Interview: Tiron (1/12/10)

Tiron made his way out to New York this past weekend for shows in both Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Alongside Ayomari, the Illinois born, Los Angeles bred, emcee performed a few titles from his Ketchup mixtape and previewed one of the lead singles from his upcoming Mustard release.

The Manhattan show drew a bunch of “real hip hop” fans as the night also saw performances from Sene, Spree Wilson, Don Will, and Homeboy Sandman.  Considering that he’s only been to NYC once before, Tiron received a warm welcome from the crowd while performing in full winter gear!

Ketchup was released back in Feburary of 2009, as a way to “catch up” fans of Tiron’s music with a track-list containing both old and new songs.

Despite having not released a project in almost a year, Tiron has done a great job keeping his name relevant.  He was even mentioned in Friday’s LA Times as a West Coast artist to watch in 2010, alongside artists such as Pac Div, Jay Rock, U-N-I, Nipsey Hussle, Freddie Gibbs, and Fashawn.

If you’re unfamiliar with Tiron’s music, check out the video for “Throwing My Money,” where the young emcee deals with wanting accessories he can’t afford.

Here’s footage of Tiron performing “Throwing My Money” live, Saturday night.  That song is a pretty hilarious look at life in your early twenties!

HipHopAtLunch.com met up with Tiron to discuss the West Coast rap scene, his upcoming mixtape, Mustard, and (most importantly) how the food in New York matches up to the other cities he’s visited!

What shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise, looking at the names of his mixtapes (Ketchup & Mustard), Tiron enjoys eating good food when he isn’t making or listening to music.

I’m surprised that he wasn’t able to find good food in New York, but I’ve actually never eaten at Kitchenette, Cafeteria, or 2 Bros Pizza so I’mma have to take his word.  Big shout out to restaurants in Dallas, however, I’m going to have to try the macaroni and cheese next time I’m out in Texas!

Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg was hosting the event on Saturday night, and after hearing Tiron perform, decided to spin both  “Go Ronnie” and “Still Never Happy” on his radio show, “Real Late w/ Peter Rosenberg.” Here was Tiron’s response to hearing he was on Hot 97.

If you watch the live performance of “Go Ronnie,” you can see Peter Rosenberg nodding his head while sitting on the couch in the background:

The moment that beat hit the speakers, a group of fans near the stage started to chant, “Go Ronnie,” and their energy carried through the song as Tiron threw down a few dance moves while having fun on stage.

Another crowd favorite from the night was “Sydney.”

Tiron and Ayomari broke into some impromptu dancing at the end of “Sydney,” a stand out track off Ketchup which takes a hilarious view on being in the “friend zone.”

I love how the hook revisits Biz Markie’s “Just A Friend.”

“You got what I need,
But I don’t need another homie girl,
I got enough friends, got enough friends,
Girl, I got enough friends, got enough friends.
You got what I need,
But I don’t need another homie girl,
I got enough friends, got enough friends,
She got me stuck in the friend’s zone.”

Tiron finished off his set with “For Your Smile,” off the upcoming Mustard project.

I know the ladies in Santos enjoyed being pointed out by Tiron and Ayomari for having great smiles.  Mustard is set to drop in late February, and according to Tiron, the project will have his best work yet.

For more on Tiron, check out our feature article and be sure to visit his blog.  Also keep an eye out for Ayomari’s upcoming The Peanut Butter & Jelly Solution mixtape which should be dropping soon.