Playdough: Man, I've been working on the Gold Tips stuff for a while; we did the maxi single (You Ain't Fresh) and then we did the album, and so the Gold Tips stuff is really specific, have-some-fun type of music. So I've been doing that and writing all these songs and having fun, but there's a completely side to me and what I do, and it's not really the style for the Gold Tips stuff. So I was just kind of anxious to rap and say some stuff that I haven't been able to say in a while. And there was a point when we weren't really recording new stuff, but we were gonna be, so I just wanted to be exactly what it is. I wanted to record some raw raps, and I wanted to put it and just let everybody know to not forget that I can rap really good. And I wanna rap really good. *laughter*

Sean P: Yeah, he did!

Playdough: It's been crazy, man. I didn't think it was gonna get the response that it has, and it's awesome. So thank you!

Sean P: Yeah! I've been working on four albums since Gold Tips. But it's been ongoing for the last year and a half. I'm doing another Move Merchants album with Manchild. (Scott: Nice!) It was done, and then at the last moment, we decided to add more songs and make it a full album, so we're on phase two. And a couple other albums; another EP with Paradox is done, and a couple others things that started and then slowed way down. So we'll see. But yeah, and I sell beats, so I've collaborated with people that way.

Playdough: HAHAHA! This inpatient guy? Thirty minutes, if he don't have it bangin', he'll turn it off. *laughter*

Sean P: Haha, yeah it's however long I want it to take. Right now, for instance, I'm working on a beat, and I'm just trying to do different things, so it's taking a really long time, but it just depends on my mood, just like any artist. You know, I'm sure some artists just wanna doodle a lot, and you can make a lot of doodles, and sometimes you have to make something specific. Working with Playdough on the new album, we're at the point where we're just trying to make songs that will affect people in a certain way and reach different genres and try to reach different ears. So those might take a little longer because they're gonna have a lot of steps to them. You know, a lot of different phases.

Sean P: It's up to Manchild to finish up some songs. It could take a long time, or it could take a really short time. I can't call it! It was done, and turned in, and it was only at the last moment that we thought to add like three more songs, so we've got like three more songs to go.

Playdough: Yeah!

Sean P: He works really fast, actually. He's a really fast writer and he's really good at what he does. You know, he's just a family man and he works full time and he's just gotta make time for it. It's when he catches the bug that he gets it.

Sean P: Oh man...Playdough, don't answer that one!

Playdough: I don't know, it's like completely different. Hotdoggin' was my first independent release, and that was a really musical album; really singy, and had lots of stuff on it. It was a very specific kind of thing. And then the Gold Tips stuff is completely different, so I would say that, just to be straight up, I think a lot more white people were into Hotdoggin'. And I would say that, with the Gold Tips stuff, it's kind of a weird mix. It's like a younger audience that maybe wasn't familiar with what we were doing, and then it's an audience that is older that kinda remembers the throwback stuff we're trying to put in there, you know? So it's like, it'll completely be parents and they love it, and they send me all kinds of videos where they're jamming it with their kids in the car, and they play it for their kids, so their kids love it. So it's weird. It's like, those who are old enough to remember early 80s hip hop stuff, and then a younger generation that's not really on the super raw, gritty samples, and that type of stuff. So it's a weird thing. So the response was different because of that. I'd say it's equally dope, but way different, so I'm kinda having a hard time comparing it. But it's been great. And because we did Gold Tips with Man Bites Dog Records, it was in front of a completely different audience of people that weren't already fans of mine. So it's a completely different response, you know? But it's awesome!

Sean P: As a fan, and as a homie that kinda hears it, I feel like you kinda get a broader, immediate reaction from Hotdoggin'. I think some of the songs were a little more accessible because of the musicality and stuff like that; maybe a little more familiar with how Playdough did stuff in the past? But still, you know, that was a phenomenal record, so comparing those two records is so different.

Sean P: Right!

