Ninjasonik are Tight Ass Pant Wearin’ N@!#%s… and they’re lovin’ it.
By Megan Martin

It’s yet another cold, breezy night in Brooklyn when I arrive at a non-descript door on Bayard Street near McCarren Park. A friendly guy in a leather coat shuffles me in the hallway to a club called The Shank, noting the Baltic winds. Once inside I find a couple guys lingering around the turntables near the stage. Jah Jah and Telli Gramz of Ninjasonik are sipping on cans of Miller Lite and cracking jokes – nothing too new.

This up-and-coming rap-rock band have created some of the most interesting sounds to come out of the underground Brooklyn rock scene and they are taking full advantage of the new found notoriety. Using the up-tempo flavor of Baltimore music mixed with dance beats, punk rock and freestyle rapping, Ninjasonik are taking their noise on the road with fellow Brooklyn rockers Japanther for a countrywide tour. Their songs “Tight Pants” and “Art School Girls” have become internet phenomena through the anyone-can-be-famous ideology of You Tube and Myspace.

Without ever rehearsing, Teenwolf (the DJ), Jah Jah (the punk) and Telli (the rapper) bring an unequivocal energy to their shows, incorporating influences from across the board and mixing beats that get the crowd shaking. Tonight is no exception, and holding them down for an interview is like keeping a whirlwind in a paper bag – they need to be out among the crowds, dancing and ensuring that the whole party is having just as good of a time as they are.

Despite their inertia-like intensity, Telli and Jah Jah are gracious enough to find a semi-quiet room above the stage to discuss their likeness of being, the trio of brothers that makes up Ninjasonik, skating, and more or less just loving life…

WC: So when did Ninjasonik all start?

Jah Jah: Maybe like two years ago, time flies when you’re having fun. Kevin [Teenwolf Ross] and I met up in the Bronx. My old roommate [Sterling]—that I’ve known forever—met Kevin and introduced him to me. He DJ’d a bunch of parties with [Ross] around Williamsburg and the LES. Then I met Ross at Go Skate day, and maybe two or three weeks later I came home and Sterling was like, ‘You gotta meet this dude, you gotta meet this dude.’ I get to the house and I was like ‘I know you! We met at Tompkins Square Park!’

Telli: That’s crazy because that’s his side of shit—but then my side is I was drumming in my own band, and rehearsal was at some spot, a random lounge and I heard the “Tight Pants” [song] through Teenwolf and he’s like, ‘Yo this shit tight, you can put a verse on it if you want. And he’s like you gotta meet Jah Jah, he’s the shit.’ Then low and behold, next thing, we get in the crib to lay the verse down and Jah Jah’s there and it’s like ooooh.

Jah Jah: I had just come from skating that day…

Telli: Tell her about how the whole Ninjasonik thing started though. It started before I was involved in that.

Jah Jah: Basically, we pretty much just took the whole Baltimore up-tempo sound that New York became accustomed to and we tried to flip it. If you know Baltimore music, it’s like ‘Shorty got a fat ass, hit it from the back..’ and we were like, ‘Well, we can make songs like that joking around.’ I can make a funny song like that. ‘HIV’s gonna be the death of me…’ Who would say that?? Let’s take it to the extreme where it’s danceable.

But we were like, ‘Would we really do this, is that really acceptable in music?’ The whole “Tight Pants” thing just came from my boy Sterling and me growing up in the Bronx. People were always saying to us ‘Look at this tight pants wearin’ ass nigga’.’

It’s funny because the whole term ‘wearin’ ass nigga’, it’s like oh you old ‘sideways bang in the face wearin ass nigga’ you old ‘red pants, baseball hat wearin’ ass nigga’. So when people hear it and they don’t know they’re like, ‘I can’t believe you’d say that!’
It’s like, ‘What up nigga, what’s good nigga…’

Telli: If you piss me off, first thing I’m gonna say is ‘You old something wearin’ ass nigga’… it’s like the way we talk to each other. It’s a joke.

