If “Cidida x Eibol” doesn’t sound like your typical rap group, that’s because they’re aren’t. The story of Cidida x Eibol begins in 2006 at Chung King Music Studio in New York, when the pair squatted in an unused loft on the studio’s 11th floor. Eibol had recently returned from promoting his album “Karma Kingdom”, while Cidida was gaining notoriety on BET’s Freestyle Friday. Slowly Cidida began to partner with Eibol, eventually creating “Ludwig, Can You Hear Me” — which matches Cidida’s lyrical prowess with Eibol’s precise production. With its beautiful and sometimes haunting undertones, “Ludwig, Can You Hear Me” manages to have something for all audiences — offering up tunes like “Jewels” for the hardcore hip-hop fan, or “Sorry” — a pop track with an old-school vibe. “I Want You” sounds like something Ringo Starr’s grandchild would have made, while “Back to Brooklyn” sounds like something Ali Shaheed Muhammad would have produced. Cidida is often heard riding Eibol’s beats double-time throughout the album (imagine Yellawolf as a New Yorker in 1991). The song I’m sure Ludwig can hear is “Slow Motion” — appropriately the last track on the record, and the best example of the two’s most potent talents — production and flow.

URB recently sat down with the Brooklyn duo to talk rap, Vera Ward Hall, and reality.

URB: How long did the album take to make, and what was your process like?

Eibol: The album took a year and a half to create from start to finish.

Cidida: As far as process goes, we knew from the jump we didn’t want it to be a conventional hip-hop album. So the only guideline we had was, there shouldn’t be a guideline — the music should reflect all the influences we gathered up until the point of creating this album.

Eibol: We’d watch documentaries and listen to everything from Prince to Vera Ward Hall, hit up different museums and galleries before we would sit down to create. Once we began cooking up we relied heavily on the instinct and feeling in the room at the time, vibing off one another.

URB: Was there a particular statement you wanted to make with the album?

Eibol: We wanted this record to connect with people from all walks of life using both humanity and emotion as a catalyst.

Cidida: Yeah, there tends to be a giant gap between what a lot of artists in the spotlight are talking about and what everyday people are going through. We wanted to focus on reality.

Eibol: On this record we want to show people it’s okay to be “Sorry”, to have “Belief” — as well as take a stand to “Do Something”. That was important for us.

URB: Where do you think you fit in todays music scene?

Cidida: Our goal isn’t to fit in to any particular scene. Thats the problem with classification, you end up boxing yourself in trying to meet the markets standards. Have you seen the markets standards? It couldn’t be less involved with the concern of actual talent. They place a spotlight on image and ignorance over originality and skill. So to answer your question, we’re more concerned with creating our own scene than fitting in.

URB: How has the music landscape changed since your last release?

Eibol: The obvious change for me would be companies as well as fans have gone totally digital. I can remember when it was corny to say you had online fans. Now it’s all about how many downloads you have and how many followers you rack up. I like it though, it allows a lot of power and freedom at our fingertips. You can do so much more on your own now to connect with people. That is until the powers that be start fucking with bandwidth.

URB: Whats next?

Cidida: Touring around the album, creating new music as well as implementing live instrumentation to my repertoire.

Eibol: Staying busy, Cidida and I already have plans for the next project together… I also have an EP in the works I’m producing for Key Huggins who was featured on “Jewels” and “Why”.

DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM FREE AT: www.ludwigcanyouhearme.com

RELATED POSTS: