A$AP Ant & Young Shaka Interview with Vice

When you say “Baltimore” in front of white people, they immediately think of the Wire—which is great to torrent and watch on your computer in eight hour sessions, but would be kind of scary to actually live through. But the truth is, real life in B-more might actually be gully-er than fiction, and MCs A$AP Ant and Young Shaka have lived it. The two hip hop diplomats of that infamous city are using their music to paint a picture that shows both the dark and the beautiful sides of the town known for its high murder rates and killer blue crab cuisine.

A$AP Ant is the only member of the Harlem-based A$AP Mob who’s not actually from NYC. He and Young Shaka have been close since middle school, hustling drugs before they moved on to hustling music. We first heard from the duo back in June when they dropped their first single, “Summer Nights,” off their yet-to-be released collaborative mixtape. Now they’re back again with a music video for the summer anthem, “On Sight.” This time around Ant has stepped off the mic and put himself in the director’s chair, while Young Shaka has taken center stage as the sole MC on the track.

We got on the phone with Ant and Young Shaka to discuss their forthcoming mixtape, ghetto life in B-more, and what exaclty “on sight” means.