Sitting at my desk last week watching music videos on YouTube, my roommate walked in and asked me if I was listening to Talib Kweli. Imagine his surprise when I told him I was watching Philadelphia Slick’s music video for “Oil.” A representative for underground hip-hop in Philadelphia, Philly Slick offers a refreshing sound to today’s cheesy, repetitive hooks in the hip-hop industry. I recently got a chance to ask them a few questions.
NP: How long have you guys been together?
PS: Philly Slick’s been together since the Spring of 2005.
Philly Slick was developed by emcee Noesis and keyboardist/DJ Zach Reilly as they began to perform live in the city. It was and continues to be much easier to get a gig in Philly with a live band as opposed to turntables and a mic.
NP: Now that you’ve been together for awhile, looking back, what is your most memorable show?
PS: It’s hard to pick one, but we all loved our Oil Album Release show last May at World Cafe Live. We were able to trigger live projections on stage and the crowd was really hype.
NP: Who are some artists that influence you? Do you think you can hear those influences in your music?
Emcee Noesis: I’ve always loved Aesop Rock, I think my vocals come through like maybe a tad more concise, a tad more clear Aesop.
PS: Drum wise, we really love minimalistic kick-hat-snare stuff – so that’s definitely an ode to ?uestlove and the Ro p listening to.
NP: How do you categorize yourself in terms of the rest of the hip-hop industry?
PS: Although this is a term that sometimes refers to money and exposure (and not a subgenre of music) it’s easiest to say we’re "underground hip hop." "Conscious hip hop" sounds so pretentious, and "good hip hop" is way too subjective. So yeah, underground hip hop works.
NP: How would you describe your fan base and how has it grown?
PS: We’ve been expanding beyond Philly the last couple of years – building fan bases in Vermont (Burlington and beyond) as well as Pittsburgh, Columbus and Cincinnati Ohio, as well as Rochester, NY and NYC. I think fans of Def Jux, fans of Rhymesayers, fans of the Roots and Mos Def – they all relate to Slick’s music really well. At the same time, we have a huge older fan base: they might not make it out to our late-night shows, but we’ve got older generations digging Slick as well. In addition, we’ve played shows to elementary schools to great success. We think that our music is pretty universal, and so are our fans.
NP: How do you measure success?
PS: Success is definitely a combination of many things. Exposure, meaning if I go out to a movie and someone says – "Hey Philly Slick!" – that definitely means a lot. We just got our first album on Pandora music online, that was definitely a successful moment. Of course money – not millions or anything like that – but we all have a goal of being able to live modestly off our music. We all think one of the big measures of success in any field is being able to live off of what you love to do. Not "ball" – just live.
NP: What is the next step for you guys?
PS: We’re mixing a new EP – untitled as of right now that should be ready for a late March, early April release. Emcee Noesis and Drummer El Smooth are working on a "Beats and Watson" album that will also be released in the Spring (The album features more ‘beats and rhymes’ type hip hop as opposed to Slick’s live feel.) In terms of touring, Philly Slick will be hitting the road this April across the Midwest and Northeast.
Check out Philadelphia Slick’s most recent gig at the Blockley Pourhouse in our EyeCandy section!
AroundPhilly Staff
