WHATMORE: An MM Exclusive Interview

Rap groups are no new thing – from the Beastie Boys in the 90’s to Odd Future and BROCKHAMPTON from the last decade, but there is a freshness to newcomers WHATMORE that looks set to take them to the very top. Consisting of five members, Yoshi, Elijah, Jackson, Cisco, and Sebastiano, their sound travels across genres, from backpack rap to pop punk and even emo. In two years the crew who met at high school have performed at Coachella and are making waves thanks to their skits and innate musical talent. 

Whilst on tour in the UK, four of the WHATMORE family sat down with Mixtape Madness to talk about their journey so far, their musical process as a group, their favourite UK artists, and what comes next in their meteoric rise.

Can you describe your musical origins?

Elijah: We all  went to high school together. We played instruments and it was like a performing arts school. We were all art, instrumental music majors at our high school, and you had to audition to get in. We were all even playing music like before that. Then we kind of met in high school and just kind of bonded over a love for all the same types of music.

Cisco: WHATMORE was a fairly recent, but also fairly extremely not recent thing, because it was kind of just the squad of friends from high school. After high school we all stayed friends and were always texting and hanging out, but went our individual routes musically. About a year and a half, two years ago, everyone came to my crib. We made a couple songs, and were like, “Oh, this is fire”. Then we made more songs, and now we’re in a van coming to London.

As a five-piece you all have different and overlapping styles. What is your musical process like?

Elijah: We all make songs with each other and by ourselves and have our own little methods and philosophies, but we’ve all worked together so much that we kind of know what each member kind of brings to the table and and can do, and likes to do. We’ll kind of take turns, starting the idea, playing something, or looping something, whatever. And then we’ll each take turns adding to it, spicing it up. We sometimes speed it up, slow it down. A lot of conversation and trying stuff out. It’s a lot of experimentation and like taking risks with each other.

What do you think is your best asset as a group?

Jackson: I feel like we all can step into each other’s worlds. I think, honestly, the perspective we all bring is probably because we can all make a beat and step into different genres. We’re all multi-instrumentalists, we’re all classically and jazz trained musicians like, for years. We all, again, have different tastes in music, too. 

Cisco: Yeah, I feel like it’s less like, who’s different ingredients and more like we’re utensils. You can eat ice cream with a fork. You could – and it’s low key, like it’s a vibe. It’s super particular, you feel me? And also, you can eat pasta with a spoon. That’s also fun. But you can’t eat soup with a fork. You can try, but that’s the adventure of WHATMORE – eating soup with a fork or a knife. 

What comes through in your music is the ability to weave in different genres without it sounding forced. Is there a particular sound you like leaning into the most?

Eijah: I think it’s really like a day by day, case by case, song by song thing. We all have fun doing a lot of different genres, and also individually. A big aspect of our creating, even when Jackson makes beats by himself, or Yoshi, or any of us, we are still bending genres. It’s never kind of just one genre, even in the solo work, you know? Just doing what we love to do is kind of synonymous with bedding down, and I don’t think any of us make a song, or it’s rare for us to make a song that’s very strictly one genre.

Jackson: If you’re listening to trap music all day, eventually you get to a point where you’re like, “wait, I need to switch it up.” And then I’ll listen to some fucking Carole King or something. I feel like that’s just applicable to making music.

As a group you’re also multicultural and are all proud of where you’re from. That in itself is an asset too…

Sebastiano: Yeah, for sure. We all come from New York, so we’re just used to being surrounded by so many different ideas, cultures, and views. I feel like that is WHATMORE as well. We represent New York through the music, and through everything we do. We love culture, 

Like you’ve said before you all have trained apart and had musical careers outside of this. Do you feel like eventually you will have solo ambitions or can that exist alongside WHATMORE?

Seastiano: I mean, we’re trying to build a world. WHATMORE isn’t just a band. We’re trying to build something that comes across as multi faceted. We can just do different things. We enjoy like filming skits and doing things like that. So we’re really trying to build a world, and anything that we can add to that world, even if it is solo music, it all just will end up being WHATMORE.

Elijah: It’s a movement

Cisco: An ecosystem

Jackson: No literally, when we have our own TV show it’s gonna be lit.

Where does the name WHATMORE come from?

Jackson: We were chilling in the Russian bath houses, bro. And this guy pulls up. He’s like, “what more could you want?” And I was like, I don’t know, I’m just like chilling here. And then he was like, “Nah, nah, but what more could you want?” And I said, “I just want to be in a band with my friends.” And now we’re here. Then he clicked his heels and disappeared.

Elijah: Nah, It was our group chat name in high school.

Across the last year and a half or so you’ve achieved a lot and you’re currently travelling the world on tour. How have you found adjusting to this success?

Cisco: I mean, yeah, everything’s kind of exponential, but also it’s pretty. It’s pretty, Joe. You know, we wake up, we make a song, we play a show, we get on Zoom, we talk to you. It’s different, but it’s also the same. I feel like it’s very much, it’s kind of like utensils. It’s like we are the spoons. No, it’s wild. it’s really wild.

Sebastiano: I feel like every day you feel that way. Just like playing these shows in the UK. Even having all these kids coming up to us. Scottish accents – we’re like, “damn, we’ve never even see many Scottish people in one room before.”

Jackson: I think the last huge moment was Coachella. When you look around you realise that you’ve known these guys since forever, and you’re doing all of this together.

Elijah: It was mad fun. Super crazy, hot and dusty and sweaty. We saw Snoop Dogg and Steph Curry.

You’re currently on tour in the UK. Which artists do you like over here?

Elijah: We love Jim Legxacy

Jackson: Dexter In The Newsagent is tough

Cisco: Feng! We were chilling with him at Coachella.

Sebastiano: Fakemink is fire

Jackson: Dave is a good one

Elijah: Svn4vr is popping off right now. He’s going crazy, bro. So fire.

You’ve released a couple of singles this year after your album last year. What are your plans for the immediate future and where would you like to see WHATMORE going forward?

Sebastiano: We’ve got more music this year – four double A sides. We’re travelling the world. We’re going to be back in the UK for Reading and Leeds this year. We’re making more music, making friends.

Cisco: Taking over the world.

What does that look like?

Elijah: That ecosystem. We’re really trying to build it. We want WHATMORE to be synonymous with New York. We want to have all of the solo projects all be hitting different pockets, and we’re just slowly taking over the world. More albums, I think. We all want a TV show. I’m like, not joking about that. We’re going to have a TV show. We’re going to have the Sunday night spot on HBO, or if that’s not popping anymore, maybe we’ll have something else.

Jackson: We definitely take inspiration from Loiter Squad and people like that. Kind of being serious, but also being funny and stupid, because we are just stupid kids who are smart, though. When you have a group, it’s like you have the ability to maneuver in a way that just one person can’t. People can gravitate to different things and pick their favorites, and come back, and love the group. I think you know we’re just trying to do that, we’re trying to just put our foot on the gas. Don’t stop■