When I started our
My City interview series it was my goal to spotlight dope new artists from cities usually outside the spotlight, and in that spirit I proudly present
Pre-Sense and
Aris, two
Pittsburgh natives who together comprise the musically adventurous crew
Apex. Join us as the dynamic duo breaks down Pittsburgh's diverse music scene, get inspired by nearly everything and explain that if you're looking for them on a Sunday, look no further than Heinz Field. Shocking, I know.
RefinedHype: Pittsburgh has a real reputation for being a blue collar city. Is that attitude reflected in the city's hip-hop scene?
Pre-Sense: It seems to be mostly, but there are a lot of artists that don’t seem to be as much blue collar as far as hip-hop goes, but that’s what’s great about the music scene here. It’s very diverse here with music, with the history of steel mills, Pittsburgh is very blue collar, but yet, over the years, after the steel mills vanished, Pittsburgh managed to build itself into a beautiful city full of corporate and private jobs. With that being said, there is mix between blue collar and white collar these days, and that reflects in our music scene.
Aris: I definitely think it is. Personally, I'm blue collar to the bone! My job outside of music is blue collar heavy. Its what I am and what I represent. If you listen to Pittsburgh hip hop you'll hear the references all the time about what Pittsburgh embodies. Like Pre said though, there's people from every walk of life doing this music thing and if your rockin the mic right and speaking the truth about how you get down and what you rep, then by all means GET YOURS!
RefinedHype: Do you think your music and career would be different if you were from a more "major" city like L.a., New York or Atlanta?
Pre-Sense: To clarify, I’m actually from a city north of Pittsburgh (New Castle) but over the years we have developed such a love for the music scene here, and networked with so many great people, that in time our music became “Pittsburgh music.” New Castle is a smaller city, it’s where I grew up, and I love it, but we did music in New Castle for quite some time and couldn’t get to close to where we wanted to be. I relate it to searching for a job sometimes, if you have skills and qualifications for a job, and your city isn’t the place to be for that job, then you may move to a bigger city like New York City or LA, where the money is better to achieve what you want. Well that’s kind of what we did without knowing it, we starting getting shows in Pittsburgh and meeting people, it just became what we represent. We needed these studio engineers, producers, colleagues, and nightlife. I love Pittsburgh, and I love the music here, so we made moves to accommodate that, and it worked. I will forever represent New Castle though, that’s what raised me. 724 and 412 stand up! I’ve heard that sometimes I don’t represent New Castle enough, and maybe that’s true, but I still have a lot of music to make, and a lot that I want to say on records in the near future, and touching on that is something I’ve really been wanting to do. I needed something bigger, New Castle has some hip-hop in it, but not like Pittsburgh, the scene is crazy here. With all this said, I think that our music career would be different, that’s what expansion is all about. This is why our music needs to be heard in these big cities, as well as the small. If the industry is focused more on the big cities, you have to bring it to them. You have to make noise and make moves, New Castle to Pittsburgh was just the first step in that process, but nothing could replace what I’ve learned here, that’s why our music is “Pittsburgh music.”
Aris: I also grew up in New Castle. Then, for about 5 or 6 yrs, I just moved around. Stayed at a couple different spots in the castle, then moved closer and closer to Pittsburgh till I was living on the north side of the city. I stayed there for about a year, then found a place on the outskirts in a city called Ambridge, where my homie Nova was at. Now he's living in the ATL trying to further his career. To answer your question...yes, I do think things could be different if we were living in one of the cities you mentioned and probably a couple others too. There's just more opportunities in certain areas. They seem to be scouted heavier and just simply recognized for musical talent more than other cities. The exact reason why we set our sites on the burgh and were lucky enough to meet some great, talented artists, producers and hard working promoters that recognized our talent and took us in. The thing is, we always got love in the castle and there's definitely other talent in that city but the scene for performing and things of that nature just isn't available there. The Hip Hop scene in the Burgh on the other hand is getting bigger and better, and gaining more of a following every day. Its incredible! And we're honored to be a part of it! We also have built quite a fan base in Pittsburgh throughout the last 5 or so years of performing there. Its a beautiful thing and we're thankful for everyone that supports us regardless of WHERE ya at.
RefinedHype: Where do you go to get inspired?
Pre-Sense: Artists inspire me. Life inspires me. The weather and change of seasons inspire me. The night inspires me. The city inspires me. People inspire me. I just want to be successful (you heard Drake), but really.
Aris: where do I go...hmm…truthfully I'm inspired by everything and everyone. Bad, Good, Happy, Sad...it all inspires Me. Actors, Musicians, Mothers, Fathers...our soldiers fighting this fucked up war!...the will of a human being...Pittsburgh, Life, the world is inspiring. Not so much inspired by politicians. Even right now I’m getting inspired just responding to your questions homie. Ha!
RefinedHype: If I'm rolling through Pittsburgh where can I find you?
Pre-Sense: You can find me at Heinz Field if the Steelers are playing! Other than that, I’m around; South Side, Strip District, East Libery. I might be getting my wine and dine on somewhere in the city. You might find me in the Cultural District checking out a play. You might even find me walking down a sidewalk in the fall. I’m around man, as much as I can be, I’m around. If it’s a weekday from 8 to 6, you wont find me anywhere but my job, grinding. Haha. Speaking from the first question, my job is also very blue collar.
Aris: A few spots…you could definitely find me on the South Side, East Carson or the Shadow Lounge in East Lib. You might also find me somewhere in Station Square or up on Mt Washington at my peoples pads…but most often just chilling at my brothers crib in Monroeville (Pittsburgh) drinking some Iron City from his kegerator…ya feel me? Haha!
RefinedHype: Last words?
Pre-Sense: Fresh off of our highly acclaimed “Struggle City” album which is available on iTunes and all other online retailers, we got some projects in the works. Mixtapes and such, we never played the mixtape scene, always put out albums, so we are going to work at that for a bit, as well as doing shows. Maybe an EP with different producers here and there. Whatever we are doing, we will be putting out new music for you to enjoy, that’s one thing that’s for certain. How’d Puff say it? “Can’t stop, wont stop,” haha, yeah.
Aris: Pre pretty much covered everything that needed touched on. "Struggle City" is in stores NOW! We got two new joints available for FREE download at www.apex.bandcamp.com, where you can also get our first release FACE THE MUSIK for Free. We’re getting the storyboard together for our first OFFICIAL video shoot with Rex Arrow Films. The video is for our hit song, “Get Ready” off the "Struggle City" album, which was just featured on DJBooth.net. We‘re working on a local clothing line, The 4TwelveOfficial, available at
www.apexmusik.spreadshirt.com…Mixtapes, EPs, Shows, Interviews, etc. Whatever we can do to gain a fan and help an individual take their mind off the daily routine he/she has developed or the trials and tribs that are inherited with everyday life, APEX is at your assistance.
Thanks for everything Nathan! This is only the beginning my dude! We appreciate your time.
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Editor's Note: For more from Apex be sure to visit them on MySpace, ReverbNation, Twitter, BandCamp and YouTube. Yeah, they're working hard. And be sure to check out their new album "
Struggle City" and listen to two of their new tracks, "
Get Ready" and "
If I Walk Away" below.)
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