My City: Fly Gypsy, From Russia/Jamaica/The DMV With Love

Hip-hop is becoming - or I should say has become - a truly global game, and almost no one group embodies the culture's more expansive future than Fly Gypsy, a crew made up of the Russian-born Alexei and Jamaican-born Kom. Now living in the DMV region (when they're not traveling the globe), Fly Gypsy sat down with RefinedHype to talk about how their international roots have influenced their music, detail their favorite cities worldwide and talk about their upcoming debut album "Change for a Dollar".

RefinedHype: You have roots in Russia and Jamaica respectively. How do your native countries influence your music now?

Alexei: Russia is a very musical, very soulful place. Russian people have not had it easy, from serfdom to communist years to whatever it is right now, it's been a never-ending struggle. And anywhere you find struggle, you also find some of the most heartfelt music. Check out Paul Robeson's singing "Volga Boatmen" to get an idea (Paul Robeson is an honorary Russian - look it up!).

Kom: Reggae or dancehall music has a very colorful, melodic and passionate cadence that is not the norm in hip-hop. A lot of hip-hop artists tend to stay in the pocket with the flow. I definitely mix some of the color of Reggae music into my delivery, especially on stage. In fact, unlike many hip-hop artists I have always preferred rocking with a live band instead of tracks because that live feel allows me to really get into the music and play with my cadences even more. Then there is the depths of the lyrics from artists like Bob Marley and Buju Banton. Bob wrote like a poet and his lyrics resonated with me and the rest of the world, which still loves his music. So it was my goal early on to write like that. To be timeless and poetic.....AND still be able to rock any crowd anywhere, having them singing along to every word even if they don't speak any English because the cadence is so melodic.

RefinedHype: Your musical style is very eclectic, I'd have to imagine you travel extensively. What are some of your favorite places to visit, and how have you drawn inspiration from them?

Alexei: Yep, we stay on the road. Hard to pick favorites. I can say that every time I step off a plane in the Caribbean, I feel happy. Love St. Martin, love Jamaica. Mexico is another place that's very close to me. I studied in Chihuahua when I was in undergrad and had some of the best time in my life. Rich culture, beautiful people. Of course, I love New York, Paris, London (or, I should say, East London). New York has a pulse that no other city has. Paris is just breathtakingly beautiful. I could walk the banks of Seine for days. East & South London, with so many immigrants - can't beat that (though a lot of gentrification happening there too). A mile-long stretch of restaurants that's strictly Pakistani and Indian food! What else is there to life?! And my all-time favorite vegetarian Jamaican joint is in Brixton. Montreux in Switzerland - beautiful, with orchards you could pick grapes and apples from as you walk up the mountain from the lake. Kiev in Ukraine is quite charming, love Moscow, of course, even with all its issues. And D.C. I could go on for days. Haven't made my way to Brazil yet, but I know I'm going to love that!

I like to walk around at night when I go places. Just me and the city. It's a pretty incredible feeling - I love people, but this allows me to connect with the city on a different level. I always have music on my mp3 player and together, the music and the city streets, definitely put me in the mood for writing and get me inspired and motivated. For example, I was in Chicago earlier this month and took a couple of hours off to just walk around and enjoy the city a bit. It's definitely one of my favorite cites! So I put Kanye's "College Dropout" on my mp3 player and listening to it as I walked around Chicago made me connect to the music and the lyrics more than ever before. That moment, the story of Kanye's rise, his drive and his vulnerability, made me want to get back to the studio and make music that's better than anything I've ever made, something that's classic the moment people hear it.

Kom: I love Alaska! Never been there during any of the brutal winters and don't ever plan to but it's a beautiful place. I also love Miami. That's one of my favorite cities to visit. To describe Miami, just think of a sexy woman with heels a short dress and track legs… What's not to love about that?

I also love Los Angeles and Toronto. LOVE Texas! East and south Texas have been really fun. My new favorite city has to be New Orleans. That place is alive with art and music and soul. Other than that I grew up in one of the dopest cities in the world, so I love any city that reminds me of NY.

RefinedHype: You're currently living in Washington D.C., an area that's slowly been gaining national hip-hop prominence. Why do you think it took the DMV so long to get noticed?

Kom: Well for one, DC is strongly divided between hip-hop and go-go. Not so much the artists either, it's the fans. A lot of D.C.-based acts will mix in some go-go with their hip-hop, but then it's questionable as to how marketable that sound is. Also this Mid-Atlantic area has a distinct sound that's somewhere between dirty south-ish and East Coast-ish, which again leads to the question of whether that sound can catch on. There are a lot of dope artists here though, so its good to see that there is some light shining on this area.

Alexei: I think that D.C. is such an arts-friendly city, with all of its open mics and festivals, that many D.C. hip-hop artists have a false sense of comfort. They come to open mics, rip it, folks clap, everyone feels great. What these cats forget though is that the open mic audiences are a very niche crowd that represents only a fraction of the audience they should be reaching. So they never make it to the next level. There is a lot of talent, but few people who understand what it takes to make it in the industry.

RefinedHype: Where do you go for inspiration?

Kom: Art inspires art and I turn to music, mostly underground hip-hop or soul music. Sometimes an open mic with a band will do the job when there are some dope artists rocking the stage. As far as places though, I like to go somewhere high where I can look down on the city or sometimes just walk the streets of whatever city I am at and just listen.

Alexei: That would be the piano in my studio when I'm really tired. Though I did write one of my best songs playing guitar in a park in Montreal. But typically, it's the state of mind rather than the place. I'm at my best when something gets me thinking or a particular recording or a live show puts me in a particular place. So it's that magic state of mind that gets the creative juices flowing for me.

RefinedHype: Last words?

Alexei: Our first album, "Change for a Dollar", drops December 1. A lot of folks have been showing it mad love, from HipHopDX to DJBooth.net to okayplayer.com. The album is a little more serious and introspective than our last release, "The Vodka & Rum Mixtape", but it has some fun moments as well. In fact, it's very diverse. "2 Step," our first single, is a feel-good head-nodding radio-friendly club banger, while our second single "You" is both a nod to both old school hip-hop and an ode to Black women. "Give It 2 Me" and "Get That Money" are club bangers, fun and sexy. Then you got "Go," which is a rock anthem. And I'm not talking Limp Bizkit rock-rap hybrid either. I'm talking real rock mixed with real hip-hop. "Look for You" is what we call a hip-hop-folk classic - an acoustic and really soulful track. Then you have "Strengthen Me," which is very rich lyrically and very moving.

Kom: And we have the video for our second single, "You," premiering in the next couple of weeks, first on okayplayer.com, then on MTVu and VH1 Soul. We shot the video in Jamaica with Ras Kassa, the director who did "Welcome to Jamrock" for Damian Marley and a lot of other videos for Sean Paul, Beenie Man, and even Willie Nelson. We had a great time shooting it and are excited to share it with everyone. It has a lot of eye candy. And while we're on the subject, we would like to ask everyone to vote for the video when it premieres on MTVu. We will need the votes to get the video into general rotation. Go to our website, flygypsy.com, sign up for our mailing list, and we'll let you know when voting starts. And if you really want to support, shoot us an email (contact info on the website) and we'll tell you how you could help organizing voting parties. Check out the website for free music and all up-to-date information. Thank you for supporting good music!