The Eric Barber

Apollo Brown on Collab Albums, Feature Choices, & Music Independence

Apollo Brown talks about his new album Funeral For A Dream with Bronze Nazareth, how the concept came together, and why this collaboration was always a dream project for both of them. He goes into his history with Bronze from Grand Rapids and Michigan State, the tours and collabs they shared, and how the feature list for the album came together. Apollo breaks down his approach to collab projects, why he insists on being in the studio with artists, and why real chemistry cannot be created through email. He explains how he shapes the sound of an album as a producer while still letting rappers be themselves. Apollo also talks about flipping the idea of “elevator music” with his project Elevator Music, his long run using Cool Edit, and how sampling has changed over the years, especially with AI and clearing samples today. He speaks on starting his own label Escapism, his split with Mello Music Group, and why he wanted full independence and fair 50/50 situations where the artists see the rewards. He reflects on albums like Dice Game with Guilty Simpson and Brown Study with Boog Brown, shares some of his biggest influences, and talks about rollouts, nurturing his existing fanbase, and aiming to drop a new project every quarter. Apollo closes by talking about his perfectionist approach to beatmaking, staying relevant, and what is next after Funeral For A Dream. Listen to Apollo: https://open.spotify.com/artist/151BUVKmiB9rHDjIkgbeVE For all Hip-Hop interviews: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0y-EkCME_20BDGu94d5id877pLYZKkMB #ApolloBrown #FuneralForADream #BronzeNazareth #Escapism #DetroitHipHop