WC: You reference everyone from Ol’ Dirty Bastard to GG Allin. How do you think those influences impact your sound and the way you present your music?

Jah Jah: I think it’s just the attitude of everything. I mean, ODB,  never really cared about someone’s opinion of him. Like, ‘I’m going to be myself no matter what, and even if it’s inappropriate I’m gonna be myself.’ And whoever knows about GG [Allin], knows that GG didn’t give a fuck. He was like, ‘I’m gonna jerk off in front of a crowd, shit on myself, punch you in the face if you try to play me and if you don’t like it, don’t like it. And if you do, do. And if you want to come to my show then cool, I’m not force feeding this to you.’
That’s what gets people about us; it’s not even just the shows we play, it’s just being out and around us. People are like ‘Oh Ninjasonik, what’s up?’ It’s just the way we’re living.. Each and every one of us has our own lifestyle. They’ll be a few days where Telli, Teenwolf and I don’t chill, but we’ll always be in contact. People will be like ‘Yo, I was with Telli yesterday we had the raddest time’ or ‘I was with Teenwolf, we got hella blunted. That dude’s the man, and put me on some beats.’ ‘Yo, I was with Jah, we was out doing some graffiti and like hoppin’ bars and we were everywhere.’

It’s different personalities but all together it’s like one big party package, you know?

Telli: That’s what makes it so special, our shit is like three brothers in a household. It’s like each brother does their own shit, but we do it together. Don’t get it twisted though, we don’t just sit around, we’ll tour the country and have a blast. But we bring three different elements and backgrounds together to create this music. There’s no label, it’s three different energies that create the show. We’ve never even rehearsed.

Jah Jah: Yeah, it was funny—ever rehearsed. We tried one time, and I came two hours late and they were pissed at me. And it was like alright whatever, and we just never rehearsed again.

Telli: When we rehearse, we just end up making new music. We rehearse it out there [points out to the stage]; the show is our rehearsal.

WC: What would you say each of you contribute to the band, what are your different elements?

Telli: That’s easy. I’m a rapper. Jah is a punk, but he’s becoming a rapper too now. And Teenwolf is a DJ. And that’s it. But we’re all rubbing off on each other.

WC: Where are you guys from?

Jah Jah: I’m from the Bronx. I grew up right next to Yankee Stadium

Telli: I’m from Brooklyn. We all grew up in my Grandma’s house in Crown Heights, but then my moms moved to Flatbush, but then my cousin live in Bed-Stuy, and my other cousin…

Jah Jah: Houses upon houses…

Telli: So I embody Brooklyn all over. I’m from Brooklyn for real.

Teenwolf is from Buffalo, went to school in the Bronx. He lived in Bushwick for awhile.

Jah Jah: Don’t get it twisted though; we go coast to coast. We go to the West Coast and we got hella homies there, we go out there and they’re like ‘You need food, you need a place to stay, anything you need, we got you.’

That’s another thing that we’re all about, just making people appreciate your friends. There’s plenty of times where [promoters] are like you gotta play shows that are 21 and over and we’ll be like alright, and [he pauses]– nah, not even off the record – we’re like we’re gonna sneak you in the back door. Let’s see who’s got a fake ID or this is my brother, just walk in with me. Whatever it takes for someone to have a good night and get their stress off, it’s the most important thing.

I look at a lot of artists and their fans are like ‘You’re my idol.’ And we’re like, ‘Fuck that man, kill your idols, we’re all on the same level.’ At the end of the day, we still gotta pay rent, we still got bills to pay, and it’s tight...

[To Telli]Aw man, fools from your brother’s block, little skater kids were like ‘Yo, Ninjasonik!’ On my walk from my crib in Bushwick to here tonight, and they were like, ‘We’re coming through, we’re coming over there man, let me get your autograph.’ And I was like ‘Fuck that, you don’t want my autograph, you’re my homie now, I’m gonna skate with you. Meet me at the monument after tour, we’re gonna go kick it.’