Scythe Gang 666 stops by ROX-TV for a spell. We talk about their new drop “808’s and Screaming” coming on November 19th, getting flagged by YouTube, and busting a Mili on Spotify.

Welcome back to the ROX-TV universe, it’s been a minute since we last spoke with Scythe Gang 666. It was in August right before the Gang dropped “Hundredz of Gunz”. I believe the Gang had a premonition that the YouTube five-o would be age-restricting the video. Before we move on, I just have to ask, what’s its like to earn that coveted censorship at the record breaking “00:00:01” second mark? I know one thing, people may tie you in the future, but that one second citation will never be beaten. That’s a nice feather in the cap aigh?

King Zabb: Haha I wish we didn’t get flagged but we knew it was coming.

Maezi: I’m honored tbh lol.

Michael: You can’t say that we never amounted to anything I guess.

“Crack Addicts” video dropped on October 1st. I have to tell you, for me personally, I wish I lived a little bit closer because your parties look like a great time. How can you really go wrong with severe substance abuse, liver killing boozing, fully automatic weapons, and freaky dancers? I’m going out on a limb here but did the YouTube blood hounds age restrict the video? And did it break the record held by “Hundredz of Gunz”? (I think I know the answer but this is for the benefit of the readers at the ROX-TV website)

King Zabb: Haha you’re invited anytime. Yeah the video for “Crack Addicts” got flagged before we even released it. We shot that back in February and had been sitting on it waiting for the perfect opportunity to drop. We wanted to avoid releasing multiple flagged videos in a row but at this point all of our videos get restricted so we figured just put it out haha.

I’m not really a fan of censorship. I think it’s really fucking stupid, considering the society that we are living in now. I wonder who the censors think they are protecting at this point? Do you feel that there are people on YouTube that need to be protected from Scythe Gang 666 imagery and music? And if so, do you have alternative options for them? Perhaps an old timey blank screen video for the less adventurous?

King Zabb: YouTube can censor whatever they want, it’s their platform and we’re not entitled to anything but yeah I think they’re a little uptight. Rated R movies are 17+ but Scythe Gang 666 vids are 18+.

Maezi: To be honest I feel like they are a little bit overly cautious but I guess I get it kinda lol. Like what Zabb said it’s their platform they can do what they want with it, it’s not really my place to get mad about it. In my opinion though I think they are overly sensitive.

Michael: I sincerely believe that Scythe Gang 666 is not suitable for any audience and we must protect our children at all costs.  

All kidding aside, the reason I wanted to have you back on with us is two fold. First off I enjoy the music and I think your videos are great. Secondly and more important is that I’ve been told that “AK47” has broken a million plays on Spotify. That’s really amazing for a group that does it all on their own. Congratulations to you all. Can you talk about what this accomplishment means to the group? Looks to me like it screams “you’re on to something”.

King Zabb: It’s a very cool milestone considering all we have is the Sickle Kliq. The kliq gets hate online but everything keeps growing. We don’t like to get too caught up in streaming numbers. I’ve seen millions of streams draw an empty room and I’ve seen packed shows for people without streams. Knowing Spotify playlist curators won’t get you the Triple Six Championship which is what really matters.

Maezi: To be honest it feels amazing. I know going into releasing that song I had no idea what the reception would be like. At the end of the day though I’ve stopped thinking about the numbers or how many streams something gets. I’ve gotten to the point at least where as long as we like the track and are happy with it, and the kliq fux with it that’s all that matters.

Michael: A mili streams is cool, and achieving something like that independently in a short amount of time is cool, but there’s still a long road ahead of us.  

Just like Zabb said: Spotify numbers don’t necessarily equal success.  How much is a million streams even worth anyway?  Like 20 bucks?  

It is cool though and great to know people are actually tuning in and listening.  

You guys are like kinetic energy on speed. I understand that you have yet another single dropping in the very near future, November 19th, called “808’s and Screaming”. What can you tell the readers about this new release and the inspiration that fueled the track?

Maezi: So for “808’s and Screaming” Michael had an idea for a hook that was only screaming no words. It was written after Hundredz of Gunz so they are kind of similar sounding. But it is definitely one of my favorite songs that we’ve done.

