Photo by J. Tovar

Le$, the one-time Boss Hogg Outlawz affiliate, and the latest signee to Jet Life Recordings, is a rapper.  I won’t label him, as I found out during our interview he hates labels, he doesn’t want to be written off as a weed rapper, a backpack rapper, a “any type” of rapper, just Le$.  I remember the first time I heard Le$’s music the production immediately caught my ear.  It was as if someone had neatly packaged a jazz ensemble into a smooth beat and matched it with vocals that blended beautifully.  It was something I wanted to immediately place in my car stereo and go find an empty highway to ride.  Since 2024, Le$ has released a plethora of projects, his latest  “Expansion Pack” a six-track EP, produced entirely by Houston DJ and Producer Mr. Rogers, is the perfect introductory installment to his new venture with JLR.    I recently sat down with Le$ and below are all the things I discovered about the surprisingly soft-spoken, innately cool, and refreshingly humble rapper.

When did you start rapping, and why did you start?

My first ever attempt at rapping was in 2024, I was in college at the University of Houston, and it was just the thing to do.  It’s funny because all of my friends and what seemed like everyone at school had a make-shift studio in their dorm room or apartment, everyone.  It was like the cool thing to do, I guess.  One night, I’m at a friend’s house, I had been smoking and drinking, was buzzed, and just thought “let me try this rap thing.”  In school I always exceeded at writing, it was just something I was naturally good at, so I figured I may be able to rap too. My friend had one of those make-shift studios, so I decided to try it and see how it goes.  I did try it, and it went better than any of us thought it would, better than I thought it would.  I didn’t immediately start rapping after that, but you can say that is when the seed was planted.  Moving forward, I would rap here and there, I made a mixtape, but nothing serious, I still had not fully committed to rapping.  In 2024, I met Mr. Rogers, and that is when things changed.  Rogers, took me on and helped me develop, I had done a mixtape prior to meeting him but the first mixtape we did together “Settle 4 Le$ Volume 1” really changed things for me.  When Rogers put the tape out, the first day it hit the net, it got over 3 thousand downloads, that was mind blowing to me, of course that might not seem like much and it really isn’t but for me it was inspiring.  Prior to that, I had one mixtape and it took me almost three years to pass out three thousand copies of that.    It was very different becoming a rapper in the digital age, it has it’s positive and negatives, but very different.  The reaction I got from “Settle for Le$ Volume 1” was very exciting for me.   To be able to witness my fan base grow, to hear and see people’s reactions, it is one of the major reasons why I continued, my fans inspired me too.

Describe your style?

I am a fan of rap, I’m 28 years old and I’ve been a fan of rap for as long as I can remember.  I’ve been fortunate enough to witness rap from its early beginnings, witness its progression and evolution and because of that, I believe that true rappers don’t mimic.   They don’t have style, they just exist as they are.  I have been labeled in the past, as a weed rapper or a backpack rapper but I personally hate labels.  Why am I a backpack rapper?  Because I am intelligent, Jay Z is intelligent is he a backpack rapper? Am I a weed rapper because I have a smooth flow or because I rap over melodic, chill beats.  I rap about weed as much as most other rappers, so I just don’t get labels, don’t care for them much.   So my style, when in reference to my rhymes is just me.  Whatever I am, that is what my raps are, that is what my style is and that is hard to describe.  But if I had to answer the question, I’m just cool, I rap about what I am, what I have and what I want.

Does Houston Influence you, your music?

Yes, absolutely, Houston and Texas has influenced and still influences the shit out of me.  I am from New Orleans but I spent a significant time in Texas, in Houston.  Some of my all time favorite rappers, UGK, are from Texas. I remember having swingers on my buick. Houston just has this vibe, it’s infectious.

You recently said a record deal? How did it feel, how does it still feel?

It feels really good; signing to a label and especially with JLR.  This deal, and especially this deal was the best move for me, the most instinctive, it just fits.   I had a couple of things offered to me, but this one was the most organic, after it was announced, everyone agreed, it was the best move for me.  Curren$y is a brother to me, so signing to JLR was overall the most natural thing I could do.

What can we look forward to from you?

Besides Expansion Pack, which is currently out, I’m working on a project “Old English” that I am very excited about.  I feel like it will be the biggest release of my career thus far.  It’s currently the project I’m most excited about because I’m excited about the features, which there will be some big ones on there, and I’m really excited about my personal musical progression.  I feel like it’s the best music I’ve done.

I know you’re a taco fanatic, describe your ideal taco and if left on an island what three things would be absolutely necessary?

I like to keep it simple, so a chicken fajita taco, pico, and a little cheese, not to much because I’m lactose intolerant.  If you can make a good chicken fajita taco, that is a good sign, your other tacos are probably good too.  On an island, I would need weed, papers and a lighter, that is it.

