DOF x Tradiio Interview: 21 Questions w/ Young Troubled Minds


When it comes to the rap music scene in Cleveland, OH you think of the legendary Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and current rap star Machine Gun Kelly...Next up and blowing up the spot representing Cleveland Heights the inner-ring suburb of Cleveland is the talented group Young Troubled Minds. The goal of the group is to inspire critical thinking and fuel creativity in the minds of their listeners through music, clothes and more. Now it's time to check out the interview 21 Questions with Young Troubled Minds presented by DEFINITION OF FRESH and TRADIIO.

What's On TV:
Au: Adventure Time 
Pro: Rick & Morty

What's On My Playlist:
Au: Honestly, lately all I’ve been listening to is our own music, along with a few sprinkles of all types of genres. 

Pro: Agreed I find myself constantly trying to perfect our craft so I always listen to our music critiquing it.

Favorite Movie: 
Au: The Mist or Starship Troopers 
Pro: I love really esthetically pleasing films so stuff like Raid 2 or Enter the Void

Magazines/Books: 
Au: Face”book” lol 
Pro: I would have to agree that I do most of my reading online now blogs, social media etc.

Why do you "Love'' Hip Hop? 
Au: I love Hip Hop because it allow me to verbally put up a peace sign or middle finger and express my true thoughts and feelings in an eloquent and creative way. 

Pro: I love hip hop because it literally saved my life. I know that may seem cliché but honestly in a time when I didn’t know who I was and was seriously struggling with depression music made it ok to get the thoughts out of my head and made room for more positive thoughts. And unlike a diary I get to translate whatever emotion I’m feeling, if I’m angry I get to yell if I’m chill I get to chill, my music is very emotion driven.

Favorite Emcee:
Au: J. Cole 
Pro: Classic Kanye for sure

Favorite Group:
Au: Young Troubled Minds 
Pro: Outkast

Favorite Producer:
Au: Kanye 
Pro: Daft Punk

1st rap album you ever purchased?
Au: J. Cole – Cole World: The Sideline Story 
Pro: J. Cole – Cole World: The Sideline Story

How old were you when you first spit your rhyme?
Au: 16 years old 
Pro: like 12 that shit was trash though lol

How did Young Troubled Minds meet?
Au: Well, Pro and I are blood brothers, so our history has been a lifetime. But we didn’t start making music together until the summer of 2010 in our parents’ basement, before Pro went off to college. After that we really started honing our craft, and eventually started attending the same college (Kent State University) where we set up a home studio and progressively took things to the next level. We met our third member (DJ DirtE) shortly after our January release in 2015 (One Big Session); he was DJing a show that rapper Stalley was headlining, and we were opening up for it. DirtE really enjoyed our set, hit us up a week or so later, and the rest is history. 


How would you describe Young Troubled Minds music?
Au: It’s authentic and honest; music that controls the atmosphere/setting. 

Pro: A living organism. Sometimes you swear the production started breathing, shit sometimes it does.

How has your life changed since becoming rap artists? 
Au: Currently life’s pretty much the same as it has been, but I’m definitely more focused now because I know my purpose, and that shows in the music. 

Pro: I’ve always been a rapper lol I think what’s changed is my focus, this isn’t a game or a hobby this is a lifestyle, a career and I treat every aspect of my art as such.

What are Young Troubled Minds thoughts regarding Hip-Hop's global influence?
Au: I think Hip-Hop’s global influence is astounding. Hip-Hop is still a young genre, so to see it influencing people of all nations is really amazing, especially in today’s generation where we can communicate with anyone. 

Pro: Hip Hop has the ability to unite regardless of all visible and cultural differences we’ve seen it happen first hand. Fans that don’t even speak a lick of English vibing to every word of our records its that powerful. I also think as we see the face of Hip Hop develop into a more global one we can expect to see a merge of cultures as people who truly embrace hip hop tend to take things that are common in their culture and or way of life and showcase them for the world see. This exposes fans to new styles, sounds, languages and places that they may have never seen or been interested in other wise. I mean just look at what Drake has done for Canada the man literally has cats running around talking bout the 6 and going and Toronto like they used to talk about the south or the west coast I remember a time period when that wasn’t as prevalent of a topic, but Hip Hop.

