[Interview] XV, Chiddy Bang, and Donnis
When I walked into a dark and nearly empty Cat’s Cradle, where XV, Donnis, and Chiddy Bang were all set to perform in a few hours, I found one group on stage doing a sound check and a couple other people scattered around the room talking amongst themselves or on their laptops. It wasn’t immediately easy to pick out where I needed to be or who I should be talking to. After I spoke to the Tour Manager, XV approached me and politely introduced himself and struck up a conversation before going back into the green room.
I was led into the room by the Tour Manager and introduced to Xaphoon Jones and Chiddy (who make up Chiddy Bang) and Donnis. Upon realizing that it was going to be a bit hard to hear each other while the sound check for the opening band was going on around the corner, I was introduced to the playfulness that would fill the room for the greater part of the next hour. The boys all started cracking jokes at the tops of their lungs, casually acting as though this was the volume at which they always spoke.
At times it was hard to differentiate good humor from youthfulness, but both sent a clear message to me: these four guys were having a really good time together. Jokes filled every other sentence—whether it was Xaphoon comparing the four of them to X-Men characters or getting to hear their impressions of other industry stars such as Bun B, I found myself laughing for the majority of the interview. They were here to do more than just a show; they were here to have a good time.
Continue Reading for an In-Depth Recall of the Night and Interview Details with Each of the Performers…
ZOOMING IN: CHIDDY BANG – A SECURE DUO MAKING LOVEABLE MUSIC
It was easy for me to notice right off the bat that Chiddy Bang is here to stay. The personalities of Xaphoon versus Chiddy are testament to the old saying, “opposites attract.” Chiddy remained quiet for most of the interview. Xaphoon, on the other hand, was always the first to take the serious nature of an interview and turn it into sarcastic commentary. They are quick to talk about their ability to work well as a team, and how much they enjoy working together. “It’s really like some back and forth type shit,” Chiddy explained. “He’ll be like, ‘Yo, I got this sample idea, I wanna chop it up.’ Then he’ll play me the chopped version and if I like it, I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, yeah, dope.’ And he’ll put more stuff on it, and if I really feel it, I just lay the shit down! And it’s real simple at that point.”
On stage, they complement each other perfectly. Chiddy controls the mic, being sure to let everybody know just how “crazy” Xaphoon Jones is through his regular chants of “Xaphoon you crazy!” And Xaphoon pounds away at the drums in the back, most of the time lip-syncing along to Chiddy’s verses. They are clearly having a fun time together and enjoying what they’re doing.
And do they ever get tired of it? Doing the same thing night in and night out? “We get physically tired,” they told me. Xaphoon continued, “There’s never we get tired of this, there are just good days and bad days. … You’ll be tired and you’ll go out there and see a girl with a Chiddy Bang lyric tattoo, and…” Chiddy was quick to finish Xaphoon’s sentence with a “Yeah, THAT is the craziest.”
And it’s a good thing these two 19-year-olds don’t consider themselves worn out, because their plans don’t allow for any slowing down. “Everyone knows what we can do now – take samples and flip them, and now it’s time to go even beyond that. Because everybody can do that. And we’re kind of about pushing more,” Xaphoon stated.
ZOOMING IN: XV – MOTIVATED. ENTHUSIASTIC. NO PLANS TO DECELERATE.
Just signed to Warner Bros. Records, XV is only 25 years old and has a 2-year old son. When I asked him what it’s like being a father who’s consistently on the road, this is what he had to say: “It’s hard! I’m not even going to front, it’s CRAZY hard! But at the same time it’s awesome, because I’m young, and my son is still young, and I’m actually achieving something in my life at such a young age, … I wanna be such a positive role model to my son. Like I said, I’m a huge dreamer. So when my son’s 8, 9, 10 years old, I’m gonna say, ‘Yo, you remember when you were 2 years old, I had a tour with this guy, [pointing at Chiddy Bang] and I’ma be like, and you were at home and I was touring the road, you know, and achieving THIS.
“You know, and parents rarely get to show that to a kid. You know what I mean? Get to show, like, look what your mom did, look what your dad did. And I just make sure I remember that when I’m doing it, cause it’s hard, like, seeing my son on iChat and he’s talking and doing things I haven’t gotten to see yet, and he’s like singing. Like, my son LOVES my music, like, I promise, I could show you iChats of him doing the melodies to my songs. And to not get to be there, like actually physically be there to see that? But I remember what I’m doing it for and what it’s all going to be in the end, and it’s all worth it – every single minute.”
