I'm stoked to share this week's interview with pop hip-hop duo, Tru Fam. These two have perfected the Top 40 game and are on the verge of ubiquity, in my humble opinion. All of my pop promos and programmers, take note. You should be pushing and spinning their singles already. Enjoy the read, crank the tunes. x
Thanks so much for sitting down for the interview,
guys. It’s a pleasure to converse with such a talented duo for a bit. I don't do enough pop pieces on here, so this is refreshing.
Sha - No problem thanks
for having us!!!
I see New Jersey and New
York represented on your sites, but which came first?
Where were you two born, raised, and where are you living now?
Sha - We were born and
raised in a city called Paterson which is in New Jersey. We still
actually live there but we spend so much of our time in NYC, we had to claim
it. That’s where all of the opportunities are and it’s the city that Never
sleeps... I LOVE IT!!
When did you start performing? What was your first
performance like?
Just I - We went to a performing arts High School for acting so we got use to
being on stage. Our first performance was at Bloomfield College. We did really good might I add lol. It was a tough crowd though.
I understand you guys are twins. You guys have incredible chemistry on this record.
Was it always an easy and comfortable collaboration, or was there some early
competition in the household?
Sha - Hahaha were twins so
it’s always competition for like anything and everything... No matter what
though we always come to an agreement to make it work... So that’s the chemistry
part. We both know hard work pays off so ,that’s something we definitely live
by.
Where did the names Sha and Just I come from?
Sha - Sha & Just I are
actually just parts of our names. Pretty much kept it like that... Plain and
simple!!
Do you come from a musical family? How were your
musical aspirations embraced growing up? Did you have a lot of support from
family and friends?
Justi - Nobody in our
family pursued music professionally but
they would play different types of music . We liked different type of music we were big fans of Bad Boy
music!! YES our family gave us their full support. Our mother taught us the
business so we studied this music game...
Let’s talk about the record. It sounds fantastic. I
mean, really top notch mixing quality on each song. Who produced it and where
was it recorded?
Sha - Thanks a lot w e
worked really hard on Bowties & Applause. We were with many producers. We
reached out to Teddy Roxpin who works
with Mac Miller - also Kacey Khaliel and
other independent producers who have that pop sound. We record at a studio
near us in Jersey and make adjustments to the
records, then send it out to our engineer in NYC who did a wonderful job, seeing our vision.
Tru Fam - "Rebound" featuring Body Electric
I can’t stop listening to “Rebound” – and I have a
feeling my readers won’t be able to either. It’s got a ridiculous hook and
infectious flow. How did this one come about? And who is Body Electric, which
guests on the track?
Justi - I’m glad you
enjoyed “Rebound!” That came together from us touring with Body Electric on The Vans Warped Tour last year. I give credit to when its due man those guys came
up with that brilliant hook. We all were in the Poconos recording that record
together we actually knocked it out it
one day…
Has the song gotten any airplay or spins in the
clubs? I think it has the potential to be a huge summer smash. How are you
pushing it?
Sha - We are working on getting it spins right now. The "DenimCashmere" record has gotten plenty of spins. It’s all about just getting the
right team and getting the radio programmers and DJ’s behind you. So I’m pretty
confident in that.
Tru Fam - "All We Need" featuring Dinner and a Suit
“All We Need” is another banger. I love the hope
and optimism behind this track. How did you write this one and where did the
message stem from?
Sha - All We need is just
one of those positive vibe records. We all have been thru relationships and at
some point no matter how tough it gets ,it comes down to love..All we need is a
feel of that .
Who is Dinner and a Suit, who are featured on “AllWe Need”? And how did you link up with them?
Justi - The group Dinner
and a Suit are a group from Jersey. They
actually live in Nashville
now. We heard one of their tracks and hit them online to do a record together
and the rest is history lol...
You guys seem to have pop-infused hip hop on lock.
Who are your biggest influences in music, past and present?
Sha - Pop Hip hop is
definitely the love of my life .I love to have a good time and just enjoy life...
Artists like Kanye West, B.O.B, Black Eyed Peas are a few influences. Love to
make people feel good that’s what music should be all about.
What was played around the neighborhood growing up?
And what would we find in your music library now?
Justi - Around our
neighborhood growing up you had everything man. It went from Bad Boy records
playing to Nysnc, to DMX, to Nelly. Lol anything that was hot at that time was
played. In my ipod I’m so random I like pop groups like The Wanted, One
Direction, then I might throw on some Kanye West and Rihanna. I love pop music
man it make s me feel good…
Is there any type of music the readers would be
shocked to hear come up on random in your music player?
Sha - Readers might be
shocked but they shouldn’t ..I’m not going to lie I have some N’Sync songs in
my ipod lol and the new hit “What MakesYou Beautiful” by One Direction… It’s great music.
Thus far, how have you been building your fanbase
and getting the record out to fresh ears?
Justi - We toured so we
gained new fans, were all over social media such as FB, Twitter, YouTube. We
also have been featured in over 100 music blogs, radio interviews and
magazines.
Have you been performing in and around New York City? If so,
where?
Sha - We have performed at
Webster Hall Studio and all of the lounges uptown,and downtown. Lately we have
been doing shows in upstate NY. We travel
a lot so it’s all fun.
It’s a different world these days and artists have
to do nearly all of the hard work before even getting acknowledged in this
game. What sort of, if any, response have you been getting from music industry
insiders?
Justi - The industry is
really taking notice of us. They see our hard work and dedication from our music,
to our social media pages we are creative .We come up with new ideas and we think out the box .
It’s now more important than ever to have a loyal
and hardworking family if you want to build a strong brand. Your art is now a
small business and needs to be treated as such. What sort of team have you
built up around Tru Fam? Promotion, management, booking, etc?
Sha - Our team is really strong.
We are really big
on branding an ULTRA Team. That’s
our Number 1 goal. We have some of the best people giving advice right now and
help making the best career decision .Our mom is also a support so that always
helps .
Here at PUMP Merch, we’ve seen a massive explosion
in creative merchandise options for fans. Obviously, with record sales
dwindling in many areas of music, artists are supplementing that lost income
with apparel and other promotional products. What are you guys offering your
fans and why?
Justi - Lol well we will
be putting out new merchandise with your company right. We have stickers and we
have t-shirts called ULTRA. Those are
for our fans that stand by us. ULTRA means being great being different and doing the unexpected.
Good answer.
You seem to have a solid internet presence. How do
you approach potential fans on Facebook and Twitter? And how do you interact
with existing fans?
Sha - Yes definitely... Twitter
and Facebook are a must. Anytime someone hits us up ,we will respond .I’m on twitter
and facebook daily. Engage and interact with your fans. They’re the most
important people. Without them your no one.
Justi - To be honest we
are just thankful for each fan we get our any body who supports Trufam. We
comment and talk back to our fans because we know if it wasn’t for them it
would not be any Trufam. Showing appreciation comes along way.
What’s up next for Tru Fam? Gigs, parties,
releases?
Sha - Well we actually are
getting back in the studio to make some more ULTRA Music. We also have a
cartoon series called Cool Kidz that we are releasing as well. Now also we are
big in the youtube world and we also
have our own Interview Segment where we interview celebrities or up coming
music artists. That’s going really well so we are excited and always busy .
Thank you so much for taking time out to sit down
with PUMP Sessions. Can’t wait to catch the next local gig and we hope that we
have helped spread the Tru Fam gospel. I see big things and wish you nothing
but the best.