Somewhere in between sassy Philadelphia MC Amanda Blank’s busy schedule, Skope was able to sit down and talk to her about her life in the studio, and out of the studio. Also, she makes it clear for non-Philly natives what a jawn is, and what makes her a “fly jawn”.
How is the band you’re in, Sweatheart, going?
It’s going pretty well. I couldn’t do the recent tour because I was in Australia, but they just finished the tour, and the album is going on iTunes soon, so it’s good!
For the most part, the band is just you and your friends having fun?
Well they way it started, I joined the band with Tom and Rose, who are two of my best friends, and slowly but surely it just got bigger and bigger and it’s a real band now. Before, it was almost like a joke, very fun and silly, but over the years it developed into a real thing and I’m really proud of it.
Later in March will be the Winter Music Conference/Ultra Music Festival in Miami, and a few of your friends will be in attendance. Will you be as well?
Actually, I’m going to do a DJ AM tribute, because I love Adam and a bunch of his friends are putting it together and I wanted to be a part of that. So, I’ll definitely be there for that, but after that I’m taking a break.
Who designs the outfits you wear in your shows, like the black cloacks and glow-in-the-dark swimsuit you’ve been wearing recently?
I have all sorts of weird stuff! Mostly though, it’s my girl Ny Chhorm and Ariel Goodman.
Do you feel you’ve established a steady fanbase, rather than just being known for what you’ve done with Spank Rock and others?
Yeah, I do. From all the touring I’ve done over the years… I think I got a lot of people paying attention from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs tour and Peaches, which was an amazing tour.
You work with so many artists and DJs, is it easy for you and whoever you’re working with to find a chemistry fast?
Not always, but with some people I’ve really clicked with… XXXChange, Switch the most, and Eli Escobar, I’m really good with him. I think I’ve been really lucky because I work with my friends and there’s already a comfortable relationship there, but not always is that chemistry really easy to find. I have a couple friends I can’t work with because they drive me crazy.
Can you talk a little bit about the “Might Like You Better” video?
There’s really not much too talk about. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, and they edited it from one specfic scene.
Originally, there were all these weird things where I was in full body skin suits and I would crawl out and rip them open, and they were like “This is too Silence of the Lambs… we don’t like it”. Unfortunately, I was away and kind of lost control, and went through a sort of weird transition with my label and management over the summer.
I’m excited though, because the next video we’re making is for “I Need Love”[”A Love Song”], so me and Santi get to make a video together. I’m excited.
When you write your raps, is it spontaneous or do you have to write it down first?
It depends. With Mapei, I’m all about what’s off the top of my head. That girl is my favorite, I love her, she’s brilliant! However, there is some stuff I need to sit and think about until I completely get it right.
Would “DJ” be one of those songs?
No, “DJ” I wrote in 30 minutes, drunk, on the wrapper of like, a cheeseburger, at like 3 o’ clock in the morning in Diplo’s living room. It was so funny, he had me cracking up the whole time. So that one, no, it just came right out. The song I really labored over was “Shame On Me”, that one took a while to write.
I know a “jawn” is a Philly term, so what exactly is a “fly jawn”?
Well in Philly, “jawn” is anything. Like, “Oh, could you pass me that jawn right there?” but men tend to use it as a girl. They have a thing where like “She’s my main jawn,” like she’s my main girl, so I don’t know… I’m a fly jawn.
If you could work with anybody in the studio who you haven’t already worked with, who would that be?
Probably Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I think that’d be really fun. I would love to do something with Karen O. It’s funny because I’m going to work with David Sitek who produced their record. Peaches too, I’ve never done a song with her. We’re always talking about it, but it’s never happened. Micky Manage is another one too, I really want to do a song with her.
If you haven’t already, check out our review/photos of her performance at Club Firestone.
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