We had the chance to interview Calid B, the young and talented rapper from Ohio (a POD favorite as well). Following his recent “Parasites” video, we get to talking about his latest project AfroBang, his current and past experiences and what/where to expect. So check it out below:
Hey Calid.. What’s up? How are you? Thanks for sitting down with Pursuit of Dopeness!
I’m great, can’t complain at all. Life is good. Thanks for having me.
Absolutely! So we can’t stop listening to “Gold’ .. It’s amazing.. how did the making of “Gold” come about?
Haha that’s what’s up thanks! Gold is a divine record. I literally woke up out the middle of my sleep with the Common “Be” intro in my head. Recorded it on my cell phone and then went back to sleep lol. The next day I sampled the bass line, made the beat, and laid down my hook and verse. It happened really fast.
“Gold” fts. Sam Trump & Party Noire.. how was it working with them?
Sam Trump came thru my home studio and laid down some ill vocals and did what he does on the horn. And lastly, I always wanted a female voice to come in at the end of my verse, and at first it was just gonna be my girl on it, but then we were like why don’t we just get the whole Party Noire crew on it! They came thru one Sunday, made brunch, kicked back and laid down their vocals, and the rest is history. Gold is my favorite record ?
“Gold” is definitely a banger! What would you say is your style of music? Your sound is amazing it makes me want to get up and dance.
Haha that’s great to hear, because that’s the goal of my sound. Is to make people feel good, dance, and come together.I call my sound AfroBang. I get inspiration from the tribal sounds and percussion of West Africa and throughout the African diaspora, and try to blend that with the contemporary flavors of today. Whether that be trap, r&b, pop, reggae or whatever. I just love blending two worlds together musically, and culturally. I think that’s what creates unity.
I noticed you produced “Gold” & “Parasites” … do you produce all of your music?
Yes I produce all my music. I’ve been producing for a loooooong time. I never thought I’d be putting out a solo project lol, I’ve always kind of been the dude behind the scenes producing and managing other artists. But producing for myself and some of close friends has allowed to grow as an artists and a person.
That’s super dope! So what’s next?
Yeah so the album, AfroBang, comes out July 15th, and Im super excited to get it out there. I know that it doesn’t sound like anything out right now, so I’m proud to bring something fresh to the table. My album release show will be at Tonic Room on August 11th, so come thru! And beyond that I hope to perform at more shows at a venue near you, continue to collab with other artists, and really get the AfroBang movement going. Me and my manager Toye have a lot of ideas that we look forward to bringing to fruition very very soon.
What do you want people to take away from AfroBang?
I want people to feel joy, love and respect for themselves! The concept behind AfroBang is to bring people across the African diaspora together through music. Hip hop is so African but that story doesn’t really get told. So I hope to tell that story.
We’re excited to hear the story you’re going to tell… Thanks for telling us about “AfroBang” We can’t wait to hear it! See you August 11th at the Tonic Room?
No doubt! Please come thru Tonic Room August 11th, it’s gonna be incredible show. We got dancers, drummers, maybe some African food and the whole 9! Ya ya!!
& Thanks so much letting me share my story. Been a fan of Pursuit of Dopeness for years. So salute to the whole squad!
Thank you Calid! You’re so dope! We can’t wait for AfroBand!
Thank u! ???
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