(L-R) Dood Computer and Dezmatic at the Playdium, Albany, NY. (Photo by Andrew Franciosa)
To some, Albany is secluded star on a map of New York; a dusty midpoint between fancier cities with classier bars. Maybe you’ve sped past it leaving NYC heading towards the racetrack in Saratoga, or on your way to Turning Stone for cheap cartons of Camel Lights. But those who call The Capital City home know it to be a land surviving on its confidence, driven by white knuckled hard workers who take their whiskey neat and their knocks hard.
Hustling among the Capital City natives you’ll find Mitch and Dan, collectively known as Giant Gorilla Dog Thing, the two-man colossus of Dood Computer and Dezmatic; MC’s who trade monstrous verses littered with storied metaphors of life, hard luck, and loss that have come to represent something bigger than Albany itself. Over bowling alley shots, beers, and grilled cheese sandwiches, the two chat about rapping for sport, the city they call home, and Horse, the tremendous new LP produced by Absolute and released on their own Pig Food Records. Put that left hand right over that hole in your face and shut up. You’ve been warned.
Yo Teach: Rapping seems like a natural extension of who you are. Where does that passion come from? Why rap? You could be folk singers, or painters.
Dood Computer: I could only be a folk singer or painter if I could sing or paint. Unfortunately, I cannot. If it were up to me, I'd much rather be good at something that isn't stupid, like ultimate Frisbee. I think we all just have to do what we can with the hand we're dealt. The only logical move with the hand I was dealt was to be the greatest rapper in the history of the universe. As luck would have it, I happen to be best friends with the fellow who holds the title of second best. Super convenient.
Dezmatic: If I had the patience, I would've played guitar or piano. But I didn't... And I still don't. Words are more descriptive than notes. So even if I'm telling the listener how shitty everyone else who raps is and how much cooler I am, it's still all about the peculiarly descriptive ways of doing it. Painting some sort of picture, even if it's not necessarily conceptual. The aesthetic itself is actually the concept. Saying shit nobody has said yet, or saying fuck you over and over and over again but a different way each time. Building puzzles with words still hasn't gotten old for me. And that's why I still write my vulgar little doodles and ditties...because I hate everybody.
Yo Teach: Giant Gorilla Dog Thing is Dezmatic and Dood Computer. When did you decide to join forces and embarrass these rap clowns?
Dezmatic: People embarrass themselves always; a universal truth of which I might be the guiltiest of all. Rap, at its beginning, and throughout the years has had the greatest of intentions. It’s an art form that lifted people, primarily people of color, with fewer resources than others, out of poverty. Over the years it's had its swells and lulls, it's schisms between the haves and have nots, it's on-again off-again love affair with middle America, and it seems like after it's all said and done it's still just a hyper-masculine boys club full of narcissistic cannibals...with a dash of homophobia just for good measure. I love the shit out of it, but what's not to make fun of? We’re all just polishing turds out here so everybody can just calm down and stop pretending like it matters as much as anything Chuck D did with his career, because it fucking doesn't, idiots.
Dood Computer: Since Dan seems to have ignored the word "when", I'll fill that blank in. Absolute gave me a beat CD a few years back because he and I were planning on doing a few tracks together. The next morning I laid the hook down for "Left Hand Right" and apparently was playing it loud enough to wake my roommate up... who happened to be Dez. By the time he left for work, we finished the song and decided to do a whole project. It seemed like the logical move given the amount of involvement we had had in each other’s music coupled with the fact that we are the two best rappers in the history of the universe.
Yo Teach: Explain the vibe of the Capital City to a stranger. An outsider might see Albany as a Thruway stop between Syracuse and NYC. Blue collar doesn't begin to shine a light.
Dood Computer: Well, that's exactly what it is. In the grand scheme of things, Albany doesn't matter at all, to anyone. That fact is what fuels a lot of people around here. If you start in Albany and drive two hours in any direction, you'll end up in a place where people go on purpose. To a certain extent, people here are a little salty about that. There's a spirit of competition and hunger for recognition here that I think can only come from being overlooked. It also really drives people to become great at whatever it is that they do artistically, because you're already starting with the handicap of being here. Whatever you're doing, you need to do extra big or not even bother.
Dezmatic: As far as touring, it’s an in-between spot. Acts shouldn't expect to see as much money, at least not at first crack. The amount of people they see is more about their commitment to cultivating an Albany crowd. If you treat Albany like it ain't shit, we will all gladly respond to your bullshit self-entitled superstar attitude with a good old fashioned Albany fuck you. That's just how it is here. Fuck your MetroCard.
Yo Teach: You are completely hands on when it comes to your music. How important is creative control?