Le$ will be in town supporting Curren$y at his show at warehouse live on April 20^th, go enjoy the aroma and experience the “Jet Life” lifestyle.

Is Die Antwoord a rap trio, a conceptual living art project, or a group of exquisitely weird misfits?   Die Antwoord could be a number of things including but certainly not limited to: a gifted satirical rap group exposing the world to the post-apartheid slum culture of South Africa, a trio of white people trying to cash in on their racial confusion and unique brand of weirdness, or a band of musicians who don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks and create whatever they want.  I have personally given up on trying to define Die Antwoord, but what I do know, is the group hales from South Africa, they just announced the first leg of their world tour “Donker Mag”, and will be performing at Free Press Summer Festival 2024.

The group is compromised of DJ Hi-Tek, who is never seen without his mask, and provides back up vocals for vocalists Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er.  The group found notoriety after their breakout video “Enter the Ninja” hit the net in 2024.  The video quickly went viral and now has up to 20 million plus views.  “Enter the Ninja’s” beats aren’t noteworthy, the lyrics are simple at best, and the video is crass, dirty and odd, yet everything about it is infectious.  I wanted to turn away, and “Enter the Ninja” is one of Antwoord’s more mild videos, but I couldn’t.  I don’t know whether it was the combination of Ninja’s abrasive, I am a crazy rapper persona or Yolandi’s fascinatingly squeaky voice, creepy movements and bleached mullet that kept me so captivated, but almost an hour later, I had watched every video Die Antwoord had released.

The band has musically progressed in the past four years, releasing two albums, with a third one, Donker Mag, on the way.  The music has matured, their lyrics have improved and what I cannot personally attest too, but what I look forward to finding out, their live shows have gotten even better.  If you have ever read a review about Die Antwoord, or even just googled them, they have an abundant amount of proponents and opponents, but even amongst the opponents, their live shows receive amazing reviews.  The ferocity and energy at which Ninja and Yolandi perform is noted in almost every show review.   After just watching a live performance, I was impressed.  The three performers conquer the stage and whip the crowd into frenzy from the first song to the very last beat of the set.  It becomes almost visceral and one is left simply to enjoy the show.  One can intellectually dissect this band at their pleasure, and regardless of any reservations I have about their material, I am undeniably looking forward to their set at FPSF, and almost positive I am in for a foul good time.

The first time I heard Melat’s Canon Ourania: The Illumination EP, I was lying on my couch in day old sweats, on a Saturday afternoon listlessly watching house hunter reruns. The EP, given to me by a friend, was laying on my coffee table.  I decided I had to put an end to my current state of slothfulness. I got up, put the cd on and began the quest to clean up my apartment.  Almost instantly, the intro song Third Eye’s,  production coupled with Melat’s unique and soothing voice surprised me.   I went over, turned the volume up and sat down, the next song “Daphne”, my personal favorite, won me over, the hard beats coupled with Melat’s haunting voice were right up my alley.

Canon Ourania: The Illumination is the follow up to Melat’s, an Austin, Texas native, debut EP Canon Aphaea.  Melat serves as the sole vocalist for the EP and works as a duo with producer Pha the Phenom, who produced the entire EP.  It’s hard to box singer/songwriter Melat and harder to box Canon Ourania into a genre but whatever you want to call it, it’s good.  Her enchanting vocals blend with poignant subject matter to deliver a distinctive experience.  Canon Ourania is packed with eight original tracks from the duo and she has also recently released a remix to “Daphne” produced by Woodys Produce and a new single “Golden” produced by Jansport J.  The album is available for download on iTunes as well as her site beholdmelat.com.  Melat will be touring as the opening act for the L.A. band The Internet; you can catch her performing live in Houston on March 27 at Warehouse Live.  I know, I will be there.

Cage the Elephant is a band from Bowling Green, Kentucky that formed in 2024.   Their self titled debut album dropped in 2024 to much success, spawning several radio singles and garnering them a huge following in both the US and UK.  Cage the Elephant sounds somewhat like a mesh between sixties garage rock, seventies punk and late eighties alt-rock. They effortlessly combine blues, funk and punk to create their own unique contagiously good music.  It is difficult to place Cage the Elephant’s music in a genre or label it, and hard to refer to it without mentioning Cage the Elephant.  The distinct melodies, coupled with the visceral musical chaos are the perfect backing for Matt Schultz voice and songwriting.  Besides being known for their unique and eclectic sound, Cage the Elephant is also known for the crazy and energetic live performances.  Schultz, the lead singer, often finds himself on top of speakers and rarely ever stands still, he can be seen jumping around and climbing anything possible during their performances.  In addition, whenever possible, he will leap into the crowd and go for a spin.  I am excited to see their set at Free Press Summer Festival, and how they will hold up in this Texas heat, mayne!