Likeblood Exclusive Interview
LikeBlood – MyDailyJoe Exclusive
By Raina Webber
A few months back, platinum recording artist Tech N9ne did an exclusive interview with MyDailyJoe – which happened to be the first exclusive interview for this site.
This month, MyDailyJoe has another exclusive interview from a rising group out of the nation’s capital, named Likeblood. Their single “Money Over Here” is currently playing on MTV Jams and features R&B crooner, Bobby Valentino – aka Bobby V.
MyDailyJoe: What would people be surprised to know about you?
[Mbea Da 1] I collect Asian weapons. My favorite weapon is my nun chucks.
MyDailyJoe: [Laughs] Who has the most overinflated ego in the group?
[Yung E] Mbea
[Dre Strong] Mbea Da 1 takes the cake.
[Mbea Da 1] Nobody (laughs). No, this is not true.
[Dre Strong] I don’t even know why he is trying to fake like he doesn’t think he is the greatest in the world.
MyDailyJoe: What are your current relationship statuses?
[Dre Strong] We’re all single.
MyDailyJoe Other than music, individually, do you have any other passions that you are pursuing or hope to pursue in the future? If you weren’t doing music, what would you be doing?
[Mbea Da 1] If I wasn’t doing music, I would go crazy.
[Dre Strong] I act. I would do the UFC thing. I love to travel, so it would have to be something with travelling or maybe real estate. I want to own a lot of properties all over the world.
[Yung E] Man, I don’t really know what I would be doing. Music is something that kept me from doing a lot of bad things.
MyDailyJoe: What was the conversation like the first time you considered doing music together, and how did that opportunity come about?
[Yung E] We were all friends before we began doing music but we were also all into music. There were a lot of conversations that happened that led to us doing this. So it wasn’t really just one conversation.
[Dre Strong] It felt more natural because we all loved music and we were all artists already, in middle school, so it just fell into place.
MyDailyJoe: Do you ever have vastly different opinions on what sounds good in the studio and what doesn’t? How do you settle those disagreements?
[Dre Strong] Of course, and majority rules.
MyDailyJoe: Tell us more about this unique approach of music you’re continuing to brand in the D.C. area, one of America’s top urban markets…
[Dre Strong] One of the great things about Likeblood is that we are three completely different types of artists. Usually people come together in a group because they like the same things and they are moving in a similar direction musically. But with us, it wasn’t like that. When you bring three different styles together, it’s going to be a different sound. And then, even just being three totally different dudes from D.C., you are getting variety in terms of the mindset of a D.C. dude.
MyDailyJoe: Do you ever incorporate elements of go-go into your music?
[Mbea Da 1] Definitely. Our last single, “Red Carpet,” was produced by Best Kept Secret, and it has a lot of Go-go influence in the track. A lot of percussion.
[Dre Strong] Also, the movie we did, “Jazz in the Diamond District,” where a few of our original songs were turned into Go-go songs. So there is Go-go in the vault.
MyDailyJoe: What do you think about the people before you who have made a name for themselves coming out of the metropolitan area?
[Dre Strong] I think everything helps. It’s not going to take just one artist or group to break DC. It has to be a wave of artists. So for everyone moving towards the common goal of putting DC on, they only help.
MyDailyJoe: What is your specific background?
[Yung E] I’m African American.
MyDailyJoe: What would people be surprised to know about you?
[Yung E] I can draw. I went to Duke Ellington for Visual Art.
MyDailyJoe: What is your specific background?
[Dre Strong] I’m Haitian American. My Pops is from D.C. and my Mom is from Haiti.
MyDailyJoe: What would people be surprised to know about you?
[Dre Strong] If it wasn’t for my love of music and acting, I would probably be a UFC fighter.
MyDailyJoe: What is your specific background?
[Mbea Da 1] My background is that my father is African, from Cameroon, and my mother is from D.C.; I lived in D.C. all my life, mostly in NE and SE.
MyDailyJoe: Switching gears, individually, are there any stories of struggle or abuse that you’ve had to overcome from your past?
[Mbea Da 1] Yes, the prison system. The prison system is designed to keep you in prison mentally and physically. When it’s mental, you have the key. When it’s physical, you have nothing.
[Dre Strong] Yea, definitely. You can’t live life without struggles. Everybody has been held back and told they weren’t going to make it. Just at different times. It could be in prison, school, home, at work. We’ve all had to take shitty jobs and there were times when it seemed impossible to make it. However, we are relentless.
MyDailyJoe: Mbea Da I, in the past couple of years, you were released from incarceration. How have you grown from your experience behind bars? What would you say to the people also facing time at this moment?
I have grown to know that everything is possible as long as you have God on your side and a clear head on your shoulders. Before I got locked up, I didn’t know that. I took shortcuts. Sold drugs. Became addicted to selling drugs. Some addictions are bad and some are good. Now, I’m addicted to recording music. You have to addict yourself to something positive.
MyDailyJoe: How did Mbea Da I’s incarcerating affect the group?
[Dre Strong] We are the original members of the group and there was a lot that happened between the initial time we got together and now. Life made us all separate. But that friendship and that bond brought it back. E was in Chicago, I was in New York, and Mbea was home. Then when Mbea went in, E and I ended up back in DC and we just started going at the music hard. It was like Mbea didn’t go anywhere, he was just on timeout. So we just figured, let’s make it right while he’s gone.
