PURVEYORS OF RHYME: Star & Lyphe
NEW YORK, NEW YORK | STAR & LYPHE | PHOTO BY @WORLDVIZIONZ_
New York natives Star & Lyphe have been partners in rhyme since 1992. A product of 90's Hip Hop, the self proclaimed “Purveyors of Rhyme” pride themselves on maintaining the nostalgic sound of New York rap, specifically the Boom Bap Era. Although now on two different coasts, the duo shows no signs of slowing down. Their debut EP, “Wins, Losses & Draws”, originally released in 2019 has created a buzz worthy of the excitement. The 10 track EP is a no skip from start to finish.
Since the debut released they’ve managed to drop several other singles like “Be The Man”, “Rinse Repeat” and their most recent release “God’s Material” featuring Chris Rivers and FLAMM which racked up over 10,000 views and counting. Hard at work to finish their next project slated to drop by the end of the year, Validated sat down with Star and Lyphe to discuss the buzz of their debut EP, the love they have for their fans, opening up for the God MC Rakim and much more.
VALIDATED: Being from New York City, what’s your earliest memory of Hip Hop culture?
STAR: My earliest memory is hearing my sisters listening to Pumpkin and The Profile All-Stars and just having a good time.
LYPHE: My earliest memory is listening to “Lodi Dodi” by Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh. I played it all the time and practiced the song like it was mine until I had it memorized.
VALIDATED: Which lyrics in particular was it that made you want to rhyme?
STAR: Probably something I heard Lyphe say to be honest.
LYPHE: One of my best friends Yatta Bee rapping in the park. I wanted to be like him honestly.
VALIDATED: You started out as a DJ, what prompted your switch to Emceeing and was it a difficult transition?
STAR: Lyphe and I were in a group with two other friends. 3 of us were DJs and Lyphe was the rapper. At some point, the other two DJs said it would make sense if we had another rapper and I was it by default.
VALIDATED: How did you get your start as an Emcee?
LYPHE: Watching one of my childhood friends rap. Yatta Bee was and still is a dope emcee. I wanted to be like that dude.
VALIDATED: How did you two meet and at what point did you decide to become the Hip Hop duo Star & Lyphe?
LYPHE: We met playing video games in Getty Square in Yonkers. We knew almost immediately after meeting we wanted to be a group.
STAR: What he said. Lol
VALIDATED: Which Emcees influenced your style and what if anything did you “borrow” from them?
STAR: Lyphe, Nas, Hov, Ghostface Killah, BIG, the LOX, Black Thought, Andre Benjamin, Common and CL Smooth. Honestly, I don't know what I "borrowed" from them but they are all heavy influences because I listen to them a lot.
LYPHE: Black Thought, Kool G Rap, Rakim, Kane, Pun, JayZ, Nas, Common, BIG, LOX, Royce 59 to name a few. Just helped with confidence, cadence, culture and sense of self no matter what.
VALIDATED: The spin on the spelling of your rap name L-Y-P-H-E, what’s the meaning behind it?
LYPHE: Love Your People Hate your Enemies.
VALIDATED: You guys recently opened up for The God MC Rakim in Orlando, Florida. What can you tell us about the experience and where does this accomplishment land on your bucket list?
STAR: The experience was monumental. It was our first time performing together and it was received well. Definitely high up there on the bucket list!
LYPHE: This was on a level that we never imagined. Knowing we would share the stage with a legend got us extra excited. It was also our 1st show as a group. I have performed before but Star never has.
VALIDATED: So you guys had a contest and instead of mailing the prize to the winner you hand delivered it yourself. What was the fan's reaction? How does it feel as artists to be appreciated for your craft?
STAR: Dude was really cool! We got to chop it up a little bit which to me makes all the difference in the world. Actually connecting with people is important. It’s a feeling like no other. We put a lot into this so to be appreciated is everything to us.
VALIDATED: Your album “Wins, Loses & Draws” is what the games been missing for many of us Hip Hop heads. It’s a solid project from start to finish. How long was the process of putting the album together?
STAR: It wasn’t really that long; maybe a couple of months to get the verses together but we recorded everything over a weekend.
LYPHE: We wrote it over about 2 months together, forming ideas for songs. We recorded it in about 2 days.
VALIDATED: Which artists and producers did you work with on the project?
STAR: We also worked with Bobby Bebrave. He’s featured on Play no games. And Geminelle came through and blessed with 2 hooks and amazing vocals on “11th Hour” and “Miss You”. Pretty much all the beats we found on youtube. Shout out to Dreamlife, Batman, Bluff Gawd, Bobbymadethebeat, and Syer Esso.
LYPHE: My cousin Juggernaut Loco appears on 2 songs - “The Art of Losing”and “Play No Games”. The voicemails you hear are 2 of our childhood friends at the end of “Bodega” and “11th Hour”. And the store owner of the Bodega is also a long time friend.
VALIDATED: “The Main Event” is my favorite off the album, how did the concept come together for the song and was it difficult to translate that visually for the video?
STAR: Lyphe found the beat and sent it to me. With the help of Juggernaut Loco, we all agreed it would be a good opener for the project.
LYPHE: The video was easy. We wanted a feel that would encompass the title. Boxing cards always have a Main Event so we did our version. Once we went to the gym we just figured it out.
VALIDATED: Which song off the album do fans tend to gravitate towards most?
STAR: A lot of people seem to gravitate towards “Coco” and “Bodega”.
LYPHE: “Bodega” and “All Black” get the most feedback for me.
VALIDATED: What’s your favorite song off the project and why?
STAR: “11th Hour” is my favorite. Its about Lyphe and I. Probably the second most personal song on the project after “Miss You”.
LYPHE: “Bodega” because it really shows our ability to feed off each other when we write. And it’s all based on true events.
VALIDATED: The video for your recent song “God Material” featuring Chris Rivers and Flamm has reached 10k views in 8 months on YouTube. That’s dope for indie artists, congrats! How did the collaboration come about?
STAR: We hit Rivers for a feature and he agreed. We sent him the beat and he sent his verse back mad fast. Lyphe and I did our thing but we needed a hook. We hit Lyphe’s cousin Flamm and he knocked it out of the park. The rest was history. It’s a dope song with a good feel to it so we knew we had to do a video. We hit Rivers team and he agreed to do it. Flamm agreed and our man High Sunday captured it perfectly.
VALIDATED: You guys consider yourselves “Purveyors of Rhyme”, it’s self explanatory but in your own words, what do you feel your responsibility to Hip Hop is?
STAR: To stick to what we know. Keep feeding off of each other and in turn feeding those who wanna hear what we do!
LYPHE: My responsibility is to create art with my best friend and enjoy the finished product. If people happen to listen and enjoy it, then that’s great and we’re thankful. If they don’t, I’ll still be playin our shit.
VALIDATED: What’s next for Star & Lyphe?
STAR: Ignore Lyphe’s text messages and calls until I finish my verses!
LYPHE: If Star finishes his verses we got new music on the way. Lol
VALIDATED: What can you tell us about the new music you guys are working on?
STAR: It's a condensed follow up to “Wins, Losses, & Draws”. I would say it will be ready for the end of the year.
VALIDATED: What’s your social media contacts?
STAR: @jay2thestar
LYPHE: @star_and_lyphe @khey_doubleyou_