Real Talk with Joe Blow
Over the course of our evening with Joe Blow, we learned a lot about the rapper and the person. For one, we learned that they are basically one and the same. Not in the cliché sense that Joe Blow “keeps it real,” but in the sense that Joe Blow is constantly a genuine, down-to-earth dude—on and off the mic. Among his many qualities, two that stood out to us were his focus and his dedication. When he’s not in the studio recording—which he estimates is five to seven days a week—he’s on the road performing.
Last week was no exception to Joe Blow’s constant grind. When we arrived at his studio in Hayward last Thursday night, he had just returned from Akron, Ohio, where he was finishing up his album with Yong Bossi. The following morning at 6 am, he was heading to Kansas City, Missouri to perform with Cellski. His brief layover in the Bay included our interview, an impromptu remix of Clams Casino’s “I’m God” spawned by his interest in knowing what we’re listening to, and recordings with Husalah on tracks for Joe’s upcoming album (including a hilarious outro skit performed by Husalah—mark my words).
The interview began the way everything seems to begin for Joe: with a joint (he’s transitioned from Swishers to papers, he explains). Once he was medicated (for the moment), we began talking about his childhood memories of rap.
