PHOTO : MECHANT VAPORWAVE /@ MECHANT _ VAPORWAVE
PS : How did the two of you first connect ?
Will Owen Bennett : Ashanti came by my studio to be featured on another rapper ’ s track a while back , and then she hit me up to do the Deviancy record last year . So , we did that record and it was released pretty much exactly a year before God Has Nothing to Do with This .
PS : Ashanti , what made you come back to Will for this album ?
Backxwash ( Ashanti Mutinta ): For one , I just have to make sure that wherever I ’ m recording , I feel comfortable . I feel very comfortable in Will ’ s apartment . As well , Will ’ s ear is just on another level . You know , he ’ ll hear things that you don ’ t even recognize in the composition . I feel like some other people don ’ t really know how to mix from a hip-hop or heavy music mindset . You know , they ’ ll end up turning a lot of things really down . Will listens to hip-hop and heavier music and he knows how to keep the sound and momentum going . It ’ s just incredible .
PS : Will , what was your experience working in rap and / or metal prior to working with Ashanti ? And how was it for you blending these two sonic cultures ?
Bennett : In terms of engineering , I have a lot more experience with hip-hop than I do with metal . I mean , metal engineering is a whole different kind of ballgame once you ’ re dealing with baritone guitars and breakdowns in drop A , and there ’ s a whole way of using samples with live drums and stuff …
Recording in Bennett ’ s apartment
In terms of blending the two , I think part of what makes Ashanti ’ s productions super unique is just the fact that she tends to take these really aggressive samples , but then present them in a hip-hop focused way . Ashanti , the way you set up your drums and set up your 808s is super hip-hop focused , and the way you chop everything up and the way that everything ’ s rhythmically set up is very , very hip-hop . But then the content of the samples , frequency wise , and especially on the Stigmata EP , it was all metal samples and stuff . On God Has Nothing to Do with This , there ’ s that Nine Inch Nails sample , there ’ s the Black Sabbath sample , and [ Led Zeppelin ’ s ] “ When the Levee Breaks ” and all those different things .
So , it ’ s sort of like taking metal and punk and hardcore sounds from an aesthetic perspective , but then setting them up and processing them in a way that rhythmically ends up becoming hip-hop . So really , my job was just to be like , “ Okay , what is the energy here ? How can I ensure that I ’ m not sterilizing anything , but still have it hit really hard and be beefy when it needs to be beefy , and be hype when it needs to be hype ?”
PS : Ashanti , how did you come to this unique style of rap production that prominently incorporates metal elements ?
Backxwash : Back in the day , when I was like 13 to 17 , on previous projects I would never rap on my beats . When I slowly started making beats , I was just like , “ I ’ m just going to use the stuff that I ’ m influenced by .” I feel like the importance of choosing a sample comes in the feeling . Like when Kanye
West picks those soul samples , they ’ re extremely good because of the feeling that they give you . So , feeling is a big thing for me . Growing up listening [ to rap and metal ], I just liked how it made me feel because it was so tormented and I was in a Christian home , so it was kind of taboo . I was just like , “ I ’ m trying to be my authentic self , so I ’ ll just mix the two .”
Then partnering up with Will was also a no-brainer because the mixes came out incredible . When we did Deviancy , the beats were heavy , but there was still some space to make them heavier . I think we kind of did that with God Has Nothing to Do with This because it ’ s a much heavier record . With Stigmata , [ the newest EP ,] we turned that dial up even more !
PS : Where were you two recording this ?
Bennett : Mostly in my current apartment in Montreal . When we did Deviancy , I was living in a different apartment . That was this super-tiny-ass room . Basically , Ashanti was maybe a foot to my left while she ’ s on the mic . We were just doing stuff in headphones . My current apartment , the room is at least a little bit bigger , but it ’ s still just an extra bedroom in my apartment that I use as a mixing room , and then we recorded vocals there as well .
PS : Ashanti , how fully-formed were the songs when you two met to record ?
Backxwash : I think the lyrics and the structure was there , but what I like about recording with Will is he gives a lot of feedback and advice while you ’ re doing the recording . A good thing about Will is he knows how to transition energy , or maintain energy . You know , he gives a suggestion like , “ Why don ’ t you do it like this ?” and that usually works out .
So , the songs and the structure were there , but there were a few times where it was like , “ Why don ’ t we do this ?” in terms of arrangement or structure . A good example is the choir part in the song “ Amen ” where it slows down . That was supposed to come at the end but Will was like , “ Why don ’ t we bring that to the middle and have that 808 come at the end ?” It just worked out pretty perfectly . Also , the arrangements on “ Into the Void ” and “ Spells .” The advice he gave while recording them took it to a whole different other level .
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