A Glimpse Into the Next

They haven't been described as treacherous, but the three men who make up One Block Radius could be considered innovators in their own right with their mix of pop melodies and underground hip-hop approach. Comprised of Chico, California-local Marty James, who created a buzz with his Scapegoat Wax project in 2001, San Francisco's own Z-Man, and Indiana native turned Los Angeles transplant MDA (Mr. Dope America), One Block Radius is ready, loaded, locked and set to blow. Their debut album, Long Story Short, is completed and awaiting an early May release date. In anticipation of their February 19th homecoming of sorts at Chico's Senator Theatre, the three huddled around one cell phone outside a Hollywood rehearsal studio to answer a couple questions.

How did you guys all meet up?
Marty: Me and MDA were in Scapegoat Wax together. When I was on Grand Royal [Records] I met him through some people and asked him if he wanted to go on the road and DJ with my band. When Scapegoat ended I came to him and told him I wanted to start something different and make it more of a group as opposed to Scapegoat, which was like me and a side band. I told him about Zamon, so Zamon, you can tell the rest.
Zamon: I met this fool years ago at the studio, when we were like 11…[laughs]
Marty: Actually Aye Jay Moreno [Gangsta Rap Coloring Book], who helped draw the cover for One Block, gave me a Gingerbread Man tape [a Z-Man side project], and when I was on Grand Royal I tracked him down and interviewed Ginger for Grandroyal.com. From that point I kept telling Z we gotta do something together. When Scapegoat Wax ended I came to him, and said "look, I got this idea for a project…."
Zamon: It started with a couple songs. I would fly down to LA and we would do a couple things…
Marty: When Scapegoat was still together I was sending him beats, just to see if one of these days we could hook up, and then it took a more serious turn. I introduced Zamon to Tyrone [MDA] and we've been rollin' for like a year now. We finished the album and we're just getting out there now. To do it right it's a matter of timing and bringing it along the right way, not coming up too fast. With Scapegoat, things kinda took off under our feet, and this time we're trying to control it a little more.

What's behind the name One Block Radius?
Marty: One Block Radius to me has to do with how we recorded the album, because we did it all at my studio in North Hollywood, everything we needed was in one spot. So it's like three dudes who come from three different parts of the country, coming together and making a record in a one block radius. That's a way deeper meaning, but it sounds cool.

Your music isn't quite pop music, and it's not quite hip-hop. What would you call your music, or do you think shoving music into a genre devalues the music?
MDA: Yeah it's hard, because the first thing everybody wants to know is what kind of music do we play. It's like we can't really say hip-hop, because people will take it the wrong way, and it's not alternative or pop, and we don't have live instrumentation so we can't say rock. It's hard to describe but we base everything on hip-hop beats. Everything on the record is all MPC and SP 1200.
Marty: There are various guitars and live keyboards, so I don't know. We kinda call it alternative hip-hop, because I think it falls in line with some of the stuff that's going on right now, like the backlash against overly clean, blinged out hip-hop.
Zamon: Yeah it's not glam rap. It's not that glam shit you hear now.
Marty: Yeah I don't know, we gotta work that answer out. That's how it was with Scapegoat Wax, too. I think all three of us try not to think within boundaries. I know everybody says that but it's so true. The songs are melodic, but the beats are gritty and street. Hopefully we're creating our own niche.

Can you predict what critics will say, or praise you for?
Zamon: They'll probably say it's the greatest album, and then probably compare it to a couple other bands and groups.
Marty: Hopefully they'll hear three dudes who put everything they had into this record, not trying to sound like anybody else. You're not going to please everybody, I learned that a long time ago. But the initial feedback has been real positive. It's gonna be a grind though because we're going to take the time to do this right. We're gonna go for a while with this and see how far we can take it.

Is there a target audience?
Marty: Mostly really good-looking girls. Nah, but people who are open to new kinds of music and don't put limitations on what they listen to.
MDA: I think we're going to discover what our target audience is once the people hear it.
Zamon: It's for people who wanna let go and party a little bit. It's good dance music too, especially the ladies.
MDA: We got people coming up to us that are into punk or indie music saying, "I don't really listen to this music but I like it."
Zamon: I get people saying, "I don't listen to a lot of rap music, but I like what you're doing."
Marty: And that's what's been cool in the last few months is that we're seeing our audience come out and form. Like okay, these are the people who are feeling us. You never really think about it when you're making the record.
MDA: The way I see it, the people who want to hear us are the people who are bored with everything going on, especially in hip-hop. I think people are waiting for something new.

So if Wu-Tang is like Voltron, One Block Radius is like…
Marty: It's like some Legos and some silly putty. Maybe put Legos on some silly putty, and put it on a big ass stick. I don't know.
Zamon: YouKnowWhatI'mSayinKid, and that right there kid, boom.

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