Back on April 1st I conducted an interview with all four members of the Bay Area based music group Yung Men who left me with a lot of insight and more love then any girl I’ve ever simped over. The brains to even help set this up was Cornelius (@cornelius_quatroquatro) who had contacted me to see if we could do this, I was more down then Monica Lewinsky. So without further a due, this was a interview with Yung Men.
Anthony – Tell me what are your names?
Cornelius – Cornelius! – Yung Men artist/producer all the way from San Jose, California
Yung Ram – Yung Ram – Yung Men artist/jazz musician from Sacramento the capitol
FOOT – FOOT rapper/producer from Santa Clarita.
Gurg – I’m Gurg, I’m from Castaic, Santa Clarita.
Anthony – So tell me how did y’all meet?
Yung Ram – Ok first off haha, Cornelius, FOOT and I met way back when in 2016 during our first semester of college at CSUN. We started out just making beats and freestyling but eventually got way more serious and started to make a lot of moves. A couple of mics, raunchy “managers”, and house shows later and we got to a point where we could actually collaborate and create really fulfilling content. A couple of years later in 2018 we added our newest member of the group Gurg and since then we’ve been recording tunes and shooting music videos to satisfy our fan base.
Anthony – Hahah, so tell me what was the first song y’all did as a group?
Yung Ram – Bruh, first one we put out or made because there’s a difference haha.
Cornelius – You remember the first one we made? It was an old school LA West Coast ass beat I made and then Jacob (FOOT) started saying stuff over it and eventually you did too (Ram) and I remember being super hyped about that track.
Yung Ram – I was spitting bullshit, just rhyming words hahaha. Yea man it was hella random we just popped up and myles (Cornelius) was like “rap.”
FOOT – Hahaha fr we was just freestyling whatever then transitioned to actual concept.
Yung Ram – Jacob tell em about the first song that was put out tho
Anthony – Lol, seems like it was mainly a freestyle session.
FOOT – But then Money came. That was my baby and we was gettin hoopla from everyone so i made the EP. During that time tho we had made Yung Trap because we had another member at the time named Yung Aadon i think lol.
Yung Ram – We had a lot of SoundCloud bangers.
FOOT – But Aadonis chose other means of being a balla so it was cool but he’s on one of the songs we had made on our group tape, we all had singles on SoundCloud before the group tape
Anthony – Nice, so y’all have individual works then eventually a group project was born from y’all.\
Cornelius – Yessir.
Anthony – What about the name Yung Men, where was the idea or story behind that?
Cornelius – I had put a beat tape out too; Kilan (Ram) you tell this story well.
FOOT – Aight so me and Kilan (Ram) was out with the homegirls I believe on a roof we used to kick it on and Myles (Cornelius) was in the STU and he had called me cus we had been thinking about a name all day and gave awful suggestions, then Myles (Cornelius) called and was like what y’all think about “Yung Men” and I went crazy and everyone was like what?? And I told Kilan (Ram) the name. “Nigga.. Yung Men.” And we was like yee that’s it
Yung Ram – YEA NO! You joggled my brain cuz then we ran back to the STU and started going off about it right there in that little ass room we used to make all ours songs at lmao
Anthony – Haha, so the Yung Men was born on a rooftop, future stars gazing at stars.
Yung Ram – All the while let me tell you we literally birthed our fan base and following at the CSUN dorms and spread throughout the valley and California in the span of some years here at CSUN. So on those boring days with nothing to do we would literally walk in the booth at like 12:00PM then leave at like 9:00PM and it would be dark outside
Cornelius – I mean I wouldn’t say it was because we had nothing to do. That was what we wanted to do because for the love of creating
Gurg – I mean I wasn’t with you guys at the time but that’s currently what I feel from when we make music. We just have such a passion for creation and I think you can really feel that within our works. Whatever it is, our videos our songs, our lil skits, just banter.
Anthony – I can tell just by the creativity in Energy that y’all got passion.