Playdough: Yeah, you know, those albums - Hotdoggin', Don't Drink The Water, Lonely Superstar - those are Playdough solo albums. I've put out a ton of music in my career, but I only really have three solo albums out, and those are it. My next solo album will be a little more in the vein that I think people are used to with what I do, with the musicality and the melodic stuff. But this stuff with Sean, it's not Playdough stuff. That's why it's me AND Sean Patrick, because it's a very specific thing that I would never do on my own, you know? And dude, Sean's my DJ and we do shows, and so the Gold Tips material is so tight at shows, bro. It's just some party rockin' stuff, so it's very cool to do live. And with Hotdoggin', you just have to pick and choose what really works live, whereas with Gold Tips, you can almost pick any song and do it live and it goes off. So it's more for that; it's some "have fun, forget your problems, we got 45 minutes to wild out, so let's wild out" music, and my solo stuff I try to make more well-rounded and touch different subject matter and even different styles to make a well-rounded thing. And Gold Tips is very specific to this style, and it kinda stays there.

Playdough: We have a relationship with them for sure. They're super cool, they got our back, we got their back, they're the homies. But we signed a one-album deal, so we did Gold Tips with them and it was cool, and now I think we're just gonna do this one ourselves, bro. We may figure out some different things as it gets closer to putting it out, but as of right now, we're planning on putting it out ourselves. It's cool to be independent; you just have so much more freedom, and we can do whatever we want. When you're with a label, it's like - you know, no matter how cool the label is or how good your relationship is with them, it doesn't matter, it's basically the same thing as living in an apartment by yourself, and then you get a roommate. You know, normally I would just hang this picture on the wall, but now I gotta ask my roommate like "Hey man, is it cool if I put this up?" And they can say yes or no, and you kinda gotta go with what they want. Or at least try to find a middle ground. When you're independent, you just do whatever the heck you wanna do, and then deal the repercussions later. *laughter*

Playdough: Oh man...

Sean P: That's hard to say.

Playdough: It's not hard for me.

Sean P: Oh man!

Playdough: For me, it's Soup the Chemist, bro. I mean, that dude is my hero. I mean, if you would've told young Playdough, little kid Playdough, that he would do a song with Soup the Chemist one day, he would've never believed it. To think that I did a song with that dude is, like, so bucket list, bro. It's on some geeky, little kid, nerd stuff. That dude is my hero. There's a special place in Heaven for that guy. He's gonna be rocking so many crowns when he goes to Heaven.

Sean P: The first one that comes to mind is obviously L.A. Symphony. Doing a song with a lot of those guys - I mean, I'm a big fan. I was a young buck in college, writing rhymes in class and trying to sound like those guys, you know? And I was on my first beat machine trying to make beats like J-Beits, like trying to do weird things. So there was a stage where I was trying to sound like them. So to do a song with a lot of those dudes is cool, and especially so many of them from the crew. They're super awesome people.

Sean P: I'm glad they did a new album. It's great for them to work together, and for them to get back together. I just want even another album from them! I just want them to grow as a group more, you know? I think they're all great people, and great at what they do, so let them keep doing it.

Playdough: Yeah, everybody except for Listener. But yeah, everybody else, and they all did so good on that song to keep it - you know, a lot of times when you work on songs, especially when those dudes, everybody is so fresh that you wanna be the dopest one. So you're going, and whatever you're feeling, whatever you wanna say, and however, that's what you do. And with this one, I was really specific with the concept, on some 1985 stuff. And I knew all those dudes were familiar enough with old school hip hop that they would know what I was talking about and be able to do it. So I just asked them to do it, and they were so cool, and it was all egos aside, and everybody just came on some 1985 rhyme styles. It's so tight for me to hear my crew just back-to-back-to-back on some old school rhyming. We've never done a song even remotely close to this one. And that goes from the beat to the rhymes - it's nothing we've ever done, so it's cool. I wish Listener would've gotten down, but you know. You know how it goes out here in the streets.

Sean P: Yeah, he's a rock & roller, bro.

Playdough: Yeah, he never said he was too busy, he was just like, "Yeah, I'm gonna try and do it." But he just didn't get it to me in time, and exactly what you said, he's just doing his thing, and so I just didn't sweat him about it. And that's kinda how it was with everybody. I would love to have all you guys on this song, and if you're into it, we can do it. It'd be super sweet. If not, it's all good. So I just kinda put it out there and tried to not sweat it. If they did it, cool, and if they didn't, I get it. Because it's a very specific thing, you know what I mean? It's like you're used to flexing and killing these jams, so to wrap your head around the idea of going back thirty years, it's a very specific thing to ask somebody to do. So I wasn't tripping, he just couldn't get it to me on time. He said he liked the jam, and it was cool. But I just didn't get anything from him, so forget that guy! *laughter*

Sean P: Man, I really wanted to say, I kinda get caught up in doing all of the records, and after it's all done, I'm so stoked that all those guests came through. All of the artists are awesome for coming through. They did it on the strength and on the love, and that's super rad. So, I'm the kinda guy that doesn't care about doing collabs. Like, I'm in my own zone all the time. So to stretch and do collabs, it makes me feel like, "Man, these guys are awesome! I need to do this more often!"

