch of original production and put together my first project in 2005, Glory Days. It’s been on ever since, but I started really taking my rollout seriously in like 2011 when I started dropping multiple projects with heavy hitters. I take my time with each one because I’m trying to make timeless music every time out the gate.
You have roots in New York, but currently live in Jersey. How would you compare the music scenes in both places?
I love all the places that have people that come out and rock with you and stay in tune with your art. I built a pretty good scene of fellow artists in the Albany area, doing a lot of local shows and radio when I started out, but my aspirations took me on the road across the country multiple times. Then I was present for a lot of classic early 2000’s NYC shows and there was a crazy energy and amount of talent present in those days.
I’ve grown as an artist in both music and performance level and don’t get out on the road as often, but Jersey has always shown me a lot of love at the shows I’ve done here. I’m trying to do more. Promoters hit me up!
Your most recent project “Spoils of War” has guest verses from legendary emcees like Scarface, Jadakiss & Styles P, Raekwon and Cormega. How did those collaborations happen and do you have any cool stories from working with those guys?
I’m just blessed to know some good people that put me in the room with certain artists. I got a call from a friend that Scarface was in town and if I wanted him on my record, book a session in the next few hours. I ended up hollering at Parks at Headqcuarterz (DJ Premier and DITC studio) and he came through in the clutch. Then Face pulled up with DJ Khaled in a Maybach and bodied that “Forty Five Soul” shit after he heard my verse. I sent the record out to Anthony Hamilton the following day and he turned it around in less than a day. That was fire how it all transpired.
Styles P is my guy, shout to him and Kiss for having us to his Juice Bar and knocking a few records out the park at D Block.
<h4?Who’s still on your “Wish List” for future collaborators? </h4?
I’m working with most my favorite producers already, from Nottz and Jake One, to Vanderslice, to Lord Finesse and Showbiz, to Statik Selectah.
Production wise I’ve always wanted to work with Premier but haven’t had the privilege of doing so. Just Blaze. Bink!, DJ Khalil, Havoc…all those guys are sharp and I’d like to work with in the future.
There’s a few elite rappers I haven’t worked with but at this point I feel I’ve proved that I can hang with anyone on the mic, I just want to make the most compelling music.
<h4?Was The Firm better with Cormega or Nature?</h4?
They both dope, I know Mega on a personal level and he’s a real one, and he continues to make great solo music, so I’m gonna go with Mega. He came through to my studio in Philly and we ate Jamaican food and knocked out some shit for the Vanderslice album and then he ended up hearing some shit I did after he left from the same session and he hopped on “Money Machine Music.”
What’s next for AWAR?
I have videos coming for the next few months off “Spoils of War”. It’s my biggest album to date and visually I have “Rolex Time” “Highs and Lows” and “Day One” ready to go.
I’ll be back in the laboratory cooking up gumbo this month and dropping a few shorter projects before my next full length, I’m keeping busy though, expect some more fire.
Rapid Fire Questions:
Top 5 Rappers Dead or Alive: Biggie, Pun, Scarface, Hova, Prodigy
Top 4 Venues to perform in NJ: Ah man, this one I can’t really answer. it’s more so about the vibe of the particular show. The people within the Hip-Hop scene I see at multiple venues, I’m down to rock anywhere if it’s right .
Top 3 Producers you would work with if money was no issue: Just Blaze, DJ Premier, Rza
Top 2 Songs somebody that never heard of you should hear to get a feel for your music:
“Bricks Like 86′” and “Forty Five Soul”, but check out my catalogue, “Laws of Nature”, “The Winning Team” with my producer Vanderslice and my most recent, “Spoils of War,” I try to keep a high standard of quality for each release and stand behind all those.
1 Reason everybody should check out AWAR:
I have music that can change your thought process about life, I use it as my therapy and try to drop gems for those willing to mine for gold, there is a reward to it all. I take the art form seriously and respect the culture, and will continue to use my words as a canvas with some of the filthiest beats you ever heard.
Also worth checking out…
New Jersey Live 3
On February 22nd Garden State Hip-Hop is going to pack the House of Independents in Asbury Park with some of the best Hip-Hop artists at the Jersey shore for a night of live cyphers and performances. Tickets available now at the House of Independents website and box office. We’ll have an interview with the organizers next week.
Krush Jackson – Krush ‘Em EP
Trenton’s Krush Jackson follows up 2018’s banger “Back to the Trap” with an EP that is raw, aggressive and totally worth your time. If you have been sleeping on the music coming out of the state’s capital city, “Krush ‘Em” is your wake-up call.
