HipHopUG.com interviews Sicknature of the production team Snowgoons in regards to their new collaborative album with M.O.P. - Sparta.
Sicknature is an emcee and producer from Denmark and most notably for his eccentrical symphonic and melodramatic beats. He is also a member of the Snowgoons.
Sicknature bio on HHUG
Snowgoons bio on HHUG
Sicknature bio on HHUG
Snowgoons bio on HHUG
HHUG: Sparta is a collaborative album between M.O.P. and the Snowgoons, released on November 22, 2011. How would you describe this album?
Sicknature: Sparta is a very slamming album. I don’t think that the fans of either M.O.P. or Snowgoons will find the sound disappointing.
HHUG: Considering Billy Danze and Lil' Fame were not featured on any previous Snowgoons projects, how did you all cross paths to make Sparta?
Sicknature: Well, we have met a couple of times on tours. And we (Snowgoons) always wanted to work with them. So when we had the opportunity to let them hear some of our material, we went in and knocked out a portion of beats. Chuck Wilson from Babygrande hooked it up at the end and released Sparta.
HHUG: In your opinion, what made you guys work on a full length album with M.O.P., without any guest features?
Sicknature: I guess M.O.P. didn’t need guest rappers on it. Billy said: “I think M.O.P. on a Snowgoons project and Snowgoons producing a whole project for M.O.P. is enough featuring.”
HHUG: Sonically speaking, how does Sparta differ from previous Snowgoons projects?
Sicknature: We have made collaboration albums before. Snowgoons are known for having many songs on their albums. This just has ten tracks and no guests, which is new for us. And when communicating with M.O.P. back and forth, they brought ideas to the table sound wise too.
HHUG: Are there any tracks you produced yourself, or were all the tracks produced in conjunction with the entire production team with DJ Illegal and Det?
Sicknature: I think it's almost impossible to make a beat where you sit down four people and work 25% on it each. Especially if you live in different countries. So a beat skeleton / idea will always be produced by one of the Snowgoons members and then ideas are added and adjustments are made. To give you a couple of examples, I came up with the “Blasphemy” beat. Then the other goons gave me their feedback and thoughts and we added them to it. Det & Illegal came up with “Body On The Iron” - I played a bass and keys to it. J.S. Kuster came up with the skeleton for “Get Yours” – he is a beast on the keys! We gave our feedback and made a few changes. But sometimes we all meet up and work on one beat together. That happens too.
HHUG: Lil' Fame is also known to produce music, sometimes under the moniker Fizzy Womack. Has any of his production influenced the sound of Sparta, and your music in general?
Sicknature: Lil Fame is a talented MC and a dope producer! His work is definitely inspiring.
HHUG: Sparta features ten tracks without any fillers. Were there any specific reasons to limit the album to ten songs?
Sicknature: I think that ten songs is enough album wise. As long as the songs are solid. There is no reason to just throw songs on it, if it´s not needed. Some of the best hip hop albums ever made, don’t contain that many songs. Perfect examples are Illmatic by Nas and 21 & Over by Tha Alkaholiks.
HHUG: How was your experience on working with Lil' Fame and Billy Danze like?
Sicknature: It was cool. We threw beat ideas back and forth and they just went in and killed it. They are good people and very professional!
HHUG: Will there be any more Sicknature/Snowgoons collaborations with M.O.P. in the future?
Sicknature: I absolutely think so. The Sparta album is getting great feedback right now. So it would make sense. But we´ll see.
HHUG: What future plans do you have in store as Sicknature and with the Snowgoons?
Sicknature: Becoming part of the Snowgoons opened new doors for me. And we definitely have a lot of Snowgoons material dropping in the near future as well as a new Snowgoons album. As the artist and producer, Sicknature (now of the Snowgoons) I
am working on a new solo album which is scheduled to drop in 2012. I have worked a lot with my good friend Ill Bill on new material as well. A new La Coka Nostra album Masters Of The Dark Arts will drop early 2012. This is just to name of few of the things I am working on. I try to stay as busy as possible!
HHUG: Who are your top 5 favorite music producers and why? Top 5 music artists and
why?
Sicknature: That is an extremely tough question to answer. It depends on my mood and what I feel like listening to at a particular moment. As a music producer I try not to be stuck listening to few genres and few artists. Even though I have been making hip hop music for more than half of my life, I still have a lot to learn. And I think I can learn a lot by listening to different music. So I wouldn’t limit myself as a music listener. However, nothing is compared to real hip hop music, man.