Michael: Yeah the chorus goes AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

But the news just doesn’t cease there, apparently when I was in rehab, Skimask the Drumgod announced his departure from the group, and Scythe Gang 666 relocated to Los Angeles. That’s a lot of movement in a month or so. Can you talk about what inspired the move from Washington to LA for readers who might not understand the difference between the two towns, say perhaps someone from the Amish community in Ohio?

Maezi: For me personally I wanted a change of scenery, and to be honest with what Scythe Gang 666 is, we just vibe better with LA compared to Seattle. There is definitely a more open minded music scene, and more of a community for niche genres here. But at the end of the day the vibe is just better for us here.

Michael: Congratulations on making it out of rehab!

We wanted to come to LA for the music scene.  There’s just a lot more happening out here compared to back in Seattle.  Many more shows, artists and venues and unique opportunities that wouldn’t be available back home.  

Growing up in Seattle was great, but it’s changed a lot since I was a kid.  It used to be an art city, but it’s become super gentrified, and has lost a lot of it’s identity.  It’s mostly a place for big tech now.  The pandemic unfortunately killed off most of what was left of the music scene there and it had us feeling really stuck.   So we went where the bag is.  So far things have been going great out here, and I couldn’t be happier!

Dropping new music is apparently no problem for the Scythe Gang mob, but I will go out on a limb here and ask anyway….any new music or projects in the works beyond the drop on the 19th of this month?

Maezi: We always have new music being written. We will be trying to drop again as soon as we can. Maybe with some friends 😉

As you are aware, I dig giving groups and artists a place to showcase their music and art. I also enjoy talking to directors and producers. I’ve been interviewing artists lately, and your name/names keep popping up, whether its for the video shoot, directing, producing, etc…..I’m not sure the readers are fully aware of just talented you are all are on an individual basis as well. What do you guys like doing more….creating your own stuff or helping others achieve success with your production skills? Is it a case of multi-talented cats who can handle a lot of shit at once?

King Zabb: Haha thank you. Yeah for the readers who may not know, I’m the bassist but I also do our music videos. Scythe Gang 666’s vision is very specific so who better to execute it than the people in it. I do love working with other artists just as much as I do working on our own stuff.

I’m at a point where people come to me trusting me with their vision so I’m afforded a lot of creative freedom whether its Scythe Gang 666 videos or not. It gives me a chance to meet cool people around the country and try new things that might not be applicable to our band.

Maezi: I like both. Helping others create their vision is extremely rewarding. Scythe Gang 666 is a very specific thing that I like doing a lot, but it is nice being able to work on things that are very different from it. I definitely love the freedom though of working on our own band. But in a weird way working on other people’s music influences how Scythe Gang 666 sounds as well.

Michael: I definitely love a good crossover with other people.  We’ll pop up in our friend’s videos a lot.  I think Scythe Gang 666 is great for making “cameo appearances”.  Nothing beats making your own world though and creating a space that you can share with other people and sometimes other artists.  

I know the world is still not running correctly, due to whatever you want to blame the shit on this month. I know the weather is turning shittier everyday in Michigan and LA would probably be the place to hideout until summer, but can we expect a visit to Detroit by the Scythe Gang 666 at some point next year or beyond? You could stop by the lab and we break out the towers and the punchy balls, it would be a gas.

Maezi: Well currently we don’t have a drummer so as of right now we don’t have any plans for shows/tours. So we gotta do that first before we can even start thinking about that lol. But hopefully soon! We would love to come visit.

Michael: Touring could definitely be on the table next year though.   We had a couple opportunities this year, but the timing wasn’t right with the move and all.   Next year is a whole new game so who knows!  

Well that’s about all the time we have for tonight. As always, if you got any shout outs, please feel free to let them rip.

King Zabb: Shout out Drumgod, shout out ROX-TV. Thanks for the constant support, Mike.

Maezi: Shout out to ROX- TV and the Sickle Kliq for always having our back!

Michael: Shoutout Applebees

Big thanks for having us on!

(Author’s Note: Videos for Crack Addicts and Hundredz of Gunz are available in full on YouTube, but are age restricted. That explains the audio-versions only above)

 

Signing Off,

Mike Shepard

ROX-TV Head Writer

kidvicioius810 on IG