"We Sit On Leather."

We have every reason to believe that the next wave of iconoclastic music to come out of Seattle will a tsunami of hip-hop. Himanshu Suri of Das Racist may be of the same mind. He signed Seattle hip-hop/dance punk happening Don’t Talk to the Cops and put out their album Don’t Quit on his Greedhead. But that was weeks ago. This week, they’re MTV Iggy’s Artist of the Week! Swag treated treated swag, ya’ll.

These two might not work with the police, but they were ready to tell us everything. Collaborating on answers to our questions as they do on their music, DJ blesOne and emcee emecks illuminated some of the most cryptic tracks from their album, like “I Don’t Like Rachel” and “I Like Nerds.” They brought us up to date on hip-hop culture in their city. They even revealed the derivation of that provocative name. Read on: they can explain everything.

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How does it feel to be artist of the week?

We love that the people are behind us, especially the town. They always have been since the beginning and that’s what made us. We’re the people’s “people” people.

blesOne, do you really say “Hey, girl your kisses taste like math” on “I Like Nerds?” What does math taste like?

That is what I say. Math tastes complex, those are the best kisses.

Do you really like nerds?

Love em! We’re the two biggest nerds we know and we love each other! Proof!

Who is Rachel and what is your problem with her?

She’s that person who always comes around mad at the world and just takes negative shots at everyone all day. She tries to suck you into her misery but pretend that she’s not. She’s basically the dark side and this is Han Solo and Leia. We ain’t havin’ it.

Who is El Mizell and what is his role in Don’t Talk to the Cops?

He’s our DJ, hypeman and one of our best friends. He also came to chestize.

If you could change one thing about hip-hop right now what would it be?

We’d get rid of all the division and hatred with all these genres. It’s pointless to put anything into a box because it stops its growth.

Are you rappers?

It’s probably more like, somewhere in the middle of the vocal Bermuda triangle of rapping, singing & yelling, you’ll find us on the deck of a sail boat drinking margaritas.

What is your view of Seattle hip-hop?

It’s the most exciting it’s been for a while. The community is strong and there are great artists like Shabazz Palaces, Thee Satisfaction and Champagne Champagne killing it. But what most people don’t know is how deep and crazy our b-boy scene is here. Some of the best b-boys in the world come from Seattle.

What is the all-time best band to come out of Seattle?

For us it’s gonna be Nirvana. They pretty much influenced all the music and attitude in our generation here, and it all still resonates so heavily.

How did you get your name? Are you saying you don’t advocate cooperating with police?

We thought of the name when John T. Williams (a well-known, local homeless man) was killed by a cop two blocks from our apartment. There has been a lot of recent misconduct by police in Seattle that has caused mistrust in our community. We wanted to name the band something that would make you think about it or bring up this conversation with someone when you hear it. All we’re saying is, know your rights as a human being, don’t let them punk you.

I think you guys should have your own kids show. If you did, what would it be like and what lessons would you seek to impart to young minds?

It would be all puns and animation. We’d teach kids how to dance and sing about whatever they’re thinking at the time, ’cause that’s what we do.

When do you know you had a good show?

When blesOne is laying on the ground singing.

What should Don’t Talk to the Cops fans and friends watch for next?

Let’s Quit comes out on cassette next month with an exclusive mixtape called Smooth Posers on the B side. Our crew LOVE FAMILY will put out new music from our other two groups Mash Hall and Upgrayedd. And our b-boy crew Them Team are performing and battling around the world. We also have a lot more smooth posing after that. And we sit on leather.