Texas Trill.
NEW MUSIC: REDi “P*ssy & Pillz”
R&B trio REDi are bringing freshness to the world of music.
After releasing their successful mixtape Red Pill in 2012, Redwine, Robby, and AP are back at it with their latest project Red Pill Reloaded.
MIXTAPE DOWNLOAD: REDi Red Pill
GlobalGrind caught up with the trio to talk about their latest project, life in L.A., their favorite artists, and of course, the women in their life.
Check out our exclusive interview with REDi below!
For more information on REDi, click here. Follow them on Twitter: @officialredi
GlobalGrind: Red Pill Reloaded: tell me about the project, and the direction you guys are going in.
Redwine: I think with the new project what we’re trying to do is expand each and every character in the story, so you can get to know a little bit of all of us, and really see how we interact with each other at the same time and push the limits of sound.
How did you guys meet?
AP: Basically, we’re all from Texas, but we didn’t know each other until we moved out here. We kind of linked up through some female…we met up one night, and I was like “Ya’ll do music? And they were like yeah!” I was like “Yeah, I do music too.” So we went back to the studio, and started vibing out together. And like I said, ‘We’re all from Texas.’ We started making good music, hot music.
What part of Texas are you guys from?
Robby: Red and me are from Dallas, and AP’s from Austin.
When did you guys first fall in love with music?
Robby: I fell in love with music probably around the age of five. I was always in talent shows and there were music programs at my school. I was blessed to go to school at a time where there actually were music programs. That really got me in it, and watching artists like Usher and Tupac when I was growing up, really got me into it, and really intrigued me.
What about you, Redwine?
Redwine: For me, I used to always dig through all my dad’s records. One of my uncles used to manage a sound warehouse, so we had an amazing amount of records. I got this old guitar while I was in my grandpa’s house that was sitting in the corner – I was like in 5th grade. I remember I started playing the guitar. I used to just listen to records and then play along to records. It kind of evolved from there. I started making my own songs; doing my own thing from there.
AP?
With me, basically my dad was the manager of an old-school rap group back in the day. I was about four years old, and I could remember going to the studio with them, and watching them in there. I would always try to play the drums. From there, I would use pens and pencils as drums, and make beats to freestyle. I was always freestyling. I was never writing. And once I got to college, I started over his beats. And when I heard my voice over a track, I was like, “This is where it’s at.” When I fell in love with music, I was probably about 12. But when I really knew it was what I wanted to do, I was about 18, 19 years old.
How would you guys describe your sound overall?
Robby: If I had one word to describe it, it’s “real.” It’s actual musical elements. It’s not just all electronic or synthetic. It’s real organic emotions. It’s real organic music. It’s real organic concepts. Everything is real life.
Who are some of the people that influenced your music?
Redwine: We can go all the way back to George Benson, Heatwave, Public Enemy, Dave Matthews Band, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd. There’s really so much…
AP: I’ve always been influenced by people who were a bit flashy, and kind of showed out in music. The first person I saw doing that who was all flashy and acting up back in the day, was LL Cool J. Then Diddy and Dipset. From a lyrical aspect: Pac, Biggie, Jay-Z, people like that.
What’s the hardest part about being in a group?
AP: Honestly, you’ve got three different people, three grown men. Just getting everybody on the same page. Because everybody has a life, stuff they have to take care of. I think the hardest part is staying on the same page, and being organized.
Robby: Honestly for me, it makes it easier to be in a group. I know it’s hard to get on the same page with everybody. But it makes it easier for me – because we are a group that’s on the rise – to have somebody where you can look over to the left that’s going through it with you, in the trenches with you. No matter how tough or how rough things get, you have somebody to share it with. You’re right there with somebody who put just as much work in: bled for it, sweat for it, and cried for it just like you did.
Who’s the group’s prankster?
AP: Yeah, I pretty much just keep talking sh*t. I try to tell a lot of jokes, keep it light. I like to make sure everybody has a good time. So I’m definitely the comic relief of the group: the sh*t-talker extraordinaire.
What are some of the things you guys like to do, besides the music?
Redwine: I try to surf at least twice a week now. That’s been my new thing! That’s probably the only thing I do, besides music.
Robby: Grab a nice good-looking group of women: go out to have a nice dinner, we might go to Malibu, might go golfing.
You guys are all from Texas, and you guys are out in Los Angeles right now. It takes a certain type of person to deal with the nonsense that goes on in Los Angeles. Has it been a culture shock to you guys?
Robby: To be honest with you, it’s very different from Texas. I just listen to my old heads and just keep your head on straight. Stay focused. That’s how to do it. It’s easy to get caught up in the life and have fun. I think that’s the main thing is just really staying grounded and to make sure that you don’t believe the hype of L.A.
If I sent you guys to a deserted island, and you could only bring three albums with you, what three albums would you bring?
Robby: That’s a good question. For me, I would have to say Michael Jackson’s Bad, Tupac’s All Eyez On Me, and my third one: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon.
Redwine: If I had to pick one, it would have to be Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Just because for me, that’s the best album.
AP: Honestly the first album that I heard and I related to, where I was like: “These n*ggas is real” was The Chronic, but if I had to go with one, it’d be Michael Jackson’s Bad.
What’s one thing you guys can’t live without?
Redwine: My guitar. I can’t live without my guitar.
Robby: My iPhone. I cannot live without that.
AP: I know this isn’t something tangible. But honestly, I couldn’t live without the joy of laughter.
Tell me what your fans can expect from this new project. Do you guys have a date yet?
Not yet. We’re still recording and trying to figure out which songs we want to put it out right now, and which ones we want to keep for the album. But it’s definitely coming in spring.
So is there anything else you guys are working on that you’d like to share? Or is everything under wraps?
Well, I was just working on the #RockAByeBaby mixtape for Cassie. Right now, I’m working with Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue. I’m producing some stuff, there’s really a lot of pushing the limits of the people that are out right now. Trying to set the sound that we’re trying to throw in the market. That’s been the fun part of my job: combining what they’re doing and tweaking what they’re doing to sound more like Redi.
AP: I also worked on the Cassie project, and soon I’ll be writing for Diddy on his mixtape.