Playdough: I think there's always a chance. There are no talks or plans for one right now, but there are no plans to specifically not do it. That's just how we've always done it; we don't operate with any time tables or big plans of doing stuff. When we wanna do it, we do it, and we just kinda leave it at that, bro. I mean, we're all just brothers, and...

Sean P: Man, let me answer that for real! They caked off, and all bought mansions, and don't wanna need to ever do an album again, Wu Tang style. *laughter*

Playdough: Those are my bros, I talk to those dudes all the time, and what's cool to me is that all the dudes are still doing stuff, and they're all so fresh in their own way, whatever they're choosing to do. They're super ill. So we just got each other's backs on some man-to-man stuff. And if music stuff comes, then that'll be cool, but we're just kinda living life and getting each other's backs and being dads and husbands and holding down the family and doing it right, I think. I love those guys, bro.

Playdough: Yeah! You know, no disrespect to people who do Kickstarters or any type of crowd funding stuff. I totally get it 100%. But, for me personally, I've always felt a little weird asking people to fund my dreams. I chose to be a musician, and I'm pursuing it, and that's me. I made that choice. So I need to figure out how to make that work. And if other people choose different professions - you know, if a dude is a dentist, he's not gonna get on social media and put it out there to the world like, "Yo guys, I'm really trying to be a dentist, and I need help with school. Let's do a Kickstarter for my school, and in return, I'm gonna give you free cleanings." I wanted to kinda keep that concept, as far as people being involved in it, but we didn't wanna go the traditional route of doing a Kickstarter and having people fund our dreams. I wanted to let people know, regardless of if you give a dime, this is what we do, so we're doing it and we did it and we'll continue to do it. But it's super hard to do this as an independent artist when you're funding it yourself. I know that, through meeting people at shows and talking to people, I know that people have my back, and I ask for people to pray for me all the time and they do. People show me all the time, that's why I call them my Road Dogs, 'cause they ride for me all the time and they got my back, and they pray for me and hold us down. And so I really wanted to give people an opportunity to have more claim in what we do. Buying our music and listening to it is awesome, and we appreciate all that. Any review, any spin, it's awesome. But I just want people to understand that they can be down with us. I'll rap and do what I do and go where I go, but for other people that don't rap or can't make music, they can have as much to do with what we're doing as we do. We all work together to make stuff work anyway. I don't have an ego or any pride to be like, "Yo this is all my son. I'm going out and getting mine. I'm about to blow up and be famous." Me and Sean are not about that, and since that's not what we're on, we wanted to present to people an opportunity to them.

We're gonna do it either way, but if people can wrap their heads around being involved in what we do, and not just listening to it, but pushing it - it wouldn't happen the way it's happening if they didn't do this, or if they didn't give that, or if they didn't buy this package. So I just wanted to give them the opportunity. And if we hit the goal we're going for or if we don't, we're still gonna put it out. But we definitely need people to ride for us, bro. We're trying to stress that, as independent artists, our fans and supporters are all we have. They're our word of mouth, they're our funding; we don't make money off these records and then put it straight into our pocket and go buy cars and stuff. We take that money and we put it back into the next album or whatever the next project is that we're working on, 'cause it's too expensive for us to do everything in the way that we want to do it. You know, Gold Tips is all about the highest quality of life, and taking no shortcuts, killing it, and being excellent in everything that you do. And that's our goal, that's our vision, and for us to do that is not cheap when it comes to the promotion side and the marketing and the manufacturing. There are tons of things that go into it behind the scenes that maybe some people know, maybe some don't, but it just gets expensive. So we need help to be able to do it the right way, and if we let people know that we really wanna do it the right way, I felt like people who really understood what we were on and are down for us want to see us do it the right way. And so if they can have something to do with that, I figured people would jump on that. And we're kinda looking at it as like some missionary stuff. Straight up. They give into what we're doing, and then that enables us to go do what we do, and we go around the world and into places that nobody else will ever go. But we get a chance to be there because of the music that we do and the relationships that we made. But you have to have the proper stuff set up in order to be able to execute that the right way and continue to do it and grow and go into those places. It's too expensive for us to do on our own, man, so we want our Road Dogs to ride with us the whole time, and not just buy our album and be like, "Cool, I'll see you on release day!" We wanna be family and help each other and stress that they're a part of this. We want people to be a part, bro.

