iHipHop Exclusive Interview: The Dean’s List Talks Importance Of Live Shows, New Music Ventures, Gives Advice To Fans

12 years ago view-show 792,396

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Started in Boston, The Dean’s List has been making a name for themselves, touring heavily across the United States for the last two years. We recently had the chance to sit down with Sonny, Mik, and Mendoza to discuss their rigorous touring schedule and their unique and ever-changing sound.

 

iHipHop: You guys recently did a show at Santos Party House. How was it performing in New York especially alongside Jesse Marco and K Flay?

Mik: NY is a great place. Whenever we come through, our fans here always show us a lot of support.

Mendoza: Yeah it’s always fun to do a show in NY. This time around is especially great because we were able to interact with a lot of the people who had helped us put together Generation X.

 

iHipHop: You’ve been touring a lot these last few years. Along the way have you linked up with any big artists? Have you met any crazy, interesting people on tour? 

Mendoza: We worked with OnCue when we toured for The Drive-In. Altogether, we’ve done a lot of college shows. We’ve opened up for Wiz Khalifa and we recently did a show with B.o.B.. They’re a bunch of artists that we have a lot of respect for.

Sonny: The NY show was our first time working with Jesse Marco. It was a dope show so I hope we can do stuff with them in the future. We’ve met a lot of crazy people being on tour too. We recently did a show with Wale in Connecticut and we got to meet Fatman Scoop which was mad random but definitely cool.

 

iHipHop: What makes a great live show in your opinion?

Mik: Great preparation and great musicians.

Sonny: A mix of the energy and chemistry on stage. It’s really about how you interact with the fans.

Mendoza: Overall, we’re also really good friends so we have a lot of fun on stage together.

 

iHipHop: Would you say that you guys have developed a certain aesthetic, image, or sound over the years?

Mendoza: The branding is definitely getting there. Things are moving very quickly for us and we’re really pushing forward with a lot of content, from new music to videos and even clothing through our merch store.

Sonny: Our sound as a whole has really matured over the years. We’ve improved on a lot of things. We’ve been lucky enough to build a big fan base through the years and their loyalty is one of the big reasons why our last album did so well.

Mik: Our sound has developed into not having a sound. We’re so diverse in what we do.

 

iHipHop: Booking company NUE Agency recently launched Avenue Music Partnerships (AMP) with you guys as their flagship artists. AMP was designed to help distribute and promote artists through brand partnerships that are on the cusp of breaking through in the music industry. How was it working with them?

Mendoza: With this release, we wanted to keep things very independent but also keep it independent in a way where we could branch out and reach people who keep their businesses independent as well. AMP has helped us work with a lot of up-and-coming as well as some established brands like Spotify and Red Bull. We’ve built a big relationship with their fan bases too. It was great working with them and we’re definitely very happy with this latest release.

 

iHipHop: Is there anything you want to say to your fans that you haven’t said before?

Sonny: You should never expect us to do the same thing over and over again. The Drive-In was the Drive-In, Generation X was Generation X and who knows what we’ll do next. We hope that our fans can grow with us and support our music because it’ll always be changing. It’s who we are and it’s who you are. People don’t listen to the same thing all the time. That’s just the type of music that we do. That’s what “Fuck It I’m Young” is about. That’s the motto.

Mik: I would tell my fans to “be you” because that’s what we do with our music. We stay true to ourselves. Don’t let anyone tell you what to do.

Mendoza: A lot of people advise us to stay levelheaded and to avoid going mainstream. By doing that you’re destroying everything you’ve worked for and as Mik said, we like to stay true to ourselves and make the music we want to make.

 

iHipHop: What does the future hold you guys?

Sonny: We have a lot of shows coming up but music videos are a big focus for us right now. We want to try and put out a video for every song on Generation X. It should be awesome.

 

BONUS: The Dean’s List “Ce Soir” (Video)