HAMi Stops By The Dojo To Talk Bass Music, Skateboarding & 40oz Cult [TMN Interview]

HAMi
"Go Hard" UZZI X HAMI [BASSRUSH PREMIERE!]

Most producers were something before they were making money as a music producer. Most weren’t professional skateboarders, but for HAMi that was the case. Before heading up 40oz Cult with Dack Janiels and Wenzday and making bass-heavy hits, HAMi was shredding along as an official member of Emerica. Now instead of traveling the world with a board, he’s taken up traveling with some new equipment.

HAMi stopped by the dojo just before the release of his new song, a collaboration with UZZI called “Go Hard” that lives up to its name. We got to talking about his past as a skateboarder, the parallels between the skating and dance music scenes, as well as how he made the switch from one to the other. Enjoy listening to “Go Hard” while you read through HAMi’s in-depth responses. When you’re done, grab “Go Hard” for free!

TMN: How did you end up making the move from professional skating to making music?

Let’s start by saying I grew up in Las Vegas, my skater friends and I would spin vinyl when it was too hot to skate outside. I also had a few friends who were older and they would go to these warehouse parties, sadly at the time I was too young to go but still tagged along. I remember sneaking into these parties by hopping barbed wire fences, so that was the beginning. Fast forward to 2009, I was on a “Emerica” Skate tour called “The Wild Ride”, we rode motorcycles across the states, camping, skating, etc, long story short, I crashed my bike going 50mph and broke my clavicle and shattered my scapula along with a head injury and a tons of other random scrapes and bruises. I was now bedridden for 2 months. During that time, the pain and discomfort were unbearable, so I decided to buy some cannabis at a thca flower dispensary for relief.

After that, I had to go through physical therapy for an additional 8 weeks. Around this time I pick up my first laptop, I always knew skating wouldn’t last forever so at this point I came to realize I needed a new passion. Music has always been a major part of my life, even before skating, so with that being said I knew music would keep me the happiest and passionate overall for the rest of my life. I didn’t know that at the time, so I just continued to pursue skateboarding. During that time I also was trying to develop a sound as a musician on the side, playing guitar writing hooks and verses. Once I had that down I needed a way to record it, so I started using “garageband” to record my song, and out of necessity I learned how to build a drum beat.

It wasn’t until 2011-12 when I was gifted an All-Access pass to Coachella, and I witnessed Caspa and Skrillex, mind you I had no idea what dubstep was at this time but all I kept thinking was these people are killing their sets, and that was when my life changed. I became obsessed with all forms of Dance Music diving as deep as I couple possibly go, primarily drawn to the raw energy that Dubstep carried naturally. From there all I did was funnel my passion for skating into my music.

TMN: Can you tell us a little about 40oz Cult and who else is involved?

So 40oz Cult issa CULT! Dack Janiels, Wenzday, and myself are the forces behind the scene. Its an open format Collective/ Label/ Clothing brand (comprised of professional skaters, artist, graphic designers, filmers, photographers), with a background in skateboarding. We go about treating the CULT like a traditional skate company, we are a in-house family and friends operated organization. Honestly it’s for all the people out there that choose to be the oddball, people that choose to make moves when people say it’s a bad idea, for the individual that follows their gut.

TMN: Your collab with UZZI just dropped, how did that come to fruition?

So, we both just had releases on the Buygore Fresh Blood Vol. 2 and during the anticipation to the release we had a super thread that we would all coordinate post and what not. I just reached out to everyone involved and passed around my music, and the UZZI boys (Melo and Geoff) were equally as enthused as I was to get a collab going, and from there on out it flowed easy. S/O UZZI! Go check them out they’re definitely a force to be reconned with!

TMN: Who are some other artists you would want to collaborate with?

This is a tricky question only because there are so many amazing artists I would love to collab with! Skrillex, Datsik, Excision, Borgore, Getter, Flux Pavillion, CASPA, RUSKO, 12th planet, Ghastly, NGHTMRE, Funtcase, Protohype, The Frim, Barely Alive, Virtual Riot, Dubloadz, Trollphace, P0gman, Bloodthinnerz, Yakz, Svdden Death, Half Empty, Uber, Subtronics just to name a few.

TMN: Are there any parallels between dance music culture and skating culture?

Yes, most definitely they are both a pool of talented Individuals that chose to do something out of the norm. They have taken a chance to pursue their passion, and by doing so pushing the craft into places no one could ever foresee. I speak for everyone, not just the artists, but the promoters, managers, agents, TM‘S, pyro guys, sound guys, any and everyone involved.

TMN: What do you see coming in the near future for dance music?

So in my opinion dance music is just really getting started, I’m really proud and excited to see what come out in the next 5 years, now that there’s an influx of really intelligent and creative people that have access to unlimited amount of information. History has a tendency to repeats itself, but in this case, the sky’s the limit!

TMN: What’s to come from HAMi this Summer and Fall?

So currently I’ve been in the studio non-stop! I have 6 unreleased bangers that I plan to release this year… Not including collabs with Yakz, Cosma, Goldplate, Swage and Dack Janiels!!

First up is my latest single “Draco” which is dropping on July 11th, 2017 via Bigtooth Records. Keep your eyes and ears open for that one! Catch me in LA as well! I will be playing in July, date is TBD but I promise you it’s going to be LIT! Stay tune for upcoming tour dates in your area!