:: To celebrate our first digital release tomorrow, Crow Diamonds, I sat down with the dynamic Jersey duo Dres Cas and returning family member Flamingosis to chat about their passion for real music, citizenship, what makes them tick about bars, and what we can anticipate from Aaron and Andres in the future.

Kj: What is your relationship with each other? How long have you know each other , history, funny stories you can tell us etc.

Andres:

We have an odd relationship. We have known each other for many years, since like middle school, but we were never really friends.. well like hang out after school friends. We were like hi & bye friends, acquantinces per say.

Our real relationship started & took off once I developed an interest to rap. I always knew Aaron (Flamingosis) was an amazing producer & a local monarch when it came to beat making. So when I started putting stuff out there he was one of the first few people I hit up & showed my work to.

Immediately we began working together. There is something about working with Aaron that I don’t feel with anyone else, a very strong musical connection. I enjoy working with him.. Mainly because I feel as though we have the same mentality when it comes to “real” music & because he truly believes in my talent & I believe in his.

We are an odd but entertaining dynamic duo.

There are many funny stories to share between us.. Most are inappropriate & drug related so Ill leave those out hahaha.

Aaron:
Yeah we weren’t that tight back in middle school and high school. The music is the main reason that brought us both together at this point in time because our interests are so similar now. We work very well together as musicians and a strong friendship has grown between us because of our passion for music.

Funny story: I got too high at Andres’s apartment one time and his posters in his room were beginning to look at me funny, so I got scared and ran home.

Kj: Gotta watch out for those posters. Haha. What is Dres Cas musical history and his interest in ELLT ?

Andres:
Well I have been rapping for almost two years now. Don’t have much of a history or any glorious moments but I have performed a couple of times & also won a showcase a couple of months back. I have 2 solo mixtapes out “Monogamy Intervention” & “The R.A.P.E Tape” which were both different from each other but definitely displayed the direction I want to push my music & my persona. I also have a third solo tape coming out soon called “DeadCrow Da Necro” which is on some lyrical, “Fuck the world” type rap. I think my music is generally abstract, lyrical, dark, & witty but at the same time real.. I think it’s more for the underground scene & for people who truly love rap & lyrics. My interest in ELLT grew once Aaron told me he was releasing his beat tape, “REWORKS”, through you guys & grew even more once we saw the feedback & attention it was getting. We are very confident in this album & are hoping that through ELLT we can help push it & get our names out there to some new listeners & lovers of this art form.

Aaron: Andres is incredibly talented and he’s one of the most underrated rappers that I know. He has only been rapping for a few years, but he has grown more as an artist in a few years than most people grow in a lifetime. I convinced him to drop Crow Diamonds with me on ELLT so that he could receive more recognition and be heard by a wider audience.

Kj: List Inspiration, motivation and story behind this album. Any setbacks or breakthroughs that you may have encountered.

Andres:
Where to begin.. I recently became a US citizen so I thought with this tape I could display the emotions & hardships immigrants & those not of high class go through on a day to day basis. Hence why the first track off the album is called “Being Spic”. Depression played a huge part in the thought process behind this album because it inspired the lyrics & motivated me even more to tell you my story. A young illegal alien growing up in America. The whole album is bits & pieces of my life & my way of coping with the odd situations I face daily. Another thing that inspired me is seeing Aarons success with his music, I knew I had to bring the heat to match up his beatufiul sounds. Ive had a minor set back with my music over the past couple of months due to me having a life now hahaha. Before having a green card all I did was sit at home, smoke weed & rap all day & night.. Now I have a job which takes up most of my time but I’m learning how to manage my time so I can write & record music. I’m just really happy to finally put out an all original album & that it is with none other than my Crow compadre FLAMINGOSIS!!!

FA BLACKCROWS DA TAKEOVAAA!

Kj: Hahahahaaha. I’m down with that.

Aaron: Andres pretty much hit the nail on the head with that one. We always wanted to make a full length release together, so we’re both excited that this is finally happening. I guess that you can call that a breakthrough. He wants to share his thought provoking life experience with other listeners and I want to share my mellow-feeling beats with others through this album.

Kj: Favorite producers/rappers you are watching in the beat scene? Role models?

Andres:
FLAMINGOSIS!!!! Flying Lotus, RJD2, JonWayne, Tyler The Creator, Chuck Strangers… This is a question better suited for Aaron. However, Im into old school producers like J Dilla, Madlib, MF DOOM, DJ Premier (Even though hes still killing it)… Artists like that. But as far as my rap role models go I have a top 5 most people wouldn’t agree with haha, but it goes like this… MF DOOM, Cage, Eminem, CopyWrite, & Mos Def (in no particular order… except for DOOM.. He’s the reincarnation of God).

Aaron: Knxwledge, Mndsgn, Hud Mo, Jay Dee, Madlib, Fly Lo, Samiyam, Dres Cas, Daedelus, Tokimonsta, Herbie Hancock, Taylor Mcferrin, Bobby Mcferrin, Mr. Dibiase, Devonwho, Shlohmo and a shit ton of over people that I can’t name off the top of my head at the moment.

Kj: Do you have a favorite track off the album?

Andres: It’s a tie between “Being Spic” & “Facing Off”. They both have huge emotional ties to me.

Aaron: I love all of them.

Kj: Any upcoming shows or tours?

Aaron:
I’ve been holding back on performing because last time I was scheduled to perform I was taken off the list last minute because it was at a bar & I was 20 at the time. It got me really pissed off because the promoter didn’t inform me ahead of time & I made a 45 minute trip with a 40+ following to only be let down.

FUCK YOU PRADOS & DOLCE LOUNGE! But now that I’m 21 & confident in the music I’m putting out I think it’s time to start promoting myself more & performing.

Aaron: Right now I’m playing at this summer music fest called “Kittenfest” on June 28-30 in Hopatcong NJ. Hopefully I can add some other shows on the list and start a mini summer tour or something like that.

Kj: What can we expect from Dres Cas and Flamingosis in the months to come?

Andres:
More projects together for sure.. Soul mixed with rebellion. We are a duo called the “FA BlackCrows”, which is where the title “Crow Diamonds” comes from. This is our first release & it certainly will not be our last! STAY TUNED!

Aaron: You can expect us going to Cluck-U Chicken to get some wet bites and I guess you can say we’ll be making more music.

Kj: Thanks guys for choosing Ellt and for sitting down for an interview. You can find the guys at their links below. Happy listening and thanks for reading.

Contact info & websites:
SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/drescas
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/ColombianitoACx2

Twitter: @DeadCrow_
E-Mail: dres.cas19@gmail.com ::