Haj of dumhi Speaks On The Airing of Grievances, Fermented Spirits' Like Minds, Charles Only's One Eighty Four, Shanti's Rebuttal & More (The Witzard Interview)
dumhi ORIGIN STORY: I started making beats around 2002, I guess. I had no intention of doing anything with it, except having fun. At that point, I, personally, knew no one that did music stuff. 2003-ish to 2005, I started meeting some other folks who did music in various capacities like Shameless Plug/Charles Only, Flud, Mash Comp/Wise, MicheleQJ. A lot of us met through sharing demos and talking sh*t on okayplayer.com. That was such a great place to meet [people,] at the time. A lot of [people] were on there, also, just starting their music and learning and we were all hype to talk to each other about it. This is where I met the Tanya Morgan guys and E L U C I D and I used to send my horrible early beats to Nicolay [The Foreign Exchange], via AOL Instant Messenger and we would sit there doing stuff like that until 3:00am every night.
Then, on the weekends, I would get up with Plug, Flud, Mash, and whoever else might be around and we'd drink and make jokes and make songs. I, also, started hanging out with Random AKA Mega Ran, DN3, and their crew, Rahm Nation, around this time in West Philly. DN3 became one of my first "beat mentors" and would show me a lot of things and it was awesome. And mike/MicheleQJ was working with a band in West Philly and for a while; I would go hang out with those guys once a week and jam. Just trying to soak up everything. I loved it. Around 2005, I started calling the whole music thing that I was doing "dumhi." In my head, dumhi was the umbrella for everything music. It was the "record label," the name of the collective. It was [our] Wu-Tang Clan, y'know? 2005-06 was the first dumhi Phase? Oh, sh*t, I'm about to break this up into phases like [The Marvel Cinematic Universe]?
dumhi Phase 1:
Vote dumhi (2005?)
They Call Me Bruce (2006)
3 Seats from Heaven (2007)
Fermented Spirits - Demystification (2008, but most of this was done '04-05, [probably])
Indian Summer (2009)
Most of the emceeing on these projects were Plug, Flud, and Mash. Jermiside was one of the main voices on Indian Summer (along with Plug, Flud, and Mash) and appears on a few of the others. Donwill & Von Pea from Tanya Morgan make two or three appearances each. Che Grand is on a handful of songs thoughout these projects. Random/Mega Ran and DN3 are on a couple of them, as well. NY Oil AKA Kool Kim from The U.M.C.'s hopped on one of the songs for 3 Seats [from Heaven] and that was the first, established, like, "OH, SNAP!" collaborative thing that came about during that time. At this point, I knew a bunch of [people] doing music, but the people I was working on music with most were all spread out. Plug was in [Northwest] NJ, Flud in Brooklyn, Mash in DC, etc. so, we would meet up on weekends and, sometimes, it would be two or three of us and, sometimes, there would be, like, 15 guys [hanging] out (some rappers, some singers, some other beat guys) and everyone was just making songs all weekend. Around '06, I moved back to Philly from NY and as that first "phase" of projects was wrapping up, I started meeting people in the Philly Indie Hip-Hop scene. I had gotten more confident in what I was doing and it was awesome to meet folks that lived in the same town.
dumhi Phase 2:
Yoga At Home EP (2008)
Flowers EP (2009)
The Jungle EP (2010)
The Whole World's Watching EP (2011)
The Side Effect EP (2011) with Side Effect
SEVEN THIRTY EP (2012) with Ethel Cee
Sirens On Snyder EP (2013) with Reef The Lost Cauze
Featured Vocals: Sadat X [Brand Nubian] lead things off on the first song from Yoga At Home (I was so hype... funny story about this song, too.) Plug & Flud make a few appearances on these albums, but things started to shift to where I was working with the Philly gang more. The main vocalists on these projects were Reef, Random, Ethel Cee, Side Effect, and E L U C I D. Reef went from someone I was a fan of and reached out to to do the Yoga [At Home] feature to being my roommate. [Ethel Cee] went from a feature request for The Jungle to, well... my fiancée, but that's [probably] another story. Side Effect and I started doing a bunch of local shows with a "hybrid" band that I put together. It was an awesome time. Donwill, Che Grand, Jermiside, [and] Von Pea all are featured. CA emcee Trek Life is featured. [Army of The Pharaohs] member Dope Nixon. Philly singer Sabrina Cuie. More Philly guys, like, Burke The Jurke, King Magnetic, Baby Blak, [and] Scanz added features. And somehow or another, Sean Price wound up a remix with Burke & Reef for a song from The Jungle. P! Around 2014-15, I slowed down a bit. By now, I barely knew anyone (at least, [people] I saw regularly) that DIDN'T do music or art in some fashion. I was still doing stuff and putting together various songs here and there but, wasn't going full steam, like I had been doing for the previous 10 years. That is why there were the "Loosies" mixtapes, which had some previously released songs and some new stuff and other various things.
