FH Interview: Tanya Morgan

One of 2009′s most talked about, and critically-acclaimed, albums is Tanya Morgan‘s Brooklynati. Marrying their respective homes of Brooklyn and Cincinnati, Donwill, Ilyas and Von Pea have dropped a cohesive concept album, and brought the listener into their world of Brooklynati. You niggas have been there before, and don’t even know it. You might not even know TM. We chatted with the trio, breaking down the background behind the project, as well as getting some insight into what they have forthcoming…

First off, respect on putting out such a dope project with Brooklynati. You’ve gotten a lot of great responses to the album – have you guys been surprised by the accolades Brooklynati has received?

Von: Thank you! Honestly, I haven’t been surprised because our other projects were received well and I knew that we worked harder on this album than we ever have. I knew that would pay off and it would sound like we took our time. People can tell when the effort is put in for real.

Donwill: Yeah, the compliments and accolades are always flattering and very appreciated. A lot of times it works the other way around, where artists come out saying its gonna be a classic and the best LP they made, and it gets panned. We more or less just put in the hard work, were satisfied with the result, and let the critics speak for us.

Ilyas: I wasn’t surprised because I’m conscious of the fact that we’re one of the few acts still doing thorough concept albums. Being in this minority in a rapidly changing music landscape, I’m sure there are people out there that appreciate us passing on a tradition that was passed to us.

Let’s take it back for a bit – when did you guys first get the idea to structure the album behind this ideal mashing of Brooklyn and Cincinnati?

Von: We’ve been saying Brooklynati for a long time, even before Moonlighting came out we were calling Tanya Morgan’s hometown Brooklynati. It’s even on the artwork on our first album, Moonlighting.

Donwill: Yeah, it’s been a while now. A lot of our ideas are being incubated as we speak lol.

Ilyas: Yeah, just kinda happened LOL.

How important has the promotional push behind Brooklynati, a lot of which was handled online, to the praise afforded to the project? How difficult was it to cull so many different talents into a project of such a large scale?

Von: All of that is a testament to how a small machine can still be a machine. To the fans, all of this stuff looks cool and is fun as hell. Box sets, hats, maps, driver’s licenses, matchbooks, menus! There’s SO much that went into making the campaign fun and that just comes from us and the label and our friends brainstorming. We did all of that to make it a unique experience and fun. Whoever thinks it’s all dumb just doesn’t have an imagination.

How many tracks did you guys complete for Brooklynati? If there are any leftovers, will there be a chance of the fans getting their hands on those at some point?

Von: Believe it or not, we only did the songs that are on the album. There may be a rough demo, or one or two joints that only one person is on… but there aren’t any songs that didn’t make the album lying around. It’s actually a lot of work to get the 3 of us to do a song because there’s always so much going on with us individually. We still record like Tanya Morgan is a side project.

Donwill: We record very intentionally in order to make a statement. Each song was planned and executed twice; we recorded the whole thing twice. The process of making an album is totally foreign to some artists because they are so caught up with each song being a single or something. There is such a thing as an album cut and those are just as important as the singles.

One of the tracks from the album that’s been referenced in various reviews and write-ups was the “Hardcore Gentlemen” cut, which is a comedic twist on the classic styles of groups like Onyx. How did that idea come about? Could we ever see a re-emergence of the Hardcore Gentlemen in the future?

Von: There’s going to be a video for that song very, very soon! That was a one time thing though, in my opinion.

Donwill: They probably can’t make a comeback. Internal beef and money issues held them back for so long, we were just blessed to get them to regroup for this one last song for our album.

Ilyas: Yeah, the Hardcore Gents asked me to shoot the video for them, and I’m editing it down
now as we speak.

[khal note: the "Hardcore Gentlemen" video just leaked last week...]

In reading the Okayplayer forums, there was a brief exchange having something to do with TM somehow getting full of themselves, or getting a big head? How do you guys respond to notions that you’re getting gassed?

Von: That was real strange to me, especially because as a group I know how perception goes. We’re three individuals so I’m wondering what the three of us did to appear full of ourselves. It has to be a perception issue.

Donwill: LMAO, word? Nah, definitely nothing like that going on. I’d love to read that post though. Can you email me the link? I’m kinda beyond defending myself regarding stuff like that, and if whoever thinks that was to spend a good day in my shoes they’d agree that nothing’s changed. Hell, if they spent a bad day they’d want their life back.