Sean P: Yeah, I think that one of the things that Playdough's saying that I wanted to add to is that people, when they help us, they're not buying our plane ticket to go to the next show. What they're doing by spreading the word and buying the album and helping us throught this campaign, that generates the buzz for a place to open the doors to us. Playdough has a lot of relationships all across the United States, and we can keep doing those same shows. But, we feel it's more beneficial for us to reach new people, and in order to do that, you have to generate a buzz. So we want to get that buzz rolling and moving and in the music machine, and do it Gold Tips, as best as we can. And when people give to a campaign, they're not directly giving to our kids' shoes or our flight to our next show, they're helping start or continue to generate this machine that helps us to meet new people. We wanna be in front of new people and meet new people. That's what it's about. At the end of the day, me and Playdough say, we have all these things that we do in the music, but we have to prepare ourselves to meet new people at the end of the day. When we're on tour and we're out there, that's the most important thing: building relationships, saying hi and smiling, and going deeper with people. So there's a method to that madness. It's not as easy as it seems sometimes.

Playdough: That's what I'm saying; it's just the machine, and it all has to work, it all has to be going properly for us to keep going. And like he said, we could keep doing the same thing forever with the same fans I have, but we wanna keep expanding, and go places we've never been and be able to tour with bands I've never toured with. We wanna keep it going and just show some love and be some light. The music is the music. We're gonna rock a show no matter what. That's done. That's not even on our minds. We rehearse enough to where we got that, it's natural. But when we wrap our heads around the idea of being a blessing to people in this city, I just wanna be open to any opportunity that God puts in front of us. And let's be sensitive to that, and let's look for opportunities as they come up. And, man, you can be in these cities and not even at the venue - you're at the 7-Eleven across the street - but something pops off where it's an opportunity for you to bless somebody, and just kinda be God's hands or God's feet to them or whatever. And it has nothing to do with music, but if I wasn't in that city because of music, then I wouldn't be at that 7-Eleven across the street. Or whatever God wants to do! It is at the show sometimes, it is on stage sometimes, but sometimes it's the relationship with the person that's booking you there, or the bartender at the spot. Who knows? We just wanna be open to those opportunities. But we need more of those opportunities to keep popping off, and so we have to handle up the way it needs to be handled up for us to get the exposure we need. And really to just work an album properly. And the goal is, when you work an album properly, you get the exposure you need and things keep growing and momentum builds and you get to go more places that you've never been. That's probably a crazy long answer.

Sean P: Yo, I ain't even done, man. We can talk about this aaaaaallllllllll night! *laughter* But I do wanna say one last thing. It's in our hearts to be responsible to what God has given us. And if we've grown talons or have gotten scales in the area of music and hip hop, I think it's our duty to not just do the same thing over and over, but it's our duty to use that in a way that's gonna be beneficial in a lot of different ways, meaning going out and doing these things. So I just think it's that we wanna be good stewards; Playdough wants to be a good steward of what God's given him, I wanna be a good steward of what God's given me. And, at the end of the day, I think that's what drives me. And I think that's what drives Playdough, too.

Sean P: Haha, yeah we're passionate about it, bro.

Sean P: It is not. It is progression. It's still Playdough and Sean Patrick, there are still songs that do well at shows, but it's a progression. We're artists with a purpose. Some of these songs came really quick and naturally, and toward the end of the project, we're like, "Let's try this, let's do this." Obviously we did that with the last two projects, but I'm excited about the new new.

