Music > Interviews

Ho99o9

25/11/15

You don’t usually see dudes like Eaddy and The OGM play in our fine city. Together they’re the DIY duo Ho99o9 (pronounced “Horror”) and they make experimental thrashy punk rap music filled with dark and bloody imagery. Coming out of New Jersey, their live shows are legendary for their likelihood to majorly kick off. Eaddy and The OGM might be wearing wedding dresses on stage. They might have paper bags on their heads. They might be naked. It’s all to play for when they visit Norwich this month. I had a chat with these intriguing individuals to find out what they’re all about… 

You grew up in New Jersey. What bands or acts were your first passions?

Eaddy: Theophilus London, Ninjasonik, Japanther, Cerebral Ballzy and The Death Set.

The OGM: DMX, Bone Thugs n Harmony, Wu Tang, Nas, Onyx Theophilus London , Ninja Sonik, Cerebral Ballzy and Japanther.

You guys first played together in 2012. How did you originally meet, and were you both involved in music before Ho99o9?

The OGM: We started in 2012, meeting through mutual friends. We all started hanging out going to shows and parties, and got close.

Ho99o9 live shows look almost like an art performance. Who has inspired you in terms of your live experience?

The OGM: I'm inspired by colours, shapes, crackheads and sound. Seeing acts and not being inspired by them, and being bored by the common music inspires me. For the most part the crowd and their energy inspires me to dig deeper into the music.

What’s being played on the tour bus at the moment?

The OGM: There’s silence on the tour bus. On my headphones are Maxwell’s Ascension or Jackson 5’s Never Can Say Goodbye.

Eaddy: I wake up to our tour driver speaking gibberish about death metal and cheap food!

How do you get hyped backstage before your set?

The OGM: We do a series of yoga sessions, smoke some weed, drink water and I throw up before every show.

You played Reading and Leeds this summer; what did you think of British festival crowds?

The OGM: It was pretty live! I think they're awesome! I wish I could smoke weed with them all, old and young.

Eaddy: Fucking awesome! The kids raged, they’re very involved in crowd participation and went ape shit.

You’ve been getting a very positive reaction from the music industry and press. When you started out did you expect that you’d be touring Europe already at this stage?

The OGM: We never expected it to go this far, but I’ve always believed in being great at whatever we do. Niggas don't make it out of New Jersey with the same opportunities as a major city.

Eaddy: Yeah, not at all. This started as something for New Jersey to get acquainted with, put on for our city, and we just wanted to rage with our friends; we never expected it to reach the masses.

Your music is extremely angry and dark – is that more of a tongue-in-cheek thing or are you deadly serious?

The OGM  : Both. I'm not crazy, just stay on my good side.

Eaddy: Both, because I'm fucking crazy!

How do you think the energy flow between an act and the audience feeds the gig as a whole, and what reaction are you ideally looking for from a crowd?

The OGM: Either good or bad energy feeds the gig, it all depends on what kind of content you're pushing and how you're expressing yourself. At our shows we want people to be loose and open minded.

Eaddy: It all depends on how good the music is live and how the crowd reacts to it. Some music leaves people in awe; they can just stand there and it could be the greatest thing they've ever heard. Some people let the music control their body and they dance. We're not looking for any specific reaction, you can either like it or not.

Who would you choose to play on the same bill as if you could have anyone?

The OGM: Hollywood Hogan & the N.W.O.

Eaddy: Optimus Prime and the Transformers

Have you ever played a gig where it felt like it was seriously getting out of control?

The OGM: We played a gig with Trash Talk & Lil B; that show got way outta hand; there were so many kids trying to get in and LA cops are so scared , they had the riot cops out, blocked all the streets, even got the helicopters out...so dramatic! During the show, people were so ready to fuck shit up, they were moshing during the DJ sets.

Eaddy: I'd have to say our EP release. It was way out of control, but that's a good thing. It was fun and everybody enjoyed it.

There’s no barrier at the Waterfront Studio where you’re playing next month. Should we be scared?

The OGM: Be what you wanna be, just don't be a pussy or a roach.

Ho99o9 play the Waterfront Studio on 14th December. Ti8ckets available from ueaticketbookings.co.uk