HS: Let’s start with the single, “Famous Girl.” What’s the back story there, and how does it serve to introduce a wider audience to your sound?
CR: Famous Girl is a song made from dreams of eventual success and the perks that come with it. We were thinking of an actual "Famous Girl" when we made the song and used that mental imagery as a canvas. The sound is simple yet complex with simple lyrics yet deep meaning. We chose this song to introduce our sound because we figured the audience would appreciate the melodies and chord changes. The song is a big sound that everyone gets right away and we are thankful for that.
HS: The song has also spawned a collaborative effort with Hellz Bellz. How did that come about?
CR: The Hellz Bellz collab was an effort discussed by our team to introduce our merchandise to the world in a clever and professional way. Hellz Bellz has designed the official shirts for the Famous Girl theme and will aid in the marketing of the product. Michelle from Hellz Bellz was with the project as soon as we presented it, so it made our jobs easier.
HS: There’s obviously a clear fashion connection with your music. You’ve been featured on BBC’s website and been called Pharrell’s favorite group. How important is the fashion world to you? Not just in terms of interest in garments, but in marketing and promoting your product?
CR: Fashion is very important in our image, our branding and our whole aesthetic. The name Christian Rich is really Christian Dior with Dior replaced with Rich. We know how much people love trend setting items so we work hard to set our music in that same tone. As we brand ourselves with great clothing brands people instantly understand our image as a brand and how we want to be perceived. I usually associate an artist with fashion. For example you got your Ed Hardy artist, then you got your Louis Vuitton spotting artist, then you got us Bathing Ape/ Levi/ Gstar/ Helmut Lang type. The point is you describe an artist's sound based on what they wear. So we use this knowledge to market the product to our audience.
HS: Hip-hop and electro are two of the genres (broadly speaking) fused in the music. Chicago’s known for both, but I don’t know much about how the worlds collide, or even if they do. Tell me a little about the music of your home town and how it has influenced you?
CR: Chicago is more known for our House Music called Juke music. That and a few new Hip Hop artist out of Chicago are helping to shape the sound. Juke music influenced us the most. The uptempo part of it and the 808s are very prevalent in our music. I remember growing up watching people dance to the music and thinking 'damn i need to make a beat with that effect'. In Chicago Juke music is also called Traks, so when some Traks would come on everyone would start footworking or juking. That mental image alone helps us create high energy songs to remember.
HS: A few years ago I was talking to a former record executive and he kept coming back to Chicago as the next hot bed of talent. You’ve produced for Lupe and GLC, so your in there. What about the city right now is prompting the export of a Chicago sound or attitude?
CR: I mean we all have been doing this for a while, its really now that our hustles is matching with everyone else's honestly. You can ask Kanye, Common or Lupe and they will all tell you we have always had this sound just had to find a smart way to get it out to the people. Now that the chance is here we just dig in our stash box and throw you hits.
