The Art of Collaboration with David Banner & 9th Wonder

Tuesday night I stopped by TriBeCa to attend “The Art of Collaboration” Q&A with David Banner and 9th Wonder. Initially, I thought it was a bizarre combination with the two of them joining forces. Hearing their stories as individuals inside and outside of music, as well how they came to be as a unit, made me understand why this collaboration is a NECESSITY for music. The intimiate discussion was epic in itself; the music they played for the small crowd just reaffirmed there are indeed genuises within David Banner and 9th Wonder.

The Q&A was hosted by Peter Rosenberg of whom fired questions about what the artists think about the state of hip hop, how David Banner and 9th came to be, their thoughts on Nicki Minaj and her creative capacity, today’s consumers lack of support for good music, and why Death of a Popstar is important for music. Most questions were answered by David, while 9th chimed in here and there. Their creativity and passion for their project spilled off the stage; there was no denying these men were on a mission to break barriers with this collaboration.

Though people seem to associate David Banner with dirty south/stripper music, his persona didn’t come off that way. Besides him being a college grad, he shared knowledge about the music industry, his implementation of spiritualism daily, all with a passion that could not be contained throughout the Q&A. He does admit that he is at a different state of mind when it comes to music nowadays, and even admitted that he now gets uncomfortable when he performs “Play.” Death of a Popstar is the project that creates that creative balance to his dirty south tracks of the past. Although he says he has grown into a different state, he did not hesitate to tell us he “still loves titties!”

I did get to chat with the both of them for a while; I gave 9th his props, and came away with a bit of advice from David Banner concerning inspiration, and also how he charges his batteries from time to time. In the end I walked away inspired. There was something that Banner said that struck a chord inside of me, he said “God is not such a cruel person, that he would let you dream of something that couldn’t be achieved.” He then went on to explain that someone dreamed of walking on the moon, and well, the rest is history.

And oh, I forgot, they previewed the tracks for us and all I can say is that the lyrics were just as ridiculous as the beats. This is definitely a project I will support when it releases.