Ahead of their London at KOKO show on July 7th with Taleb Kweli I Am Hip Hop Magazine catch up with The Soul Rebels to find out more!
New Orleans, Louisiana is the birth place of Jazz music. How has being natives and/or based out of the city influenced the band’s appreciation for Jazz and other genres of music?
LUMAR LEBLAN (SNARE DRUM, FOUNDER)
Being from New Orleans has greatly influenced our appreciation for jazz, soul, funk and other forms of music because music is part of every corner of our lives. Jazz and funk is the soundtrack to everything we do. Being raised in New Orleans, our environment was surrounded by live instruments and spiritual music. When we were growing up in New Orleans, music was a way of life. It was on the radio, in the street, in the market and at school. Our whole experience with horns and drums has been a constant in our lives. Jazz and soul music is in the air in New Orleans, and the respect for jazz and brass music very much connects to and inspires other forms of music, be it hip hop, rock, pop music, country etc. That music culture is an incredible blessing, and it shapes our entire lives and even the way we work with artists and each other. We have a great responsibility to push the boundaries and take our New Orleans heritage and legacy to the next level.
Arguably, “The Beat” serves as the foundation for all musical compositions. Given the bands experience and ability to navigate all genres of music, does the structure of “The Beat” change between genres? Are some genres more difficult than others?
LUMAR LEBLANC (SNARE DRUM, FOUNDER)
The “Beat” is very important. The “Beat” comes from the heart beat. We all have a heart beat, therefore we all can feel the beat. The beat is the foundation and meter that produces the feel and shape of a song. As a drummer, my musical training has brought me to an array of styles and different time signatures. Be it a fast or slow tempo, 4/4,3/4, cut time, 6/8… I have experienced it all. The beat can even define the “mood” and direction of a song. When we perform, we dig into a beat. We digest the beat, and become one with it. The beat takes over our bodies and flows through our veins. This flow relates to the listener’s heart, soul, and body. For example, trap music is hot today. And I always connect the syncopation and feel of trap music, borrowed from the legacy of jazz and swing. The trap beat you hear in Migos or any of the other trap artists, that beat can be traced back to cymbals, bass drum and snare drum popping. The movement and motions of the beat very much comes from a syncopated “jazz-like” motion, all very syncopated.
Your musicianship and the level and skill at which the band plays boasts an undeniable synergy amongst the group. How did the band come to exist?
MARCUS HUBBARD (TRUMPET)
The Soul Rebel started out as a traditional outfit called Young Olympia which it was the younger version of the Olympia Brass Band. We started out doing the more traditional music of New Orleans basically paying our dues and learning as much as we can from the older musicians a head of us. Being that most of the guys in the band are from The Hip Hop era we wanted to start incorporating more of the music we were listening to at the time. We started mixing the sounds of the music that the different musicians in the band like. As we started doing that we realize that we were getting farther and farther away from the more traditional New Orleans sound so not to disrespect it we decided that we would start our own band. We started out doing shows at the famous Tipitina’s opening for the famous Neville Brothers. Cyril Neville us and said “You guys have a very unique sound man you guys have like a Soulful sound but it’s like you’re rebelling against a lot of stuff that a lot of brass band are doing. You guys are like soul rebels”. We have been going down that pad ever since.
The entire band is composed of traditional musicians; individuals that are skilled in the disciplines of reading, writing, and instrumentation. Very briefly, what are your thoughts on digital musicians particularly those of the Hip Hop genre?
MARCUS HUBBARD (TRUMPET)
Being that we were the first Brass Band to incorporate hip hop and electronics into New Orleans Brass Band music, we love it. We love when musicians are willing to try new things. The one thing I would want is musicians to start with the basics of learning how to read music learning how to put chords together learn chord changes. A lot of guys today are just starting out with laptops and software and just putting a bunch of loops together and calling themselves musicians. It would open the music up to much more things if they knew where the music started from and how it got to this point. I’m definitely a huge fan of the music guys are putting out now and I’m looking forward to see what’s next.
LUMAR LEBLAC (SNARE DRUM, FOUNDER)
Music has two dichotomies it is simple, yet difficult at the same time. To master and perform it, as opposed to listening and simply just enjoying it as a fan, have two very great distinct differences. When you learn music you have to first open the mind,to fully embrace the core of the piece as it relates to you and your instrument. Be it comfortable or uncomfortable at first, this is required. Then you move into embellishments of your own experience and soul and manner, this what makes it, “as you say” a “New Orleans Sound” or “jazzy feel” for a band. This is why you can take a jazz standard and turn it into a hip hop song, or a classical piece and convert it into a soul or hip hop feel. We’ve taken a straight funk filled song and converted it into a calypso groove, within a split second and then move back and forth interchangeably. All of this is spontaneous, and free-flowing for us, because we have put in years of time in music as a way of life, so we see all the different musical styles as one big journey. You also have to leave a space for the Supreme Being to come in and work, this provides the music with and unknown energy you never say coming. We love the process, it moves you and it definitely moves and defines me, thank you.
What is the band currently working on?
LUMAR LEBLAC (SNARE DRUM, FOUNDER)
We have many collaborations in the works and we’re touring Europe with Talib Kweli, but we’re mainly focused on working on a new album right now. It’s definitely going to be an urban, contemporary-driven album. It’s going be a very strong dynamic piece. The people we have on board are amazing and iconic…the world is really going to be excited when the album comes to fruition. Expect major mc features. We can’t reveal specifically who might be on the album and who is producing it. But expect new material and an energy never before heard from a brass ensemble.
Very briefly, what is the band’s perspective on the current state of Hip Hop?
LUMAR LEBLAC (SNARE DRUM, FOUNDER)
Hip hop is mainstream culture. Hip hop and pop are more connected than ever, but if you dig into it you can still find gems. Hip hop is a life style, it’s a culture. It’s not just a music. Artists like Joey Bada$$ whom we work with give us hope. We love Kendrick, he’s very inspiring and also gives us hope. Chance is incredible and we’ve enjoyed watching him mature. Like anything else, there’s the good and the bad. There’s a lot of good and that’s what we try to focus on.
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For more info on The Soul Rebels visit http://thesoulrebels.com/