dumhi Phase 3?:
FELADELPHIA Instrumentals (2013)
The Midnight Salad Sessions (2014)
Soft Pretzel Power Ballads (2014)
The Synergy (2016) with Jordanian emcee Satti
No Edge Ups In Uganda (2018 compilation) with E L U C I D
All of the second "phase" crew, like Reef, Side Effect, Random, [Ethel Cee], etc. were featured. Cee Knowledge [Doodlebug] of Digable Planets & Open Mike Eagle featured on "The Scene" (there is a stupid story behind this song that involves a lot of awful booze.) Skrewtape, Rich Quick, Slaughter Rico, Kane Mayfield, etc. etc. Then, COVID.
dumhi Phase 4 (COVID-19):
TERIYAKI HAIRPIECE Instrumentals (2019)
Fermented Spirits - Like Minds/Deluxe (2020)
Charles Only - One Eighty Four/184 (2020)
Reef The Lost Cauze - The Airing of Grievances (2020)
Shanti's Rebuttal Instrumentals (2021) [* as-yet-unreleased]
So, I guess, what I am trying to say is that, to ME, "dumhi" is everyone mentioned above and so many others. I didnt even talk about Marco, Jay, & Eric (my "band" in 2013) or the artists and video guys and gals or... so many other [people] that helped us book a show, did some artwork or graphic design, helped us mix or master or jammed with us at any point. Guys like you that have helped us get to new ears. Dumhi is, like, the entire experience of doing everything listed above AND reps. everyone associated. I am just Haj.
I. How did your latest Seinfeld-referencing collaboration with Reef The Lost Cauze, The Airing of Grievances, come to fruition?
Haj of dumhi: Reef & I are very much like family. Not like rapper dude "family" but, y'know... his kids call me "Uncle Haj" and give me big hugs before punching and karate chopping me, y'know? We are around each other all the time and spend holidays with each other's families and all that. Going into 2020, we had no immediate plans to do an EP. It was COVID and everyone was locked up in the house, though. We were drinking a few beers... maybe, recording Reef's verse for the [FERMENTED SPIRITS] project. I don't remember exactly. But we started talking music and I played him some beats, along with a demo of the [Shanti's Rebuttal] project. About 15 minutes later, we were talking about a short EP. Then, a few weeks later, he said he was ready. He came over around 10:00am on a Saturday. We had all the songs recorded by 1:00 or 2:00pm. And that was that. It's just something that we do. Like, how people hit their bud's up on some "wanna grab a beer?" "Wanna go shoot some hoops?" "Y'all hungry?" We do all that, too, and, occasionally, "you want to knock out a quick album?" comes up, too haha.
II. How did you end up linking up with Charles Only for your collaborative release, One Eighty Four/184?
Haj: Charlie is another old friend. Charlie (FKA Shameless Plug) was, actually, the first person to ever rap on one of my beats. He is a "charter member" of The dumhi Collective, so to speak lol. And he is an awesome dude. We hadn't made any music in a long minute. He hit me up early COVID (I think) and said he was looking for something to do. Sent him a handful of beats and he took it from there. He has a good team up North of talented dudes. And, I think, he had some stuff to get off his chest, so it all came together quickly. Or, at least, that's how it felt down here.