Cornelius – Yeah man. I think about us every day. All day and night, dreaming about the future. Knowing in my mind that we can do it.
Anthony – Tell me what was the process of making the music video for “Energy”?
FOOT – It was cool man it was a lot of creative input going into where I want it to be clones so that’s what that aspect of it came out of and shout out to Evatt and Jonathan because they’re really the weather how would you say the pioneers of any movement that’s just amazing cinematography anything and him and the whole video is inspired by by a toe fungus.
Anthony – I can’t lie that video had me just amazed by you especially Foot, the creativity was none other then what I am seeing outta brothers like Mel Nickson or Simon Vertugo.
Cornelius – Jacob really killed that.
FOOT – Simon da boi.
Cornelius – That’s why I love Jacob (FOOT) so much, he’s not afraid to put himself out there and he actually takes initiative to make moves and put his art out into the world.
Anthony – Tell me Cornelius about your part at the end of the track some more.
Cornelius – Ok yeah so that’s actually a cover of a song called “No Show” by Toro Y Moi. I just took one part of the song and repeated it over and over again and then made my own beat to it. I got a synth module called the Roland JU-06 over summer so I just made a ton of stuff using that synth and I still do. That was probably my favorite thing that I made with that synth. But the way it ended up on Jacob’s album and the video was that Jacob asked me to make something for his short film I think and then I made it in about 5 minutes and FaceTimed FOOT and he was like “BRO LEMME JUST PUT IT ON MY ALBUM.”
Yung Ram – That shit slaps hella.
Cornelius – Thank you. Also that green buggy in the video was super clutch, we knocked on the door of that house and asked the owner if we could use his buggy and it worked out hahahah.
Anthony – Nice nice, so what are the plans for music, is there more solo work or a group album at all on the way for fans to expect?
Gurg – We are working on connecting with our fans on a more personal level, so we are going to give them something every month for sure. We also have A TV show on the way, with full fledged animation, voice acting, the whole works. We are starting to expand our horizons from beyond just music, but we want to still in operate our music within our other ventures.
Anthony – So on some Tyler the Creator shit ha. Speaking of Tyler, tell me each some of your personal inspirations as a people rather then just as a musician.
Yung Ram – I’m inspired by a lot of Pokemon trainers and Naruto Uzumaki, the whole personal journey and finding yourself while reaching for the top. Makes a man think what he can do.
Cornelius – Yeah bro I was gonna say I think I’m on the same journey as a Pokemon trainer. I’m even influenced by the way they dress. Also Tyler the Creator is my biggest influence
FOOT – I’m influenced by fads, movies (Quinton Tarantino), and superheroes.
Gurg – Currently I’m really inspired by Elon Musk, and this dude that runs the Futur YouTube channel
Anthony – Who’s the artist y’all personally hope to work with at some point in your musical venture?
Cornelius – Tori Y Moi and Flying Lotus, those are my dream collabs.
Gurg – Artist huh, damn, I feel like Denzel Curry is a big on, I would’ve loved to work with XXXTENTACION, I miss homie every day ngl.
FOOT – Mick Jenkins.
Yung Ram – E-40, not necessarily rap with (but that would be dope) but work with. Also jazz at Lincoln center orchestra, Me and Myles (Cornelius) recently went to New York and we got a chance to play jazz at Lincoln center in Manhattan. Sorta like a dream come true if you must.
Anthony – Really, tell me about ya trip to NY some more. Also E-40 is a great business man to work with.
Yung Ram – CSUN Jazz “A” Band got formally invited by Wynton Marsalis to compete in the inaugural Jack Rudin Jazz Championship Competition. Literally the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life, a fully paid week in New York with a per diem of $350 and just a whole lotta fun. Met a lot of people and a lot of my heroes were all in the same spot bro.
Anthony – That’s dope. I’ve been to NY, loud city but a experience.
Yung Ram – Your hella right, really enclosed city like I would look up at night and not the see the top of buildings until day time. That city never sleeps frfr, but yea it was dope and def some eye opening shit happened there.
