Hi Roebus! Thanks for taking time out and answering a few questions for Chainsaws and Jelly. Give the world a brief introduction about yourself.
Well, I am Roebus One, indie hip-hop artist born in new york, and raised in new jersey. I've been rapping since the age of 13, and i've played musical instruments since i was about 5. i'm into all types of music and art, and i've had a weird life to say the least.oh yeah, and i like to smile.
"Reflections of Good-Bye" is a great album. I was listening to it one night while I was researching and I caught myself saying out loud wow! The angst and the pain were definite genuine emotions in your lyrics. What was the inspiration?
thank you very much. i would say the biggest inspiration was just life, past and present, and not really seeing a future at the time. i was in a really dark place when i wrote the album. and at the time i was completely straight edge, so i guess that tied in with things that i've held in from the past, a girl that i was dealing with for like 5 years, and getting sick and tired of everything brought it out. and for those who don't know, everything that i wrote in the album really happened, 100% true, from the depression, to the actual car ride in "dead" (except the girl didnt really die). i've gotten to a point where music for me is an outlet. if i dont do it, i wouldnt be here. i'm not too good at saying how i feel out loud, but between the right music, and words and art, i can say what i need to say.
You recently performed at Bamboozle 2009. Tell me about that.
Bamboozle was fun, my set was ehhh. like everything that could possibly go wrong happened, haha, vocals cut out for a verse, i got a lot of feedback from the monitors so i couldnt move around too much, but i still put on a good show and the people were entertained. other than that, i ran into a lot of awesome musicians, bert from the used, saw taking back sunday, and a lot of bands that i listen to on the regular.
Who are your musical influences?
geez i have so many. busta rhymes, wu-tang clan, cage, daryl palumbo from glassjaw, deftones, blood brothers, yeah yeah yeah's, Anthony Green, way too many to name. the cool thing about anthony green though, i sampled him on the song "frail" on my album, and he heard it and loved the song, and he sent me an e mail asking me how do i write my lyrics, and i was like "what??" Dude is one of my heros, and i'm keeping my fingers crossed, but i think we might be collaborating soon. other than that, a little bit of jazz, a lot of experimental music, and my friends, daniel joseph, shape, TMFSE, gdp, tab, they all inspire me more than they know.
You moved to Philly. How do you like it so far? Anything like Jersey?
well, i actually havent officially moved there yet, september 1st is my departure from the NY/NJ area. i'm looking forward to it though, i'm moving to a really nice spot in center city, like 3 blocks away from old city. i've always loved philly and i like the fact that where i'm going to be is everything that i would ever need: good vegan spots, art galleries, record shops, all within walking or bike riding distance. thats one thing i'm looking forward to, not having to drive super far to get everywhere. i think musically and artistically, it will inspire me a lot more.
What are you working on these days?
honestly i havent really been doing too much in the past month, recording Reflections of Goodbye was emotionally draining, so i'm just chilling, doing guest appearances at shows here and there. in a couple of weeks though, i'm recording a few EPs. one with some friends from Doylestown, PA, one locally with Shape and some other people, and a side project with Ray Contour (if we can ever link up, haha). then i think i'm hitting the road again in October, with Shape and hopefully TMFSE.
Roebus, tell me how you got ROEBUS. I've been curious and I've had people ask me about your name and I didn't have an answer.
lol, ok, well some people thought i got it because i was really overweight when i started rhyming. i was like 250lbs back in the day, now i'm like 120 or something like that. but actually when i was like 12, i farted on thanksgiving, and my brother was like "damn son, that shit smells robust", so i changed the spelling and added the one because I was the first one with that name.
What can we expect to see in the future from you?
a different kick ass follow up to Reflections of Goodbye, i'll probably drop the first track from it early 2010, side projects in different genres, and hopefully some production on other artists' projects.
last but not least, thank you for the interview, chainsaws and jelly kills shit. shout out to D Joseph, TMFSE, Shape, GDP, Pistol, Larry Hobson, Mob B, RsinX, Chuckillz, Sicker than Most, Derill Pounds, and all you guys need to come through to philly for some din din, haha, PEACE...
Link ♥: www.myspace.com/roebusone730
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