Electro hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang is opening for B.o.B and Avicii at this year’s Juice Jam concert. The Daily Orange talked to producer Xaphoon Jones about the upcoming show and what to expect from the group for the rest of the year.

The Daily Orange:What are you looking forward to the most about Sunday’s concert?

Jones: It’s a really diverse lineup, and playing college shows is fun. In one of the last shows we played in California fans were stampeding and going crazy, so you never really know what to expect until you’re actually on stage. I don’t think we’ll play anything brand new, but it all depends on how long our set is. We’ll see.

Is this your first concert in Syracuse?

Yes, and it’s cool to be playing there. I have cousins here, and they’re some of my favorite people in the world, so I’ll make sure to call them up and let them know we’re in town. I actually visited and applied to Syracuse’s music program, but I wanted to work on beats and production right away instead of learning about classical music. It’s weird thinking that if I weren’t making music, I think I would be a junior at school.

Do you have any concerns about Juice Jam being on the 10th anniversary of 9/11?

That’s a good question, and it’s tough. I mean, it’s our manager’s birthday, too, so we’re going to celebrate regardless of the date. There’s going to be controversy because of the date, but if the school didn’t want any discussion about it, they could’ve booked for a different date.

How would you describe your sound to a new listener?

Chiddy Bang is just a witty kid from Newark, N.J., who raps like Jay-Z, but with more pop culture references and me putting down the beats. We’re definitely hip-hop, but with influences from everything from indie to Afrobeat.

What can fans expect from your upcoming album, ‘Breakfast’?

The album’s more futuristic, in a deeper, weirder, darker kind of way. We didn’t use as many samples because the ones we’ve done were to get our foot in the door, and we wanted to branch out. There’s no filler on it, and it should be out later this year. Our first online single, ‘Mind Your Manners,’ charted on the Billboard Top 200 and has sold a crazy amount, so the fans like it. We want to bring it back after we put out our first radio single.

How have you balanced writing and recording an album, breaking the world record for longest freestyle rap and releasing the ‘Peanut Butter and Swelly’ mixtape all this year?

When we found out that the album release date was being pushed back by the label, it was a fight to stay relevant. It’s a battle. Breaking the record got us a lot of exposure because it was broadcast live online, but it was a long, tiring day. I had to change up the beat every minute or so for nine hours. I was hoping I could break the record for longest DJ set at the same time, but I looked it up, and it was like a hundred hours, which was too bad. I didn’t like ‘Peanut Butter and Swelly’ as much as our other releases, but it gives the fans something new to hear and keeps them interested. In the future, I think I’d like to do less time touring and do more producing in the studio.

If you could recommend one song from your catalog to a listener, which would you pick?

Honestly, I might like remixes I’ve done for other people more than stuff we do ourselves because it’s working with a song that already has a structure instead of starting from nothing. So I’d recommend my remix of one of Ellie Goulding’s songs.

What have you been listening to on your way to Syracuse for Juice Jam?

I’m working on putting together a new record label called Breakfast Music, so a lot of artists who are going to be on the label. We’re both definitely looking forward to our set on Sunday though.

ervanrhe@syr.edu

Published on September 7, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Erik: ervanrhe@syr.edu | @therealvandyman