It’s 6 PM on a Sunday at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center and Asma Maroof, one-half of of FADE TO MIND OGs and longtime OC friends NGUZUNGUZU, is looping drum samples as a spirited pack of six-year-olds dances at the foot of the stage. Just about the farthest cry from her usual venue vibes—clubs lit only by the occasional wall projection—Asma’s daylight Kennedy Center set was part of the Hip-Hop Fusion Drum Call, the finale event of the three week One Mic: Hip-Hop Culture Worldwide festival.
Oscillating between contemporary drum outfits and digital rhythm machines, the Drum Call showcased hip-hop’s international roots. The performance included M.I.A. and Thievery Corporation drummer Kiran Gandhi, all-female percussion group Batala Washington, and Philly-based producer Hezekiah, who weaves African, Caribbean, and Indian traditions. Asma, meanwhile, pieces together club cuts from virtually scene in the world from African house to London grime, resulting in a sound that's constantly evolving and almost unclassifiable.
I quickly caught up with Asma before the show to talk her involvement with the Drum Call, the future of FUTURE BROWN, and Ciara's return to the top. You can catch the full Drum Call performance here!
Emily Manning: How did your involvement with Drum Call come about?
Asma Maroof: As boring as it might seem, the event organizers contacted my agent, but I thought the showcase sounded really interesting right off the bat. I grew up in Maryland and frequented the Kennedy Center, so I was super stoked to hear about it. I know Kiran through other shows and Hez I’ve actually met in Los Angeles before, so I came in already having some strange connections to this show, and so far everything’s worked out really fluidly.
The Drum Call is a combination of solo and collaborative work, but this isn’t your typical back-to-back set that goes on in the club. How did you reconfigure your set around the showcase's structure?
I decided to use a lot of loops and I brought my drum machine so I can have one-hits available; you can’t give too much information when you’re playing with so many live percussionists. This definitely isn’t my usual cup of tea, I feel a little out of my element! But as nervous as I am, I’m also really excited.
You and Daniel [Pineda] are frequently asked in interviews to describe Nguzu’s sound, a task which even people who are intimately familiar with it find challenging. Given the spirit of this event, what sorts of global sounds or beats does Nguzu reference and how do you find them?
I love kuduro, kizomba, tarracha—which is sort of where our Perfect Lullaby mixtapes come from. Anything that catches my ear or his ear from all over the place seems to end up in the things we create. And it’s all on the Internet, that’s what’s really cool about discovering sounds now. Also, we've been travelli
Oscillating between contemporary drum outfits and digital rhythm machines, the Drum Call showcased hip-hop’s international roots. The performance included M.I.A. and Thievery Corporation drummer Kiran Gandhi, all-female percussion group Batala Washington, and Philly-based producer Hezekiah, who weaves African, Caribbean, and Indian traditions. Asma, meanwhile, pieces together club cuts from virtually scene in the world from African house to London grime, resulting in a sound that's constantly evolving and almost unclassifiable.
I quickly caught up with Asma before the show to talk her involvement with the Drum Call, the future of FUTURE BROWN, and Ciara's return to the top. You can catch the full Drum Call performance here!
Emily Manning: How did your involvement with Drum Call come about?
Asma Maroof: As boring as it might seem, the event organizers contacted my agent, but I thought the showcase sounded really interesting right off the bat. I grew up in Maryland and frequented the Kennedy Center, so I was super stoked to hear about it. I know Kiran through other shows and Hez I’ve actually met in Los Angeles before, so I came in already having some strange connections to this show, and so far everything’s worked out really fluidly.
The Drum Call is a combination of solo and collaborative work, but this isn’t your typical back-to-back set that goes on in the club. How did you reconfigure your set around the showcase's structure?
I decided to use a lot of loops and I brought my drum machine so I can have one-hits available; you can’t give too much information when you’re playing with so many live percussionists. This definitely isn’t my usual cup of tea, I feel a little out of my element! But as nervous as I am, I’m also really excited.
You and Daniel [Pineda] are frequently asked in interviews to describe Nguzu’s sound, a task which even people who are intimately familiar with it find challenging. Given the spirit of this event, what sorts of global sounds or beats does Nguzu reference and how do you find them?
I love kuduro, kizomba, tarracha—which is sort of where our Perfect Lullaby mixtapes come from. Anything that catches my ear or his ear from all over the place seems to end up in the things we create. And it’s all on the Internet, that’s what’s really cool about discovering sounds now. Also, we've been travelli