HHUG: Thank you for this interview. Is there anything you would like to add?
Sicknature: Thank you! Stay tuned for more Snowgoons music! We keep growing and keep working hard!
Sicknature: Sparta is a very slamming album. I don’t think that the fans of either M.O.P. or Snowgoons will find the sound disappointing.
HHUG: Considering Billy Danze and Lil' Fame were not featured on any previous Snowgoons projects, how did you all cross paths to make Sparta?
Sicknature: Well, we have met a couple of times on tours. And we (Snowgoons) always wanted to work with them. So when we had the opportunity to let them hear some of our material, we went in and knocked out a portion of beats. Chuck Wilson from Babygrande hooked it up at the end and released Sparta.
HHUG: In your opinion, what made you guys work on a full length album with M.O.P., without any guest features?
Sicknature: I guess M.O.P. didn’t need guest rappers on it. Billy said: “I think M.O.P. on a Snowgoons project and Snowgoons producing a whole project for M.O.P. is enough featuring.”
HHUG: Sonically speaking, how does Sparta differ from previous Snowgoons projects?
Sicknature: We have made collaboration albums before. Snowgoons are known for having many songs on their albums. This just has ten tracks and no guests, which is new for us. And when communicating with M.O.P. back and forth, they brought ideas to the table sound wise too.
HHUG: Are there any tracks you produced yourself, or were all the tracks produced in conjunction with the entire production team with DJ Illegal and Det?
Sicknature: I think it's almost impossible to make a beat where you sit down four people and work 25% on it each. Especially if you live in different countries. So a beat skeleton / idea will always be produced by one of the Snowgoons members and then ideas are added and adjustments are made. To give you a couple of examples, I came up with the “Blasphemy” beat. Then the other goons gave me their feedback and thoughts and we added them to it. Det & Illegal came up with “Body On The Iron” - I played a bass and keys to it. J.S. Kuster came up with the skeleton for “Get Yours” – he is a beast on the keys! We gave our feedback and made a few changes. But sometimes we all meet up and work on one beat together. That happens too.
HHUG: Lil' Fame is also known to produce music, sometimes under the moniker Fizzy Womack. Has any of his production influenced the sound of Sparta, and your music in general?
Sicknature: Lil Fame is a talented MC and a dope producer! His work is definitely inspiring.
HHUG: Sparta features ten tracks without any fillers. Were there any specific reasons to limit the album to ten songs?
Sicknature: I think that ten songs is enough album wise. As long as the songs are solid. There is no reason to just throw songs on it, if it´s not needed. Some of the best hip hop albums ever made, don’t contain that many songs. Perfect examples are Illmatic by Nas and 21 & Over by Tha Alkaholiks.
HHUG: How was your experience on working with Lil' Fame and Billy Danze like?
Sicknature: It was cool. We threw beat ideas back and forth and they just went in and killed it. They are good people and very professional!
HHUG: Will there be any more Sicknature/Snowgoons collaborations with M.O.P. in the future?
Sicknature: I absolutely think so. The Sparta album is getting great feedback right now. So it would make sense. But we´ll see.
HHUG: What future plans do you have in store as Sicknature and with the Snowgoons?
Sicknature: Becoming part of the Snowgoons opened new doors for me. And we definitely have a lot of Snowgoons material dropping in the near future as well as a new Snowgoons album. As the artist and producer, Sicknature (now of the Snowgoons) I
am working on a new solo album which is scheduled to drop in 2012. I have worked a lot with my good friend Ill Bill on new material as well. A new La Coka Nostra album Masters Of The Dark Arts will drop early 2012. This is just to name of few of the things I am working on. I try to stay as busy as possible!
HHUG: Who are your top 5 favorite music producers and why? Top 5 music artists and
why?
Sicknature: That is an extremely tough question to answer. It depends on my mood and what I feel like listening to at a particular moment. As a music producer I try not to be stuck listening to few genres and few artists. Even though I have been making hip hop music for more than half of my life, I still have a lot to learn. And I think I can learn a lot by listening to different music. So I wouldn’t limit myself as a music listener. However, nothing is compared to real hip hop music, man.
HHUG: Thank you for this interview. Is there anything you would like to add?
Sicknature: Thank you! Stay tuned for more Snowgoons music! We keep growing and keep working hard!
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