MC: What about the other released track, “Bitter.” The hook is definitely a new direction.

Slug: That particular song is actually the very first song that we made [for this record]. Ant sent me the beat. And you know, I guess I can say this without feeling too funny about it. When I first heard that beat I was like, “Man, what is this? It sounds like some shit Eminem would have threw away.” (laughs jokingly) So I was like, “I don’t know what you want me to do with this but let me have some fun and let me send Ant something just to be funny.” I wrote the hook and the first verse and I figured he’d hit me back and be like, “Man, what is this shit?: You so bitterrr, derrrr.” (laughs) I figured he was gonna clown it, but he hit me back immediately and was like, “I love this. Just flush it out, finish it.” So I finished it, sent it back and gave it a good outline and he was feelin’ it.

I fuckin’ fought him for 10 months on that song. Because I was like, “I can’t let people hear this.” Like specifically because of the “riverrrr bitterrrr,” you know? I didn’t mind the lyrics, I felt good about what I was saying. I felt like it represented a certain element of what I feel, but I fought hard, and he was like, “Don’t be afraid.” And when he said that it made me realize that the only reason I was pushing back is because I was afraid and I realized that hook might be one of the riskiest things I’ve done in a long time.

MC: Some of the best pieces of art sometimes seem risky upon inception.

Slug: I know, it’s funny. I used to think risk meant like subject matter or whatever. But I realize now risk is whatever you’re afraid to do. The audience doesn’t always get to see that, they can never know how scared I was for them hearing that particular chorus. But when he told me I was just being afraid, I was like, “Well I can’t be. I have to step up to bat here,” and I pushed the label to release it first.

I thought the knee-jerk [from fans] would be a little harder but people hit me up on Twitter saying, “My kid sings along with it.” I usually am like, “Why are you letting your three-year-old listen to rap.” (laughs)

MC: Like you said, the game has changed so much as far as hip-hop and promotion and even how people are reaching out to you. We saw that last year you did an AMA on reddit and a couple soldiers overseas said your lyrics kept them going. How has direct contact with fans affected you?

Slug: That’s an awesome topic that could be a whole piece on it itself. Now that everyone is so connected and so accessible, I feel like that accessibility makes the bond stronger but takes away from the mystique of what’s going on. I don’t mind that because I’ve never really pushed the mystique part of it. As soon as we got off stage I’d hit the room and start meeting people and hanging out and partying with the people. The only thing is there are certain things that I do like to keep to myself; family stuff for the most part. I just want to control the narrative of what people get to know about my family.

I’d love to control the narrative that people interpret out of the music, but I learned a long time ago you can’t. Once you put it out there it’s their’s. Make the song be about what they want it to be about. You can push back, you can fight it, you can even say, “No the song is actually about this,” but at the end of the day it’s like their interpretation of it is probably cooler than what you actually meant when you wrote it.

MC: Your annual festival, Soundset, seems like a diamond in the current hip-hop rough.

Slug: Soundset’s a great thing, man, especially for this [Minneapolis] community. As a label, and as a band, with the time we spent here and the amount of support we’ve gotten from this town it always felt like we had to remember to give back. And so when we created Soundset, part of that was just trying to show that even though Minneapolis is starting to be known for it’s indie rap, it’s still get’s flown over by Kanye, Jay Z etc. So Soundset is a way to create to show and improve that this market has a lot of value as far as the kids and the hip-hop. Quit ignoring us! So each year we throw a festival that brings out 20,000 people. And generally Atmosphere is headlining it, though last year we let Snoop headline it, because [otherwise] I would have felt really weird.

MC: You’re headlining for Wiz this year. Pretty legit.

Slug: So even though Nas, who’s obviously bigger, and Wiz Khalifa, who’s way bigger, come into play this year we still get to headline because it’s our party. And nobody really questions that—everybody get’s it. The bottom line is, it just goes to remind artists or, even more importantly, booking agents: These kids are here and love this music. Quit frontin’ on us. It’s working more and more and more and artists are starting to stop through Minneapolis. We’re seeing a lot more of the upper, upper level.

MC: What would you tell these artists who are still passing over Minneapolis?

Slug: The bottom line is there are a bunch of people who bought your record, Jay Z, and they love you and if you play a show here they’re going to sing along to every song. They’re going to go home feeling good and they’re going to have a great week. They’re going to have a great week because you played and that great week could turn into making a new baby; it could turn into getting a new job; music has a way of just making people’s lives better, so just bring your ass here and play your hits and make these people’s lives better, man.

Contact Joey Primero, joey@pressherepublicity.com