24: Introduce yourself to everyone who doesn’t already know who you are?
Luss: What up? We’re Tarek & Luss. For those of you that don’t know us, we’re brothers from Battle Creek, Michigan, currently out promoting our latest project “Occupy All Beats.”
24: Before we get into your music, can you describe your history about how you got into it and what inspired you both?
Tarek: I’ve always been into music as far back as I can remember. We used to freestyle at parties and for our friends and shit like that, so it started at first as mainly a hobby but I just kept doing it more and more, and then my friend Ray and me used to write songs for hours after school and it just kinda went from there. Since me and Luss were brothers, it just naturally made sense for us to rap as a duo.
Luss: My story is similar. I’ve been a fan of hip hop since a little kid. Back when I first started out, I used to freestyle with my friends at every party we went to. That was our thing back then. Shortly after that, I linked up with Tarek and we started to record our shit together at House of Treez in Battle Creek. It all started out as a hobby but then quickly turned into a passion for me.
24: What was the Hip-Hop scene like for you growing up where you’re from?
Tarek: I’ve always enjoyed the Hip-Hop scene that we have here. There are a lot of people out here grinding and there are a lot of different styles and sounds from us all. It’s cool to me as a music lover and as an artist to hear all the different variations of music and we’re all from the same spot.
Luss: There’s always been a strong hip hop scene in Battle Creek. There’s a lot of talent out here when it comes to music and every artist grinds just as hard as the next.
24: What makes you unique as artists and different from other rappers now?
Luss: I think what makes us unique is that we only do “Tarek & Luss”. We don’t follow any trends and we only make music that feels good to us. Everybody has a different story but what separates us as artists is how we deliver that story.
Tarek: Life has dealt us both our ups and downs so we try to find the positives out of those experiences and express that through our music. That’s a lot of the substance from “Occupy All Beats”. I forgot who said it, but I always liked the quote “music is what feelings sound like”. Basically, life makes us unique from anybody else.
24: Tell us about what you are working on.
Tarek: Right now we are currently promoting our latest mixtape “Occupy All Beats.” We’re about to shoot a video in the next few weeks, so we’re currently picking singles and we’re also talking to some people about doing some shows soon too. We also are going to be heading out to California very soon to hit the studio with Rikanatti to begin our next untitled (as of now) LP.
24: What producers have you worked with and who would you like to work with in the future?
Luss: We’ve worked with Rikanatti for the last six years and I was a fan of his work well before that so it’s been a real cool experience. Shout out to Natti! If I was in a situation to work with other producers though, I think It would be dope to hit the studio with Havoc, J Cole, Kanye, Diddy and DJ Khalil. I think they’re all geniuses when it comes to production.
Tarek: Like Luss said, we’ve worked with Rikanatti for years and he has played a major role in crafting our sound and developing us as artists over the years; so big shout out to Rikanatti. I would personally like to hit the studio with Dr. Dre, Sounwave, Dawaun Parker, Rza and Just Blaze. I could name a lot of other producers but those are a few of them.
24: Are you happy with the feedback you have been getting from people on material you have released?
Luss: Very happy. We’ve been getting a lot of love. I just wanna say thanks to everyone that downloaded the album! We appreciate all your support!
24: In today’s free download age, what do you need to do to make yourself a household name?
Tarek: It starts with the music, but ultimately it’s about the work you put into it. I always keep in my head that there’s thousands of people that have similar goals as we do, but you have to put in a lot of work and make a lot good decisions along the way. There are no days off.
24: How do you feel about the current state of the Hip-Hop scene?
Luss: I think it’s great. There’s a lot of diversity in Hip-Hop. Wide variety of sounds and styles out there so I think it’s in a great state.
Tarek: It’s great because it keeps the music fresh and interesting. It’s always good to have variety.
24: Outside of the music, what else are you working on?
Luss: Honestly, music is all I do. Other than that, just handling all the business that comes along with it.
Tarek: I just became a dad last month so I’ve been keeping busy; but my son motivates and inspires me to work hard and perfect my craft so we can achieve what we’ve worked so hard to achieve.
24: Where do you see yourself in 2012 and how do you plan to separate yourselves from the other artists out today to get the recognition you feel you deserve?
Luss: I’m going to continue to work hard and stay as focused and as hungry as I am now. I’m a hard worker and I’m dedicated to my craft. My drive and my passion is what fuels me. I believe if I’m real with myself and real with my fans, I’ll always have the upper hand.
Tarek: I see us just building the “Tarek & Luss” brand and staying as visual as possible. We will continue to keep putting out great music for our fans.
24: How can fans go about contacting you?
Tarek: You can contact us both on Twitter. For me hit @tarekluss and for Luss it’s @TheRealLuss. Our website is being reworked, but you will be able to contact us through there too. On Facebook.
24: Thank you for providing 24hourhiphop with this exclusive interview, do you have any last words for your present and future fans?
Tarek: Good looking out to everybody that supports our music! We have come along way and still have a long way to go. We promise to keep giving you quality “Tarek & Luss” albums to listen to.
Luss: Shout out to ALL of you Tarek & Luss fans! I appreciate all the love and support to those of you who have held us down over the years and to all the future “Tarek & Luss” fans, we promise to give you great music.
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