Tuesday night, February 28th , and the Catastrophic Event Specialist Tour was coming to Minneapolis; however, this stop would be heavy on the Catastrophic. After the original venue was vandalized and city traffic cleared, Ces Cru entered the building and was ready to chop it up with Upcoming Hip Hop.

CES CRU: “This is Ubiquotous, UBI of Ces Cru and this is Godemis-ish, Jason Dean, one half of the almighty Ces Cru.”

UHH: You guys are coming off the Strictly Strange Tour last year with Tech N9ne and now are headlining your own tour. What have you noticed is the biggest difference between the two?

UBI: There are a lot of difference, but when we headline the fans are there for us, catering to us versus when we open for Tech [N9ne] they are definitely his fans. I mean there are people that are there for us but we definitely gotta win tech's fans over [even though our fans are compatible]. The main difference is the crowd and the energy. At a Ces Cru show everyone is tuned into what we are doing.

UHH: That's always a good feeling to win a crowd over, but which do you enjoy more, the challenge of winning a crowd over or stepping onto the stage knowing everyone has been waiting for you?

GODI: Same-same. There are things I like about playing to a small[er] intimate crowd, and of course the feeling of opening up for tech and doing 20 minutes in front of hundreds of people with the energy crazy.

The energy of a crowd can dictate the show but knowing how to reach that energy with 20 or 2000 is was separates the good from the great. Separating the great from the good is partially how Ces Cru became just the two members that currently stand. Dwindling down from larger group, Ubiquotous and Godemis explained how the group eventually became just the two of them.

UHH: Stepping back to the old days of Ces Cru, can you guys talk a little about where the Ces Cru name came from and how it evolved into being just the two of you?

UBI: Yeah [if you can believe it] the group actually existing before either of us were in it. [The other members] went to jail or moved away or broke off or broke up. Really what created the duo is just sort of the other members having a less focused interest. GODI: When it was time to make an album, me and him were always clicked up together.

UHH: And is the crew how you guys met, or were you working together before hand?

GODI: Nah, I was introduced to them years before. A member of Ces Cru introduced me and [I] became a member through her. UBI: And then I was inducted through him. We had linked up through a mutual producer friend that we were both getting beats from.

With those simple yet life changing introductions Ces Cru as a duo would become what fans adore today. And since shaving down to just the duo, Ubiquotous and Godemis have continued to evolve their music from the experimentation of Codename: Ego Stripper to their lastest, and in my opininon most complete album, Catastrophic Event Specialists.

Nowadays, especially in hip hop, you are seeing a lot of people putting out LPs and Mixtapes, but Catastrophic Event Specialists takes me back to the feeling of a complete album. Can you explain the process you guys went through in order to obtain this cohesion with the album?

UBI: I think it started with the name, we had a couple songs we liked and were thinking about, but it started with the title, this is going to be Catastrophic Event Specialists. GODI: And then we wrote towards that name. Also you had the runnings going at the time you know what I'm saying. You had Trump and Hillary going at it at the time. [UBI: It was the primaries and you even had Bernie in there] And every morning on the way to the studio we would have these conversations and I think that comes through on the album.

Hip hop has always been a way to give voice to the voiceless and a way to describe the world around you. Whether that world is filled with xanax and lean, or the birth of your first child, or your mom dealing with cancer, hip hop is there with someone telling you how they went through it. Some like to talk about the heights they've reached, the fun they've experienced, and the riches they've gathered while others point to the areas we can still work on improving and trying to push forward so the future generations can live better than us. Being that this album was much more the later, I wondered how their writing process evolved.

UHH: Do you guys find that your writing always stems from whats going on around you or does each song have a different tactic?

GODI: [UBI: I think that everything is available] Yeah, I was gonna say its like anything you can think of. Shit is spontaneous in the studio, sometimes concepts are well thought up beforehand. Funny ideas can sometimes solidify into songs and just anyway you can think of we cook it up. And definitely Constant Energy struggles was [similar to Stevie Stone's Malta Bend in that] that was a big change in both of our lives and definitely came through in the album. When I listen to that album it takes me back to when we were recording it.

UHH: As I mentioned this album feels more complete and one of the reasons is because of the three instrumental pieces that divide this album. I don't even understand why it works, but can you explain what these instrumentals were meant to do?

UBI: Those three songs were created as one piece of music, but that one piece of music had three movements. And I thought this could break apart nicely and so I broke apart [because] it had very clear break points where the movements change. […] I wanted each piece to be a point of return [we] go through 5 or so songs and [then these pieces] are sort of a pallet cleanser for your mind. We say a lot of words and are much more lyrically oriented, moreso than this shit that is coming out these days and it almost gives you a chance to absorb, to rest your brain, to think, to reflect. And because its one piece of music but different you might not pick up that its one piece of music. Its a little puzzle. The tracks are called Calamity, Entropy and Scruge and put them together for another CES. [GODI: Cesception]

The subtle intricacies of this latest album really bring to the forefront why Ces Cru was saught after by Strange Music, but also makes the ever growing industry machine so much more confusing. When you hear an artist laugh about writing a platinum hit in 8 minutes while a duo puts easter eggs into an already incredible album as an homage to the fans to have something extra. I wanted to hear how Ces Cru sees the industry and the so called “faces of hip hop” and the direction the commercialized music is going.

