After working alongside Grieves for half of the last decade, Budo is taking a step away from hip-hop with his album The Finger and The Moon – due out late August. Make sure to check him headlining at the Crocodile in Seattle on May 30th.
#OutHere
How’s life?
Life is beautiful. I’ve been working really hard on my new record, and simultaneously working really hard at reconnecting with the fabric of life outside of just making music. It’s so easy to get hyper-focused on work, that you sort of lose connection with the things outside of work that fuel creativity and passion. So it has been really important to me to develop a strong balance, mostly in service of making the best art I can.
What’s home life like for you?
Ha! I don’t have a completely clear answer, as I’m still experimenting with “being home”. It’s different every time I arrive back after traveling and touring. Home is calm, and quiet. Home is predictable in really exciting ways. Home allows me to develop routines that remove the need to think about minute shit every second. So I can free up my brain to think about more important and interesting stuff. Home is a little scary, though, after traveling so so much. It feels alien. You are supposed to be at home when you’re home. The word home carries so much gravity. So it’s pretty unsettling when, after floating around the universe playing music for so long, you arrive back home to find that it doesn’t feel anything like what it’s supposed to. So home is a process of adjustment too.
For the last few years you’ve been an a pretty incredible journey with Grieves.
Lawd yes. I am so grateful for that journey. I got to tour the world, make records I’m really proud of, and meet lots of amazing people. I’m so lucky to have been a part of that process and I would not change it for world. I learned so much, and really came to a much greater understanding of myself as a human by way of that journey. It was truly amazing.
What is he up to these days?
To be honest, you’ll have to ask him. After working so carefully and closely together for so long, we both have made the decision to head in our own separate creative directions. I do believe he’s working on a new record right now, and I do believe it will be amazing.
I saw you and Sol recently opened for Macklemore in Eugene. How was that?
The show with Sol was amazing. I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to stand on stage with my friends in front of 9,000 people and play music. It definitely made me feel like a lucky dude.
How did the project with Grynch come about?
Grynch and I have been working together for years. I’ve had beats on every release he’s put out. So when Fin approached us about putting out this record together, it was a natural move. He’s a great friend, and someone I respect very much as an artist, so it was a blessing to have the chance to to combine forces in a slightly more intentional and cohesive way than in the past.
This record, Treadin’, it will be my last hip-hop record. The last one with my name on it. I may still work a bit behind the scenes with some friends of mine, to lend a hand when I can be of help, but as far as me being a rap producer, Treadin’ is pretty much my swan song. It represents the last of that “era” of my music and work, and I couldn’t think of a better person to close that chapter with.
How was working with Fin?
Amazing. They’re great people with a really respectable approach to the music industry. It was a pleasure working with them, and they should serve as a model for anyone engaging in the indie-music scene from the business side.
Are you pretty savvy at the business side of the industry as well?
Yes and no. I understand how the industry works. And I know the different angles, and the different revenue streams, like the back of my hand. I’ve spent years studying this by way of just being a part of it. I’ve seen lots of projects fail and lots of projects work, and I know objectively what to do in order to ensure the best chance at success. But this is not an objective game and it is not a science. For every one clear step, there are at least 3 variables that are completely out of the artist’s control. So trying to map out a road to success is fraught with challenges. It’s sort of a guessing game. And at the end of the day, it all boils down to the quality of the art and the strength of your relationships. Make good music, build positive and relationships based on human connection, and hope for the best. That’s sort of my motto.
Making a living off music seems stressful enough without going through a complete shift in genres. Have you been feeling additional pressure with the new direction you are taking?
Constantly. It’s an ongoing source of anxiety. I have had to sacrifice a lot of things to make music my career and my priority. It’s not easy. I have lost friendships and ruined relationships because I’ve had to pour my heart and my energy into the act of creating. In a lot of ways, you can’t have it both ways. And, even with those sacrifices, I’m still not sure if I’ll be able to pay rent next month. So I’ve given up a lot, and in return I have received a lot of stress. If this were a zero sum game, I would have lost years ago.
Shifting gears as I am, from a guy behind a guy to the guy in front, it’s immensely stressful. But it is also exactly what I want to be doing. I want to be writing my own songs. I want to be producing my own records. And I want to be performing and conducting my own live show. So I have made a clear decision, one that certainly invites a bit more stress into my orbit, but one that also opens up a brand new world of creative potential and opportunity for me. I’ll take the stress!
Are you still planning on working with Rhymesayers on your new release?
At the moment, no. I am going completely independent with this release. Rhymesayers has been and continues to be family. They are amazing humans and they have built something very special. But right now, I need to build my own movement and my own momentum. I am dedicated to owning this process fully. It is mine to make or break.
Seattle’s hip hop scene has went through an amazing transformation over the last 5 years. How has it been watching as one of the front running artists in the movement?
SEATTLE! It’s a special place, filled with special talent. It’s pretty interesting, having been a part of the scene now for 12 years or so, I’m seeing a new generation of kids making amazing music, and they’re pretty in the same position that we were 10-12 years ago. But the difference now is that there’s a defined scene, and a defined lane for local hip hop. That scene and that lane is the result of hard hard work poured in by artists like Macklemore, Grieves, Blue Scholars, Source of Labor, Grynch, Ricky Pharoe, and so many others. I think it’s a good time to be an emerging artist in the scene here.
Started from the bottom now we’re here?
Ha. Yep.