Picture: UMG
It’s a historic day for Southeast Asian hip-hop, as Def Jam Southeast Asia held its first press conference here, officiating the label’s presence in the region through a merger with Universal Music Group and Kartel Records. Showcasing the breadth and ability of our talent, we managed to catch up with Alif and Sonaone on what’s to come with Def Jam.
How does it feel like to be the first generation of artists under Def Jam?
Sonaone: It feels dope. I mean like it’s a dream come true. Never in a million years would I ever think I’d be signed to Def Jam. It’s like, it makes me feel like a little kid all over again. Cause like when I first discovered hip hop, I was like around 10, 11 years old, and the first few things you ever hear about from hip hop is Def Jam. You know, they were the first hip hop label ever in the history of the world. They broke artists like Run DMC, the Beastie boys, LL CoolJ and then the list goes on and on and on all the way till today. Kanye West, Jay Z and then like, you know, it’s just, it’s just crazy to be a part of this huge family that has contributed so much to the culture.
Alif: I mean like it came to us as a surprise also, you know, so I’m just glad that it’s the same family that is brought over from Kartel because we established something very strong with them, some bonding and everything. I think that was really important and we’re experiencing the same thing with Def Jam Southeast Asia. So I think that’s pretty cool. And also we already had made friends across the border, like Indonesia with Ariel Nayaka, and the boys from Singapore, and Thailand. And the fact that they are all under this umbrella right now, it’s just like great, you know? It’s like, it was meant to be.
What do you plan to achieve at the label?
Sonanone & Alif: I guess like what we hope to achieve is just to build Def Jam Southeast Asia, build this family, collaborate with each other and then show the whole world what the fuck Southeast Asia got la, cause we got some fire, that the world should see and also with our traditions and culture too. And hip hop is really like a borrowed culture also in the sense that it can be adopted everywhere and anywhere. So that’s why it makes it interesting.
Picture: UMG
Do you think the atmosphere at Def Jam will be different from the one in Kartel?
Sonaone: The whole family at Kartel is beginning with Def Jam. It’s the same family, but obviously the family’s bigger now. Yeah. It’s a bigger family. I mean, atmosphere wise I think, you know, having a bigger team, more support, you know, the support from Universal and Def Jam, both of them are powerhouses in the music industry worldwide. And Def Jam being such an iconic brand in hip hop, I think that that the atmosphere is definitely going to be beneficial for sure. You know, like it’s not going to be too different from what we’ve already had with Kartel. I think now things would just be moving a lot faster, a lot more smoother, bigger, more resources. And I think, yeah, you just gotta get ready for some fucking wild shit la. That’s all. We also don’t really know what to expect. All we gotta do is just work, work, work, and then like, you know, hopefully, you know, hopefully we can get the whole world looking this way.
Do you think you’ll collaborate with other artists from the Def Jam LA during the time that you’ll be here?
Sonaone: I mean right now I don’t want to focus too much on like, you know, Western, the Western side of things, cause we were trying to build something regional first, you know? So they’re like, we wanna see what you got. So this is the time when we build strength in this region.100%. So like if we’re looking at collaborations, we’re looking to collaborate with, our neighbors, you know, like Singaporeans, Indonesians, Thai rappers, Vietnamese rappers, Filipino rappers, because the time has come where the world’s getting so much smaller you know? You can DM your favorite artist, and chances are they’ll see it and reply. You know what I mean? So the world is in such an accessible place right now that it would make sense to start with your neighbors. You know, like ask for some sugar, maybe they’ll give you some bread, and then the next thing, you’ll build a neighborhood and the neighborhood is the whole world and you can just walk down the street, and next thing you know, you’re in New York.
Picture: UMG
Yeah. So I mean like definitely it’ll be great if we could collaborate with, you know, artists from Def Jam US. But I don’t think that’s a priority right now. Like, you know, we gotta we gotta build up what we have here first.
Alif: And we’re like proud of proud of our region, you know, we want to be able to meet them and when the time comes for us to collaborate, we’ll also wanna bring something to the table, you know, because right now obviously is like one sided. Obviously Def Jam US is like the biggest on top. Everything that is influential in the hip-hop industry mostly comes from that side of the world, right? So I think we’re so proud of our region that we want to be strong so that we meet up, you know, we can talk on the same level. And exchange ideas it’ll just be great.
