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Angel Haze Interview
RnB/Hip Hop | Tuesday 11th December 2012 | Osh
At just 21 years old this Michigan-born rapper has been making some waves on the scene right now and just weeks after releasing her mixtape ‘Reservation’ she hand picked Universal Records to sign to. Right now all eyes and ears are on this talented young rapper/ singer.
You set the US a blaze and you're here with us now, people are championing your music. Your EP was released this week and the mixtape in the summer 'Reservation'.
Yeah and we have another mixtape dropping next week called 'Classic' and then more stuff after that.
Do you make music everyday?
Like before I came here I spent a whole week making a mixtape in the studio and then we finished it Thursday and we shot the video for everything on Friday and now I am just keeping it coming.
You’re a workaholic?
Yeah I really am!
So you don't like to slow down then?
No I don't like to stop. I don’t like being out of time it bothers me.
So for you its writing, producing or doing something basically?
Yeah I always have to be doing something.
I’ll be honest with you doing the research for this was a challenge because there was very little about who you. So where are you from in the US and what was your childhood like in terms of musical Influence?
I am from Detroit, Michigan I moved around a lot as a child, see when I was growing up I wasn't aloud to listen to music until I was at the age of 16 and this is because of a very religious background. But once I started to listen to music I was more influenced by alternative music and soft rock and artists such as Eminem, Kanye West and people in particular that bared their souls with their music, that was my biggest influence.
So I understand you started off writing poetry and rapping and singing came a little later. How did you get into it?
I met a guy when I was in 9th Grade and was like “Dude you would be so great as a rapper” and I thought I can do that! I sucked when I first started, I can take you guys back literally to when I first started it took so much practice, so much research, so much learning to make me this good and this ain't even as good as I can get. But for me to get to this level its took so much, so yeah it was a task and a challenge. God I hope none of my old stuff ever re- surfaces!
I would love to hear it. So the mixtape 'Reservation', some people are curious but are you native American?
Yes I am.
What tribe are you from?
I am from Cherokee Tribe.
Which nation is that's?
Its Cherokee, Oklahoma Nation but I am not from a Rez or anything like that, my album had nothing to do with my heritage despite what people say.
What inspires you to write?
Like I said before with me I need people to inspire me so going into the world is my forte it's like when you have a canvas and a planet and you get your colours from the world you paint a picture in solitude by yourself just from memory, just recalling what you saw so you need people to be inspiring and you need solitude to be inspiring.
So you're signed to Universal Records, what's the story behind you getting that deal then?
We released my EP, the next day I flew to L.A to meet Atlantic and then I flew back to New York to meet with Universal and other records like R.C.A , Sony all of them we actually met with every mainstream label outside of Interscope and I told my manager I want to do something really straight forward and I don't want bids. I don't want any of it to happen right now I want to pick the person who is the best at doing their job and add them to the team. So we went directly to Universal and said we would like to sign with you and this is what we want and they pretty much gave me what I wanted and then to the other labels I turned them down and said this is who am going with and thanks for your time.
Your music has been championed by so many in the mainstream in this county like Radio 1xtra, Radio 1, Kiss FM, Choice FM they are all championing your music. What is the creative history behind the song ‘New York’?
‘New York’ is an ode to the city, I moved there about 4 months ago there was a totally different girl before New York like post New York you have to give credit to a place that brought you there. So that song brought me there and it is also a warning to other rappers that you need to watch your back dude!
As simple as that! So the mixtape ‘Reservation’ only has two features on it, Kool A.D and Nicole Wray was that by design?
Yeah it was I didn't want any features on the album because i'm not a feature type of person as I have trouble working with other artists! But my manager hooked me up with Kool A.D and it was supposed to be a track for his album not mine and Nicole Wray the Wicked Moon track was actually originally her song but she gave it to me and was like you can use it as she wasn't going to put it out. So I re- wrote the verses and wrote around the chorus and left her there as she is fucking amazing dude!
So you got the EP ‘New York’ that gets released this week as well, what can we expect from this one and how does it differ from ‘Reservation?’
The EP is basically a collection of songs that are remastered, they are re-worked and there is a King Corey mix to ‘New York’ and there is a Jamie XX remix. There is a lot of stuff going on and it just feels better!
You got your single ‘Working Girl’ which is really popping off right now, everything seems to be off the cuff with you! The video is visually engaging as well so what is the history behind the video and song?
OMG I am huge fan of Freddie Kruger, so when I wrote the song I gave it to the director and he was like it’s going to be so sick! Its kinda like a collaborative piece, my insight was like dude I wanna do the Freddie Kruger thing I want it to be really still shots and cinematic because I don’t do music videos where I am standing in front of a car rapping about women and money and popping crystal so I just wanted it to be cinematic. I am pretty dark as a person, i’m super dark! In my brain you don't wanna be there! So the whole idea was just like a re-work of his earlier movies. The idea behind the song was just that I wrote it in the studio and I felt really useless as I don’t like writing in the studio and I wrote it in an hour i wasn’t planning to use the song and now it happens to be one of the hottest songs I have ever recorded.
I know you have a new mixtape coming soon can you tell us about that?
Yeah the mixtape is called ‘Classic’ and the album is called ‘Dirty Gold’ and they are going to be released sometime next year.
For more information check out www.angelhazemusic.com
Words by Mr. Wondah
