отрывок из интервью DJ Benzi, одного из авторов микстейпа "Fear And Loathing In HuntsVegas" (2008) де он расcказывает о его выпуске

AF: There’s a lot genre blending on this new project you and Diplo have coming out, titled Fear and Loathing In Huntsvegas with Paper Route Gangstaz. Are these the same people that used to be Slow Motion Soundz?

Benzi: Yeah I think it’s some of the same people. There are so many people in that crew, I think something like 13 altogether, so it’s pretty difficult to remember each one. But I’m pretty sure they’ve just phased out that name and going full force with Paper Route. They’re super talented guys and the beats they use are just amazing. I think they gave me a CD of about 50 songs and I could’ve used every single one, but I narrowed it down to 26 and it turned out great.

AF: How did the whole project originally come about?

Benzi: I was a super big fan of “Rollin” and about four or five other songs like “Super Glo”. Dan Wiseman, who is a mutual friend and manages Wale, he ended up becoming their manager. So once me and Diplo showed some interest and told him we wanted to work with them, it all worked out. But initially, I was just a super big fan of “Rollin,” which samples Robert Miles, and I was playing it out for a bunch of people and the project fortunately just kind of fell in to our lap.

AF: The samples on this project are pretty wild too. I know Diplo samples Orbital for his “Rollin” remix and I know Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So” is featured on “Bama Gettin Money.” Did Diplo reach out to you for this project or vice versa?

Benzi: We were both fans and we’re friends, but I think it was Dan’s idea. Initially it was just going to be me doing the project, and then when Diplo showed interest, I did everything I could to get on board.

AF: Being from the Louisville, where the author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson was born, I’m curious to know how the title came about.

Benzi: They’re from Hunstville, Alabama and they feel like it’s a gamble every day to live there. And obviously, Las Vegas is like a huge gambling town and that’s pretty much the lifeblood of the city out there. So all of the guys are from Huntsville and I guess they kind of felt that “Fear and Loathing” feeling and so that’s where “Fear and Loathing In Huntsvegas” came from.

AF: So basically you all handpicked these 27 tracks out of the 50 that they gave you? Was it a difficult decision process?

Benzi: Yeah, we remixed nine songs and then we just kind of sorted it out and worked out all of the songs that fit together.

AF: And there are going to be quite a few remixes on there as well from what I understand. Who did you all get to do those?

Benzi: Diplo did probably three or four. We’re getting Wale to rap on the “Don’t Go” Remix. We’ve got a remix from the Knocks, who were featured on my Clipse and my Lil Wayne project. They did the remix of “Soul Glo”. Then we’ve got EMYND on the remix for “Woodgrain”.

AF: How did you narrow down those tracks from 50 to 27?

Benzi: Well you have to go for a certain vibe. It was pretty easy to nail it down though after we figured that part out. I think it was closer to about 40 tracks, but they have a lot of unreleased material. All the songs kind of feel similar though and they all have that authentic feel to them. But with some of the songs, you just know that they’re not gonna vibe with the project.

AF: You kind of get a sense of that from the first track though. “Stuntastic” has this laid back southern vibe that kind of continues throughout the whole album.

Benzi: Yeah, Diplo had a lot of success with “Paper Planes,” which was kind of a sleeper track, and I think “Stuntastic” has that kind of potential as well. It’s the first single and Diplo sampled “Born Slippy” from Underworld for that, so I think it turned out great and we’re gonna ride with that one.

AF: So what did Paper Route think of the final product?

Benzi: They’ve heard everything and they really like it. They’re really in to everything, the remixes and the whole project. Some of the remixes and stuff, particularly the “Soul Glo” remix, I didn’t know if they’d fully embrace some of the tracks. But they love everything and it’s been a great relationship.

AF: Are they open to crossing over and getting that commercial exposure?

Benzi: Yeah, I think everyone’s goal is to eventually get on a major label and make the big bucks. Hopefully this whole project is going to introduce them to everyone on a larger scale. The plan is to blow up and I really think they’re headed in the right direction.