Whether it is an animation or a track or a painting, they all fall into place similarly for ProbCause. “I think there are a lot of similarities between music and painting, both art forms require composition, mood, style, form, warm or cold feelings, all that,” he described. Prob sees both of the art forms as comparable, “The trumpet may be warm, and the saxophone cool.” In a way, one can totally see and hear where ProbCause’s artistic tastes and talents transcribe sonically. He paints and sketches with a vibrancy that translates to his music. Each character or scene he draws is trippy, carefully crafted, and humorous, like his raps. ProbCause noted, “If you look at the parallels between graffiti art and hip hop music, a lot of the graf pieces look like the music sounds, ya know?!” His own art and music have a similar relationship.
While ProbCause is indeed a talented studio artist, what he really is known for is his rapping expertise. He spits eccentric, clever bars on top of beats that are a melting pot of jazz, blues, rock, electronic, and different forms of hip hop.
ProbCause’s The Recipe: Volume 2 is a stellar release and is a display of ProbCuase’s uniqueness as an artist. The album features an insane number of guest features too. The project has a distinct flow to it and a Chicago flavor. “The Recipe: Volume 2 was definitely a very collaborative album. I think that Chicago is at a very special moment in music right now and there is so much talent coming out of our city that I just wanted to capture this moment in time. I wanted to highlight all these different artists with different styles and backgrounds, and put them all into one cohesive project,” explained Prob.
The tracks “LSD” with Chance The Rapper, “Chicago School 1.0” featuring G-Scott, Gzus Piece, Nate Marshall, Scheme and Add-2, and “Black and White” stand out, but the whole thing is a knockout. This album is an overdose of production that creates a satisfying sonic explosion, as heard on “Blackout” for example, and slows down for the jazz-influenced and sultry “Whiskey On the Rocks” with Psalm One and Diggs Duke.
“I really just reached out to all my favorite artists and invited them to my studio, played them a huge stockpile of beats I had been saving, and made the songs right there in the studio,” described ProbCause. The project is a stand out from 2013 – It was named on Sun-Times and WBEZ music critic Jim Derogotis’s Top 30 of the year – but all of the collabs really distinguished Volume 2 from other music made this year. “Some artists on the project I had known for a few years, but other ones I met for the first time in the studio as we created the song. It was an amazing process and I built some really close relationships while making that project,” explained Prob. Funny story, his collaboration with Action Bronson was one of the highlights of Volume 2. Some weed for Bronson and a framed ProbCause original piece for Bronson’s art collecting manager was all it took to make that collaboration happen.
In 2014 we can expect a lot of different things from ProbCause. Perhaps The Recipe: Volume 3, an electronic music collaboration, a Bonafyde compilation tape, more videos and animations, and perhaps more touring. All this while in school, needless to say, dude is busy.
Prob’s Volume 3 won’t be as collaborative though, with just a few features, changing up the process a little bit. He likes the organic rhythm of writing from the beat with whatever comes to mind, rather than be bound to a concept, which often fences in the flow of a collaborative project. He clearly appreciates and admires those he has worked with, but needs the change of pace.
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