IAME, whose name is an acronym that stands for I Am My Enemy, has been grinding hard on the local scene and across the west coast for the better half of the last decade. Most known for his collaborative efforts with Northwest mega-crews Sandpeople and Oldominion. He has independently released 6 solo albums since 2005, 5 of which have been under his own label Heaven Noise Recordings. Up until now, Heaven Noise has been the home of IAME’s solo projects exclusively.
The debut album release “We Our Environment” from Salt Lake City-based emcee DopeThought marks the expansion of Heaven Noise as a label. The album dropped May 18th and was produced by fellow Salt Lake native, but current Los Angeles resident – Worth.
An entire re-design of the Heaven Noise website has taken place. My prediction is that we can expect the Heaven Noise camp to continue growing and making heavy dents in the regional music scene and beyond. I’ve been out on the road touring with IAME this month (I’m actually writing this in the van), so I snagged a quick interview with him about the new Heaven Noise and what we can expect from the label in the future.
Can we get a quick introduction?
No doubt.. it’s your boy, IAME, iameezy, Ryan. Lame to some confused lost souls.. Sandpeople, Oldominion, McJameson. Portland. Redshield for the history buffs.. We out here, up here. Heaven Noise.
You recently released a couple of solo projects – Lame$tream and The Deaf Kid Mixtape that introduced what seems to be an alter ego of yours named Young Coconut. Is there anything you want to share that might clear up any misconceptions about who Young Coconut is and what he is about?
Young Coconut aka @daleSWAGstaff is my homie. I don’t know what people could possibly misconceive. He is the #rapgame manifested in human form.
Tell us a little about DopeThought, and the new Heaven Noise website.
DopeThought is an emcee from Salt Lake City. I met him in early 2011. He has been down with Heaven Noise since day one. I took him on his first tour last October and was impressed by his message and his drive. I’m happy that I was able to release his collaborative album with Worth. I can see Worth being an important part of Heaven Noise in the future as well. “We Our Environment” is a great album and it reminds me of my early work with Redshield. They are still developing as artists but they have a lot of raw talent. I highly recommend people download the album. It’s free but if you are feeling it you can name your own price and really help us continue to bring Heaven Noise up!
The new HeavenNoise.com is something I’m very proud of. The site was dope before, but it functioned as more of a solo website. Now I’m able to have a lot of content on there in a way that is organized and efficient but still looks good. Thanks to Upheaval (upheavaldesign.com) for all of their hard work!
What can we expect in the future from Heaven Noise Recordings?
Definitely more music soon! I have more solo projects and some other surprises coming soon. A McJameson album is in the works which is something I’m very excited about. There are some new artists that I will be introducing soon as well.
I think the future is looking good because there is a lot of dope music around me. Heaven Noise comes from humble beginnings, but I’m motivated to build it into something great. And I’m fortunate because I work with so many talented artists already. I will never have to search too far to find some music that I believe in; I just have to make sure I’m at a point where I can do it justice before I try to release it.
Download DopeThought & Worth’s debut album “We Our Environment” for free: http://heavennoise.
Download IAME’s new album “Lame$tream” for free: http://iame.bandcamp.
And if you need some more Young Coconut in your life, cop a free download of “The Deaf Kid Mixtape”: http://iame.
In conclusion, Heaven Noise is definitely #OutHere killing the #RapGame.