Tainted Loves: Gatecreeper on Memphis Rap, Souls of Mischief, B.I.G.

Just like anyone else, band guys are not clichés — just because you play the most fragile twee in the world doesn't mean you can't join a Muay Thai gym and cave someone's face in. That's why we have Tainted Loves, which drills down to see what sort of music an artist might like that isn't exactly obvious from their output. After a long, hard day in the van and onstage listening to 1,000 mph metal, what do these people listen to in their off time? We posed that question to Chase Mason of Arizona death metal favorites Gatecreeper, and the results of our conversation are below.

Sonoran Depravation is out now via Relapse, but the band has also just released a new live LP recorded by Kurt Ballou, culled from their dates with Nails earlier this year. Stream that below and get it on cassette ONLY at the merch table. More on that below as well.

Outside of what are your obvious influences, what do you listen to that most people might not expect?
I’m really into older Memphis hip-hop, like Tommy Wright [III] and Three 6 Mafia and all of that.

What was your entry point into that?
It was probably Three 6.

Three 6 when they were hugely popular? As in the Oscar-winning Three 6 Mafia?
I remember hearing “Sippin on Some Syrup,” and then a couple years after that was when they got hugely popular with Hustle & Flow and all that. Then I worked backwards and got into the associated artists, too, like Project Pat, and finding more and more. Also, when I got into Three 6, I started to get into their contemporaries, like UGK and others, eventually digging deeper to find what I liked.

Did you ever listen to 8Ball & MJG and Suave House and all of that sort of stuff?
Yeah, for sure.

How do you feel about the larger Hypnotize Minds posse, outside of the obvious? Like Lil Wyte, Gangsta Boo, Koopsta Knicca, etc.?
I really like the Koopsta Knicca stuff. His solo stuff is really good. Chrome Korleone — we listen to that a lot in the Gatecreeper van when we are touring. A whole lot, actually.

Is that something that you can all agree on?
It’s not really everyone’s favorite. I don’t think anyone likes it as much as I do, but no one is opposed to it. Everyone has their own thing, whether it’s older or outlaw country or whatever. I can definitely throw it on, though, and not everyone is opposed to it. It’s good to mix it up as much as you can.

Did your love for Three 6 Mafia ever move toward Insane Clown Posse?
No, [it] didn’t. I remember liking this one song that was on rock radio a long time ago; it was basically a medley of a few songs. It was funny, and I remember being attracted to how vulgar and offensive it was. But it never really got any further than that. Never had that phase.

You mentioned UGK earlier, and some of the others that you’ve mentioned are sort of southern in general. Is it strictly Memphis on the whole? Or just primarily focused there, but also southern rap?
It’s not just Memphis. Even the Houston stuff, like DJ Screw and all of that … I love all of that, too.

Were you ever into any other regions of rap? Like a New York phase or anything?
Oh yeah. When I grew up skateboarding, it was the late '90s. The same time I was getting into punk, there were a lot of skate videos with hip-hop in them. I always loved Hieroglyphics, especially Souls of Mischief. 93 'til Infinity is one of those albums that will always be associated with great memories. It’ll always be something that I return to. Of course, there's always Illmatic, Ready to Die — all of that stuff is obviously classic. My cousin who got me into punk and hardcore showed me a lot of that stuff: 36 Chambers, all of that. I was shown Snapcase and 36 Chambers by the the same person.

Did you ever have a moment with jazzy stuff? Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, all of that?
Yeah, I like that for sure. Definitely, I think that Souls of Mischief LP fits into that, but Midnight Marauders is also important to me.

Switching gears, this cassette comes from your recent tour with Nails, when you played the Middle East in Boston. How did it come about? Why did you feel like it was something you wanted to get out there?
Kurt Ballou was in Boston, and was working with his assistant Robert Cheeseman to record live Nails tracks, so our tracks ended up being the live record. It was mixed and engineered a little after the fact. It was good timing for us because we were deep in tour mode, so we had hit the groove and were killing it. As far as why we put it out, I like having something unique at the merch table. When we go on tour, we usually have something that we can make ourselves and is limited and only available at the gig.

GATECREEPER on TOUR
May 11 — Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live w/ Pallbearer, Pinkish Black
May 12 — Dallas, TX @ Curtain Club w/ Pallbearer, Pinkish Black
May 13 — Austin, TX @ Barracuda w/ Pallbearer, Pinkish Black
May 15 — Phoenix AZ @ The Rebel Lounge w/ Pallbearer, Spirit Adrift
May 16 — San Diego, CA @ Casbah w/ Pallbearer, Venomous Maximus
May 18 — Los Angeles, CA @ The EchoPlex w/ Pallbearer, Venomous Maximus
May 19 — Oakland, CA @ The New Parish w/ Pallbearer, Venomous Maximus
May 20 — Reno, NV @ Jub Jub’s Thirst Parlor w/ Pallbearer, Venomous Maximus
May 22 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge w/ Pallbearer, Venomous Maximus
May 23 — Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater w/ Pallbearer, Venomous Maximus
May 24 — Omaha, NE @ Milk Run
May 25 — Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
May 26 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
May 27 — Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
May 28 — Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
May 29 — Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge
May 30 — Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
May 31 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theater w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
Jun. 1 — Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
Jun. 2 — Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
Jun. 3 — Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus (matinee)
Jun. 3 — West Babylon, NY @ Sinclair's Pub
Jun. 4 — Baltimore, MD @ Sidebar
Jun. 5 — Harrisonburg, VA @ The Golden Pony w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
Jun. 6 — Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
Jun. 7 — St. Louis, MO @ Fubar w/ Pallbearer, Inter Arma
Jun. 9 — Phoenix, AZ @ w/ YAITW
Jun. 10 — Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater (Sound & Fury Fest)
Jun. 11 — Fresno, CA @ The Mark w/ YAITW
Jun. 12 — San Diego, CA @ w/ YAITW