Divine Council Interview by Joseph Genest Photos by William Cherry
“You wouldn’t know it, but there’s a park back there, it’s beautiful. Linco used to swim in there as a kid,” says Cyrax of Divine Council, pointing to a nondescript patch of trees. On the surface, it doesn’t look like much; just a string of woods a lot like the spots you made the best of near your childhood home.
Despite their growing fame and fan base, the group seems unfazed by the weight of it all. In sitting down with them, I learned why this is where they feel like they should be--crafting and developing their work over the past couple of years (despite the lack of local love) to now deliver Council Season to the world.
I ask if that was the spot where they used to hide out while skipping school to smoke weed.
Talk to me a little bit about how Divine Council was formed.
“Yeah!” Cyrax laughs. As we walk, he points to other places along our way that a passing eye wouldn’t think twice of. But to him, these are memories of youth and mischief, days that aren’t too far removed from where the 18-year-old MC finds himself today.
Lord Linco: I mean, I’m always doing my own thing when it comes to music, but Divine Council was just an idea at first. And then I met Cyrax early in 2013 at a birthday party or something.
Cruising through Northside somewhere between Richmond International Raceway and Azalea Avenue, we’re on our way to pick up his collaborators, Lord Linco and $ilk Money, from the Southside. Along with Chicago-based producer ICYTWAT, the three make up Divine Council, a collective that, despite having not a single member older than 19, have received some accolades even household names didn’t attain this early on. 2015 has been a big year for the Council. They’ve collaborated with one of their idols, Phillybased rapper Asaad, and received shout-outs from the likes of A$AP Mob, Playboy Carti, and trendsetter/tastemaker Ian Connor. Their songs on SoundCloud have amassed as many as 200,000 listens, and two were even included on the latest playlist from hip hop internet celebrity 40oz Van. And yet, despite their recent successes online, they’ve been relatively quiet on the local scene. Sure, they’ve received recognition on a national scale that’s unusual for Richmond artists, but it hasn’t been until the past couple months has the city started to take notice. Lately, though, they’ve been paying attention in a big way. A couple weeks before this interview, I caught their headlining performance at Strange Matter. I was curious to see how the local crowd responded now that they’d gained a little national love, especially since each member of Divine Council brings their own unique sound to the group, blending a range of styles from bounce to cloud-rap. 28
“...N****s outside of Richmond were f**KINg with us before n****s in Richmond were f**king with us. Nobody in Richmond knew who the f**k we was. And then when they knew who we was, they didn’t even know we were from Richmond. “Wow, you all are in Richmond. Why?” We live here n****, this is our home...” Needless to say, the show was live--the packed crowd moshed along to every song. Hell, even songs that give a relaxed vibe on record, like Cyrax’s “I Like,” somehow turned into high-energy hype, with the crowd reciting every word.
Cyrax: I had just met this nigga and we had just been kicking it all the time and recording, just chilling. It wasn’t even on some music shit at first, just some friend shit. The music came second. $ilk Money: I was just chilling in my room writing, but I never laid anything down or had any intentions of laying anything down. I was just selling weed, that’s what I love to do. That, and beating nigga’s asses. Lord Linco: Yeah, I already knew $ilk for a minute, I knew $ilk for a long time. It was just on some homie shit. Cyrax: Yeah, we all knew of him, but I didn’t really know him. I knew of him because he was always showing love and shit. We used to have these early ass shows back in the day and that nigga was on stage like he was in Divine Council, back in 2013. I’m curious to how you all developed your sound that’s sort of falling into this new school tier of trap. All: Nah, nah nah. $ilk: Fuck that trap shit. Ain’t shit trap over here. We don’t make trap music, ain’t no finessin’, ain’t no ‘I’m going with the sack, ain’t no need to ask you for your money back.’ Ain’t none of that shit, you feel me? That trap shit, I’m not going to say all of it, a lot of it is fabricated. RVA MAGAZINE 23 | WINTER 2015