THE RETURN OF ABRASIVE METHOD "RAIN OR SHINE" New Music
With all the celebrations for the 50 year anniversary of Hip Hop, it’s always a good thing when some of your favorite acts you grew up with drop some new music after a couple decades. Now i can’t say i grew up with these guys but i guess i could say i was there to see them grow up musically. And to see where they were when they put the mic on the shelf and how time has progressed i was anxious to get brought up to speed. Here is the interview with Abrasive Method followed by the release of their new single “Rain Or Shine”
1. Welcome Back! What has everyone been doing over the decades-long hiatus?
TONY: I got into commercial cabinet making and became a real estate agent on the side with Steve Kaiser as a broker.
STEVE: Since the last AM album, I've put out two solo albums. “The Last Boy Scout” (2010) and “Departure” (2020). We also put out a Five30 Music collaboration album in 2015 (Off The Clock). I have a bunch of kids and a couple of businesses that keep me busy.
CHARLIE: I’ve been travelling my musical journey the whole time. I released a solo record, “howdareyou” (2013). Recorded, mixed, and/or produced over 50 records. Purchased a house with my soul mate, and we have a cat named Rocket.
2. So what inspired the come-back?
TONY: I honestly can’t remember what started it all, but we were committed to doing it at least a year before the lockdowns, and it all accelerated during it. Personally, I’ve always felt like I had some left in the tank, and now almost being 40, I don’t give a fuck about what people want or expect, or even like for that matter. It’s easier to be truthful on record because of that.
STEVE: In all honesty, it was almost on a whim. The three of us have all thought of working on an Abrasive Method album at different times. Tony got drunk at a bachelor party, called me and asked if I wanted to formally be in the group. The initial idea was to make an album just for us. Just to get back to writing, recording, and hanging out. We weren't going to have Charlie produce any of the music and it was going to be a fun album without any serious thought. That didn't turn out to be the case as Charlie produced 9 of the 13 songs and we got deep into thought on most of them.
CHARLIE: I forgot that Tony and I were at a bachelor party in Comerica Park and thought that was the perfect time to ask Steve to join the group. He’s been with us since inception and has been a huge influence on our music and lives. Tony and I were talking about working on new music, and we both thought if we were to create a new record, we wanted to have Steve involved as an official member. AM would become a trio. We all contribute to each other’s projects and have been collaborating for years. This seemed right. We came back because we wanted to.
3. What do you feel is the biggest difference between being and being an independent artist now, as opposed to the first go around?
TONY: I have zero expectations with our music now. I love it, made it with my boys, and once it’s out in the universe it goes where it goes. I hope people like it, but it will not change a thing if they do or don’t.
STEVE: The biggest difference is exposure and the platforms. AM was an early adopter of the vlog/YouTube style promotion which we utilized for the “Living A Nightmare…” album. However, the platforms weren't as big and streaming music wasn't as big of a factor. As a music artist, I think you can reach more people easier than it was back in the days.
CHARLIE: We’re not looking to stress ourselves out with promotion, funding, shows, etc. We made this record for us. When time is occupied by so many things, we wanted to take the opportunity to create something special.
4. What can we expect from the project? Charlie Beans has established a sound via his production credits will it have strong vibes from that or the original Abrasive Method sound?
TONY: Beans has time and time again been a monster, and our leader. Him being in the game this entire time, working with countless people; his influence is everywhere on the album. We have a few other producers, but what’s dope is Steve picked some beats and laced a 16 as a demo. These beats Charlie and I would never have picked, so it took us to a different area, got us into a new space at times.
STEVE: I think this album has an AM sound. Maybe a little darker and more introspective, but it picks up pretty well where “Living a Nightmare…” left off. Half of the songs were written during the lockdown so some of the vibes are a little darker at certain points. At first, we were going to avoid having Charlie produce any beats just so he could rap over other people's music. However, he provided most of the tracks for the album because he kept sending us stuff that was too good to pass up. “Rain Or Shine” is a great example of that. It was the third or fourth song we recorded for the album. After that, we just started writing over anything he sent to us. Even if he didn't plan on us doing it.
CHARLIE: This sounds like an updated version of the AM sound. Everything is better. The songs are more focused, meaningful, and not over indulgent. The growth we’ve had in our lives is what makes this our best record to date. I send Tony and Steve every single beat I make. It’s like an archive. I’ve been doing it for years. During lockdown, we would record demos to beats. Someone would start a song, and we’d each make a demo. Then, we’d come in and record most of the record as a trio. The album is titled “now.” It’s coming out November 6th.
5. What are your goals, or what would you like to see accomplished with this release?
TONY: It would be cool to see a bunch of downloads or plays or whatever the fuck matters these days. Other than that, I just hope these two want to do another one.
STEVE: I don't think we have a lot of "goals" that are related to metrics or the music business. We made this album for us and the people that we know will enjoy it. We sat on the finished album and finally decided to just get this thing rolling. If anything, I just want people to hear it and take away whatever you can from the songs. For me, music is just something that I do. It's not about trying to "make it". Everything we say is an authentic feeling that we've had.
CHARLIE: I’d love for people to take the time to listen to the record and come back to it. It meant so much to go back where it all started with two of my closest friends. We started making music in my parent’s basement. Now we all have our own homes. That’s some beautiful shit.
6. Last words?
TONY: Thank you for your time Uncle P, you’ve always been kind to us.
STEVE: It's great to come full circle with DetroitRap.com. Being involved with Uncle P 20+ years ago and now being covered by DetroitRap.com is a pretty cool thing. Thanks for taking care of us.
CHARLIE: You’ve always been someone who’s looked out for us. From the very start. Thank you, P.
Check out the new joint from Abrasive Method
RAIN OR SHINE
Peep some joints out the vault from Abrasive Method