UHH: Yeah and you hit on a point there about whats being released in today's hip hop. The line “the industry turning out the same ol slop” is a line that comes to mind. As artists that take the lyrical side of hip hop as a priority, how do you view how the climate of commercialized hip hop is changing?

UBI: I think that commercialized hip hop is less about lyrics and more about catching a vibe. There are successful pop level rappers that are lyrical rappers, but truly most popular style of hip hop or pop hip hop is about vibes and not about lyrics anymore. There is a ton of singing and you are talking about an artform that came from drums and rapping with no singing quality.

UHH: I think you can look to artists like Bone Thugs and Harmony as a group that added a little singing and it worked. The industry took note of this uniqueness that people loved and boiled it down into just that, so that the uniqueness is now the norm. So now I turn to artists like Young Thug and Travis Scott and I wonder where do you guys see the uniqueness in music nowadays?

GODI: I think a lot of the same is on the surface. A lot of these guys are dressing a like, no matter how outrageous or outlandish it may be, they are tryin to be the same in that way. It's kind of a shame that no one can think of something different than rainbow colored dreds. Auto-tune is another thing that used to be something you had to learn how to freak, but now that's an industry standard. If someone hears a good song for the first time [they] might ask where's the auto-tune. As for the uniqueness, you brought up Young Thug. I am a fan are you a fan?

UHH: Yeah I have been on the Young Thug train since Stoner and I am a huge Young Thug fan.

GODI: Oh really? I had to come around to him. I really disliked the first impression I got from him, and was completely turned off to him but now am I huge fan. I go back to him because amongst all these guys that kind of sound like him you could get it fucked up because Young Thug is doing something totally different. […] To piggyback on another point, I have only recently in the last couple years found myself in a space where I could listen to things and stop pledging allegiance to things and groups in genres so much that I wouldn't listen to [music] based on that.

There is a lot of the “Same ol slop” in the industry now, but its important to keep an open mind because while you might have to sit through 7 or 8 lil this an lil that you will eventually happen on a Young Thug that reminds you that uniqueness is alive in the mainstream. We went on to talk more about one thing that usually stands out to myself which is the beat selection. Artists like Danny Brown have become so inclined to do this and make the absurd work through intricate flows. This ability is showcased by Ces Cru in throughout there catelog and again in their latest album through songs like “Slave.” Even noting that they enjoy the challenge of an oddball production as a “let me see if I can hit this curveball out the park” challenge.

Stayin away from the unorthodox is what drives me to make my encounters with these artist an memorable as possible, and one way I do this is by giving the fans a direct line to their favorite artists.

UHH: Our first question comes from Grace in Alaska who wanted to know “What is the craziest thing to happen to you guys on tour?”

UBI: There is a lot of crazy shit that has gone down on our tours, but I think our bus broke down one time in the middle of a tour [GODI: In the middle of a snowstorm, it was snowing [sideways]]. Yeah so we had to grab all our shit and hop onto someone else's tour bus. We all slept on the floor for many days. We were on a three bus [caravan] and so half went to one bus, half to the other. I was on Tech [n9ne's] bus and I think you were on the crew bus. [GODI: I was on the crew bus and all this is going down at like 3 in the morning]

UHH: Yeah, that's wild. And our other fan question came from Vince in Stevens Point, WI. He wanted to know what is one thing musically and non-musically that you have yet to achieve in your careers?

GODI: I can't believe I am saying this outloud. One non-musical thing I would like to get back to is some sort of form of martial arts or physical training, Boxing or MMA. I know it seems like everyone is doing that and I would like to but I lose the motivation. You know what I'm saying. I am a gamer, I sit around a smoke pot and shit but then I watch a documentary on boxing and shit and am like yeah I could probably do that. Not to actually be a boxer and shit but to have fun with it. Musically, fans believe it or not, I use to try my hand at production on a Triton, my home girl Perseph [One] gave me a crash course in Triton so I spent like four days going really hard on this Triton and made a bunch of beats. This was back in the day when you could have em on a tape so I had [the beats] on tapes, I thought I was going to be the next fuckin 9th Wonder. And since then I haven't really jumped back into production so I would like to get back to it, that would be my something musically, I like that shit and hear beats in my head all the time. UBI: For a musical thing, I would love a sold out headlining tour. [GODI: Ayyy!] Because we sold out Denver a couple days ago at this place called the Roxy, super dope 500 people, it was lit. And 500 people might not sound like a lot to people, but when you play shows to 20 or 30, 500 makes you feel pretty good. I would like to have that experience night after night. Non-musically? Oh shit... I got some travelling I'd like to do. I am tryin to get to Japan. I don't care if I gotta rap there or not, I just want to go to Japan... before North Korea blows that shit up or something.

I shared the goal with Ubiquotous of getting to Southeast Asian as I have been wanting to see the Buddhist temples in Thailand. The duo was another reminder of why I love the music I do. Everything from putting in the effort with easter eggs in the album to their love of lyricism. This was even further solidified as they took the stage in front of a crowd eager to share their energy. Ces Cru continues their tour throughout the Spring and their latest project Catastrophic Event Specialists is available on all platforms as well as on Strangemusicinc.net.

Connect with Ces Cru

Facebook.com/cescrufan

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