What are your influences?
Au: Musically, I consciously try not to be influenced by anyone just so that the music and lyrics that I produce are 100% authentic to me. However, I have taken notes of admirable attributes and work ethics by watching people who are good at what they do no matter what their craft may be. 

Pro: I agree with Au, in the grand scheme of things I’m influenced by anything that I fuck with but over all I want to be a contributor to the culture not a knock off, that’s why when we create we shut the doors spark up hella weed and dive deep inside our selves and our creations to find out who we are and what we truly have to offer to the culture. The results tend to be amazing and as we continue with this creative process I’m sure we can expect even greater finds.

What process birthed the EP "Short Daze Long Nights"?
Au: It started because we were rewarded a 3-track EP distribution deal from Tradiio, for being one of the top artist on their site. So, instead of just choosing 3 random songs we had sitting around to put out, we decided to use the opportunity to create a project that would complement our previous release (One Big Session) while capturing the mood of the Fall/Winter season in Ohio.

What do you think is the most important thing you have yet to master to help your progress in the rap game?
Au: Patience. We do a big majority of everything concerning our music career, so we tend to get ahead of ourselves in terms of strategies. It’s hard knowing everything you have in store, but having to be patient in order for the world to catch up. Time management is a big struggle at times. 

Pro: I think it’s hard to say what’s most important to learn, there are many things that we have yet to master but the fact is we are willing and more then ready to learn whatever it takes to be successful. To keep it real man we work externally hard and like AU said we do damn near everything ourselves. I always like to say everything you see touch and hear comes from us and that couldn’t be more true but it would be absolutely amazing to come across someone who was willing to help guide all of our untapped potential. I think a guide or a mentor would have helped us to avoid many of the mistakes that we have made in the past and although I am very grateful for every lesson we have learned from, the various pit falls we have overcome, there is something to the partnership of wisdom and will power and I can’t wait for that collaboration.

What’s your favorite thing about performing a live show? What's your least favorite thing about performing a live show?
Au: My favorite thing about performing is being able to bring the music to life; we always say our live performance of our songs are 10x better than the recorded version, which is a bold statement to make. Currently, my least favorite thing about live performances is dealing with these terrible organizers out here who don’t know how to put on a proper show. If you are someone or know someone who puts on dope shows and are reading this right now, hit us up asap! 

Pro: Man favorite thing is EVERYTHING! Connecting with fans and seeing them mouth the lyrics, hearing our songs loud as fuck and blacking out on stage, rechanneling the energy that was used to create the piece it’s all so surreal at times. What I dislike about shows is well right now were going through the trenches, since we’re still on the rise not many people are willing to go out on a limb us so used to have to take any shows we could get no matter where they were. We’ve dealt with unorganized events, bad promoters, crazy ass venues, bad sound systems, NO sound systems sometimes, no pay and the list goes on lol but those things will pass I’m sure and to keep it real I’ll probably miss those moments when they’re gone.

Where do you see Young Troubled Minds in 5 years?
Au: Somewhere doing great things through the power of great music. 
Pro: somewhere pissing off the powers that because we’re spreading to much love and positivity

What’s up next for Young Troubled Minds?
Au: I’d say our top priority is getting on more quality shows/tours/festivals. Musically, we have some dope records coming out featuring artist from all parts of the Earth; from Nigeria to Rio de Janeiro. Also, we’ve finished the last installment of our trilogy series (One Big Session and Short Daze Long Nights being the first two) so definitely be on the lookout for that. 

Pro: agreed shows are first priority that and visuals we’ve held off for along time with videos for the most part only because we want to make sure that our vision is delivered the way we see it in our heads. So well be looking to collaborate with some talented directors. Also look for our merch we’ve been designing some dope shit that I can’t wait to release.

Any Last Words?
Au: Big shoutouts to Definition of Fresh and Tradiio! We have a lot of great things, known and unknown, coming in 2016 and we can’t wait to share our achievements and success with the world. 

Pro: yea man big ups to Tradiio and much love to all of our supporters we don’t do this for everyone we do this for you.

Latest Project/Projects:




Check out more on Young Troube Minds on Tradiio:
https://tradiio.com/young-troubled-minds

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