This past Thursday I got a chance to attend the CD release party for The Greatest Flow On Earth Vol. 1, mixed by the hosts of KRCL’s Friday Night Fallout show, Roots Rawka and DJ Che.  Sushi and hip-hop, how can you go wrong? 

--- If you’re a fan of rap, hip-hop, even reggae, this is definitely a CD to check out.  Featuring just a taste of Utah’s finest at their craft, the album shows that there's more to local hip-hop than the tired repetitive playlist you hear on U92.  Performing live at the Circle Lounge on State were many of the artists who contributed tracks to the album, along with mix tracks from Che himself.  I got a chance to ask both men some questions about the album and other topics, and snap some pictures of the party and performances.

DJ Che & Roots Rawka

http://www.myspace.com/rootsrawka1

Gavin: Tell us a little about yourselves.

Rawka:  My name is Tevita Ilamanu Hoko, a.k.a. RootsRawka, a.k.a. RootsSkyWalker, a.k.a. RootsLeonidus. I am an MC, and also the host of the Friday Night Fallout Show, hosting and selecting the music. I wish I could read the good book more, I like any Asian style food, I love music, and I try to be a good example for the younger generation coming up after me.

Che: I've been spinning for 6 years, and been Roots Rawka's DJ for 5 years, give or take a few months. We've been rocking the Lake since then.

Gavin: How's the Fallout show going?

Che: The Friday Night Fallout show is going well, thanks for asking.

Rawka:  The Fallout Show is going well. I have fun with it, I like meeting the listeners.  Right now I am just trying to raise awareness about the show so we can get a bigger audience. Always trying to make improvements.

Gavin: How did the idea come about for the album?

Che: Roots was the one to originally come up with the idea to do a mixtape with homegrown artist to show love to all of our peers.  

Rawka:  The idea came to me from friend named XV (who is on the album).  He’s half of the group called the Mugshots. We were at Hip Hop in the park one Sunday and he mentioned the Fallout Show should do a local mixtape since all the artists in Utah only really get airplay through the Fallout Show.

Gavin: When did you get started on it and were there any problems in getting it started?

Rawka:  We got started in December. Not to many problems besides being busy with other projects, like shows, Che DJ'ing, the 9 to 5, writing rhymes, things of that nature. Haha.

Che: I started getting the tracks about 3 to 4 months ago when I was back in Jersey and it took up to 10 different versions of the mix to get it right on point.

Gavin: How did you go about getting the artists on board?

Che: Roots knows all the artists on the mixtape and he told them about the concept. They were all down for the cause and submitted a track, or in some cases, a full album.

Rawka:  I selected artists I thought were really putting themselves out there and were serious about what they were doing. They have albums, they do shows, they're names are on all types of flyers, and I thought personally were good at what they do. There are a lot of artists not on the mixtape I would fit in the same category, not on the mixtape but will be on mixtapes to come.

Gavin: What was the process like in recording and producing it?

Rawka:  Well I got all the tracks, some I selected from the albums of the artists, and others the artists submitted. After I had about hour and 15 minutes of music, I started to email the tracks to Che who was in New Jersey at the time, he returned in November and we really started working on it in December. Che would mix all the tracks, bring it to me then we would minus or add things, like scratching, some drops from Guru, juggling which is a DJ Fancy thing, we did this over and over at the end when we reached the final mix we had 10 mixes of the mixtape. The 11^th being the final one. 

Che: The process was a bit lengthy on my part; I wanted this mix to be sharp, clean and to make the artist proud of their song and the way it was mixed.

Gavin: Was there any trouble getting it finished or did it just work?

Che: Like any project there were a few bumps on the road, but nothing to serious.  It all fell into place like Tetris Deluxe.

Rawka:  It was blessed.

Gavin:  Are there any artists you wish you could have gotten to appear on it.

Rawka:  Yes… Adverse, Charlie Soul who is an R&B singer, and Lost Tribe.

Che: I only wish there were more female voices on it.

Gavin: Are there plans for a second one?

Che: Hells yeah there’s plans for a second, third, and many more!

Rawka:  Most definitely, there are a lot of artists who are doing well and The Fallout Show would like to show love to all of them.

Gavin:  What about both of you?  Current albums and future plans?

Che: Roots is working on songs right now for an upcoming album, I got ideas for a couple of mixtapes so be on the look out.

Rawka:  I am working on an album and a mixtape, as RootsRawka the MC. The Fallout Show every Friday, hopefully get back to school.

Gavin: If you had to give a top 5, what are some artists you recommend who aren't on the album?

Rawka:  Adverse, Charlie Soul, maybe some producers like Linus, Krow, DJ's like Finale, Handsome Hands who does DJ tracks.

Che: Just be on the look out for Volume 2.

Gavin:  Any upcoming shows you wanna plug? 

Rawka:  The Fallout Show every Friday Night at 10:30PM to 1AM on KRCL, 90.9 FM.

Che: I'm up at the Canyon Inn every Tuesday night at 3700 Fort Union Blvd.  And we'll both be performing at Artopia on April 19th.