Late Fall 2006; Interview by Chuck Holliday

Snapping. While that term in hip-hop is always combined with the city of Atlanta, lately the term has been reduced to that of “snap” as in current residents who are quick to snap (no pun intended) that the ATL is not just all about snap music. Enter Ivy Leegue – the standout collective (Niko Villamor, Outbreak, Brefontaine, Skuba, DJ Smiles, and L-U-Sean – pronounced Illusion) who have been blazing the Southeast Region with their notable performances, and not to forget a fastlane-inspired track in “Ridin’ Ghost.” Avenue One caught up with members Brefontaine, Niko Villamor, and Outbreak, and chopped it up on a variety of things, including that dreaded “S” word.

Talk to us a little bit about the Ivy Leegue movement – its spreading like wildfire right now and it’s about to be a major problem for 07.
Outbreak:It is going to be a problem because we are not afriad to bring back what we feel is true lyrics and good beats to the hip hop game. We go against the grain, and thats what we feel is so special.

Brefontaine: Has it (spread like wildfire)..? I havent noticed. (laughs)

Niko Villamor: Basically, we’re not trying to be anybody but ourselves which we feel will cause us to stand out from the crowd.

Funny thing about this whole situation is I never knew you guys were based in Atlanta, obviously with the whole snap music thing being the posterboy for controversy in that city. With the raw content and universal lyrics you guys bring, do you feel that it’s a tougher road getting the general audience to realize that there’s more to Atlanta than just snap music?
Ob: The real funny thing is, only one person in the ivy leegue was born in atlanta. Me personally, i was born in Alabama, which tends to throw people off because of the type of songs i produce. My father was in the military so I was raised all over the world, giving me the diverse advantage musically.

Niko: I was born in the bay area and i grew up in San Francisco, then moved to Atlanta when i was thirteen when my parents split. So i have influences from all over. But we definitely show another side of Atlanta. Even though we (me, break, and L-U-Sean) weren’t born here, we rep it because its helped mold us into who we are.
Bre: Me personally, I dont think its so tough because some of the best lyricists are from the south right now. The south is actually more receptive to lyrics than people think.

I figured most of ya weren’t from there! Shout out to Joy too, Joy Tolentino doing it big with ya as well. So who influenced you all coming up in the game?
Bre: Not to be cliche-ish but, Pac was one of my influences growing up. Along with Eminiem, DMX, (thinks for a second) and pretty much anybody that spoke from the heart.

Niko: For me, when i first decided to rap, I listened to Nas, Jay-Z, Wu-Tang, UGK, Scarface, Eminiem, Dr.Dre and many others. There is way too many people that I drew insperation from to name them all. And those same people and even other new comers like us still inspire me today.

Ob: As a producer, Im going to name some names that you might not have heard about, but you soon will. Infinity Beats, Nas550 and Nokstar are my main influences. I say this because I know a lot of people can throw names, but those three are the ones that got me into doing this and kept me doing it. But if i had to throw a name, it would be the Neptunes because I mold my sound after theirs and put my own twist on it.

Niko: Skuba just sent me a text (he’s out in cali), and he said his influences are Pac, Joe Budden, and Eminiem.

Tell us about the performances. We hear they’re crazy and more energy than anything else right now in the region.
Niko: Well we put a lot of time into rehearsing and working on our stage show. We are new to being a group and we are constantly pushing to get better with our shows each time we perform. We want to give people their moneys worth and make sure they feel where we’re coming from.

Bre: (laughs) Hell yeah.

I heard about that s@#t all the way from Brooklyn, I think I was talking to somebody who travels to Jacksonville and what not. Describe Ivy Leegue and what everybody brings to the table.
(they talk amogst each other and decide that they are going to explain each other)

Ob: I work with these dudes because from the first time I heard them rhyme, I heard major potiential from each one of them. And when we first worked together on a project, the final product was amazing, so I knew future endeavors were going to be incredible.

Bre: I feel like everybody brings something thats necessary to make us who we are. For instance, without L-U-Seans eyelashes, we wouldnt have any ladies(group laughs). But seriously with outbreak having an ear for our voices, I think we would be in trouble.

Ob: And i can barely hear. (laughs)

Niko: I feel that we all have our own strengths, and when you listen to us you will hear what we are bringing.

“Ridin’ Ghost” is a crazy record (click here to listen on myspace). Explain the concept behind the record and how it came about.
Ob: Pretty much I made the beat, and I wasnt really feelin it. So one night, Bre came to the studio and started writing–

Bre:(cuts break off mid sentence) NIGGA! This what happened. Break was sleep you know, and I was going thru the files, tryin to see what I could steal (laughs) and um, real shit, I was ready to leave, and before I left I played that beat. It was the last one I heard. And boy let me tell you, that shit lit a fire in my bones! I called Villa instantly and he came by just as quick, Break then told Skuba, and it was a wrap.

Niko: And what was so hard about it, was people always talkin bout what they drivin and how they swervin it and what not, but we’re comin from the angle that we dont gotta whip it all the time, we got ladies that can whip the wheel like we would. Also we’re into the import scene with the drag and drift racing a lil bit, so this was kinda like a shout out to them.

Hell yeah, that what was I was thinking the first time I heard the beat – this is speed-demon music! I can understand why the ladies move to it, because it has energy and still cranks hard enough at the same time. As artists, do you think that all of the members have grown musically since forming the collective?
(All respond at the same time): Yes.

That’s a great look. Now Niko, you individually have your movement, The Weight Room. What’s the status on that and how did you come up with the concept on that?
Niko:(pauses for a second) Man, I came up with the idea just thinking about how hard I work on my craft and how much time I dedicate to it. I feel like a bodybuilder, I feel like im getting my muscle up every time I go to the studio to record. The same thing when im working on concepts, songs, or anything else. And I wanted to motivate everybody to look at their goals from the same point of view I was looking from. Weither its from going to school, to doing music, to whatever. If your trying to get a degree, your class is your weight room. Thats where you train, thats where you get stronger to get you to that next level. So Im constantly in my “Weight Room” training. If you dont use a muscle it gets weak, and you dont want to let that happen.

Most definitely. Do you think that it’s sometimes better for artists within a collective to compliment each other or have their own distinct aura about them? Sometimes it’s a catch-22 because it can alienate members or sometimes crowd all of the members into one person among the general public.
Ob: I don’t feel that we will have that problem because everybody in the ivy leegue is completely different.

Niko: I think we balance out. None of us look alike or sound alike at all. I don’t think people would confuse us or mix us up with each other or anybody else.

So we know Ivy Leegue is about to do something major in 2007, what else is in the works for everybody, whether individually or as a collective?
Niko: We are about to give out the “Thank Us Later” mixtape/compliation for free, which has all original tracks on it. We are going to start a follow up on that right away while working on our own solo mixtapes as well to show that we can stand on our own and together.

Bre: Villamor got that Weight Room 2 comin on the way, I got that Project Mayhem coming as well, Skuba’s going to drop a follow up to his “Through the Eyes of Greatness” mixtape real soon. L-U-Sean got his deal in the works with “Thee Nacle”, Break bout to change the game with his production, and we basically bout to flood the streets.

Ob: yay (thats breaks way of sayin yea. you gotta hear it..haha.)