The Pier: Catching Up w/ Ras MG

by: Mike Patti | February 19, 2015

Last March, we published our first Exclusive Interview with Marshall Goodman of Sublime, more famously known as Ras MG. Since then, we premiered his debut single, “Words”, last July with Slightly Stoopid & Judd Nester. Now, he sheds some light on what else he’s producing behind scenes, soon to be released.

Since the release of “Words” last Summer, Marshall also produced a couple of remix singles for Rebelution’s Count Me In Remixes EP with the re-working of songs “De-Stress” and the titled track, “Count Me In”. Soon after this announcement, we saw Ras MG posting a photo of himself with Rome Ramirez of Sublime With Rome, which had us thinking what else he could possibly be up to – Is he producing music with Sublime with Rome? Slightly Stoopid is working on a new album, how about them?

So we reached out to Marshall to see what he’s been up to and he was kind of enough to take a quick break from production, to catch us up.

When I asked Marshall if he was working with Slightly Stoopid on any tracks, he said: “For the past 10+ years, working with Miles and Kyle, there’s always something brewing year ’round. While working on one thing, we typically begin concepts for other projects.” One of those projects is a remake of an old Slightly Stoopid song for their upcoming album.

“I produced one track for their album. It’s a remake of a song from their album ‘Slightly $toopid’ named ‘Prophet’. It’s a song with a pretty impressive history – I was excited to be a part of the remake. Courtney Adams played the guitars and bass and I did the drum programming, percussion, scratches, and arrangement.”

For those not familiar, “Prophet” is an old Slightly Stoopid song first featured on their very first album that included Sublime’s Brad Nowell on bass. The song was later covered by Sublime and re-released on Sublimes box-set Everything Under The Sun.

When asked what sort of style or production he brought to the remake, Marshall explained: “I’m still pushing the ‘Bluesman’-inspired style that Courtney Adams and I began developing years ago. It’s our interpretation of the “Bluesman” attitude in a modern context. The drum programming I’ve been focused on in recent times is based in Hip Hop, the ‘Boom Bap’ style specifically, and I keep to the same style-type for my scratches.”

As for that picture we saw on Ras MG’s social media with Rome Ramirez, it had us wondering if the next Sublime With Rome album would once again feature two of Sublimes former members. Bassist, Eric Wilson is still in the band, but with drummer Bud Gaugh no longer in the group, this seems to leave an opportunity that makes sense for Ras MG to contribute to the next album.

Goodman ran into Rome at a movie premiere in Los Angeles, CA and said “While we were talking at the premiere, Rome suggested that we work together on something and I agreed. That’s where it stands as of today and I am really interested to see what we can come up with. I’ve heard some songs that he’s written and they are outside of the typical and familiar boundaries for ‘Southern California’ Reggae-Rock music. I definitely think we could collaborate and develop some magic.”

When asked further about Rome as an artist, Goodman said: “He’s a very talented musician, songwriter, and producer. From what I’ve heard, he’s got great vision and a well balanced knowledge of music which are both necessary for success and longevity as a musician, song writer, and producer. Again, I look forward to a time that Rome and I can collaborate. I like working with musicians that have respect for and knowledge of our art.”

As for the backlash Sublime With Rome has received moving forward from longtime Sublime fans, he acknowledged: “Everyone involved with the project had to have known that there was going to be some sort of backlash – Sublime fans are true fanatics! I’ve always felt that Sublime with Rome is good for Sublime’s legacy in that they are taking the music world-wide for people to experience. I think they are a big part of the legacy catching hold in a new generation and they represent a more authentic presentation of the Sublime material than any of the other groups that tour playing Sublime songs. In addition, they have their own songs and evolving style, very similar to what we did with the Long Beach Dub Allstars. Overall, to me, Sublime with Rome has not been a bad thing at all. But at the same time, I can not deny any person their position regarding SWR and Sublime – their experience with the music is most likely different than mine and they deserve to express themselves as humbly or harshly as they wish.”

In addition to his recent releases and the remake of “Prophet” with Slightly Stoopid, Marshall is also in the studio working with Krooked Treez on a song that is currently titled “Time Flies”. The new line-up of Krooked Treez, including the song Marshall co-produces, will feature vocalist Moi of Tomorrows Bad Seeds & LIFE. Marshall is co-producing the song with Diego Nunez from Argentina.

Ras MG Presents will continue its series as Marshall has plans to release the next single soon. “I’ve been doing a lot of writing with my team which is headed by the gifted Courtney ‘Clavious’ Adams. I am also developing a media company, named Industrial Complex, with a long-time friend who is a director/writer. We are focusing on music-based branded entertainment and documentaries during this first phase and we’ve got a number of hot projects in the works.”

Stay tuned for more updates and in the meantime, you can find some related links, videos & information below.