The buzz about Shwayze

(Credit: Jason Odell)

The words “Malibu” and “trailer park” seem like they shouldn’t even appear in the same sentence. But that’s where 22-year-old Aaron “Shwayze” Smith grew up—in a doublewide overlooking the Pacific, just a few miles from the multi-million dollar mansions of Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson.

“I love it,” the young rapper says of his hometown. “I grew up around a lot of money, but I didn’t have money myself, so that made me not really care about it. And it helped my music, because all my friends were all into different things.”

One of those friends is Cisco Adler, a producer and frontman of the band Whitestarr, which was the subject of a short-lived VH1 reality show called “The Rock Life.” Adler and Shwayze met when both were performing at a local venue called the Malibu Inn; Shwayze was looking for a sound that suited the stoned, beach-friendly vibe of his raps, and Adler provided it, cooking up a catchy mix of programmed beats and acoustic guitars that’s equal parts Kid Rock, Sugar Ray and Gym Class Heroes. Before long, the pair had scored both a record deal (with Geffen, which releases Shwayze’s self-titled debut on Aug. 19) and an MTV reality show, “Buzzin’,” that chronicles their pursuit of babes, blunts, beach parties and the musical big time.

Between stops on the Warped Tour in Canada, Shwayze and Adler checked in with us to discuss life in the ‘Bu, the hazards of reality television and their plans to follow in the footsteps of Adler’s father Lou (who directed the Cheech and Chong cult classic “Up in Smoke”) with a pot comedy of their own.

So how are your shows going over with the punk kids?
Cisco Adler: You know what? The kids aren’t punks.
Shwayze: Yeah, dude, we got Shwayze fans. It’s so crazy. We weren’t sure before we came on [the Warped Tour] how it was gonna be. But dude, we got kids with crazy lip rings and gauges in their ears bumpin’ out to Shwayze, and we got the stoner kids—we got everybody.
CA: You look out at our crowd and you have sort of, like, a glimpse of the future. And it makes you feel OK for a second.

Do a lot of people in Malibu listen to hip-hop? It’s not all Beach Boys and Jack Johnson?
S: Naw, it’s like the rest of the world.
CA: Hip-hop is in bank commercials now.
S: Even when Jay-Z or Lil Wayne comes through, it’s white girls in the front row.
CA: I think hopefully the genre thing is over. Back in the day, everyone wasn’t so hung up on slotting something into a genre. We don’t sit there and make our music in order for someone then to ask us how to define it. It sort of like back in the New Orleans days when they were like, give me a dash of this, give me a little of that.
S: A dab of this.
CA: It’s a perfect blend. And then you cook it on “high.” [Laughs]

Talk a little about how you guys first met. You were both performing at a place called the Malibu Inn, right?
S: Yeah, you know, thinking back, I can’t recall the first moment we ever met. But I’ve always known of Cisco, you know what I’m saying? We were always running into each other; it’s a small town. I think that Malibu Inn night was maybe the first time he made note of me, you know what I mean? And a couple months, maybe even a year after that, I heard he made rap records, too. So I went to one of his infamous parties and [was] like, “Yo, bro, you wanna produce me? I’m a rapper, I swear, give me a chance, blah blah blah.” And he was like, “Don’t come at me when you’re drunk, dude.” [Laughs]
CA: When I think back, I was down from the beginning. I just got to make sure people are really serious. There’s a million people who do it, but this was one where I was like, “OK, this dude looks like he’s got something. Now it’s more about if he really wants to do it or not.” There’s a lot of talent out there, but some people are playing guitar on the 3rd Street Promenade, you know what I mean? This is a hustle.

What’s the most embarrassing thing that MTV’s caught on tape so far?
S: I mean, I guess it’s embarrassing how I handled my whole court situation in the first episode. [Ed. note: Shwayze was arrested for allegedly selling fake IDs and nearly missed his court date by accepting a gig in Phoenix.]  And also my look: sometimes I have really nappy hair, or I just woke up and didn’t realize cameras were gonna shoot me. But you know what? At least the kids see that and it’s like, “Yo, he’s a real motherfucker who’s like, whatever.”

Have you guys had a chance to see “Pineapple Express” yet? Since I know that film’s subject matter plays an important role in your lyrics.
S: Not yet, but we’re making our own “Pineapple Express.”
CA: We’re working on a script for a new movie right now that’s gonna really shine a light, if you will, on the subject.

Seriously? Is your father Lou gonna be involved in that at all?
CA: Only as my mentor, as always. But he knows a little bit about the subject, so we might have to defer to him every now and then.

He might be a creative consultant? Isn’t that what they call it?
S: [Laughs] Exactly.
CA: Yeah, we’re gonna try and get Cheech and Chong involved. We’re gonna do the whole nine.