The industry doesn't bother us. We really don't pay attention to it. Honestly the indie scene is more cut-throat then the majors, but the good part is you control your next move

Arize: Since we last spoke with you guys you had a lot going on (view past feature). What has been going on since then?

Christian Rich: We have been doing a lot more since then. The record with Armand Van Helden "Ski Hard" is doing well overseas and the video is getting a lot of hits on youtube. We also have been recording for other artist including Mickey Factz, some upcoming stuff for Juelz Santana, Fabolous, and others. We also dropped the Jeezy mixtape "Jeezy Eats At Lola's" with Lemar and Dauley, plus the other mixtape "The Decay" also with L&D. We have 2 videos coming up, one for "Stacks" and another for "Famous Girl". We are also featured on the clothing brand Maharishi's mixtape with "Monday, Tuesday Girl". Lemar and Dauley will also be releasing another mixtape by us called "Short Attention Span". We also are working with Fools Gold Records to hopefully do Kid Sister's single..... So there is a lot going on and that's really just 15% of it!

ARMAND VAN HELDEN - SKI HARD FEAT. CHRISTIAN RICH

Arize: You guys have a few recent mixtapes to surface, One entitled Jeezy Eats At Lola's: The Club Sway Remixes with Lemar and Dauley as well as The Decay Mixtape. What has been the response from those releases?

The response has been great! Those tapes truly branded us on the internet and have increased the fan base. Actually, every artist wants a mixtape with Lemar and Dauley. Its cool though, just know we birth that shit! Lol. But truly its been great just connecting with other artist and fans. I heard one time that some folks in France heard "The Decay" mixtape and went nuts... This must be true because I heard this DJ from France at Sway (night club) one night and he was playing one of our records.

I'm Amazing

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A Dollar Dream

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Arize: You guys previously released Famous Girl and you recently released a video teaser for that single. What’s the strategy behind the big gaps between the audio and video release? (see video below “Famous Girl” Teaser)

Well when we first released Famous Girl, we were really just testing the market. We never promoted the record. So once we saw the response, we put a marketing plan together and the video teaser is phase one of that. Truly this could have been executed last year but we waited for the right video directors.

But we are open to trying new sounds... we might go back to Nigeria and do a whole drum heavy album with some afro-beat artist. You never know with us!

Arize: With Lemar & Dauley backing you guys up as well as URB Mag and the collabs, who in the indie circle do you want to work with?

Well, we would love for the Kid Sister situation to go well. She's from the crib (Chicago) so its only right. I think Kid Cudi would be a good look too. But we like Hey Champ, Chester French (not really indie though), MGMT, UNI, Matt and Kim, and others. As far as brands, we might work with DC shoes, 10 deep is cool, some collabs with designers Perk and Mini (PAM) would be dope! But there are so many people to work with. As time goes you will just have to wait and see who we rock with.

Arize: With the recent news of Lupe retiring due to his ills with the music industry, how much does the music industry fuck up the sound and flow of real hip hop artists such as yourselves?

The industry doesn't bother us. We really don't pay attention to it. Honestly the indie scene is more cut-throat then the majors, but the good part is you control your next move. With fans still loving to see shows and itunes still providing a place to sell a little bit of records, we are happy with the industry. How can we complain about a lifestyle we chose? As long as you have a long term plan and stick to it the industry can't do much to effect you.

I heard one time that some folks in France heard "The Decay" mixtape and went nuts... This must be true because I heard this DJ from France at Sway (night club) one night and he was playing one of our records.

Arize: With the whole hipster thing fading out, what kind of scar, if any, do you think it has left on the hip hop scene?

Well, the term hipster means anyone who brings brand awareness to a particular entity, so really this so called hipster thing saved hiphop. This shit was dead until these indie rappers stepped up. And they are all doing well now, so if anything this movement reshaped the majors and how they should approach marketing. Hip Hop needs change and groups like us bring that.

The Same

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Arize: Besides having such a unique sound, the sky’s the limit with what you guys can do. Are there any other types of sound you can see yourselves experimenting or gravitating towards? Please don’t say rock.

Lol Rock? No way. But our minds are beyond that type of thinking. You will see us do more electronic remixes and maybe a bossa nova album. But we are open to trying new sounds... we might go back to Nigeria and do a whole drum heavy album with some afro-beat artist. You never know with us!

Arize: Give us 8 reasons why Christian Rich is the Shit.

Our hustle, our beats, our songs, our mind set, our mixtape concepts, our love for all kinds of music, our humbleness (is that a word...ha)and our faith in God!

Arize: 5 artists that you think suck.

No one really sucks, just some are better than others and some are still developing. We can't really knock anyone's hustle...

Stacks

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Arize: What else should we look forward to for 09’? Album release? More mixtapes?

The Decadence album is finally coming out this Spring, late March. Then we have a shit load of collabs. A few mixtapes with L&D and maybe some music with Terry Urban. But we have a lot planned, just check us on Twitter (christianrich), Myspace @ www.myspace.com/crichmusic and www.therichboys.blogspot.com. Also if you will be in New York Feburary 27th come by Webster Hall. We will be performing with Future Cop and Theopilius London