The aspirations of the hiphop powerhouse that drop rhymes under the
moniker the Chicharones lie somewhere between inspiring proletariat
party raps and a panty-dropping obsession with the fairer gender. A
dual emcee collaboration between the rapid-fire delivery of Sleep and
the gravelly croon of Josh Martinez, the Chicharones gracefully
showcase the verbal chops of each highly respected emcee at a
collective level of “up to my neck in awesome” skill. Martinez took a
moment from his vacation in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to talk about their
new EP, Swine Country, and their “bone-crushingly legendary”
future plans.
MERCURY: Is Swine
Country a preview of an upcoming full-length? I heard
rumors about an album called Sow Side Story, when
is that coming out?
JOSH MARTINEZ: Sow Side Story is the full-length album. It
should come out summer ’09, a concept album about rebellion, rival
gangs, girl watching, love, a heist, an honest pair of pants, and the
pilgrimage for truth in a dystopian era of corporate optimism. It’s
also a musical. It is strongly influenced by the many shades of the
musical spectrum and happens to follow Dante’s Divine Comedy in
the journey from hell to salvation. It is timeless and legendary, and
it is entirely unfinished. It will be bone-crushingly legendary.
I heard that you were hanging up the mic for good and retiring
from hiphop, what gives?
I’m retiring “Josh Martinez.” He’s tired. The Chicharones are not
Josh Martinez. The Chicharones are bonsai wasabi hot. And since it’s a
musical, our live show will follow musical conventions in both the
album form and its stage reproduction. Expect lighting cues, smoke and
mirrors, magic, illusion, costume changes, and dance moves (extensive
dance moves). My retirement is a fluid thing. I’ve been bored. Now I’m
not.
Both you and Sleep have very different vocal deliveries, but
together in the Chicharones it’s a very complementary balance. How is
it collaborating and writing rhymes with another emcee?
Sleep and myself are the most complementary rappers ever put
together on the planet, ever. We never disagree. It just works
out that he’s always right. I know my role. I’m the hot secretary who
takes notes, gets menial tasks done, and keeps the shows free from
groupies so he can concentrate on freestyling in the parking lot with
dudes. Sleep comes up with all the ideas, I make notes, then he tells
me what to sing and when. He’ll lay down my raps, and I come in and
just do the best I can with what he wrote for me. I’m really good at
tracklistings and album liner notes, so I just concentrate on what I do
best. I also bring the looks to the table, and most of the muscle. I’ve
been known to sign into hotels under an assumed name so as to not taint
the glossy sheen of fame that he exudes (and I live off). I know which
side my bread is buttered on. As long as we know our roles, the
songwriting is pretty easygoing.
The Chicharones perform Saturday, January 10 at Berbati’s
Pan.