FSD: What else is on deck?
Tuo: Nelly. We’ve got Nelly back on his Nellyville swag. So instead of Nelly just singing, we’ve got Nelly doing his rapping with the singing again. Look for the joint with him and Chris Brown, which will be out early summer — it’s called “Mary Go.”
FSD: So I heard a rumor you guys were about to go in and do some work with Miley Cyrus?
Tuo: Yeah, we’re doing the Miley Cyrus remix to “Ass.” It’s a country version of “Ass,” remixed by Da Internz. We’re gonna try to get [Big] Sean on it as well. It’s gonna go straight out virally — we’re supposed to get that done ASAP, though.
FSD: And you also have your own artist Aaron Michael Cox. What’s going on with that?
Kosine: He’s a kid from Ohio, who is hands down one of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with in my life. He’s 22 and is mentally and talent-wise, ready to take over. He plays guitar, he plays piano, he plays bass. He’s a monster. He just recently released his first song, “Walk Away.” We actually dropped it while we were in the studio with Miley, and she loved it so much she retweeted it. She showed love.
We have another artist named Captain & Sneaks — they’re a duo. They’re like a DJ and a pop MC. We’ve got a song coming out with them this summer called “Juice” and it features Ludacris. It’s crazy. It’s outta here.
FSD: You guys have encountered so much success over the past year — how do you remain so humble about everything?
Tuo: I look at it like this: we get to wake up everyday and do what we love. We get to wake up everyday to do what we do. And people acknowledge us for our work? I wake up pumped up everyday because of that. I’m happy. I have nothing to be pissed about — I never have that ‘extra’ spirit around me. There’s no need to be extra.
Kosine: And at the end of the day it’s a blessing. It’s a gift. For whatever reason, God has thought enough of us to look over us and place us in this position. There’s a lot of people who I’ve met — even people in Chicago — who are just as talented, if not more talented than us. But for whatever reason God has blessed us. So I’m so grateful for everything. Why would I be disrespectful to that blessing? It’s a privilege and it’s an honor and I’m super humbled by the people who support us.
FSD: So with you two constantly being around the movers and shakers in the industry, what is the buzz like on the Chicago scene right now. Is the chatter real?
Tuo: Right now? Definitely. They’re looking for talent out here. But the thing is, once you get the look, then what are you going to do with it? You’ve gotta deliver the meat and potatoes — how can you make them money.? They’re definitely looking at Chicago, and I just hope everyone plays their part to make them understand Chicago. We’re a segregated city in general, and we certainly are in the music community as well. You’ve got your street artists, the backpackers, the commercial type guys — we’re all divided up. But now it’s time to show and prove, and show that we can sustain within the music industry.
Yeah, you got a deal, but now you have to show and prove. There’s never been this many artists from Chicago getting deals at the same time. People need to celebrate that, but you’ve gotta show and prove. That’s when the work starts.
Kosine: And support your brothers. You may not like their music, but they’re from Chicago and they’re getting on, so show some support. It’s tons of fans out there — there’s a lane for everyone. So there’s no reason to hate on anyone from the city or to try to hold them back.
We love to work with the up and coming artists from Chicago. Before Durk signed his deal, Tuo had went and saw him.
Tuo: Yeah, I was just in town and my homie Stringer was like “Yo man, you gotta check out this guy named Lil Durk.” I had some time, so Stringer called his people, and I was like “Let’s go meet with him.” We went over and vibed with him — not knowing nothing about him. We just wanted to do a record with him. I told him we’d do a joint with him on the love, but he had to come out to Cali. He told us he’d be in Cali within the next month. Not only was he out in Cali the next month, but he was out there to do the deal with Def Jam and No ID. It was crazy how it worked out.
Kosine: We’re also about to get in the studio with YP soon — shouts to him. We’re definitely looking out. We look out for the city.
Tuo: And it ain’t about charging these people for beats — it’s all about putting in work. It has to make sense. You have to show your work value. Artists come up to us all the time, and say “Let me get some free beats, joe.” Guess what, there’s a million yous. Prove to us you’re working, so we don’t give you this Internz beat in vain. You got an Internz beat, so what? What are you going to do with it? If you have no pipeline, all you have is a beat.
Kosine: And stop asking for the throwaway beats, man. Because those don’t exist. Even asking for a throwaway beat makes you look suspect. Here we are with these monsters on radio, and you got a weak ass Internz beat. What sense does that make? [Laughs]
how do they have a diverse sound when ass, birthday cake, the don and 88’s all sound alike? chicago has to do better smh at supporting this coonery