Anthony – If you could give your music to a artist who passed who would it be?
Cornelius – Mac Miller.
Yung Ram – Yeah, Mac Miller definitely, maybe Michael Jackson just cuz I want bro to hear our shit.
Gurg – Haha shit there’s way to many dead people I wanna give it to, honestly I wish niggas like Plato And them early ass niggas could hear our music and see their reaction.
FOOT – Pop Smoke and Jackson Pollock
Cornelius – Also Tupac.
Gurg– Tupac forsure tho.
Yung Ram – Aristotle.
Anthony – What’s a funny story y’all got, any crazy shit ever happen?
Yung Ram – Bruh tell em bout the beach house show.
Cornelius – Ok there was a show we did in 2016 at da homie’s house called “The Beach House” and it’s not an actual beach house just a house with a venue in the garage and it was super cool we had it packed out and super good show everyone was turnin tf up blah blah blah. And the whole time there was this super Sus dude there who happened to be the brother of someone else we knew and I guess they were arguing a lot the whole time and he was being super weird and stuff so they ended up leaving and little did we know this man was getting coked out of his mind the whole time so his anger issues/dumb nigga synthesis meter was off the charts so he comes back to the house with two sharp ass sticks in his hand talking bout “Where’s my sister” and I was like “bro she left” so he walks away and it was just like wtf but then I walked back into the house to pee and right as I come back out I see this dude walk into the backyard with two sharp ass sticks and people were smoking and chilling there so I ran over there and was about to beat this niggas ass but some other homies that were back there already started to scare him away. Then everyone was just like GET TF OUT and about to beat his ass so he fled, so luckily no one got hurt but basically we almost had to jump a crazy crackhead.
Anthony – Lol shit, wild. Crazy crackhead, shoulda tried to convert him into a hypeman lol.
Yung Ram – Bro we was zooted, past conversion. Man’s became a eggplant.
Anthony – Lol all bad all bad. I won’t keep y’all for too long, final 2 questions. First one, where are y’all hoping to be in 5 years as artist?
Cornelius – I want a huge cult following die hard fan base and I want to play Camp Flog Gnaw.
Anthony – I’ve heard that Flog Gnaw from the homie Simon too, I’d love to see y’all there.
Yung Ram – I wanna have my education under my belt and living as a successful musician and educator all while making music with the ones I love. Deadass my dream, you know how raw it would be! To teach at a school and then that night travel to a show I’m headlining at with these mfs?? Like I live for that life so I’ma keep grindin till its real.
Gurg – I’d like to somehow have our music create that cult following, but an aware cult following where we actually have control over our government systems and have us spread that ideology around the world.
Cornelius – Exaclty, we wanna own all of our shit, labels are gonna come to us asking what WE want.
Yung Ram – Yessir.
FOOT – I want Greenhouse or FOOT Productions to win an Oscar.
Anthony – I appreciate y’all’s answer’s, any final words?
Cornelius – Ya thanks for interviewing and fucking with our content we just wanna make people happy with our music and represent people like us in the music industry that barely exist on the higher level. We’re gonna keep working everyday to get there and then even once we get there we’re gonna still keep going.
Gurg – I don’t think I can say what he said any better!
Yung Ram – Yea man appreciate the support and your following dude love your content too, thanks homie.
Gurg – Thank you for interviewing us.
Yung Ram – Gotta hang when all this shit is over with man.
FOOT – Peace be with you hippie.
Gurg – Soon we will interview you hehe.
Anthony – Lol I appreciate you guys truly.
Those were some interesting cats man, Yung Men definitely leaves you with a good reason to remember them. I truly have love for all my brothers and sisters in the underground who wanna make their name for one reason or another, these men are so talented that I only hope this post is just a small start to the real recognition they deserve for their hard work. But I am The Musical Hippie and this was my interview with Yung Men.
The Musical Hippie 