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3/20/2006 What's good guys? Doug York: We're good. Everything's gravy. Bugout: What's up man? "The Breaking Point" is finally finished. How does that feel? Doug York: It feels real good. We've been going at this game for awhile. We both started at a young age. We've been doing it for years but we finally got on the grind and got it finished. What was the process of putting together "The Breaking Point"? Bugout: It was long. What happened was that I ended up moving from Exeter, New Hampshire to the Bronx to move in with Doug. We had a few beat-CD's from DC and things just started coming together. We went back to Exeter to record. It was a long process, but overall, it was pretty good. Doug York: We were down in New York living but we recorded a lot in New Hampshire and Maine. We would get off work at night and record in Maine at night. A lot of the album was done from 11pm to 6am. I think if you listen to it, you can hear that vibe. It has a real nighttime tone to it. Was it hard staying on the same vibe when you guys were in different places? Doug York: Definitely. For us to connect to record and DC being in Maine, it could be hard. Things just came together. We would plan out what we were going to do, and when we came together, we made everything happen. How did Granite State form? Doug York: I've known Bugout since we were young, like two or three years-old, when I first moved to New Hampshire. We had fallen out in elementary school. Later on, Statik Selektah brought us back together. He had his group and I had my group. Since we both grew up listening to Hip Hop, we were on the same page when we started rhyming together. How important has Statik Selektah been to what's Granite State accomplished so far? Bugout: He's like the head of the Voltron. He holds everything together. It couldn't have been done without him. The input that he puts in is so critical for us. The rhymes that I write are so precise because he gets that out of you. He's very critical. You can hear that. He keeps us grounded and who he is in the industry is huge. The fact that his name is where it is has helped us a lot. A lot of these cats are putting out mixtapes out every month and they still haven't gotten the same recognition that we have. He's a huge, strong force. He believes in what we do. What was you inspiration for writing "Morning Paper"? Bugout: The concept of that was that we were living in the Bronx and we didn't have cable or anything, so we would just read the newspaper. It got to the point where if we don't speak on politics and issues, then what are we really saying. If you don't know what's going on today, then you're pretty much oblivious. I know a lot of kids that listen to Hip Hop might not be that informed about certain issues. I thought that we should bring it to light. Doug York: We were telling DC the idea and he had a sample that went right along with it. It was exactly what we were talking about. We took the sample that he had found and we went back and started talking about all the problems and how we couldn't just sit there on the side and let things just happen to us. We're not a hugely political group, but we want to let people know where we stand on things. What kind of beats did you want from DC and Statik for the album? Doug York: When we first started writing it, all of our beats had the same tone to them, so we started looking for more and more beats that were outside of that general tone. We just wanted something that sounded good and hit hard, like the old '90's types of beats. We were trying to resurrect that and bring it to a 2007-type of thing. Do you think it's hard to be taken seriously coming from the North-Northeast? Bugout: I'm not quite sure to think of it right now. The feedback has been kind of minimal, but what we have heard has been good. I have a feeling that we're going to get a lot of criticism for being from here, but the thing is, a lot of people don't know where Exeter is, so we're explaining it to them. It can be looked at as a disadvantage, but I look at it as an advantage because some people don't know where New Hampshire is on a map. We don't have a sound up here, so we're creating the sound for this entire area. New York has a sound. Boston has a sound. We're creating our own sound. That's why we called our group "Granite State." That has a metaphoric meaning. What makes Doug York different from Bugout and vice versa? Doug York: I think it's very night-and-day. I'm very laid-back. I'm the one that plays the background. If you listen to the album, I have the more smooth tone. Bugout: I think I'm more of the wild one. You can hear that on the album. I'm more aggressive and I like to get in the mix of things. We mesh perfectly with our personalities, even in the way we live. I'll go out every night where Doug will just stay in. It blends right because we have basic views that go together and we can just smash things. Everyone's always thought we went well together. You can even hear the differences in us in this interview. We're different, but being opposites make it work. What is Granite State bringing that the Hip Hop game needs right now? Doug York: We're bringing a balance to it. There is so much flaky music out there, and I think that we're helping to bring that balance back. We're helping to give kids and everyone else something to listen to. We don't talk about the same thing everyone talks about. We don't talk about guns, drugs, and hustling. Even though we've been in some situations that have been like that, we don't feel the need to talk about it because there is so much else going on in the world. No disrespect to anyone doing that, but we don't want to go there. Bugout: I think a lot of it is gimmicky-rap now. I think we have to get back to that true essence of what it is. Being from the Granite State, we've been in scenarios that everyone else has been in. The way we describe our world is no different from what you would hear back in the day. It's reality rap. It's something that everyone can relate to. Everyone has a one-night stand and problems with girls. Everyone has problems growing up. That was the tone of the album and we wanted to get into what everyone was going through. Hip Hop can change the world, and we wanted to give kids that fantasize to 50 Cent a break. They don't have to fantasize about that anymore because they have something else to listen to. What's next for Granite State? Doug York: We're going to get on the road and do as many shows as possible and let people know about us. Not coming from a mixtape background, we have to create our buzz with the album. We have to let everyone know that there is a group called Granite State and we have a sound that is different from what everyone else is listening to. Catch on to the movement. What do you want to say to everyone? Bugout: There is something new out there. Listen to us objectively. Keep an open ear when you listen to the album and realize that everything we talk about is reality. The beats will keep your head nodding. Stay focused because we will be here for a very long time. We've been doing this forever and we just got real serious about it. Kids should keep an eye on us because we will be a good force to be reckoned with. Doug York: We're the fresh new breath. I want people to check it out and find something new that they can get into. For more information, check out granitestatemusic.com

By Brian Kayser

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