C: You guys just finished recording an album, what was that like? Were there difficulties?
G: The record is “Booty,” it’s an EP, and there were lots of difficulties. We really wanted it to sound super tight and we still wanted it to have
energy...no one had really made a full record before, so there was a big learning curve. A lot of things had to get cleared up in the arrangements and especially in the way we were play- ing them so that it would sound really clear on the record and not glossed over. The biggest challenge was accepting what it sounded like. There’s an ideal in your head and then when you try to execute, things kind of change along the way. After that, I would say laying down all the vocals was really tough. I guess the biggest challenge was a scheduling thing, ‘cause, ideally, a record is made in two weeks in a total immersion environment, where everyone’s just there the whole time, and we were doing, like, once a week, and so everyone did their whole routine, and then finally got back around to making the record. There was no rhythm created so we really had to keep this vibe suspended over a long period of time, as opposed to going in for two weeks and just banging it out.
C: Mokaad is graduating in May, what do you see for the band in the future?
G: We’re gonna be rehearsing in the city and it’s gonna get better, it’s gonna get easier. C: What are Mokaad’s influences, what music has influenced you?
G: First and foremost, I have to say Prince. The way we format the show and a lot of the ideas, the hits, and the transitions are directly inspired by Prince, especially his live shows in the late 80s.
And...my stage persona. My voice sounds the most, to me, like Prince. I’m trying to copy him the most out of all the guys that I love, basically. Just the sound of my voice is suited to his, like, squeaky little, high- pitched, kinda like a woman. And it’s Prince via James [Brown]. I don’t directly try to cop James because he’s so far away from me that’s it’s too much. It’s like, trying to cross a river that’s too wide. Sly and the Family Stone, their presence, it’s totally what we’re trying to capture. Parliament-Funkadelic—the chants and the horn lines and then other groups that we love, are, Earth Wind and Fire, Cool and the Gang, The Ohio Players, Zapp and Roger, D’Angelo, J Dilla. And gospel music, too, because, David Frasier he comes out of the gospel tradition, but in terms of funk, it’s Prince, Sly, and D’Angelo…that’s pretty much it.
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