I recently got a chance to talk to one half of the Camp Hill, Alabama duo, So Phi. Quota, along with his brother, ExQuisite (who wasn't available for the interview), have been rhyming since they were little boys. Now they're grown men, and they're trying to change not only the hip-hop game but also their community. Check out what Quota had to say about their career and their upcoming album, NiteLife. And find out all about how their annual So Phi Block Party is helping to bring the people of their community together.
BROTHERS, EXQUISITE AND QUOTA, of the duo, So Phi, have been into hip-hop since they were kids growing up in Camp Hill, Alabama. They were only about 9 and 14, respectively, when ExQuisite began making beats, and it wasn't long before big brother, Quota, began chiming in with his own freestyles. According to Quota, rhyming started off as just a hobby, but people really liked their sound, and in just a few years, that hobby had become a career.
SINCE THEIR CAREER BEGAN, So Phi has released three albums. Most noticeably - and most recently - was 2008's Live and Direct which was a departure from the low-key approach they'd taken with their first couple of albums. While those previous releases were mainly underground efforts, Live and Direct was the first one that So Phi created for the masses and that they promoted on a large scale.
The 16-track album features songs that cover a variety of topics. On the first track, "Show Some Respect," So Phi simply introduces themselves, and puts everyone on notice that So Phi is in the building. The songs, "Sex" and "Can We Get It On," are about just that: having sex and getting it on. On the other hand, there’s the more serious, "Hate it or Luv it," a song that is at times introspective, at times retrospective and still at other times inspirational. And if you want to get really high on the Cool-O-Meter, songs like "Cool as a Mutha..." and "Man of Da City" will turn your swagger all the way up.
That last one, "Man of Da City," is Quota's personal favorite from the album. Why? Because so many of So Phi's fans identifiy with it. It's not unusual for a fan to come up to them, and say, "'I get up every morning listening to this, and I feel like I'm the man of the city,'" says Quota. For him, it's great to know that people could react in such a positive way to a song that he had a part in making.
In fact, that's exactly the reaction they were going for. "Man of Da City" was not about So Phi being at the top of their game. "It was [about] how other people feel," says Quota. "So if you get up every morning, and be like, 'I'm the man of the city,' and you got a whole 'nother swag about yourself - that's what the song was meant to do. That's why I like it so much."
HOPEFULLY, SO PHI'S FANS will be able to relate to the songs from their newest album, NiteLife, just as much as they did to the songs from Live and Direct. This new album is set to be released in the spring of this year and is so titled because the songs have a night life type of vibe. In fact, the inspiration for the title came when, during a recent trip to Atlanta, Quota ended up riding around downtown at night. "I played some of the songs that I had that's going on the new album," he says, "and I was like, 'These songs are relating to what I'm looking at.' It's a visual of the skyline in Atlanta or the skyline in Chicago," he continues. "[It] gives you a night life feeling."
Now, if my assumption is correct, and the songs that are currently posted on So Phi's MySpace page will indeed be featured on NiteLife, then it seems to me that Quota and Exquisite have, so far, done a pretty decent job of capturing the essence of what it feels like to be a child of the night.
Songs like "Tonite," "He Da Man" and of course, "NiteLife," call to mind images of bright, neon lights and dark, smoky clubs filled with loud music. They make you think of beautiful women sitting at liquor-laden bars, and sipping colorful drinks while others work it on the dance floor. They elicit thoughts of swagged-out men wearing their best clothes, rocking their fresh cuts and smelling like that good cologne.
And if that wasn't enough to get your nocturnal juices flowing, just think about all the booties dropping, heads bobbing, bottles popping, drinks flowing, diamonds sparkling, cash flashing, dj's spinning, bass thumping, and ... well, you catch my drift. NiteLife will be an album that you can vibe to.
In fact, it just might be that album that you’ll be listening to while getting ready to go out, be it to the fliest club, the best restaurant, the biggest arena, the hottest party - or wherever you'll be on any given weekend night. Or it might be what you’ll be bumping while sitting in that long line of gleaming, just-washed and waxed old-schools and new-schools, all waiting to park at the latest hot spot.
Heck, even if you stay at home, and don't do a damn thing for the weekend, listening to NiteLife might still put you in a night-life state of mind.
When creating their songs, So Phi's normal modus operandi is to come up with the hooks first and the lyrics second. And like many artists, their lyrics mostly come from what the observe and, in some cases, what they've lived themselves.
"If you listen to any one of our albums," says Quota, "...probably three songs might come from personal experience. The rest of the album is from either what we see or what we draw in our minds as an artist. How I think life should be or how life should be to me."
IF YOU LISTEN TO So Phi's music (both old and new), you'll soon begin to realize that these two guys are very difficult to fit into any one category. While it can't be denied that they are true southern rappers, their sound is very diverse, so although you can hear the south in their music, you can also hear a little bit of every other coast too.
So what makes So Phi stand out from the crowd? Well, for starters, there are their distinctive voices and their aggressive deliveries which aren't only different from what you'd normally hear in the south, but are also different from each other as well.
