Substance Abuse on DJ Obi’s “Don’t Get Us Wrong” Remix With Tash of Tha Liks

Eso Tre: We didn’t really plan the releases to be contemporaneous, we had just been working on completing DJ Obi’s remix EP and this was the last remix we wanted to put out. But in a way the timing, while inadvertent, is good because we’re letting people know about our journey beyond “Overproof.” This remix of our song with Tash, in particular, pays homage to the old school in a special way and that was one of the things that people liked about “Overproof,” that it captured a spirit that had largely died in hip hop.

Eso Tre: The original track, which was a real tour de force produced by Waes One, was the first track we released after “Overproof” and it let people know we weren’t one album wonders, that we intended to last in the game and keep putting out dope material. But everything can be re-imagined, so we thought why not make this the final remix release from DJ Obi’s EP, a way of coming full circle with a song that re-introduced us to the world after our first album. Tash is such a great emcee, that we thought why not give new life to this already dope cut we had with him.

Eso Tre: Subz and I had always been big Alkaholiks fans. We went to the release party for “Coast to Coast” and always thought of the Likwit Crew as being one of the ensembles that put Los Angeles on the map. We’ve done songs with a lot of our heroes, but it’s something different when you do something with a dope emcee that represents your city. Also, because we were deliberately trying to do a party type track, we thought what better emcee than Tash to bring up in the mix.

Eso Tre: The original was super dope, so I think it’s not about bringing something it didn’t have as much as it is just giving it a different flavor. DJ Obi is a great talent and brings his own vibe and flavor to things. I think the both mixes have a party type vibe, but maybe one way to look at it is the original is more a house party beat, and the new beat, while still having old school flavor, is something that might be more geared for the club. We’re from the house party era of hip hop, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t do something more geared for the present.

Eso Tre: This will be the last remix of a song from Background Music by DJ Obi, but we are going to release a bonus track off that EP called “Dayz of Delinquency” featuring our homie Nebz Supreme and the legendary Moka Only from Canada. Be on the lookout for that. We are also currently working on the next Substance Abuse album, “Cooler Heads Prevail,” so expect a new single from that album to drop very soon, as well as the animated video for the “Profitless Thoughts” remix featuring MF Doom, produced by Kutmasta Kurt.