Madoa Sankara and Sudan 6ix team up on their new single/music video, “That’s That Girl,” a track lifted from their recently released EP, The Poet and 6ix.
Rather than entering the studio with a preconceived idea, Madoa allows the beat to speak to him. He explains, “I’ve always believed that the beat tells you what to say; you can’t tell the beat what to say because it will sound forced.”
This intuitive production process imbues the tune with a clean flow and delicious gleaming textures atop an intoxicating rhythm. The vocal interplay between the two rappers gives the rhymes smooth, swanky-flavored surfaces.
The video, created by Vision Twenty Films, establishes a vibrant setting, drenched in sunlight, expansive space, and the mood of love. The two rappers stand at a fence admiring a pair of beautiful women strolling through the park. Smitten, they can’t help but express their infatuation.
CelebMix spoke with Madoa Sankara and Sudan 6ix to discover the inspiration for “That’s That Girl,” how they connected, and how they got started in music.
What inspired your new single/music video, “That’s That Girl?”
A lot of great songs that reference women that are amazing like “Jazzy Belle,” and “Around the Way Girl.”
Who directed the video and where was it shot?
Madoa: Vision Twenty Films and it was shot at a park in Raleigh, NC.
What do you want people to take away from the video?
Sudan: That there is an innate and playful back-and-forth energy when women and men like each other and it’s summertime and everybody feeling good about themselves, and love is in the air. It’s a fun video about that and it’s done tastefully, no gratuitous twerk down which ain’t a bad thing, It all has its place and time, and this was our take on this type of energy.
Madoa: That it’s a good, quality song that you can vibe to. The video for “That’s That Girl” puts you in a good mood and it conjures up a nice, spring day with plush greenery and beautiful women around.
Where and when did you two first connect?
Sudan: Met through some mutual friends and did some impromptu recording that sounded good. Madoa and I just naturally connected and got to be friends with music as the primary backdrop.
How did you get started in music? What’s the backstory there?
Sudan: I heard the message at about 5 or 6 years old on tape and the beat and lyrics just had me so excited about what I was hearing. I really got into music as a whole and once I got to college, I started freestyling and writing rhymes a bit.
Madoa: I have been freestyling since I was a teenager but really got into making songs while in the Army. My love for making music as well as favorable responses from my peers led me to take it more seriously. I just love the process of creating, from recording, mixing, mastering, just everything. I really become immersed in the whole process, from the beginning to the end.
Where are you from?
Sudan: I’m from Cumberland County NC, Spring Lake + Fayetteville over the course of my life up until I left when I was 23/24 to Raleigh.
Madoa: I was raised in Newport News, VA but have been in NC for twenty-three years. I resided in Fayetteville for eleven years and moved to Raleigh in 2011. I represent all three cities and both states in my music.
Did your hometown impact your sound?
Sudan: Naw, not really. I wasn’t connected to the local music, I did hear it, but I was listening and putting together slow song mixtapes to deal with these women folk at the trailer so… when cable was just coming out and I would see it at a friend’s house, and I loved the music. At the time D103 and Foxy 99 would play some hip-hop stuff sporadically, at least from my perspective. And that’s where and how I connected to music and the influence it had on me.
Madoa: I guess growing up in Newport News impacted my sound a lot due to the type of hip-hop that was prevalent in Virginia. I grew up listening to a lot of East Coast hip-hop so that affected my approach to rhyming.
Which artists in your opinion are killing it right now?
Sudan: Spillage Village, Red Hot Chili Peppers put something out I am feeling, JID… ummm yeah, I’m still sick on ‘80s soft rock, to be honest. They killed it so hard in the ‘80s; if you play the song now, it’s killing.
Madoa: Benny the Butcher, Cordae, JID, and Nas are definitely killing it right now.
What’s your definition of success?
Sudan: I think for me just being interviewed is success. I’ve never really driven any impressive numbers based on the metrics. I’ve pretty much failed at this my whole time. My energy ain’t created for that type of impact… really don’t make me none. I still consider myself successful. I do the type of music I want to do and I ain’t constrained to any false ideations on what they should mean for me.
Madoa: My definition of success is building a loyal fanbase and expanding the reach of my music. I would like to become well-known and respected as an artist among my contemporaries and become one of the artists everyone is checking for.
What can your fans expect over the next six months? New material? Live gigs?
Sudan: I really don’t know that I have any fans or anything of that sort. I would like to put some new, more underground stuff out, but my equipment is down, so I need to figure out a new setup or something man … sheesh somebody help me out!
Madoa: I have several EPs that I plan on releasing this year punctuated by an official project called ‘Midlife.’ I am going to release a few videos as well to accompany ‘Midlife.’ I am excited about it because I have some great production and the songs I have so far, are amazing!
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