Artist: Nicolay and Kay
Interviewer: RJ Walker

Time is something the producer/rapper twosome of Nicolay and Kay understand and treasure. With the upcoming release of their Time:Line album on Nicolay's own imprint Nicolay Music, Kay will expound on time over Nicolay's sparse, yet melodic take on boom bap. The need for more time has inspired Nicolay to move to North Carolina from his native Denmark so he could have more time with his Justus League brethren and other artists in America. Even activities that for most people are time wasters, such as hanging out in the okayplayer message boards, proved fruitful for Kay and Nicolay, as that was literally the site of the twosome's first connection and idea trading.

The twosome create their work in an environment full of artists more concerned with being considered a hustler than putting in studio time, record companies stuck on outdated models of hip hop, and albums bloated with guest appearances that do nothing to enhance the final project. Time will only tell if the twosome's idiosyncratic work will be well received, but they intend to do their best work until they find out. Soundslam had the pleasure of talking to the both about rap's generational gap, meeting on the okayplayer message boards, and about how awful the radio is in the United States.

SoundSlam: I read in other interviews that Yo MTV Raps was influential in you discovering hip hop. So what was the better show, Yo MTV Raps or Rap City?...What was your favorite episode of Yo MTV Raps?

Nicolay: I haven't watched enough Rap City to make the comparison, but when I started watching, it was the only thing around. So for me it's synonymous for that time and the music. I think it was very informational not only for the videos, but for the Fab Five Freddy specials when he went to hang with the Geto Boys. That's one that really stands out for me. You got the one with NWA. They really let you see the artist behind the music.

SoundSlam: How did you two, hook up for this new album?

Kay: We've known each other since '02, '03. We met on the message board, okayplayer. At first, we used to defend each other's music. We were just friends and we really liked each other's music. As time passed, we released albums and it became, 'why are we waiting?' I started to get frustrated and he came to me and he started to send me stuff. He was like 'why don't we record some stuff' and it was very therapeutic for me. We kept recording more and the Time:line album started coming, forming.

SoundSlam: In one interview, Nicolay was shocked by how bad the radio was in North Carolina. Did you have any idea about southern hip hop and have you adjusted to hearing it all the time?

Nicolay: For me, southern hip hop is very different than what's on the radio. When I think of southern hip hop I think of Outkast or Goodie Mobb, stuff like that. What's on the radio has nothing to do with hip hop. It's so unbalanced, that when the formula works, they just make twenty five of them. That all that you hear. It's not that I have a problem with those particular artists, right now there's no balance. The southern hip hop I'm feeling or that I'm into, doesn't get played.

SoundSlam: Now Kay, you grew up in Houston and I was wondering what you grew up listening to?

Kay: Well, I've actually recorded with UGK a couple of years ago. I grew up, along with the greats like Tribe or De La, Geto Boys and a bunch of obscure Rap-A-Lot record stuff you really wouldn't know about like OG Style, who passed away last week, the Terrorist: I hate to say that. I was into a lot of different stuff. I just think at that time there was a lot more balance. I remember last year going to a MF Doom concert, me and a couple of my friends, with Bun reciting the verses. That just goes to show that everybody wants to be down on both sides of the table.

SoundSlam: I really wouldn't blame someone like Bun B to be a part of the problem. Money is obviously the reason everything is out of balance, but do you think that generational differences are at play? I just left my house with my younger brother and cousin, both of whom are 18 and there's just certain things they will not get into.

Kay: I think young people like good music. I just think if you don't give someone the opportunity and they don't know the places to go online. Most people will settle for whatever the radio gives them. There's a lot of people who like good music they just don't get the opportunity.

SoundSlam: Do you think that live instrumentation has taken the place of sampling in boom bap style rap.

Nicolay: That's a good question. I don't think one has taken over for the other. When I started doing music, I guess I didn't want to really depend on sampling because of tradition. I needed to do something more, I needed some chord changes or a bridge. I normally look for a combination of live instruments, then sampling. I don't think sampling is ever going to go anywhere because of the fact it's become so familiar. I don't think it's going to go anywhere because the bigger artists use the more recognizable samples, while the underground will try to hide them and make sure no one ever finds out. I'm sure that's the way things will be for a little while now.

Kay: I think that's where creativity comes in. If you don't have a lot of money, you still got to find way to work on your craft. I think you have to think of the things you have to do without spending those big bucks. When you think about it, that's how sampling came to be before the live instruments, so now that it's flipped because of how much they charge for samples.

SoundSlam: Do you start with guitar line or a bass line? How does it work for you?

Nicolay: I don't really have a method. People are always asking me what my ritual is, and I don't really have a ritual. I just get out there and do my thing. Sometimes it's a sample. Sometimes it's something I'm playing on guitar or keyboard. Sometimes it's the drums or the bass. It all about finding something that fits. 50 percent of it is shaping the idea.

SoundSlam: What type of lyrics did you want to kick over Nicolay's beat? Did you try to top what other people had done over Nic's beat?

Kay: Nah, not really. I would say that the most important thing is to be who you are and it's really about doing what you do. I was just trying to do what I do. At the end of the day it was about me delivering complicated parables in a simple way rather than simple messages in a complicated way. Why take something that the people need to hear and make it complicated?

SoundSlam: What kind of subjects are you broaching on the album?

Kay: On the song "I See Rivers," the song is based on a poem by Langston Hughes "The Negro Sees Rivers," the songs talks about blacks being near rivers and the great civilizations built around rivers. The thing that tripped me out about the poem is the river is there long after the people are gone. So with me being an MC is that you don't just feed the generation you're in, but to make something timeless. Then you go into the whole timeline concept, making music to make you go from a place so you can learn from your experiences.