Magu the Dog has had an incredible run so far. After releasing two albums, 'Honey' and 'Soup Sunday', we are on the edge of our seat waiting for what else they have in store for us. Read our conversation with Magu below and what they have to offer to the Massachusetts rap scene.
Boston Culture: Where did you from/ grow up? How was that like?
Magu the Dog: I grew up on cape cod and commuted every day to school in Dorchester. Cape Cod is a weird place to live full time. my town would lose 2/3 of its population outside of summer. Definitely forces you to be creative to stay busy when everything just shuts down for most of the year.
I grew up as an only child with my mom. My dad was pretty out of the picture but I have a great relationship with my mom.
Boston Culture: How did you get your name?
Magu the Dog: Magu was actually my dog when I was growing up. She was a shiba inu/chow chow mix and she was born 2 months before me. My mom was out of the house a lot working all the time so she was my best friend and she kinda raised me in a weird way. She saved my life twice, once by protecting me from being eaten by a boatyard doberman. I didn't even know she was walking with me she came flying out of the woods and put herself between me and the charging dog. I decided I was going to pay homage to her by using her name to make my art.
Boston Culture: Talk to us about "honey” from its inception stages to the creative process.
Magu the Dog: Honey was created during a really painful time in my life. I had just gone through a tough break up and was really depressed. I used to go over my friends house and just sit in the corner and make beats while he drew and tattooed. The name comes from the lingering sweet taste you have from honey even after it's gone. Releasing music in project form like this is extremely cathartic for me. I get to process whatever I'm feeling in that period of time and then 'release' it. The beats are soft and vibey, the vocal samples tell their own story. It's the longest project I've ever worked on. Glad it's out there!
'Honey' Now Available on Spotify and Apple Music.
Boston Culture: What was the best advice you got early in your career?
Magu the Dog: It's not necessarily advice but I think there was a bsd.u tweet like 7 years ago that said like stop searching for samples in music and just like enjoy listening to stuff. It seems silly but I see people just grinding it all the time and stripping the songs of their feeling and merit because it's not in their aesthetic or whatever. As soon as I started to consciously keep that in mind my beats got 1000 times better and I enjoyed making them way more.
Boston Culture: What do you dislike about the art world/music industry?
Magu the Dog: Mostly just the pay for play stuff and that sort of capitalist bullshit that worms its way into everything.
Boston Culture: Who or what are some of your biggest influences?
Magu the Dog: of course Dilla and DOOM - Nujabes and Alchemist had a huge affect on my trajectory when I first started making beats, Damu the Fudgemunk was the reason I got the MPC 2000 initially. Knxwledge and Wun Two definitely influence my sound lately.
Boston Culture: Talks to us about your younger mentality and what allowed you to stay focused on your goals.
Magu the Dog: I was putting out an album like every 4 months when i first started making beats mostly because of my community. I was living out in Hawaii and was in a group of other rappers and producers and we were all synced up so hard. Even on days I felt like just doing nothing and laying around, the boys would pull up to my house and we would just start working on stuff. Music is so much more fun and so much easier when you do it with other people.
Boston Culture: What do you think of the music scene in MA? Are there any other Boston producers or artists you'd potentially like to work with for the next project?
Magu the Dog: It's been a minute since I was in MA but it's cool that the scene seems to be still popping off. I've worked with him already, but Jonathan Cloud is one of the most talented producers out there and I look forward to working with him again. Cooper Handy is a longtime friend and under his moniker 'lucy' creates some of the wildest and most interesting music out of Massachusetts I think ever. always look forward to collaborating with him.
Boston Culture: Tell us about your goals for 2021. Both personal and business. Any future projects?
Magu the Dog: I feel stoked for this year honestly. I feel way more clear mentally and physically healthier. I'm moving to Philly in April to work with some folks out there. I'm like 2 beats shy of this next project, 'soup sunday' and I love the beats on it. They are louder and faster and they feel like a celebration of life. 'soup sunday' has been a tradition I've been doing for over a year now - I make a huge pot of soup for all the homies and really anyone who is hungry, sometimes we do drops at encampments through the city. I started doing it to stave off the winter blues and working on this album has accomplished that for me as well. I'm working on releasing it on vinyl - super stoked.
'Soup Sunday' Now Available on Spotify and Apple Music.
Boston Culture: What brands should sponsor you?
Magu the Dog: Honestly if we could get that PBR sponsorship we would be killing it. Malort too. trying to get that Beenshill sponsorship too but we'll see how it goes.
Boston Culture: How did you get the attention of SPACECASA?
Magu the Dog: We created SPACECASA records in 2013 - me, Auggie Rose and PZA put it together to help everyone get their music on streaming platforms and move away from just being stuck on Soundcloud. SPACECASA has been a lot of fun and a lot of work. PZA learning how to screen print and then teaching us was a huge milestone for us too. We started doing SPACECASA collab albums too - we put out Cassachusetts vol 1 this year! It showcases 8 different beat makers from Massachusetts - all with unique sounds and styles. it's out on all streaming platforms under 'SPACECASA'.
Boston Culture: Anything else we missed you want to tell your fans?
Magu the Dog: This is gonna be a big year. Thank you to everyone for the love so far. Get ready for 'soup sunday' and call your moms more frequently <3
We appreciate the opportunity to have been able to speak to Magu. They provided us insight on their music career and how they plan to make it even bigger in the future. Congratulations to Magu for making it as far as they have, we look forward to what else they have coming up.
Listen to their albums, 'Honey' and 'Soup Sunday', Out now.
Apple Music
Honey
Soup Sunday
Spotify
Honey
Soup Sunday
Follow Magu the Dog on their socials:
Instagram: @maguthedog
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