We continued talking and I asked him about his reaction to not being put on XXL Magazine’s Top 10 Freshman List. “When I first heard about it, I was offended,” he told me. But he has since found a way to turn this experience into something that makes him stronger: “It is what it is, and at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter, because I’ve ALWAYS had the odds against me – I’m from KANSAS … So it just made me work harder! And that’s why I’m at where I’m at right now. … No matter what list you put me on, I’m going to be here. You know? They can’t change that!”
Like I said, the energy and insistence with which XV spoke was motivating. It really made me believe that, all jokes aside, he wanted to be there in that room. Forget physical exhaustion. Forget the mundane feeling that may surface after doing this night in and night out. Ten years after starting to rap, it seems XV has reached where he wants to be and has no intention to curb his momentum.
ZOOMING IN: DONNIS – WHO IS THE MAN BEHIND THE TORTOISE-SHELL GLASSES?
The first thing I noticed about Donnis was his quieter demeanor. Sure, in a room full of loud jokesters, it’s easy to seem more reserved and quiet. But I saw it during the interview, and I saw it on stage as well. Compared to the other performers in the room, Donnis seemed a bit more focused on a wider spectrum of interests, specifically fashion and representing traditional Southern hip hop. To me, he seemed a bit more like a conventional rapper that we’ve come to know and love in the past than the others in the room.
Now, it isn’t fair to say that Donnis represents your typical Southern rapper. He isn’t a T.I. per se, but he and T.I. are great buddies and are working on projects together. But what may be fair to say is that he is straddling the line of the typical southern rapper and the new-age indie-sampling hipster-hop artist. In his own words, he’s “experimenting. And that’s why you’ll hear me rap on like, the Underdog record, on a sample like that, and then go to like an xx record or something. We’re just being ourselves and we love music – all spectrums of music.” This duality wasn’t as easy to see in Chiddy Bang and XV, who seem committed to delving into the newer brand of hip hop.
Though it may not have been clear to me exactly where Donnis is heading, one thing was for sure. This young man is extremely mature for his age (26), and there is a reason behind it. After high school, Donnis joined the Air Force and was stationed in Tokyo, Japan. “It’s always been incredible to say that I’ve been there. And all the things I learned in the military and being there are all beneficial for my career and for the discipline. Just being able to do things that most rappers can’t do – they’re too busy smoking and drinking and not handling their business, you know? So it really put everything into perspective for me and then gave me a creative element as well.”
Maybe Donnis himself doesn’t know exactly which direction to turn toward. His love of fashion is far from the bling-bling nature of rappers in the past; he said it himself, “rap has changed to a point where it’s just amazing because people can be themselves, you don’t have to put on like super baggy jeans and shades or whatever. You don’t have to be all that, you can just be yourself. I think it’s more about the character, more about the individual that people are gravitating toward – to be real people.” It will be interesting to see if Donnis is able to bring these two cultures together, a bit like Kanye West has, though hopefully without the added arrogance that Mr. West brings to the table. Surely the maturity and discipline that the military taught Donnis will prevent any of that nonsense from happening.
ALL TOGETHER NOW
The end of the live show brought the night together pretty perfectly. All of the night’s performers piled onto the stage for a group performance of a Chiddy Bang song. Chiddy was the emcee, Xaphoon manned the drums, and the rest of the performers, including openers who came on before XV and Donnis, pretty much just jumped around the stage. And there it was, just as I saw it during the interviews. Chiddy Bang, as a duo, did their thing, providing music for all to enjoy. XV, the Energizer Bunny that I found him to be, was bouncing around the stage, jumping high up into the air, smiling and shouting and having the time of his life. And Donnis was having his own form of fun, strutting around a bit, smiling, but all the while keeping his cool.
By the end of the night, it was clear to me that these weren’t just four boys who decided one day to seek out careers in music. They had been working on this for a very long time, and to see it coming to fruition right in front of my eyes was exhilarating.
*If you are interested in obtaining a hard copy of the transcribed interview, please leave a comment with your name and email address.