III. Who are the various members of Fermented Spirits and what is each member's role within the group?
Haj: That's just me and Mike AKA MicheleQJ. Interesting to think of "roles." Usually, I will start a beat sketch and send it to him. He sends them back. Sometimes, they have singing on them. Sometimes, keys. Sometimes... anything can happen. I tweak or add something and we go back-and-forth like that. I love working with him. It's a lot of fun. This year, we, also, had a lot of contributions from other folks, which was, also, very cool. We re-worked some of our songs with Mike's band, Adornment, DJ's Emynd & lil'dave remixed some of our songs. AEON, too. Reef [The Lost Cauze] and Ethel Cee and B. Young [& Adornment] did some vocals with us. It was a really cool virtual art project. During a lot of The COVID Summer, this project was my "socialization." And I really dug how it came out. Very proud of that project and had a lot of fun doing it. I, actually, started making music with Mike in, like, 2004-05, maybe. 2020 sucked but, I did love working with so many old friends.
IV. What's the intended meaning behind your nom de plume, Haj of dumhi, and your assorted aliases/alter-egos?
Haj: "Haj" is a nickname I have had since about the third grade thanks to this dude named Mike Rufus and a neighbor named Mrs. Jenkins. That just always sort of stuck. When I first started making music, I thought "dumhi" would be a good group name. The idea was sort of like... dumhi = Wu-Tang [Clan] and Haj of dumhi on beats would remain consistent, while other members might rotate in-and-out depending on what their other musical priorities were at whatever specific time. The messaging didn't always work out as planned. When I moved back to Philly from NY in about '06, I had put together a few projects with group of friends, like Plug, Mash Comp, Flud, etc. People in Philly didn't necessarily know about those so much, [though,] so, as I was meeting other people who did music, some just assumed MY name was "dumhi" and I have had a difficult time trying to shake that. I, sometimes, worry that someone might feel a type [of] way about that. Especially, the guys who were so involved in the first couple projects. But, I think, they know the intent was always to have dumhi be a loose collective and, hopefully, they know as far as I am concerned, dumhi is a whole of everything our entire gang has put together. I am Rajan/"Haj." dumhi is everything and everyone that took part in the whole experience; emcees, singer, instrumentalists, designers, [photographers], venues, fans... we are dumhi. Related(?) "dumhi" is, also, a unique "word" so, Google Searches are more efficient than they would be for rappers named "Mike/Mic Wizard" or whatever the f*ck lol.
V. Do you have any immediate plans for a proper follow-up to your 2018 project with E L U C I D, No Edge Ups In Uganda?
Haj: Nah, not as of now. That was more of a compilation. We hung out and did a new song a few years ago. That was the first new thing we did in a handful of years and it didn't really have a home at the time. So, we packaged it up with some of the others songs that we did in the past compilation style. The songs were new to a lot of people and we still thought they were jams, so... that worked out. E L U C I D is incredible, though, and I'd always be down to rock something with him. You know [E L U C I D's] stuff? Rad, right??
VI. Who have you enlisted to do the cover artwork and photography for the majority of your releases on Bandcamp?
Haj: The bulk has been done by either Kevin "Chuise" Jackson, Pat "Pecue" Quinn, MicheleQJ, and myself. Kevin has been, basically, a "silent" partner with dumhi since the very beginning. He has hooked up art, design, websites, etc. Pat has done a bunch of stuff and is one of my go-to guys. He is great and I really enjoy working with him. A bunch of other friends have, also, contributed with video work, photos, and pretty much anything else. At this point, I just really like working with talented folks that I enjoy talking to and being around. What is better than art projects with buds? But, man... I have been blessed when it comes to that. Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Adam "MonkeyToedAbu" Wiesen, Jimmy Giambrone, Caliph-NOW, Sick Six, Objectiv1, and a bunch of other people have contributed and collaborated with dumhi art projects. Did you dig it? What art joints did you like best?
The Witz: I really dig all of your covers I've seen on Bandcamp while doing research for this interview/feature, but I have to admit... my personal favorite is the cover for dumhi Loosies, Vol. 3: Soft Pretzel Power Ballads. I like how our mutual friend/collaborator Pecue employed that old school Blue Note Records-reminiscent design style, too!