Ilyas: Full of ourselves? Ha! People just hate to hate. Who cares? LOL.

Do you guys have an absolute favorite track off the album?

Von: Mines is “We’re Fly” right now. I just love the sample!

Donwill: Shit, I’m gonna go with “On Our Way.”

Ilyas: “Never Secondary.”

You’ve been touring the album out for a good portion of 2009 – which track(s) get the best response live?

Von: I think “So Damn Down” still gets the best response. Also, I’ve learned a trick, people always know the first song off of any project. I don’t know if that’s an A.D.D. thing or what, but no matter what project, people always mention the first song. To all artists: do the first track and people will at least recognize it.

Donwill: People love “So Damn Down.” I think it’s the hook. I really like performing “Plan B,” I know it’s not an up-tempo, hype song like we are known for performing, but it feels good to do that song with a vocalist.

Ilyas: “So Damn Down,” but honestly, we have yet to test all the songs from Brooklynati onstage yet.

Outside of TM, you all have been working on solo projects, right? What can we expect to see from you three on an individual level?

Von: My album is called Pea’s Gotta Have It as a nod to Spike Lee and Brooklyn. Spike always represented Brooklyn in a positive but honest way, and that’s how I try to do it. I have Keisha Shontelle, Danny!, and of course the Lessondary on the album. Myself and Aeon are executive producing it. It’s going to be a concept, but I wont get into it just yet!

Donwill: I’m working on a project called Don Cusack In High Fidelity. It’s a concept album that revolves around the movie High Fidelity, and I’ve sort of cast a few friends and myself in it. The lead single is on itunes.com/donwill right now and the full LP should drop around February.

Ilyas: I have a project called The Prelude that’s out on itunes.com/i-el. Being I direct and edit video, I plan on shooting a video to every song. I’m also working on a project called Double Dragon with a cat named Juice Lee that’s based on video games and such. It’s hilarious! We plan on putting it out in the Fall. And I’m working on a project called “Lost Angels” with a producer named Wes Mapes from Cali. I don’t know when that’s dropping; we’re not trying to rush it. And there’s a follow up project to The Prelude that I plan on releasing February/March 2010. That’s all I’ll say about that one. The world ain’t ready for it. Nobody will ever see it coming.

I’ve also heard some rumors that there was a Lessondary album in the works? Can ANY details on that be divulged?

Von: Everyone will be on the album, but the members of the Lessondary that live in NY (and Aeon) have been slowly working on it because it’s easier to organize that way. We all perform together a lot so it was just a matter of someone being the first to be serious about it, and that was Elucid. It’s just going to be like a flyer. It wont be anyone’s big artistic statement or anything, just around 12 of the best joints we can make collectively to let people know that we’re all talented and dope as hell. I’m hoping that will be ready next summer.

Will there be more touring during the summer of 2009?

Von: Spot dates! We have a few east coast dates coming up, to everyone reading this: watch the MySpace page for dates! We’re also working on a fall tour with another indie group, but that’s in early stages so I don’t want to bring it up yet.

Donwill: We hit the road in July for like roughly 5-8 dates on a real short run. Then we go back out later in the year. We are definitely approaching touring different to try and give the fans the full Tanya Morgan experience this time.

What does the future hold for Tanya Morgan? Any plans (large or small) for the next EP/mixtape/album?

Von: As a group, not right now. Just working Brooklynati.

Donwill: I’m plotting the third album in my mind, but like with all our other albums there is a thought process and moment where all our ideas click and our message becomes urgent and we have to get it out. We wont leave fans high and dry at all though. Next year is full of releases, and every Lessondary related album features us all. A great example is the Red Giants Chain Reaction EP. We are all there. Tanya Morgan is just the marquee group of a much larger movement.

Since there’s no Plan B, when do you think TM will cease?

Von: Neverwary 31st! haha.

Donwill: As long as they keep hitting the play button it wont.

Ilyas: Can’t stop won’t stop…take that take that LOL.

www.brooklynati.com
www.myspace.com/tanyamorgan
www.myspace.com/vonpea
www.myspace.com/misterilyas
www.myspace.com/donwont
mcdayjob.com
vonpea.com
imculture.com