Can you talk about where you are from and how you guys met?
Devin: I’m from Fort Worth.
Dave: I was born in Houston but now I live in the Mesquite/Dallas area.
How does the DFW Hip Hop scene compare to Houston’s?
Dave: Houston has it’s own history and an established scene. Dallas hasn’t really found the image that they are going for. There was that dance and Young Nation-type music, but as far as Houston, it’s not as established, in my opinion.
Do you think Dallas is on its way up?
Devin: Yeah, I think it is. It definitely is, compared to where it was. You had the whole Dallas Boogie and stuff like that. There were some acts, but definitely right now it’s in a growing spot, compared to where it’s been at.
What EPs, Singles, and Mixtapes do y’all have under your belt so far?
Devin: We put out Uncas, our first mixtape in November 2011 and so right now we just released Inuriam, the first release off the EP we’ve got coming out in August. That’s the next thing we have lined up.
Dave: We’ve also put out a couple of random tracks out here and there, but as far as full projects, there is the Uncas and in August we got that new one coming out.
How has your sound changed for this upcoming EP?
Dave: I feel like the sound is more established. We were still growing on the first one, still trying to find it, but I feel like Devin, right now, is finding the sound he’s going for on every beat he made, every production, and the instruments he’s using.
Devin: What he said is pretty much right. But also, it’s been two years since the last thing we put out. So there are definitely different experiences and things that we learned and stuff that go into that too, along with the production. We’ve got two more years, so you just learn more and see stuff. I feel like that’s just part of the growth of the whole Mohicans.
What are some of your day-to-day influences?
Dave: Right now, I’m not really listening to much hip-hop and rap, because when I listen to other rap, it tends to affect how I rap. Since we are working on the new one, I’m just trying to hone my style. So I’ve really been listening to a lot of jazz, instrumental type music, and stuff like that.
Devin: I just try to, especially dealing with production, I just try to listen to a lot of stuff besides hip hop. At this point, I’m not really influenced, as far as production wise, by hip-hop that much, because a lot of it sounds real similar to me. So I listen to a lot of different people besides hip-hop.
What are some the goals you are trying to achieve with your music?
Devin: At the end of the day, we are the Mohicans. The whole thing about that was trying to make quality music in a time when people might be making less than quality, whatever “quality” is. Just try to make good music, at the end of the day. I don’t wanna say “hold ourselves to a higher standard,” but when people aren’t necessarily putting their all into stuff and I can tell when it’s a rushed track or this or that or the other. I hope at the end of the day, people will be like, “Oh yeah, they definitely put time and effort into this.”
Dave: Basically everything he said. Just want to be remembered as two dudes who put out some of the best music that people have ever heard.
Can you talk about how you came up with the name, The Mohicans?
Devin: The [Last of the] Mohicans was a book and they made it into a movie in the ’90s. It was about a tribe that were hired to get a girl back who had been kidnapped by another tribe and they were the only ones who knew the terrain and they were the best, as well. They were the last two of their tribe, too. So in a sense, we feel like, at least hip-hop wise, we’re the last trying to make quality music. So that’s where the name came from. The Last of the Mohicans, minus the last part.
Is there anything else you want to add?
Devin: Just be on the lookout for new Mohicans music coming out in August.
Dave: Yeah and you can still download the first mixtape, for people who haven’t heard it and download Iniuriam on Soundcloud.
The Mohicans will be performing alongside Blackstone Rangers in the upcoming Sizzling Summer Concert this Monday night. The event is open and free to the public. For more information and to RSVP, head over onto our Facebook Event Page.