Playdough: Yeah we're trying to hit some of the same sweet spots that Gold Tips hit, but you know, you just keep growing. We're not dudes that get comfortable doing the same stuff, and we wouldn't wanna make the same type of album, so we just try to expand on it. When doing the Gold Tips stuff, we kinda learned ways that we could keep it to where it's still a cohesive sound and it is Gold Tips, but it's next-level Gold Tips. It's like bringing stuff in that we didn't do on the last one, and always experimenting with song structure, and still trying to kind of combine the old and the new without trying to do something that's trendy right now or to do something that's played out that was popping back then, but to mesh them. And, to me, that's what was tight about Gold Tips; it was so hip hip, and so us giving the nod to old school hip hop, but making it current. So we still do that a little bit, but we're definitely experimenting with different melodies and stuff that neither one of us has done before. And after you do it, you're like, "Whoa, it's crazy how cool that came out!" We Buy Gold is super...well not "super," but like pretty electronic. But we still throw in some of the organic drums and stuff to make it a little more musical than the Gold Tips album was. And listening, it's like, "Yo I think we just wrote a pop song." It was cool to do that, 'cause it's still so hip hop, but it's growth. I don't wanna sit here and say it's our best work like some artists tend to do.

Sean P: Nah, it's just different.

Playdough: Yeah it's just progression. I really think anybody who would listen to would definitely say see the difference between where we were and where we are now. The response has been tight, dude. I mean, we try not to keep any yes-men in the camp, and so we definitely play stuff for friends and people that we know keep it real, and the response has been tight. So we're really stoked. And that's part of the reason that we want to give it its proper work; we wanna work the album like it deserves to be worked, because we feel like it's really strong, and it'd be a shame to just put it out real quick and then just be done with it. We wanna work it and unfold it and tour it and do everything that needs to be done for it. It's strong. It has the potential to reach a much wider audience than the first one, for sure.

Sean P: Me and Playdough have worked together on the production since Gold Tips a lot. I would say that we produce it together, whether I start the beat and he helps me round it out, or he starts the beat and I help him round it out. I say it's a joint effort. But he does give me a lot of room to make the beats. So I do kinda get first dibs, but when I can't do it, he'll do it for me. 'Cause he's an amazing producer, he really is.

Sean P: Yeah, we did some cool musical collaborations, hopefully there are more to come. I'm working on another one right now, and hopefully that comes through. But, Playdough, I don't know if we had any other beatmakers on it.

Playdough: No. Just me and Sean, bro. The whole album is just me and Sean. Mostly Sean, but yeah, I help out here and there.

Sean P: Hey look, if the album flops, it's mostly me.

Playdough: Yeah.

Sean P: If it does really good, I think Playdough had a huge part of that.

Playdough: You took the words right out of my mouth. *laughter*

Sean P: Yeah, but I don't wanna give it away!

Playdough: Really? I would say no, for me. I mean, I always listen to what's new, and some stuff I like and some stuff I don't like. I mean, music you like always influences you even if you don't know it's influencing you. But there's nothing that I've heard that's made me want to go a certain style or do or implement any certain things. I would say that there's stuff that you hear from other artists that you learn that you maybe wouldn't have thought of on your own, and you say, "Oh shoot, you can do that?" Or, "Aw man, I really like how they did this." I could do something like that. But there's always some sort of influence like that you kinda pick up. But yeah, you know, hip hop is hip hop, bro, it's beats and raps.

Playdough: That's all it is, dude, it's beat and raps.

Sean P: Whatever!

Playdough: That's all it will ever be.

Sean P: Whatever!

Playdough: *mockingly* Whatever, bro, don't break my heart! I love hip hop!

Sean P: But you know, I hear what Playdough's saying. You know, I'm influenced, and I think by the time it comes through me and goes through Playdough and then comes back to me, you probably can't tell the influence is there. If I was to tell you I was influenced by this artist, you'd be like, "For real? I can't really tell." Because it's not a mimic, you know? Through me, then Playdough, then back to me, then to a finished product. So it goes through our filter.

Sean P: Tomorrow! Is that right, Playdough?

Playdough: I would say "no." I'm still writing for it right now, bro. Right before we did this, I'm still writing. I would say, to be straight up, it kinda depends on how well this campaign goes, if we can raise the bread to do how we wanna do. 'Cause that's Plan A.

Sean P: Yeah, we definitely have a plan.

