Juke Related

Supah, South Side EP:

Supah's a fiery Chicago rapper who can hold his own with talented local MCs like Lil Herb, who appears on the South Side EP. The real draw here is the title cut, a remake of a 90s number by ghetto-house legend DJ Deeon; Supah's version was produced by DJ Slugo and Xcel. The MC drops just enough bars to complement the driving beat without overdoing it, and he pulls it off with enough style to make this song his own. - Chicago Reader

It's not often or likely you meet a teenager who carries himself like a mature adult, let alone one who is wise & sustains a strong sense of self-discipline. To my surprise, it would be attributed to his meditation practices. Clearing his mind and focusing on the goals he has set out for himself, Supah, need I remind you, has yet to welcome his twenties. A lot of artists & entrepreneurs struggle from anxiety, not being able to focus on one task at a time, eventually becoming overloaded with work and imbalanced expectations.. CLICK READ MORE

Q.) How does a teen develop characteristics such as these and not, like most, turn into the nearly inevitable slacker or an over anxious entrepreneur?

Honestly just having a desire to do so, and not only having belief in what the future holds for you, but maintaning that belief the same way you maintain your breathing. In Chicago they say NO LACKING, in addition to that I add NO SLACKING. My biggest thing is time. I hate wasting time. Doing nothing is easy and I work hard. Being idle is a sin.

Q.) How did you get the name 'Supah'? Is that a name you plan on sticking with throughout your career in the music industry? If so, do you have any plans regarding the actual branding & promoting of the name?

Haha, I get that question a lot. Call me Supah, Supah Tribe, or SevenSixSupah. I was actually named Supah by my big homie D.A. who was a member of HAVOC/DNP (A popular footwork group here in Chicago that is sure to ring a bell). I was footworking at practice working on routines and something about my style just made him say "That boy Supah!" And i just ran with it from there. I tacked on Seven Six making it SevenSixSupah. I was probably in like 7/8th grade when I first picked up the name. I do plan on keeping it too. It's different and it usually makes an impression.

Q.) What Genre do you favor more, hip-hop or juke?

Footwork. Then hip-hop, then juke. A lot of people tie juke and footwork music together because they sound so similar elementally, but they are really two different monsters. My music collection was full of footwork music when I was coming up. In Highschool my headphones were always playing classic tracks. Bass and snare heavy techno sounds tracked out by those like the late great DJ RASHAD or DJ SPINN really get me amp'd up in a way that only my city can understand.

Q.) On the cover, you requested that I incorporate the red line & the Robert Taylor building. What do they mean to you? Why do you feel the world should see that?

The Robert Taylor building not only represented the HEART of the South Side, but also the birthplace and EVOLUTION of what is now the ghetto house genre. People living in those high rise homes were often deeply submerged into violent drug infested lifestyles. Many DJs from Chicago that are now successful came together inside of those buildings. Juke music became the stepping stone to escape the poverty and hopelessness that they were all subject to, and the sound of many generations to come. All in all, it shows how something phenomenal came from what at first glance appears to be nothing. As far as the red line, what else is more "South Side" than that?

Q.) I actually met DJ Slugo a while back when I was co-hosting Juke events out west near the Midway Airport area, he's a really humble dude. Even though we had em' as a headliner, he gave advice to all the upcomers, did his thing. Was it a goal of yours to work with him? I also see that you got Xcel on the beat, I haven't met Xcel, what can you tell me about him as a producer?

Shout out to Slugo man, DJ Slugo is one of the pillars of the Chicago music scene and one of the key people responsible for the development of the juke culture. There is nothing you can do but respect him especially with him being so humble and wise to the game. His advice is golden and I'm honored to have him as such a big supporter of my movement. I didn't start out with a goal to work with him, but it was definitely something that was inevitable. We developed a relationship and the music came after. As far as Xcel, I haven't met him in person yet, but we were able to collaborate with him because of DJ Slugo, who brought Xcel to the table. Slugo told him what we were trying to create and Xcel jumped on board. I had no idea what to expect but I must say that he definitely went nuts on the track!!! He made three different beats and let us choose and mix and match how we wanted the song to sound. No Hype. He cut "Watch My Feet" by Dude N Nem as well as "Gettin' Some Head" by Shawnna which were both hot records. I'm looking forward to working with him again in the future.

Q.) Will you and DJ Deeon be frequent collaborators?

I definitely have another project in mind that I would like to discuss with him but I want to see what happens with the South Side record first. It really just depends on what kind of ideas we come up with. He's another key pillar of Juke music so I'm always down to work. No Hype.

Q.) As far as projects go, will you be dropping more tracks in the Ghetto House Juke genre, or hip-hop?

I'm gonna have to drop more juke joints because people are always gonna need more of that, but my focus is hip-hop. I don't really tie myself down to a Genre though, I don't think about music in terms of genre, just feeling and substance. You'd be surprised to hear what kinda tracks we got cookin' up over here though... Everybody will. No Hype.

Q.) You and I go back just a few months, originally meeting during the audition process of Donda's House "Got Bars" spring 2014 class. In these few months, we got to really see what each other was about creatively, even seeing what our commitment to this business looked like. Donda's House is a great platform for development, what was 1 thing you really took from it all?

Awww man... good question. I gotta say that there's a constant war going on underground, full of people jockeying for position in the rap game. I see and feel this war everyday. I've learned that when you help people while at war and expect nothing in return, those people in turn give you all that they can afford to out of appreciation and respect for you. The same thing applies when dealing with larger numbers of people like the Donda's House class as a whole. We all help each other as much as we can and in turn, what has it created? a bond so tight... that we may be looking at the birth of a Chicago Wu-Tang... or something grander.

Q.) I definitely look forward to seeing you grow and shine as the artist you striving to be, what projects do you have coming out or what do you have in development that your fanbase can look forward to?

I look forward to it to man. I'm watching myself grow into who I will be artistically and spiritually everyday just like you. I'm excited... But Of course, we have the much anticipated mixtape entitled "No Hype" coming forth from me sooner than you think. But to burn down some of that angst for thaaat tape, Imma be releasing to the streets the 'South Side EP' which will feature my newest single "South Side" and collaborations featuring Young Chop, Lil Herb and more from me and my homie King Popo.

Q.) Any shout outs you wanna give?

So many people deserve a shout-out man but just know It's Juke Related Ent.... Tribe National...139th. I appreciate everybody thats been helping me along my way, even those that did not know that they were doing so. And shoutout to you for having me Hex. No Hype.

Q.) How can people stay plugged with you?

HIT MY LINE AND SEE WHAT I'M ON! Lol, naw doe forreal I love when people reach out to me and i wanna encourage that. All my fans and supporters need to know that I'm here for them and they a big part of the reasons I work so hard to do them speakers right. Catch me on twitter/IG: @SevenSixSupah and follow my management @JukeRelated too. YA!!!

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Interview by -@hexhectic - Hex Hectic