The phrase “Hip-Hop is Dead” continues to echo throughout the music industry. Maybe not. It just let its younger, hipper sibling take over. Take away the rope chains and Kangols and add fluorescent skinnys and fitteds and we’re back at the foundation of Hip-Hop. 80s music was fun. The kind of music you had to Pop ‘n Lock to. California based rap duo the New Boyz are no exception. Legacy and Ben J are only teenagers, but they serve as the carriers of the Jerkin’ bug. The movement is highly contagious and the world has been infected.

“We’re going to make jerking music because we don’t want to abandon our whole movement, but we’re all around artists. We have up-tempo tracks, R&B tracks for the ladies…”

Format: I know life is pretty crazy with the recent release of “Skinny Jeans and a Mic.”The name of album is pretty self-explanatory, but where did you guys get the name “New Boyz?”
Legacy: Pretty much we got the name because I went to a different school and I was the new boy at the school. At that school I was like the center of attention. Everybody was like, “Oh look, you see the new boy?” So when I went back to my old school, me and Ben J were thinking about making a rap group but we didn’t know what to call it. Pretty much we went with the idea about being the center of attention and that’s what the new boy is. He’s the center of attention.

Format: Recently in the media you’ve been compared to super producing group “The Neptunes” how do you guys feel about that comparison?
Ben J: I mean its whatever. That’s how they feel. Honestly, I don’t see a comparison between us and The Neptunes.

Legacy: They probably think because of the beats, but its pretty cool. It’s a better comparison than most. We’re just doing us. We’re different people.

Format: I read about Legacy’s production skills and his contribution on the producer end of “Skinny Jeans & A Mic.” The tutorials on YouTube must have worked. Which producers did you draw inspiration from?
Legacy: Uh, producers? I don’t know. Myself pretty much. [Laughs.] I started making beats because I didn’t want everybody else’s sound. We wanted our own sound. So, I had no choice but to make my own beats to get that sound.

Format: Now, when the baseline of “You’re a Jerk” drops, people bum-rush the dance floor. Did you think the song would be as infectious as it is?
Ben J: No. It was just another song we made at our house. We didn’t know it was going to be this big, but we’re happy about it. Its tight to watch everybody in the club doing the dance and get so amped up when they hear the song come on.

Format: “Your’re a Jerk” contains a sample from D4L’s “Scotty.” Where did you get the idea to feature an Atlanta snap group on your debut single and how did you get Fabo on the remix?
Ben J: When jerking first started, “Scotty” was one of the songs we were jerking to. That was the original. We put that in the song and he [Fabo] hit us up like, “Man, thanks!” So he asked us, he wanted to hop on it so we were like alright.

Format: The Reject seems to defy the laws of physics and is even harder to execute than it looks. How did you guys learn to jerk and how long did it take you to perfect your moves?
Legacy: It took a little bit of a long time for me to do it. [Laughs.] It took me some weeks, a couple weeks.

Ben J: When I first started, they told me I was doing it wrong. Afterwards, I learned like that. I’m a fast learner.

Format: The jerking movement is growing in popularity at an astounding rate and you guys are at the forefront of the movement. What other types of music can listeners expect to hear on the album?
Ben J: You can expect different songs, not just like “You’re a Jerk.” Of course we’re going to make jerking music because we don’t want to abandon our whole movement, but we’re all around artists. We have up-tempo tracks, R&B tracks for the ladies…

Legacy: We have Hip-Hop tracks for the Hip-Hop heads. We’ve got it all. It’s all around.

Format: Along with your album there have been many Hip-Hop album releases recently. What are you guys listening to right now? Whats in heavy rotation?
Ben J: Jay-Z “Blueprint 3”

Legacy: I listen to Cudi album too. His album go hard.

Format: As far as shows go, most concerts consist of the rapper and his mic. Maybe a couple paces across the stage. The energy of the New Boyz is apparent in both the music and your live performances. I know you guys have a lot of shows set up with the album out and many of these appearances and back-to-back. How do you keep the energy level up during shows?
Legacy: I mean, I don’t know. We just do it. [Laughs.]

Format: Is it more of you feeding off the crowd or are you just hyped to be on stage and it’s the rush of performing that’s keeping you energized?
Legacy: Honestly, we do feed off the crowd, but we’re always a percentage higher than the crowd. [Laughs.] I mean, we’re teenagers, so we’re supposed to have that kind of energy.

Format: Along with the music, its apparent that fashion is a major part of the jerk culture with the album title being “Skinny Jeans & A Mic.” What are some of your favorite clothing lines/streetwear brands?
Legacy: I mean you know we rock skinny jeans. I like Nikes. Blazers. You can catch Blazers on my feet all day. A dope sweater or a dope shirt Vests. Fitted hats. I gotta keep a fitted hat on. You feel me? Or a beanie. That’s a skully hat as y’all call it out there in Atlanta.

Format: Are there any particular brands you guys like or do you wear whatever you think is hot?
Legacy: Its whatever looks dope. I’ll wear anything. If anybody has their clothing line that they’re trying to put out and its hot or anything that’s our style. Send it to us. We’ll rock it for you.

“If anybody has their clothing line that they’re trying to put out and its hot or anything that’s our style. Send it to us. We’ll rock it for you.”

Format: You guys, as artists and teenagers, have a major influence over your peers. Your fans seem to take notice of what you are wearing and often imitate what you wear. Any plans of dabbling in the fashion industry?
Legacy: Yeah, as a matter of fact we are. We’re going to start our own clothing line. We’re going to start if off in different stores and whatnot. Right now we’ve got a “You’re a Jerk” shirt in Hot Topic so everyone can go buy it, but we’re going to start making our own stuff. Our own own stuff. Its going to be dope.

Format: Your rise to fame happened in seven months. Such success is hard to process. How do you keep yourselves level headed and humble with this unexpected popularity?
Legacy: I mean you gotta be level headed and humble because at the end of the day the people that you meet are a lot of the people that you’re going to need in life. Its just how my Mom raised me. We’re all the same. It’s how I was raised. I’m not about to turn on anybody or get big-headed because I get a little bit of money.

Source: New Boyz Myspace