THE CONSULT: Yung Breeze

In keeping with this season's theme of doing the hard work to building something bigger: a new series. THE CONSULT is informal conversations with people making it happen behind the scenes (or behind the seen, as Big Rye puts it) — just brainstorming, venting and sharing bezel-set gems. First up: Street Religion motormouth slash mastermind Yung Breeze, who gave me the idea for this in the first place.

VTHH: There's been a lot written here lately about how to improve the music scene here in the 802, how to bring it to the next level. You've been posted up watching this circus unfold as long as I have -- what's your take on this moment in time? And how can we seize this opportunity?

Yung Breeze: It's been a rollercoaster for sure, so many ups, so many downs. The biggest thing I see in my opinion is there's a lot of artists coming out of the wood work, who actually are decent, but the attention span they have makes them only just a hobby rapper, or someone who doesn't take it as serious as they should or wanted to initially. And I feel like that's due to a combo of lack of camaraderie, but also lack of competition, creating the hunger, but also creating bigger things with other parts of VT.

So just continuing to build the state scene as a whole with the right pairing of artists and collectives can help us take the gold. More Southern 802 artists linking with Northern 802 artists, more of bringing back the competition of hip hop, things like battles, rap and dance ... shit, I'd love to see some scratch battles. And more transparency to the styles and types of hip hop. Because the conscious rapper and the roughneck gritty rapper could have two different outlooks on how music should sound. Transparency.

VTHH: Street Religion is a tight family but what really makes you guys stand out is how cohesive your sound is. What advice do you have for new crews, new artists, trying to step up their quality control and make their releases have more impact?

Yung Breeze: It's kinda hard for me to output advice like that sometimes, due to the fact every SR member is literally like a family. Me and Sammy Chan are brothers, I've known Shorty Bang since I was 16 years old, Jun Fargo is my cousin, Kasidon and I had built an amazing rapport at the beginning that followed up with me gaining such a trust in him that now I turn to him for advice when I need a Kas take on things. D.FRENCH used to just pull up to SR shows to show love and I built that same type of relationship. Raw Deff and I met in So. 802 days, and since then I done took bro to my pops crib for cookouts, rocked stages, recorded projects, or just came to the crib to chill, have a drink and puff a stogey. Deff that dude. YM is a new member of SR, he my brother for real, I done been through so much shit with him since 13, we always had each other back and when he decided to put his pain on pad, I had my bro back and got that pad on wax.

The one thing I can really say is that, if you want a business with no time frame, then you can create groups out of whatever and whoever you feel meshes. But if you want longevity, if you want the trust and the REAL feel of how it's supposed to be having a group, crew, label etc ... make sure you got the people you really fuck with. The people who can separate personal from business, and the people who are as hungry as you.

Far as quality and control is concerned ... simply listen. You can get anything from anybody on your team if you listen, and you learn and it will help. Simple.

VTHH: Is there anything that excites you right now about the music business -- new opportunities, new technologies -- or do you think indie rappers are still pretty much in the exact same spot we were in 2011?

Yung Breeze: As far as ownership is concerned, indie artists are winning. I think that there is more of an open box for creativity, people are being less apprehensive toward other artists, which makes for good collab songs and projects. I wouldn't say that it's the same as 2011, because there's more structure in place than there was in 2011, the scenes a bit bigger, there are more players on the court now.

I think the only that that majorly changed was the fact that a good amount of artists plant the business in front of the product, which is dampening down the music a bit. People don't cook home meals with music as much as they used to, and I'm guilty of it in my past as well. The microwave era isn't just a phase no more, it's turned itself into a lane. So that changes a lot of movement for indie artists and collectives.

So the business is a tad bit less fun because of how far we've already gone, sometimes they try to put a cap on what can be done independently. When you continue to not have a cap on things is where things start to become more fun and more interesting.

VTHH: Do you think it would be possible to see something like a collaborative album that represents all the areas and generations that are popping off right now? Or would that just be a too many cooks, too many recipes type situation?

Yung Breeze: That honestly could happen, but in order for that to happen you would need at least three people preferably from each region, south, central and north, and we would need a good host. It could be more of a collection, not just one project, multiple projects. Things like that is what can put a small state like us on the map for real.

VTHH: Who do you think would be best suited to host something like that? Everyone I talk to says we need some kind of central platform for a podcast, and they're all right, too. I'm just real hesitant to invest the time, and especially the money, into doing that. Because I know it would never result in more income, just more work. But I also see, week after week, that doing a website has very limited reach because so many people in this culture simply don't read. We need something visual, something auditory, and something regular, constant, on schedule and building that regular audience.

Yung Breeze: Off the top of my head a few people who I think can play that role, and well, besides myself ... I can say Jibba and Vazy, I feel like they would enjoy being able to do that. Especially Jibba, considering he's already semi played that role off jump. And I understand that a hundred percent, the one thing I could say to help about that situation that more than sometimes helps me, is that I like to figure out how much stuff you can get far as equipment, support and general things that you need that will make it a bit more sufficient for you in the end.

For example, I don't need to go to studios, I don't need to hire videographers, and with the size of my team I really don't have to worry about outsourcing for features all too much or worrying about who fits on a song or project. It's really the point of eliminating the things that can help you save capital and will make it a lot more fun and feel less of a job. Self sufficiency.

VTHH: I remember when you guys were doing The New Radio that was a solid product on a tight ol' budget, just good chemistry and good music. What about record labels? It seems like Equal Eyes has really slowed down in the past year and there's a whole new BTV wave coming up, so there's an opportunity for someone to step into that space and build something new. But should they? Do you think there's still value in that business model and approach in 2021?

Yung Breeze: I loved doing The New Radio, the vibes were always good, and I definitely have plans to bring it back with a lot more structure and quality to it. And I feel like there are things that are just protocol for successful groups and business, written things that are crucial, and then there are the things you learn being with a group label etc, that you carry with you.

You have to learn to reroute certain things in the business climate when it changes, and make sure you really create a good formula with your team and staff. The only way you are going to have that type of success is if that label happens. I know every time me or ohana get an opportunity to step up, we take it off the rip, so to conclude the question, someone definitely should. And whoever ends up kicking that door down allows for the value to build.

VTHH: Do you think there's a big enough audience here in Vermont to support a label in terms of moving copies, moving merch?

Yung Breeze: There has to be, if we have something the size of a Higher Ground to house these people for events. It's really up to the groups, labels, and artists to create the audience anyway, work toward expanding the scene ... and plus, when you think about it, a good chunk of it is trying to make VT hip hop as a whole relevant to other states or regions with that name.

For example, New York is the Mecca of hip hop, California, the birth of Gangsta rap, Down South etc ... there's so many flavors and styles in VT, I know artists all with different types of music. To start off, we have to figure out how to expand that scene, it starts with New England and further out after that.

Like I said in the beginning, if we have a Higher Ground, and it's there for that reason, if we also have these other venues where promoters and groups are booking these places to do shows, then shit looks like we gotta take it back to them days where if you were on the block with the loudest stereo and speakers then you were that dude.

Which furthermore means it's time to make noise. And a lot of it.