Playdough: So if that works, that'll be sweet. If we don't get the funds where we want them, and we have to figure out something else, I don't know. To me, anytime an artist says that their album is gonna come out a certain time, and then it doesn't, I immediately think, "Uh oh, there's problems in the camp." So I don't wanna make people think that. So I'd say we're shooting for the summer. So hopefully we can hit it in the summer, but it's so detailed when you drop a record, sometimes it doesn't even mean the album's done. A lot of times it's for marketing, like, "Hmm, first quarter? Second quarter? Maybe we should wait for the third quarter." But anyway, hopefully it'll be the summer, but I don't know if summer's the best time to drop an album. It might need to be fourth quarter. *laughter*

Sean P: Aw, come on!

Playdough: But hopefully summer.

Sean P: Yeah, hopefully summer. That's the plan, the vision, the hope. And yeah, like Playdough said, Gold Tips was done way before it came out. Way before, I mean it was like...

Playdough: Almost a year, bro.

Sean P: Yes, it was almost done a year.

Playdough: I know.

Sean P: That's because it was on a label.

Playdough: It sounds like it didn't come out till next year. *laughter*

Sean P: Futuristic!

Sean P: Man, we were on one when we were making this, just like the producer thing. We were on our own steez, so maybe? But at this point...

Playdough: At this point, there's nobody on it, man. That's kinda part of the reason that we wanted to have so many people on the Party Time Excellent, 'cause there's nobody on We Buy Gold. Just me and Sean at this point. There is definitely a song or two where I can think of people, like, "Oh, he might be tight on this." But I haven't even reached out yet.

Sean P: Really, it's on like that singer/songwriter thing. It's like a duo sitting together with a guitar and a pad & pen, making songs. That's kinda how we did it. We didn't think about marketing schemes when we were making the album so far, you know? We just wanted to make songs.

Playdough: Like I said earlier, we keep experimenting with song structure. And with us doing that, we have a lot of change-ups and a lot of things happening in the song, so it's almost like - you know, sometimes you put a guest on there because you need a new voice, or it just gets old with you the whole time. But I feel like the way we've done it with the change-ups, it never really feels stale, where you need to add somebody to it. We really tried hard to keep it moving the whole time. So I think there are people that'd make it fresh, but we've never been those dudes to get a collab just to get a collab, because you need a name and gotta say, "Oh man, I need to get someone on here 'cause it's marketability." If the song needs it, cool, but if the song doesn't need it, we'll just keep it how it is. I'm not mad at that at all.

Sean P: That's why we're doing the campaign.

Playdough: Yeah, that's one of the goals, man. We definitely wanna do this on vinyl. If we hit the goal, we will have vinyl for sure. If we don't hit our goal, I don't know, vinyl might be one of those things we need to revisit and see if we can do it or not. But yeah, we would love to do that, bro.

Sean P: There's a vision, a hope, and a plan. There are things written down on paper that we wanna do, and the money adds up to what we hope to get. So it depends on if we raise it. It's just like any other budget: you might have to cut some things off of it. But hey, I wanted to give a shout-out. We worked on a song...

Playdough: Hahahaha!

Sean P: What? I want to! Is it giving too much to say it? I did work with him on a song.

Playdough: I just think it's funny that you do an interview and give a shout-out like it's the end of a song. *mockingly* I wanna give a shout-out before I get out of here! I wanna do a shout-out!

Sean P: I worked on a song that was outside of my normal thing. I got a great and awesome musician to help me on a song, and I'm actually really excited about that. And if all goes to plan, that song is gonna be one of the singles or the single from We Buy Gold. And he really helped out on that song.

Playdough: Well shout him out, bro. How you gonna keep him real friggin' ambiguous? If you wanna shout him, shout him out. What's his name?

Sean P: I forgot his name.

Playdough: Oh cool. *laughter*

Sean P: I'm joking. It's Mr. ENC. I worked with him on a song. Do you know who that is?

Sean P: Yeah, he hit me up saying that he liked my beats, and I checked his stuff out and thought, "This guy likes my stuff?" 'Cause he's so talented. But yeah he helped us out, man. He played some guitar and he sang.

Playdough: Hey I'd like to take a minute real quick before we end this. I'd really like to give a shout-out. *laughter*