Llamabeats haven't been around all that long, having only linked up on this project in 2008. But this crew definitely has a vision for where it's headed and what it stand for.
Beyond that, Llamabeats is surprisingly clear on the state of the business and what it takes to put itself in front of an audience. And with a style often (accurately) likened to Pharcyde and Tribe Called Quest, it's not hard for the power of Llama to win the crowd once it gets there.
"Llamabeats is a musical force/band/production crew made up of three llamas," explains Spits who, along with the What's Good and the Master Fader, rounds out the trio of South American camelids.
The production crew seems to be a key part of Llamabeats' identity, as interestingly enough, the band didn't even take to the stage until well after it had dropped its debut Hello My Name is Llama.
"We never played a live show till the later part of 2009," explains Spits. "We released our first EP earlier that year."
But the chemistry existed long before. The Master Fader and Spits are childhood friends, Spits explains, "causing ruckus with skateboards and writing punk rock riffs on guitars."
They later linked up with What's Good, whom Spits refers to as the "beatsmith estraordinaire, when his tutelage at Full Sail landed him a gig at Setai Recording in Miami Beach by way of an internship.
"As a group, we all share a love for old school hip-hop, funk drums, jazz, and reggae music," he says.
And Llamabeats have been smart about getting its message of hip-hop fusion to the masses, dropping three EPs (including Don't Show This to Anyone and Mashed Potatoes from a collaborative project called THINK TANK featuring friend Parable) that the crew recorded, mixed, and mastered either by alone or with the help of their homey, J-Wiz, and releasing it all to the public for free via the official Llamabeats website.
"People already get all the music they want for free anyways," Spits says with total clarity. "It's basically common sense to give it away."
"The only way to get everybody to realize how dope you are is by finding a way to get it to them easily" he continues. "But you can't force people to throw you money for a project they've never heard about. We believe that once everybody gets the Llamabeats name out like crazy, then we can expect people to dig into their wallets and purses on a mass level for something that they already believe in and want more of."
Llamabeats with THINK TANK, Wreckonize, Alukard, and Space Between Words. 1306 N. Miami Ave., Miami. Doors open at 9 p.m. and cover is $10 for ages 18 to 20, or $7 for ages 21 and up. Call 305-995-5050 or visit miamieve.com.
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