New Interview With Chicago's ShowYouSuck: "One syllable, one thought, one heart."

This Friday, Aug. 24, the Replay Lounge will take a rare weekend break from sloppy, drunken garage rock to present a KJHK-and-Oh!Mr-sponsored evening of well-crafted hip-hop called "Sweat," which features Ebony Tusks, Greg Enemy, Audiocloud 51, D/Will, and Chicago's ShowYouSuck.  Visit the FB event page here .

We recently had a nice chat with ShowYouSuck about girls, pizza, pop culture touchstones, and kittycats. Check out some ShowYouSuck tunes via Bandcamp and listen to the new track "Girlfriend" via Hypetrak.

Enjoy the interview!


Chip:  I’m confused by the name ShowYouSuck on a number of levels. What does it mean and am I supposed to pronounce it really quickly due to the lack of spaces between words?

ShowYouSuck:  The name is an ode to remaining humble while in an art form that's built on bragging. The name keeps me in check so i never get a big head, hahaha. And you're supposed to say as if its one syllable, one thought, one heart.

Richard:  Tell us about the new EP Girls, Girls, Girls.   How would you describe the ShowYouSuck sound and who are some of your influences as a rapper? 

ShowYouSuck: This EP was completely produced by Stefan Ponce. It's a big departure from my usual sound. We worked really hard to give people an EP where every song could possibly be a first single.  At this point of my career I would describe my sound as "RAD AWESOME RAP" (i just came up with that)  I use a lot of rap elements for the most part and every once in a while i do something more boom bap. But I only talk about awesome stuff. Awesome only! I take some type of influence from every single song I've ever heard. 

Chip:  As a follow up question, was the title of the album inspired by Motley Crue’s “Girls, Girls, Girls” album or Elvis’ movie “Girls, Girls, Girls” or Jay Z’s song “Girls, Girls, Girls“? Or perhaps all of them?  Or perhaps something else? 

ShowYouSuck:  HOLY SHIT! DUDE, YOURE THE ONLY PERSON TO GET THAT REFERENCE! THAT'S AWESOME!!!  i figured since I grew up listening to hair bands and classics and now I do rap music that title would reflect both influences and making music about women is a pretty universal topic in music. Everyone can relate to that. 

Richard:  I was just listening to the song “Girlfriend” which contains a wild  mix of pop-culture references, everything from “Nosferatu” to “Eve’s Bayou.”  Tell us about your process of incorporating those kinds of references? Do they all have a personal meaning for you, or do you use some of them simply for the purposes of rhyme or humor?

ShowYouSuck:  It's actually both.  In life every friend I've made has been on the basis of similar taste in TV shows, movies and music so my theory is why not use that same base to gain fans. I feel like knowing what kind of movies and music someone is into say a lot about them and if someone never heard of a band or movie I name drop I hope they look it up. Other times i name drop things because  it makes me laugh.  I like to entertain myself first and foremost, hahaha 

Chip:  The titles of your earlier mixtapes (OneManPizzaParty' and 'OMPP2: Mo Slices Mo Problems') are memorable to me because I also love pizza.  How does the new EP compare to the older material?

ShowYouSuck:  The OMPP projects are mostly produced by MikeJaxx of tha Hydrox so doing the "GirlsGirlsGirls" EP with Stefan Ponce gives it a completely different sound and feel. Women are kinda a large part of my subject manner so I didn't want to depart from that. This EP is just some different perspectives on the female interaction. But its just as loud and awesome as my previous material.


Chip:  Let's talk more about women, if you don't mind. Your song “Hot Sex 2012” gives me a boner and I love the repeated refrain of “I’m trying to give your lady friend what she deserves, hot sex on a platter with no Hors d'oeuvres.”  How would you describe the way women are portrayed in your songs and particularly on the new album?  Is it different from what one might expect?  For instance, I expect a lot more about  “bitches” and “hoes."  


ShowYouSuck:  Well, in my song women aren't painted to be perfect creatures.  I just don't refer to them as "bitches" and "hoes". Most of my songs reference girls who drink and use drugs too much and who have low self esteem and party too much. I try to write from a perspective that maybe gives some reasoning to their vices or excuses them. The only song I really have about a girl that's 100% positive is "Girlfriend". I loosely write from situations I've been in and social commentaries on scenes I'm a part of. 

   

Richard:  Okay, let’s talk about the “Hunter Hearst Helmsley” video.  There’s a moment where someone is shooting bullets that look like little kitty faces which fly directly at the screen!  Where did that idea come from, what does it mean, and why has that shit not gone viral yet??

ShowYouSuck:  HAHAHAHA, actually if you watch the end of the video you get to see the very moment I came up with the idea. It was on set and cat heads improve anything, so there you have it.

Check out the video and watch out for those cat heads! 

Richard:  You’ll be joining a great line-up of local talent such as Ebony Tusks and Greg Enemy this Friday at the Replay.  Tell our readers what a ShowYouSuck show is going to be like, and what else is on the horizon in terms of recording and touring?

ShowYouSuck:  I YELL ALOT!! My shows arent like usual rap shows. There's surprises and a shit load of energy. Its more like a party!

"GirlsGirlsGirls" EP August 3rd

OMPP3:Rest In Pizza in October

and Ill be playing shows all over the country for the rest of 2012
 
To keep up with everything follow @ShowYouSuck