005: This Year So Far, in Playlists
Highlights from the first quarter of 2023, which was mostly spent interviewing artists for BRICK's Record and Tape Exchange.
Last summer, when Sam and I launched BRICK Magazine’s digital blog, we cooked up the Record and Tape Exchange franchise. Through a series of questions (which are always the same), we ask artists about the music that’s shaped their lives and influenced their creative output. From the serious (What was the first physical record you remember buying?) to the absurd (What’s the song that you're playing for aliens to convince them not to destroy Earth?) the answers are always insightful and never what you’d expect. From there, we create Apple Music playlists for our readers to save and listen to.
In the first three months of 2023, I spoke to Key Nyata, a Seattle-based former member of the RVIDXR KLVN, KeithCharles, who was a founder of Atlanta’s Awful Records and is now based in New York City, and PoloBoyShawty, a Chicago producer who’s at the helm of the current plugg revival. Check out some highlights below.
What song reminds you the most of your childhood?
KEY NYATA: “‘Sprinkle Me’” by E-40. E-40 was my dad's favorite rapper, so I heard that song a lot growing up. He was actually friends with B-Legit. We’re cousins with the Bay Area here in Seattle.”
Listen to Key Nyata’s playlist here.
You're abducted by aliens and when you wake up on the spaceship, they pass you the aux. What is the song that you're playing to convince them not to destroy Earth?KEITHCHARLES: “‘Dick on Me’ by Pollari. It's on SoundCloud. 102,000 plays on ‘Dick on Me.’ That's a certified SoundCloud Classic. But if that’s not on Spotify or Apple Music, I'm trying to think what else aliens would be into. Okay so first off, they got us at gunpoint. Oh man, it can't be nothing chill. They gotta turn up. Yeah, these aliens gotta turn up. I'm gonna say ‘Birds Take a Bath’ by Future. Because I'm like, All right, don't shoot bro. Damn. This question is the hardest one. Earth is in my hands. I'm kind of tired of living. I don't know, maybe I might sabotage this. Let's go ‘Codeine Crazy’ by Future. Final answer. We done went through too much, you hear me? … That ain't for you dawg / That's for them other niggas. Yeah, we gonna go with ‘Codeine Crazy.’”
Listen to Keith’s playlist here.
What song reminds you the most of home?
POLOBOYSHAWTY: “The Recipe” by Kendrick Lamar and Dr. Dre. Maybe because before I moved, when I was staying with my mom, I played that song to death. So anytime I hear it, it instantly reminds me of home. But really, I could have said anything. Flyleaf, Gucci Mane, Tupac, Linkin Park, Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, Lil Wayne, all them people. But I feel like that's the one that sticks out the most in my mind at the time right now.
Listen to PoloBoyShawty’s playlist here.
I also think it’d be fun to hear from my readers: What was the first physical record you remember buying, and what’s the memory attached to it? Let me know in the comments.
Need inspiration? To read the interviews in full and check out the full R&T collection, head to the BRICK blog.