Quota has a deep, slightly raspy, voice and well-paced and deliberate flow. On the other hand, Exquisite has a clearer, cleaner voice and a straight-forward, oftentimes rapid-fire flow. But neither brother feels the need to stay in his own lane at all times. They can - and do - switch it up as needed. And even though they can be as different as night and day on the mic, they complement each other perfectly.
How Do You Describe Your Music?
"I describe it as inspiration. It's a lotta rappers that don't have the opportunity or the money to go out here, and try to do something, and I feel the inspiration for them. If we can do it, they can do it."
Another thing that sets So Phi apart from many others on the local hip-hop scene is their production. To this day, ExQuisite, who's stayed true to his beats-making roots, still handles most of So Phi's production. And that's a good thing - because he does it well.
Little brother can produce the simplest, beats-and-bass, pure-hip-hop tracks and the more complex, multi-layered tracks equally as well. He incorporates and brings together sounds from the north, south, east and west, and he can go from gangster to soulful to funky to other-level and back without breaking a sweat.
But one of the best things about ExQuisite's production is that it doesn't sound "local." And by "local," I don't mean "Bama." "Bama" is good. What I mean is that So Phi's music doesn't sound like some crap that was produced in somebody’s bedroom closet. The sound-quality is quite good, and it’s evident that they invested some time and some money into getting it right. So even if it was produced in the bedroom closet (and for all I know, it was), you can't tell it by listening to it.
EVEN WITH ALL THE time, money and effort that So Phi puts into making good, quality music, the music is not the only thing they have on their plates. Besides working on their new album, Quota and Exquisite are hard at work organizing their 4th Annual So Phi Block Party.
This event, which takes place on the last Saturday of July (this year, it's on the 31st), was started as a means to bring the community together. "It's a lot of people that's not from this area that's in surrounding areas that don't get along with each other or the city that we're from. So it's meant to bring, not only kids together, but people together from different areas all in one," says Quota.
And so far, they've been successful at their goal of bringing the people of Camp Hill and the surrounding communities together peacefully. The So Phi Block Party brings out over 5,000 people to Camp Hill Park each year, but there's never been any violence. "[At] all three block parties, there was nobody getting arrested, wasn't any trouble, wasn't no shoot-outs. None at all," Quota points out, proudly.
Wanna Perform at the next So Phi Block Party?
With 5,000 to 6,000 people in attendance, the So Phi Block Party, is a great place for artists to showcase their music and their skills. If you're interested in performing at this year's event, contact Quota and Exquisite at 334-868-1654.
Calling all vendors!
Vendors are welcome at the Block Party too, so those who are interested in selling food, t-shirts or anything else should contact So Phi as soon as possible at the number above.
"All it is is like a family day. A family day of events," he says of the block party. And this family day is indeed chock-full of events. This year's invite lists a car show, a bike show, a 5-on-5 basketball tournament, a softball tournament and a step-show among other things. And of course there’ll be plenty of food and plenty of vendors selling their wares to the public.
Oh, and don't forget about the live entertainment. No! Not that kind, fool! This is a family event! I'm talking about the performances! Over the few years since it’s inauguration, The So Phi Block Party has become quite a popular venue for artists to show off their music and skills. "All of 'em try to sign up, and get on, and try to perform and put their music out there."
While most of the performers come from here in Alabama, there are also performances by artists from other states such as Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and the Carolina's. "I even had an artist from New York come," says Quota. Even big-names like Rich Boy and Raheem the Dream have shown some interest in either performing or having their artists perform.
NOT ONLY HAS THE block party helped bring the community together, but it’s also helped So Phi to gain some industry recognition. "After we started throwing block parties and started putting out fliers or whatever, and a lot of rappers were hitting us up [wanting to perform], that's when a lot of people from the industry, like A&R's from different record companies, started going to MySpace pages and were listening to our [music]," says Quota.
And what those label execs heard made them want to do much more than just listen to So Phi's music. "They liked our sound. They wanted to meet up with us to talk about if we wanted to go independent or if we wanted to go major."
So which route did they choose? Well, despite all the attention from the labels, So Phi is still not signed to a deal. And to be honest, they kind of like it that way. "Right now, we're trying to be independent. If the right deal comes along with a major, then yeah, we'll sign it, but right now, we're trying to do our own thing independently."
MAYBE THAT'S BECAUSE SO Phi wants to do something different. They're not content to just go along with the status quo. Bubblegum pop is not what they're about. Mindless music is not their thing. They want to be on some other-level shit - something that major record labels are often afraid to allow their artists to do.
So - for now at least - So Phi will just stick it out on their own. They'll work on finishing up and releasing their new album, NiteLife, and on making the 4th Annual So Phi Block Party as big a success as the others have been. And once the block party’s over with, they'll be promoting themselves non-stop with back-to-back shows.
And hopefully, all that promotion will attract attention from the right type of label with the right type of deal. But until then, keep your eyes and your ears open for So Phi. They're looking to bring something different to the game. And with their unique brand of music, their diverse sound and their self-described "unorthodox" style, they're definitely succeeding.
