In the Hip-Hop Industry, we see many artists make music that relates to the current trend and disperse from the game as quickly as they came. However, there are artists out there with such versatile style and easy relativity, that help make certain careers last longer.
With a musical background and an ear for what the people really want to hear, it’s hard to imagine the DMV’s own “LikeBlood” is destined to be a one hit wonder. With music that makes you want to sit down and learn something, to music that makes you want to hit the club and spend every last dollar you made this month, LikeBlood has every aspect of Hip-Hop covered.
Hip-Hop Wired spoke with the group to see what these 3 talented D.C. dudes had to offer to a game filled with trends and forgetful names.
Hip-Hop Wired: Explain to me where did you get the name LikeBlood and what’s the meaning behind it?
LikeBlood: The name Like Blood is as simple as it sounds, it means like family. It came from us being all friends before we started the group and the rap game, when we were all into music but friends outside of music as well. Then we started really taking it serious enough to say we need to start a rap group, and that’s when the crazy names started coming up. So one day our manager told us, “I’m going to call y’all “Like Blood,” because y’all hang like family, and it stuck.
Hip-Hop Wired: Why don’t you tell me about that single you got out right now with Bobby V?
LikeBlood: Well, the single we got out with Bobby V is our first single off our up and coming album “The Business.” The track “Money Over Here,” is like motivational record for everybody in the world. Everybody wants to ball, I don’t care who they are, and nobody wants to be broke. Everybody wants to say we got money over here and I don’t care if you got 50 cents, two quarters will rub together just fine. You can go ahead and say I got Money over here. (Laughs) We’re shooting our video in Washington DC, and Bobby Valentine is definitely going to come down for that. Everybody needs to look out for that video, it’s going be on all over your local radio stations so make sure ya’ll go on Itunes and grab it.
Hip-Hop Wired: Tell me about the album, what kind of vibe are we going get with it and who can we see on it?
LikeBlood: We got so many things coming out before the album, we don’t even want to give you exactly who is on the album. Right now we’re about to come out with a nice EP called “We All Alone 3010,” and then we all coming out with a mix tape called “Like Blood Capital Wasteland,” so ya’ll be sure to check that one out too.
Likeblood: The vibe of the album is definitely everything that we experienced and telling people what we think are ways to get on. We’re not one type of way, we touch on different emotions and everything that somebody could possibly feel during the day is going be on that joint. We are going to have something to party to, something you can really thing about and relate to, and something that goes real hard.
Hip-Hop Wired: For the people that are getting into you and your music, where is the best place to cop a mixtape and get a feel for you guys?
LikeBlood: You can get our mix tapes on likeblood.com or our Myspace page myspace.com/likebloodentertainment. We got WLBR, which is the Like Blood Radio Volume Series 1 through 3. Then we got a catalog on Itunes that features all of our music, and even a film that we did. They should definitely check us out Itunes and likeblood.com, to get their hands on it.
Hip-Hop Wired: So y’all got a lot going on for y’all now?
LikeBlood: We definitely got a lot of things coming. We just got off the tour with Raekown (shout out to Raekwon) which was a real great look and a real good experience. Like Blood’s back home right now just keeping it moving, and making sure we showing to all our old city spot.
Hip-Hop Wired: Tell me about that tour, how did that opportunity come with y’all and how did it go down?
LikeBlood: What happened was, we actually ran into Raekwon just chilling on the block at the Howard University Homecoming. We just started talking and chilling with each other and kicked it for about 15 minutes. It was funny because while we were performing at the Homecoming, one of our managers was off in cut actually talking to Rae’s people. So when our manager came down to get Rae and his manager he tried to introduce us, but we had already been talking. So now we are on a 20 city tour and who knows where it goes after that.
Hip-Hop Wired: What’s it been like on the tour?
LikeBlood: We actually have a Youtube series of videos that shows all of us during the tour. You are literally riding with us from beginning to end and get to see everything we encounter. I mean of course there’s a coupe things we can’t put on Youtube, (laughs) but all I’m gonna say is, if you listen to our music for real you are going to find out everything that happened.
Hip-Hop Wired: I know ya’ll went to art school and everything, so I know y’all got to be musically inclined, do y’all have any influences outside of Hip-Hop that you try to bring within your work?
LikeBlood: The great thing about that is that we came into the game big with a movie and a soundtrack to it. We starred in the film, so we came in there acting and rapping our music. We definitely not gonna be one dimensional and we’re gonna be here to stay. That long money is when you are multi-talented and you can make it for the long run.
Hip-Hop Wired: What do you feel about artists who claim they from DC but they really from the Maryland, Virginia area and hiding their identity. I’m not gonna say now names but y’all probably know who I’m talking about.
LikeBlood: (Laughing) I mean, the DMV movement has been a thing that’s been a long time coming, because the parts of VA and Maryland that are around DC are very influenced by DC. So for some reason a lot of time dudes feel a lot more comfortable claiming DC even though they from Maryland. Everybody in every major city can relate to that, you got people from New York City that might be on the outskirts or live up state and act like they from the boroughs. All darkness comes to the light though, just the fact that you even asked us that question means you can tell. So there ain’t even a need for us to go on ni&$as and point it out now, because we love when the audience speaks for themselves. The audience is more brutal than we can ever be, so I think it would be more brutal for them to get them.
