The Gump’s very own Kalaso is a Hip-Hop group, that has been through the fire and back, but still continues to be innovators in fashion and hip-hop, giving the term “Young-ins in charge” a whole new outlook. They recently set down with me and gave their intake on the good, the bad, and the fresh side of Hip-Hop in the Gump.
T. Scott: How long have you guys been rapping individually and as a group?
LZ: Nine years together and I’ve been rapping since eleven.
Hobo: I’m not going to lie, I’ve been rapping since the first time we met and he told me he rapped, we were in a heavy competition between each other so he told me he could do something, so I felt like I could do it too.(laughs)
T. Scott: How did you come up with the group and the name?
Hobo: Kalaso was more than two members, it actually started with three. It was Hersh (swag man) and us two. We started off with Khao back in the day as management. We was together for three years than we added Twist.
LZ: We came up with the name from the very first verse we ever wrote. We were a group before we had a name and someone said it in their verse about Kalaso, being big and we were like that’s the name, we all liked it. We were little guys on the label, the smallest boys, so we needed a name that made us bigger than life.
Hobo: Yeah. No body took us serious , we use to have to get all the lame tracks.
T. Scott: How did the group break up and become only 2 members?
LZ: Well it was never a group problem between us four, it was a problem with management. They had a personal problem with management so they left, but all four of us still talk to this day.
T. Scott: What makes the present combination of just the two of you work?
Hobo: A understanding and we share a love for real music.
LZ: In the beginning the whole kalaso thing started out wit me and B from the jump.
Hobo: It started out with us and it went back to just us.
T. Scott: How have you grown since the early days?
LZ: I think you grow as a person anyway and you are going to add to that as an artist.
Hobo: Real life issues, we struggle together. Anything that we have done we have done together and everything wasn’t just music that’s my homie, I’m no homo but that’s blood.
T. Scott: What inspires you to do what you do?
LZ: I’m not going to lie it was TV, when I was younger seeing Nas and other artist doing their thing.
Hobo: We took it as broadening our horizons by seeing these artist on TV, I can’t go to New York, or L.A, or Detroit but when I see Rap City and see these different styles of people and what they are doing, I bring it hear and give it to my people to show how they do it, but as well as how we do our own thing down here.

T. Scott: With that being said how do you feel about the state of Gump music?
Hobo: I can’t speak on no other artist but Kalaso and we coming. I don’t have a problem with none of the artist because I love our music(Montgomery). I feel like in the game right now we have great and strong artist, that is way better than the artist that is being played on the radio. But with that in mind I wish them all well but we doing Kalaso and DFC but they need to holla.
LZ: I got my selected choice of who I like, I like where they at with it, like Dirty Boys Twist, Jungle. Everybody doing music, everybody I love is doing fire music. There’s some stuff from artist I can’t get wit, but the only thing I don’t’ like is no body is listening to us, nobody has a way out, everybody just doing music and no body making no moves I’m not saying that nobody is trying to make moves but nobody haven’t did it yet, so the state of that is still slow.
T. Scott: As artist how can you fix that?
LZ: Go out and do ya thing, like now we messing with Slip N Slide we go out, we did not get that, just sitting in the Gump. We mess wit heavy people like Greg Gates. We get out and go to different place like Atlanta, South Carolina, Miami, Mississippi and network. We holla at the people from different places because they don’t go here so we go to them.
T. Scott: That’s what’s up , so you mention Slip- N- Slide what’s good with that?
LZ: It’s a situation where we ran into an A&R that heard our mix tape, they loved it, they got this thing call on the grind where they take your product and they push it and if the streets love it they put you on. It’s the same way that Piles got put on. It’s a gang of us to see who gets the most votes and right now we killing it so hopefully it go down and if it doesn’t they still promoting our music.
T. Scott: So you guys have Dead Fresh Customs where you guys do tats and clothing how do you feel about the State of fashion in the Gump?
Hobo: I do what I do for me, I do it because I love it. I like to be fresh that’s the name of our label that’s what we represent. (deadfreshcustoms) but at the same time I’m so disappointed at the individuality in Montgomery. Everybody’s on fads, they followers I’m not going to say everybody, but there is a lot of followers out there. I’m so sick of seeing the white tee’s, the fake Girbauds (the fabos) . A lot of people need to find themselves and really do what they want to do, I feel like I do what I want to do. I’m inspired by other people and I do by own thing without taking it in running with it. I guarantee you that you will see my own personal style through my shoes, my shirts, hair cuts, or tattoos. So holla if you trying to upgrade.
T. Scott: Ok. So what up incoming events are you guys working on?
LZ: We got The Come Up album in progress like literally. I don’t know what date yet because we are working on it now. The Come Up is like a mixtape compilation, album, I know that sounds crazy . But White Boy who’s affiliated with DFC, it’s his album but I call it a compilation because we all on it , and I call it a mixtape because we putting it out like mixtape style everything on there is original. We got other producers and production besides myself like Classic from b camp, lil drew. We also got appearances from Burn One, Twist, Big Youshi, Dirty, and Jungle.
Hobo: We got the Kalaso album coming after The Come Up. It’s called the Freshman album . And we working on our DVD, we also got some shows outside of the Gump.
We got tattoos shops we got another tat shop coming.
T. Scott: If you had to compare Kalaso to another group that’s in the industry who would it be?
LZ: UGK. Kalaso’s model is we are the hardest group since UGK .They real no matter what the conversation is they hood but still professional. You got one producer in the group. I’m not going to say we sound like them because their Texas and we Alabama. We do us but comparison we would have to say between UGK, Field Mob and Outkast. Outkast are artist like us, that’s how we met in a art class.
For music Myspace/kalaso
For custom kicks and clothing Myspace/DeadFreshCustoms
Pay pal or set up appointments call Hobo @ (334) 301-3559
For tats call LZ @ (334) 239 -7128