Ascendant St. Louis artist Smino recently sat down with the illustrious Damon Campbell, a.k.a. The Second Coming of Nardwuar, in Pontiac, Michigan to relive his high school musical adventures.
At Campbell's request, Smino delved into his early days as the Retail Junkies, his old group with his high school buddy Bari. After winning his class's superlatives for Most Likely to Be Famous and Best Rapper, he was immediately challenged to rap battle by a kid named Jordan Jones and proceeded to get smoked.
Smino revealed that he had a brief stint in his school's marching band. ("That shit got weak") and gushed about his grandfather, a bass guitarist who played with Sam Cooke and Muddy Waters and was inducted into the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame. "My granddad is cold," he said.
Said Smino of Campbell's ability to dig up obscure factoids: "This nigga the police."
Watch the interview and listen to Smino's debut album blkswn.