by Dan-O

I know it’s a Fatboi beat when I know it’s gonna scare other lyricists.–Roper Williams

We live in a world where children are sold for drugs and sex, murders are filmed on social media sites where millions will witness and not turn away, so you can’t be mad at my lyrics compared to any real life horrors we see and hear day after day…—Fatboi Sharif

Fatboi Sharif and Roper Williams created one of the most unique listening experiences of the year. Gandhi Loves Children should be Kool Keith’s favorite album of 2020. It blissfully tramples over the unspoken limits we give ourselves to speak freely. If your out of practice with this special brand of madness, don’t worry. You can trust these two to lead you through the experience.

1. How do you make sure guests fit the environment of Gandhi Loves Children? Is that something both of you talked about?

A) Fatboi Sharif-With putting together the feature list for GLC we wanted to make it literally the best of two worlds where I chose L.I.F.E. LONG(The Cure For Amoxicillin) a legendary stable in the N.Y.C independent scene from the 90’s 2000’s and was a part of such classic albums as(Cannibal Ox-The Cold Vein) (Antipop Consortium-Tragic Epilogue) work with Immortal Technique and much more, remaining active to this very day. For the track (Fly Pelican) Roper included YL who’s extremely dope and has been doing his thing for a while featured on Complex, Pitchfork and many more publications. Regarding (White Noise) that track came together naturally, during the final week of completing everything for the album Roper literally made that beat on the spot. Myself and Pootie (up and comer, amazingly talented, lots of great music on the way from him) started freestyling ,bugging out over how ill the sample was, so it was written and recorded on the spot and the album was completed. According to Roper I stole that song from him LOL. We just wanted to bring the listeners into our world from different perspectives and to us those three tracks are the perfect example of that.

2. How did the chemistry between you develop over the course of making this album? I know Roper produced Egyptian Maid Lust on 2018’s Ape Twin, did that spark this project?

A) Fatboi Sharif-Well we meet about six years ago through my close friend Boogie,  at the time I met him I was doing a college FM radio station where we did on air cyphers, during this time period he was managing a group that he brought up and Roper produced them. A few months later he started bringing me to the studio sessions they would have,  the beats blew me away from the 1st time I heard them. In the midst of that time we became extremely close personally from similar taste in humor and just building on everything from classic hip hop, religion, meaning of family etc. The 1st time we collaborated became a classic as well as fan favorite and we both loved it so we said let’s connect for a entire body of work, it’s honestly crazy to look at now because Gandhi Loves Children the finished product you hear was about two to three years in the making but we started on two projects years before that, dealing with trials of life, both of our careers taking off also losing touch here and there it never was fulfilled but when we started these GLC recording sessions we knew something more special than any past work was on the horizon.

Roper Williams-Yea, it just felt like the timing was right for us to make music, and the songs we made in the first sessions let us know we had to make a whole album.

3. One of the most interesting elements of Gandhi Loves Children is the sequencing. You really have to survive the shock of the first two songs (Tragic, I’m Buggin’) to find your way into the album. What was the process of organizing this album like? Can you think of any song that set the standard for what the album turned out to be?

A) Roper Williams-We felt like starting off with Tragic was a good way to set the tone. There’s a song off GLC that would be way more shocking to start off with. Tragic just let’s you know we’re about to talk about some topics that may not be taught to the kids 30 years from now. That’s why we say GLC is for the children

Fatboi Sharif-We wanted to set the tone for it to be like audio from a novel more than just tracks. There wasn’t really a standard because every song was a different creative direction we painted to capture a full spectrum to be examined.

4. Rap music is one of the last places you can say what you want to say in the public sphere and the audience accepts your vision on your terms. Did you have anything you wrote on Gandhi Loves Children that shocked or worried you in terms of putting it out? Paul Mooney, Zulu Nation, and Selena come to mind.

A) Fatboi Sharif-Honestly not at all and it was rather easy to get those feelings and ideas out there from us both being fans of controversial stand up comedians such as George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Gary Shandling and Dave Chappelle and artists like N.W.A and early Eminem LOL. Where believers in you say what you feel and stand behind it at all cost. We live in a world where children are sold for drugs and sex, murders are filmed on social media sites where millions will witness and not turn away, so you can’t be mad at my lyrics compared to any real life horrors we see and hear day after day continuing the terrified cycle of normalcy because it’s so common nowadays, also literally every thing you mentioned are straight facts, as they say the truth hurts.

5.  Fatboi Sharif is so unique, his imagery is clipped horror, his flow really breathes and utilizes space. Because of that the production is necessarily different. The Cure for Amoxicillin beat sounds like it could have played in the background as the bad guy with the giant knife from the Stallone movie Cobra hunts down people. How do you know the beat you just made is a Fatboi Sharif beat?

A) Roper Williams-I know it’s a Fatboi beat when I know it’s gonna scare other lyricists. I love every artist on GLC. There was a couple MC’s that couldn’t figure out how to rap on The Cure For Amocillin, which I don’t even blame them, but L.I.F.E. is an alien, I love voices, Fatboi’s voice is so crazy it’s honestly easy for me to make beats for me.

Listen and purchase Gandhi Loves Children below:

https://fatboisharif.bandcamp.com/album/gandhi-loves-children