Andre Gee Interview (Freelance Writer)
Andre Gee is one of my favorite writers of the moment, crafting vital dispatches for his #morefire newsletter and various publications. After reading his “ALL Rap Music Is Political” piece in early July, I got in touch to see if he’d be interested in doing an interview.
How did you get to where you are today, professionally?
I’ve always been reading and writing from a young age. I went to Duke Ellington School of the Arts, a HS that taught me almost everything I know about writing, in all forms (fiction, poetry, as well as journalism). I stopped being creative (writing-wise) when I went to Shippensburg University for a year, then I came back to DC and started working at a job I ended up hating. In 2013 I moved to NYC as a change of scenery. Around that same time I rekindled my writing via angst poetry and tumblr music/society rants, ha.
Eventually, people were receptive to what I had to say, I started to write for smaller blogs, and then opportunities continued to grow from there. By 2015 I was so exasperated by my job I just quit to pursue writing full time. I was doing other odd jobs to supplement my income, but writing was my priority. I started writing for Cypher League, then Impose Magazine, which established relationships with people who would look out for me later with other writing opportunities.
One day in 2017 (IIRC) I pitched Uproxx. Then-music editor Caitlin White liked my pitch, and eventually asked me to start writing more often for the team. The work I did with Uproxx turned into even more opportunities with outlets like XXL, VIBE, Okayplayer, and other outlets. I guess everything’s been a matter of people liking my work and wanting it on their outlet, ha.
Did you have any mentors along the way? What did they teach you?
No mentors, but since I didn’t go to journalism school, I feel like I’ve learned so much about the craft through the editors I’ve worked with along the way, specifically Aaron Williams, Ivie Ani, Caitlin White, and others who taught me a lot and challenged me to improve my craft.
Walk me through a typical day-to-day for you right now.
These days, “in these times,” it’s me just in the house writing. I’m not an early riser at all, because I’m so nocturnal. I do digital marketing work on the side, which can take priority during the afternoon.
Then I’m usually writing and/or listening to music by the evening into the late night. In between that time I’m reading, listening to podcasts and interviews (always wanna stay on top of things and have context for pieces) watching the occasional basketball game or rap battle, or taking a walk that helps me reset my mind and brainstorm pieces. My day is heavily focused on writing.
What does your media diet look like?
Most of my exposure to good writing is via the things people share on Twitter. I don't really follow outlets as much as the writers I respect. I also listen to podcasts and commentary on YouTube to learn about what’s going on, consider other worldviews and learn history.
How has your approach to your work changed over the past few years?
I think the main thing, which is something most people learned a lot earlier probably, is to take more time with pieces. For years I would write my pieces in one sitting, come back for some minor tweaks, and then turn it in. But now, over the past two years especially, I feel like I have more responsibility to sit with the work and scrutinize it. I ask myself if there’s more I could be saying or if I could be conveying it smoother.
I feel like in many ways I’m not just writing for the newshole, I’m writing for people to read down the line. So that’s why my pieces tend to be so long, thorough, and well-researched. I want someone to come away from my work feeling like they learned a lot, rather than just reading a piece of ephemera.
Another thing that I’ve learned personally that’s reflected in my writing is nuance. I used to be heavy on binaries and reductive reasoning, but the more you read and live, the more you understand that everything that happens derives from a confluence of social factors. I make it my intent to explore them all.
Lastly, another thing that’s changed is my distaste for social constructs, and my desire for people to really rethink the way they engage with music and other media. When I first started writing I would express myself from the perspective of the average music consumer—then I started rethinking consumerism. I’m really focused on conveying that the root causes of so many societal ills come from people with nefarious motivations. So if the source of our culture is rotten, we should reexamine cultural norms.
How do you organize your work?
Nothing special here. I keep all my work on my hard drive and on Google Drive. I need to get a PDF folder of all my work too. I have a note in my phone for pitch ideas, but most times I send off pitches pretty soon after I think them up. The note isn’t something I look at extensively. I’ll just write a thesis in there if I’m out or busy, then brainstorm it some more when I get a chance.
Where do you see music journalism headed?
I’m excited about the proliferation of newsletters and platforms that are allowing writers to cultivate direct-to-reader relationships. I think we’ve seen with all the mass layoffs that music outlets aren’t reliable. And the ones that do have stable situations have questionable ethics and limits on what you can and can’t express. That’s the give and take of capitalism.
Writers having their own newsletters and doing for self should be the norm going forward. Anyone doing anything creative should have a venue where they can directly engage supporters.
What would you like to see more of in music journalism right now?
More work that explores how social justice and pop culture, specifically hip-hop culture intertwine. You used to read The Source and they’d have articles about social movements, politics, other brain food.
I want to see more investigative journalism. I want to see people challenging the structural dynamics of the industry. I want to see more independent artists being highlighted.
We also need to amplify the courageous voices, especially people challenging newsroom and industry racial dynamics.
I’d love a renewed focus on fuller, more robust pieces that can stand the test of time. Like not just takes on why what someone said this week was dumb, but pieces that really capture our time, that people will be able to read 25 years from now.
I want to see more editorial purviews that recognize hip-hop as a Black artform first.
What would you like to see less of in music journalism right now?
Less irresponsible social media-based news accounts. It’s cool that people are doing their thing independently, but that dynamic gives people (who aren’t journalists and don’t respect journalistic integrity) leeway to post a graphic with a caption and have it taken as fact. People run with it and that becomes the narrative. I saw a venerated rap publication run a story from a site that posts fake news, with no source. We gotta make sourcing imperative even with independent outlets. Don’t try to be first or exclusive more than you try to make sure you got it right.
I wish outlets would move away from this bytey, ephemeral editorial model where every outlet feels compelled to aggregate the same news posts, which ultimately benefits a small portion of artists who know how to rile that news cycle.
I wish we could get away from sensationalism and reporting on vapidity just because people click on it.
What's one tip that you'd give a music journalist starting out right now?
Network offline. Making real-life, tangible connections is the basis for a sustainable career.
What artist or trend are you most interested in right now?
I’m excited about any independent artist taking it to the label and challenging industry constructs, whether that’s Roc Marciano making his music model as direct to consumer as possible, Noname setting the terms for who she wants to perform in front of, or artists like Young Dolph taking the profile the label helped them grow and going independent. Beat the majors at their own game.
What's your favorite part of all this?
The opportunity to earn a living exploring popular topics that people talk about all day is a blessing.
What was the best track / video or film / book you've consumed in the past 12 months?
The power and bravery of “Song 33.” Noname truly is the catalyst for a new vanguard of artistry that harkens to hip-hop’s antiestablishment ethos. She didn’t try to make some fake industry “moment” out of the disagreement between her and Cole, she stood up to patriarchy and dismantled him bar-by-bar in a way that wasn’t disrespectful, but instructive.
If you had to point folks to one piece of yours, what would it be and why?
Probably my “ALL Rap Is Political” piece because I finally expressed ideas about the inherent social value of rap that I had been thinking but didn’t know how to convey. I long to encourage people to rethink how they engage with art, and that piece is at the root of it.
Anything you want to plug?