With the art of MC’ing making its way back into the realm of rap music, and the south often given the misconception of making strictly party music, it is rare to find a group whose energy and positive lyrics give a new fresh of air. E.R. stands firm for this cause. Hailing from both Decatur, GA and Orlando, FL the dirty south has a new generation of champions such of these fighting for respect while keeping their artistry sacred.Spirituality is something that has been missing from hip hop for a few years now. Raphie, you seem to drop a dose of spirituality on most of your verses. How important do you see it be to express one’s connection with God in your music?EXPress: Very important.Raphie: Its like music in these times tends to lose that spiritual aspect. I’m from the south shoot me and EXPress from the south so its like we are bread off of those church spirituals and that’s my roots. my grand daddy is a southern Baptist minister so its like its only right to represent my family and the southern roots with the utmost respectAtlanta’s indie scene has recently picked up. Are you experiencing more fans in the crowds than artists? Why or why not?EXPress: It really depends on the venue. It seems to be nice mix of both. Artists can be fans as well, right?Raphie: The fan base is being built. I got homeboys that got songs from special E.Rbs as they ring tone. Older folks, young folks, everybody is coming to the light.The EP Special E.Rbs has gained some notoriety lately. Where did the concept for that album come from?EXPress: The concept originated from the mind of Raphie. I had heard of DOOM before, but wasn’t really familiar with his music. Raphie has a quite large collection of DOOM including the Special Herbs series of instrumentals that DOOM released. That’s where we got the beats and the inspiration for the EP.Raphie: Preciate ya DOOM!!!You both produce and rap as well as dabble in engineering. What other aspects of artistry do you both do?Raphie: I like to draw. Aint been into it lately like I use to but Got Dam Bee know I use to be on that graffiti shit heavyEXPress: Other than music, acting is another art I am interested in and plan to pursue.You two did not know each other long before you decided to make music together. How did ER come together?EXPress: A mutual acquaintance, a producer by the name of Boss B, thought that our styles complimented each other and suggested we meet. We met, listened to each other’s music we recorded before we met, and the group was formed then and there.Raphie: Boss helped me step my game up on the tracks too. That boy the truth! Yall looking for tracks yall need to get at that boyThe state of hip hop as a whole is in an interesting place right now where there is a door opening back up for lyricists. Do you find any hardships when finding the balance of lyricism and keeping your lyrics understandable enough for the feeble?EXPress: I don’t think we’ve encountered that just yet. Folks seem to understand what we’re saying. Dumbing it down is definitely not in the plans!Raphie: And like I said even baby boomers are loving our stuff so u know if they can get down with it anybody can.There has been a lot of voids in hip hop with the absence of Tribe, Outkast, Eminem, Dr. Dre and many others that have helped mold the music we all love so much. These voids were often filled with a quick fix imitation. While there are similar comparisons to vocal tones there is a distinct difference in your sound any of southern hip hop’s forerunners. What do you say to those that may compare you to a void that needs to be filled or to another artist that has come in the past?Raphie: I hate that shit. We can’t just be some weird ass dudes without being compared to… whoever is weird. It’s an honor and it was flattering for a minute but we just doing us.EXPress: I think we take it in stride. People are always prone to compare when they are presented with something new musically. We appreciate the comparisons to the great folks that came before us but we intend to blaze our own path. The love is always appreciated though.How did you link up with Respectable Society? What role do you play with the company?EXPress: Raphie actually had a couple of links to a well-known studio here in Atlanta that Terrence “KnightHeet†Culbreath (one of the three co-founders of Respectable Society) was working at. We visited the studio, played the Special E.Rbs and he was down with the music from there. We take on the roles of artist, producer, writer, arranger, and engineer.Raphie: Shout out to Capo, Chris and Mr. Franklin .The album is called Politikill. Break down the name and what we can expect.EXPress: We are actually going with a different name for our first album. Stay tuned…EXPress, you sing a lot of the hooks on your music. Can we expect a full album?EXPress: Sure enough. I’m currently working on songs.Raphie, you have been heavy on the production tip lately. who would you like to work with and where do you see yourself going as a producer?Raphie: Working with KnightHeet and Boss B is dope already but i got a group of producers I want to observe and two producers i want to work with. I want to watch organized noize but I want to work with Danjahandz and Timbo. I’ll throw Madlib in there too he dope as hell.Any last words?EXPress: Look out for E.R! We’re coming soon to a city near you…Raphie: Check us on myspace.com/expressandraphie and also youtube channel eryoutv08 we bout to get that thang crunk!Download “Special ERbs†by E.R. for free at:
http://www.divshare.com/download/6100653-8d6- Interview by G.D.B.
Special E.Rbs
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