Local Spotlight (Washington DC): Interview with Up and Coming Artist Phil Ade

Hip Hop has many artist trying to make it big and send a message to the masses.  A personal favorite of mine from The District of Columbia besides Wale, it my boy Phil Ade.  His flow is, well,  a lyric of his explains it : “Now pound for pound im the best in the area/ went to africa i think my flow caught malaria.”   I had to do an interview with this cat because chicago and everywhere around the U.S. needs to hear what talent our capitol has in store for us. Here you have it folks, PHIL ADE!!!


The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): First Question, why Hip Hop? What’s the drive behind Phil Ade’s music?

Phil Ade: Hip Hop music was always a love of mine from a very young age. The first artists i remember listening to growing up was 2Pac and Biggie, they had me hooked! I started rapping myself in my junior year in high school. At first it was just for fun but my boy Stan always thought I was good enough to make a career out of it. So that’s what I’m pushing for now. I love Hip Hop and music in general cause you can express personal feelings and experiences and connect with people on a wider scale, and mostly cause it’s fun to make. One thing I want to accomplish with my music is helping to bring the DC, Maryland, & Virginia area some recognition in Hip Hop. Similar to areas like ATL, Chi-town, Houston and so on.

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): Why the name Phil Ade?

Phil Ade: My real name is Philip Adetumbi…my whole thing with music is to just be myself, so my stage name is just a shorter, catchier version of my real name. The name Ade (pronounced Ah-Dae) in Nigeria, where my father is from, means “the crown” or “royalty”…it’s not something I’m trying to play on, but it’s an interesting fact

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem):How do you think Hip Hop and politics correlate?

Phil Ade: Hip Hop music is all about self-expression and voicing thoughts, opinions, and views. It’s sort of the same thing we do when we elect our political leaders. We vote for the person who more closely shares our values and opinions. The music and artists we listen to, do play a role in affecting our thought processes and values. Hip Hop artists tend to be more liberal in thinking, and you can hear that in the music, which is why most Hip Hop listeners tend to be liberals (Democrats).

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): Whats your opinion on Obama saying his favorite band is the Fugees?

Phil Ade: I can’t knock him for that. Who doesn’t like the Fugees? Obama is a powerful speaker and a powerful person in general. The Fugees made powerful music. I would expect them to be a preference to a person like Barack Obama.

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): Where do you see Hip Hop going now?

Phil Ade: The most part, Hip Hop in my opinion has gotten a tad boring as far as the variety of artists who actually make music from the heart and not by looking at how many dollars, women, and vehicles they’ve collected so far, but I’m starting to notice that there is a wave of new artists emerging that are taking Hip Hop back to its original formula. So the future, in my opinion, looks very bright for the genre.

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): What do you think about XXL magazine’s Top 10 Freshmen? Do you think they are doing Hip Hop some justice?

Phil Ade: I listened to about all of the artists featured on the covers except for about 2 or 3, and so far I have yet to be disappointed. Each of them bring something new to Hip Hop. My personal favorites are Kid Cudi, Wale, Ace Hood and Curren$y.

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): What are some stores in yo city that you frequently shop at?

Phil Ade: Being in the D.C. metro area I do most my shopping in Georgetown and Adams Morgan in Northwest D.C. The sneaker boutique ‘Major’ is my personal favorite. Then there’s ‘CommonWealth’ and Urban Outfitters, and I can’t forget the skate shop ‘Palace 5ive’ off U Street.

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): when it comes to fashion and Hip Hop, what is Phil Ade’s style?

Phil Ade: There are a number of rappers up and coming, such as the Cool Kids and Kidz in the Hall, that bloggers and other media are calling “Hipsters.” I wouldn’t say my music falls in the same category but the streetwear fashion associated with them is something that I’m definitely big on. Brands like “The Hundreds” and “10 Deep” are among my favorite.

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): This is where things get interesting. I want you to pull a move that The Game seems to do a lot, Drop some names on us. Who are some well known artist you work with, are affiliated with, or would like to work with some day?

Phil Ade: …At the moment I really don’t have much to say for myself. As a serious Hip Hop artist I’m really just starting to get my name out there, but right now I’m going to be working with management backed by Raheem Devaughn. In the coming months I’ll be in the studio building up a tracklist so that I have something to show for myself. Plan on hearing some collabs with the Best Kept Secret, they’re the production team from D.C. responsible for just about all the songs on Wale’s “Mixtape About Nothing,” They’ve also worked with Beanie Sigel, Rhymefest and up and coming Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo.

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): Something I know i asked you about not too long ago was a mixtape. when will we be seeing a mixtape from Phil Ade?

Phil Ade: I’m planning on having something to release summer ’09, but it could be sooner so make sure to drop by the myspace or imeem page every once in a while to check.. you never know.

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): Any last words? Anything you want the people to know? You get get deep like Mos Def or keep it simple HAHA!!!

Phil Ade: (laughs) Well I think I’ve said enough so I’ll just keep it simple this time and say look out for me, cause when I blow I’m taking the whole world with me. (laughs).. and shout out to you and the whole KiDD MisFITs & Crowned Rebellion clothing movement. I’ll be looking for some items in the mail this Christmas. (laughs)

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): (laughs) You know I got you for the Christmas time. Like how you shouted out my Clothing line (laughs).

The Hip Hop DEMOCRAT(Prince Akeem): Let the people know where they can check you out on this big World Wide Web…

Phil Ade: I can be found on MySpace at myspace. com/philade301.
I’m also on Imeem at imeem. com/philade301.
Look me up on facebook too. New friends are always welcome, and for those who are interested you can download my song “Gimme Dat” on Zshare with this link:

http://www. zshare. net/download/51342951dcb6f076/