VII. Would you mind walking us a bit through your typical beat creation/construction processes?
Haj: I kind of consider myself more of a collage artist than a musician in a lot of ways. I, usually, start by putting together a bunch of beat sketches. Then, when I have a handful that I like, I start matching them together with others that, sort of, sonically go together, I guess. Then, I start trying to figure out how to build around them and connect them and make something bigger. I guess, even with beats. I might start with a short 2-bar phrase and try to expand it. "How can I make this 2-bar phrase into a 4-bar phrase?" Then, if I am working with vocalists, I send them a beat sketch to write/record to and once I have a vocal, I kind of arrange things and embellish the beats further around those vocals. And, then, once a song is there, I put that back into the pot with the others and try to expand the project. It is like painting. I will listen and be like, "maybe, a little splash of blue right here." My sample-heavy stuff is [definitely] more similar to painting than, um, a more traditional musician/band might do things. I mean, I can play a few instruments to a certain extent but, I generally don't consider myself a musician. Sometimes, when I am feeling myself and had a few beers, I am Jimi Hendrix, but, otherwise... much more plodding and noodling.
VIII. When making, constructing, and producing a batch of beats, how do you decide with beats go towards which emcee, project, etc.?
Haj: Just the sound, I guess. I really like trying to get 20-30 [minutes] of a sonic ride or a loose story going. Once I have a batch of sketches, I just start arranging them. Adding. Subtracting. Sometimes, beats will be for specific people, but, usually, it just happens and, then, I try to figure out cool ways to put the pieces together.
IX. What are the primary differences between the Original & Deluxe Versions of Fermented Spirits' Like Minds?
Haj: We released the original last spring. We really felt like it was a "summer project" and wanted to share it as close to Memorial Day as possible. Then, over the summer, we had the original songs re-mastered while we were working with friends on remixes and some new material. We released the "deluxe" version around Labor Day to kind of bookend the summer. I was torn about how to do it. We had kicked around having it as three different EP's (original vs. re-masters vs. remixes) but, the original was out on Bandcamp only and I wanted the re-mastered version to be linked with the remixes on Spotify, etc. And I didn't want to delete the original from Bandcamp because people bought it and supported it and I didn't want them to not be able to access it or feel they had to spend more money on re-masters. I didn't know, if I wanted to put everything on one project and confuse people, as to the difference between the two. But I, eventually, did go that route. We put the re-masters and all the new remixes, etc. on the deluxe. I like to think that songs #1-6 on the deluxe as the original project, but re-mastered and Songs #7-13 are the deluxe/remixed version. That isn't 100% accurate, but I like to think of it that way lol. That seemed like an easy question until I started answering it lol.
X. Do you have any immediate plans to release a fourth installment (v.4) of your Loosies series? Since we've covered the majority of your 2020 releases here, as well as upcoming Shanti's Rebuttal, what do you have planned next for 2021?
Haj: Not really. Maybe? I am mostly figuring out [Shanti's Rebuttal] and, then, plan to just start diving into new beats. I already have ideas for a Shanti's "sequel" and [definitely] want to do some new [Fermented Spirits] stuff. I have talked to Charlie about some new stuff for 2021, too. But, I think, right now, I am just going to gather sketches and see what I have first. Then, see who is available and excited to do stuff. Loosies (v.2 & v.3, especially) kind of came together that way really. I had some beats, but nothing really planned so, I just started knocking out one-offs with different people. Then, added a few songs here and there that were released on previous projects and kind of treated those projects almost like "mixtapes." So, who knows? Maybe!?
XI. What can you tell us about your upcoming project, Shanti's Rebuttal? When might it see a wide release?
Haj: [Shanti's Rebuttal] is something I have been casually working on for a while. A handful of the beats, actually, wound up on The Airing of Grievances with Reef, so Shanti, also, doubles as an "instrumental" release for that. But, it's different. It was mostly inspired by 1960-70's Thriller/Suspense movies. Especially, ones from India & Europe. I have watched a TON of 70's Bollywood stuff, via YouTube and Amazon Prime over the past year. If successful, it will play like a mini-movie when listened from start-to-finish; a movie with a very LOOSE plot lol. Song titles and artwork will, hopefully, contribute to that vibe and I am working on trying to get some visual stuff pieced together, as well. But, at the moment,
