Access All Areas w/ Evidence

Access All Areas w/ Evidence

The saga continues... In this edition of Access All Areas, we sit down with Evidence to explore his concept of "unlearning," the making of his new album Unlearning Vol. 2, and the many ways he showcases his skills as a creative.

Let’s get into it.

RSE: You’ve said before that “unlearning” is about reinventing without necessarily changing your sound. On Unlearning Vol. 2, was there a particular area in production where you really applied that idea?

EV: The recording process involves getting the gear tuned up so that if I make a demo, I can keep it. On Unlearning Vol. 1, I did a lot of it using a cheap mic and decided to keep some of the takes, much like a demo that you would have before a record deal back in the day. This time, the same thing, but now a demo was captured a little better through the equipment, so it can sound like an evolution from the last one, some progression without changing the music per se.

RSE: You’re known for your work as an emcee, producer, and also in videography, cinematography, and photography. How do you balance creating in all these mediums, do you stick to a routine, or work purely off feel?

EV: Art isn’t a narrow thing to me. Many rappers can draw, or photographers can play the drums, so exploring those things is fun for me. Photos or making photos move like a video are super important to me. Music being enhanced by visuals has always been powerful. So if I can have a minute to flex doing visuals for myself or others, that’s amazing. Rapping and producing rap music are my main things and will always be number one. I love music engineering, mixing, and mastering as well. Sound is everything.

"...I was out of the way without people paying attention and making something true to myself. I think this is the closest I've been to my music sounding like what it would sound like if we were having a conversation in person."

RSE: You recently dropped a video for “Stay Alive” with Blu. How would you describe your creative relationship?

EV: I’ve been public about how Blu is one that highly inspires me and is one of my favorites. I had the opportunity to produce “Los Angeles,” a full-length LP for Blu recently, which is a production highlight for me in my career. He was super excited that I got him on a Conductor Williams beat for this album. I think we did something that feels natural and true to the session that day.

RSE: “Different Phases,” produced by Beat Butcha & Coop The Truth, has more of a live band feel with multiple changes within your verse. How did that track come together? Did you have to adjust your writing approach compared to typical loop-based production?

EV: That beat was submitted for Unlearning Vol. 1. It was just the first part of the beat. Then I went back to the folder he sent years later and realized there was also a similar beat in there, so I combined them and sent it to him to check out, and he fucked with it. This is a good example of holding on to good ideas until you can figure out if they keep your interest over time.

RSE: When people press play on this album, what’s the one thing you hope they take away from it?

EV: That I was out of the way without people paying attention and making something true to myself. I think this is the closest i’ve been to my music sounding like what it would sound like if we were having a conversation in person.

Evidence's new album Unlearning Vol. 2 is out now on all streaming platforms and available on vinyl and CD, along with a full merch and apparel collection.