I grew up in Brooklyn so skating is
kind of like what we did, I skated.
I’ve shown them the skateboard I
had in 1978.
Plus, they used my music in a lot of
skate videos. Like I did the first Zoo
York mixtape. And then, I know all
the dudes from like Shutskate, you
know, and Alex Corcoran and all
those dudes, for Supreme and all
that. Harold Hunter, New York City.
I guess parts of the skate and hip
hop scenes run pretty close.
Right, but New York was always
like that - it’s kind of like one and
the same thing, we all skateboard,
‘cause we used to skateboard as
kids. We didn’t grow up with video
games... but we were making
skateboards.
Did you skate much yourself?
I mean I used to ride my
skateboard every day when I was
like nine, and ten. I chipped my
tooth on a skateboard. You know?
But I don’t do that now. I mean I
could still get on and go this way.
I could do a couple little moves.
Nothing fancy.
So how did the Funky Pandas
come to be?
One day me and Psycho Les was
just bugging out in Berlin, you
know? I lived behind this bar called
Dot Common. So, we would just go
there, you know? Go downstairs,
hang out in the bar…
We’d seen a panda in Amsterdam
- it was like a whole conversation
and then boom, he was like, “Yo,
this is what we’re gonna call it.”
And we went to the studio the next
day - like the next five days - and
we did about five or six songs,
and we were like, “Wow, right, it’s
coming out cool.”
We waited for a while, ‘cause we’re
touring a lot, so when we got back
in the studio some months ago
we did about seven or eight more
songs.
That was back in 2015, and the
album’s out this year (2017). Was
it a deliberate call to tour the
music before releasing it?
Now people put everything on
the internet. You know, so now
we’re doing it live, you can’t get it
on the internet. Your friends can’t
download it, or whatever. You’ve
just gotta be there.
So, what can you tell us about
the album - Certified Bamboo?
It’s Certified Bamboo. You know
what I’m saying.
No s**t.
Certified Bamboo is the name of
the album because pandas like
bamboo. You know? That’s our
panda slang. Everything that’s
good is bamboo. If you’re having
a good time, that’s bamboo.
Money is bamboo. You know, a hot
chick, she’s bamboo. You know,
everything is bamboo, ‘cause
that’s what pandas are about right?
That’s what the Funky Pandas are
about like we just want to chill out,
you know, relax, be balanced, we
black, we white, we just want to
chill, eat some bamboo. You know?
But at the same time, pandas are
still bears. You might think he’s cute
and cuddly, but he’s still a bear.
How’s the tour been so far?
I mean, it’s been great. Honestly all
of the shows have been so packed.
Did you have a favourite?
I mean, I like them all. But by far
Barcelona and Amsterdam were
the hypest.
What’s next for you after the
tour?
Everything, I mean life is... Well
directly after the tour, we have
Kool G Rap again in Amsterdam at
our same venue, the Do The Right
Thing party. That’s our regular night
that we do it. Then from there, I’m
going to go to Romania to host the
Never See Festival. Then I come
back, and I go to Berlin for a few
days, then I come back here to
Chip Shop I think on the fourteenth.
Then fifteenth I’m in Bristol, and the
16th I’m in Finland.
But I mean, I guess that’s not
what you meant, after the tour I’m
finishing the Funky Pandas album.
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