Often times people say that you reflect the company you keep, and in Hus Kingpin‘s case, he’s surrounded by some of the best.
#TheWinners, a collective group of emcees, producers and overall Hip Hop enthusiasts, have been building a la A$AP Mob, but came together through their like-minded nature despite not all being from the same neighborhood. Hus, nicknamed Lord Wavy, for example, is currently located in Los Angeles by way of Long Island, bringing that influence and inspiration to the group as they forge a path all their own in today’s rap game.
Following the successes of his latest project, a mixtape inspired by the Netflix series House Of Cards, aptly titled House of Kingpin and hosted by the show’s own Remy Denton, Hus is readying his next project, which was produced by BIG GHOST after the two connected on Twitter.
In advance of their forthcoming collaboration, due out later this summer, he and his crew released a joint mixtape, #TheWinner’s Playbook Playlist Vol. 2, where each member links up with another in order to curate a collection of summer anthems and give a small tease as to what everyone’s been up to.
Considering a team is only as strong as its weakest member, #TheWinners are looking pretty good this season.
Is there an early memory you’d like to share about getting into your craft, such as when you realized this was more than just a hobby or a passion?
I’ve been taking the music-ish seriously since I dropped The Cognac Tape hosted by Roc Marciano in Oct. 2013 on Mello Music Group/Fat Beats, then I went on to do the NahRight Hype LP which was a collaboration with NahRight.com, been on a wave since.
One of my earliest memories was when I was like 19 and I met Big Daddy Kane in Queens on Jamaica Ave, on a cobblestone block by the coliseum. He told me he was leaving the torch for me; I was with my cousin Ghostra Nostra, lookout for him too.
Another memory was right before I dopped The Cognac Tape, this was like 2012, I was still in NY, before I moved to LA and the late great A$AP YAMS started following me on Twitter. I followed him back and then he DM’d me and shot me his email. I wasn’t up on the movement due to my ignorance, so I never hit him up. I regret that one, only thing I regret in my life. RIP YAMS
How do you describe your sound?
The Hus Kingpin sound is like if Nas, Portishead, Sade, Noreaga and Scarface formed Voltron, i.e. (one of my lyrics): “I poured poetry on you, you wanted Moët.”
Who are your influences? What is some advice that has stuck with you?
I’m influenced by my parents, my mother is from Barbados, my father is from Trinidad. I also draw influence from my city, New York. I was born in Brooklyn, but I rep Hempstead, NY, where I started rhyming w/ SmooVth when we were youngins.
Musically I’m inspired by my team #TheWinners, which consists of SmooVth from Hempstead NY, Rozewood from Amityville, NY now residing in LA, Sean Rosati from Boston, Marvelous Mag from Brownsville Brooklyn now residing in Miami, JuneLyfe from Boston, our producer Giallo Point from the UK, AL Divino from Lawrence Mass, Sage Infinite from New Jersey, and El Ay from the UK.
I remember hearing Russell Simmons say “Use your f***in’ resources.” I ran with that, applied it to my life.
What do you hope people take away from listening to your music?
I want people to feel wavy when they hear my s**t. I hope it makes you smash that shorty you always wanted to smash and do the kid ‘n play dance after. “I don’t make music for n****s that don’t get pussy.” My s**t is unadulterated wave poetry, it’s therapeutic to the user, you slam dance to it.
Tell us a little bit about what concepts or themes that reoccur in your new project?
My next project, Untitled, is a collaboration with BIG GHOST and will be out later this summer.
The Kingpin theme from Spiderman is the first approach. I play the super villain MC you love. Secondly, I’m the waviest since Max B so everything about me and my music encompasses a waved up experience. I’m Lord Wavy aka Wavo. FREE MAX B
Tell us a little bit more about Untitled?
My next project is with the infamous writer and producer BIG GHOST, I have a few special guests featured on that LP. I respect BIG GHOST heavily for his unfiltered writing style, s**t is genius. His production is ghostly like his name, he shot me a few batches, bounced a few ideas and we selected the tracks to make the cut. We met on Twitter, salute Jack Dorsey (founder of Twitter).
Anything else you’d like to add?
Shout out to my team #TheWinners, my brother SmooVth, my brother Mahershala Ali who’ll be starring on the new Luke Cage series on Netflix, he also hosted my last mixtape House Of Kingpin, salute my brother Planet Asia, Evidence of Dilated Peoples, Big Twins of Infamous Mobb, Tristate, DJ Xtreme, J Smallz, and Jazz.
And yo, make sure you check out my brother from my team #TheWinners, Sean Rosati, his new EP, 2016’s, just dropped last week.
