California’s Hip Hop scene has long been one of unity. From the Westside Connection and Freestyle Fellowship to the Hieroglyphics crew and Odd Future. Now, two members from veteran groups are joining forces to form a new duo. Zion I’s AmpLive and Eligh of the Living Legends are uniting to create “Therapy at 3,” something new out of the Bay to L.A. connection. Recently, Eligh and AmpLive spoke with HipHopDX about the formation of the duo, what fans can expect from their collaborative project and what it was like to unite.
Talks about the project began, as Eligh explained, soon after his Grey Crow album dropped last year. What began as a plan to create an EP quickly turned into a full length.
“We actually talked about making an instrumental album together a while back, so when Amp called me asking if I was ready to work, I was like, let’s do this! Then as the conversation progressed, I realized he wanted to make an album with me, where he produced the whole thing, and I rapped. Then I got even more excited. At that point, my album “Grey Crow” had been out a couple months, and I hadn’t even considered starting a new album. We actually talked about making an EP, but as we began making songs, it became apparent that a full album was where we were headed,” Eligh told us.
“Yeah, we’ve been talking about it for awhile, but both of our schedules had been so hectic,” Amp added. “Finally, I had a space where I could commit to completing the project with Eligh.”
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The album then became therapeutic for Eligh, something he says will resemble a therapy session, as the title suggests.
“I would describe it literally as a therapy session,” Eligh said of what fans can expect from the disc. “This was a very free-form, spill-whatever-is-on-my-mind writing experience, no planning, no real structure or rules. I always strive to do more than just make some cool songs, so this album is a therapy session for me, and hopefully for all who listen as well.”
Aside from that, Amp explained to us that the production of the new disc may surprise some fans. While he says some of the “songs don’t even have drums,” he also added that it’s, “crazy, crazy, and crazy…I love it!”
As the group now works on putting this album out, Eligh and Amp said this experience was one where they were able to appreciate the other’s talents.
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“How fast this dude writes,” Amp said of Eligh when asked what has been his favorite part of this project. “The subject matter that he talks about has been tight.”
Eligh also explained that the two worked in sync.
“I would say my favorite part of working on this project would be sitting in the studio with Amp, hearing a track for the first time, and instantly starting to write. His production is so sick to me, and I’m a beat snob! Ive always produced the majority of all my music, so to have someone as talented as Amp handle all the production, I got to focus on writing even more than usual. We knew each other before this album, but we had never sat down in a room and collaborated together. I was a little nervous at first, not knowing if we would see eye to eye creatively, but that fear quickly left when I realized how in sync we really were. This album is special, and I cant wait for people to hear it.”
While no guests or release dates have been officially announced, Therapy at 3 is scheduled to drop in the fall of 2011.