Dood Computer: It’s the third most important thing in the world, right behind pizza and boobs. I don't think an album can fully represent an artist if he walks away from the process as soon as he steps out of the recording booth. Making music that doesn't suck is obviously a huge part of it, but it can't just exist on its own. If you're not involved in making it sound the way you want it to, look the way you want it to, and be pushed the way you want it to, you can only take partial credit for whatever it ends up being. You're pretty much a deadbeat dad at that point. Shit has to be nurtured and cared for, and not just shitted out onto a SoundCloud page to rot. There has to be a plan involved. If not, you're dead in the water.
Dezmatic: Is it important? Nothing is worse than being asked to jump on someone's record, taking your time to pen something you know without a shadow of a doubt that nobody in their right mind or on this earth can fuck with, recording it, shipping it off to it's recipient, and then months later it comes out with a dog shit mix and you're somehow now ¾’s of a second off beat. Thanks but no thanks. I ain't doing shit unless I know Mitch is there to troubleshoot that minor league fuckery. So, yea...It's important.
Yo Teach: Your new record Horse feels entirely urgent; the tone screams critical. It's an album that could come to define 518 hip-hop. Did you set out to turn heads, or is it business as usual?
Dezmatic: I say that we, all of us here, are always redefining what 518 hip-hop is. It's a sign of a healthy, living, breathing scene. This album is something we all came together to do. We took our time. We didn't rush anything. Brendan (Absolute) has beats on there that are four or five years old. He will also redefine his own sound over time. Just like the verses that you hear from me next year won't sound like the ones I did on the album. Keep growing. Keep evolving. Shit sounds cliché but what the fuck ever. I strongly believe in change... for the better.
Dood Computer: We thought it was really important to make sure that everyone knew we were the greatest rappers in the history of the universe. I think we accomplished that. The sense of urgency comes from just how important it was to us that our fuck you was able to be heard clearly, and from great distances. There was no actual urgency though, because like Dan said, we took our sweet ass time with every aspect of it. There's no reason not to when it's a project you give even the tiniest fuck about.
Yo Teach: The record is produced almost entirely by Absolute. How intentional was it to focus the sound? His production lends itself to a cohesive piece of art, rather than a shitload of one-off singles.
Dood Computer: It couldn't possibly have been more intentional. Not only is Absolute an amazing producer all around, but he has a very distinctive and recognizable style. He was the glue that made the end result be as cohesive as it is. Because it was written over such a long stretch of time, I think the writing on the album is kind of all over the place. Had each song been produced by a different person, that fact would have really been highlighted and made Horse sound like more of a mixtape than an album. He was also very hands-on throughout the whole process and made sure that every literal and figurative bell and whistle was put exactly where it should be. A lot of producers will send a beat and then walk away from the song, but he had his hands in all of it right up to when we sent the masters to press.
Dezmatic: It’s just the way this one went down. My man BP (Absolute) killed those beats. My man Mitch killed his verses. We win, just as we intended. Eat shit.
Yo Teach: Pig Food is home base for a rather unique bunch of MCs and producers. Running a label is about as DIY as it gets. Does the risk balance the reward?
Dezmatic: The risk is as worth it as anything I've ever done with my music. I admittedly have limited experience 'taking risks' with other people's music. I've done things in the past that I'm no doubt proud as hell to have been a part of, but I'd be lying if I said those projects went off without a hitch. The older brother makes the mistakes so the younger brother doesn't have to. So when I tell 'so and so' to be patient and not fart the song he just recorded last week and Katz just mixed this week out into the internet, we don't. I think it's working so far. Don't you?
Dood Computer: Absofuckinglutely. What we're doing with the label really boils down to this: Dan and I have both done a ton of music-related things with a ton of people. In the course of doing that, we've met a lot of different folks, both in the area and all over the world. Some of those people are awesome, some of them are jerkoffs. Some of them are great at what they do, some of them never will be. The biggest reward of the label for me is that it's an opportunity to connect good people with other good people, which inevitably yields good music, good relationships, and expands the network. There is no fucking way that anything negative can come from that. Worst case scenario, we invest money into a project that doesn't do as well as we'd like it to, and we lose a few bucks. Fuck it though, can't take it with you. It's easy to push music to people when you really fuck with it, and we wouldn't even consider releasing something we didn't really fuck with hard.
Yo Teach: What's next for GGDT and Pig Food?
Dood Computer: We always make a point to not talk much about what's in the works until the proper time and place, but suffice it to say the next 5 Pig Food Releases are all lined up and patiently waiting their turns. The only one anybody needs to be on the lookout for right this second is elsphinx's "Brain Cave Deluxe”. It's the best album this area has ever produced. You'll know more when you need to.
Check out the Pig Food Records family and on Instagram. Big thanks to Giant Gorilla Dog Thing for the time and patience and to Andrew Franciosa for the photos. We appreciate you Playdium Bowling Alley.
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interview, Profile, Feature, New York, Giant Gorilla Dog Thing, Dezmatic, Dood Computer, Pig Food Records