June 17th, 2014 
Brian Leak 
“The instruments are just conduits. The soul is where the music comes from.”
Julian Rhine was raised on some of the greatest musical artists to ever create, which no doubt influenced his own path as a musician. As the Brooklyn native states “rock and rap are both sub-genres of pop, and I have deep-rooted love for both,” it becomes clear that those initial influences served not only as impetuses for his choice in careers but the vastly different genres he would go on to explore as well.
Whether it’s pop rock or rap, though, Rhine makes a point to tell it how it is. He pulls no punches and puts his heart and convictions into every word, every line.
We had the chance to speak with Julian recently about his newest single “No God Flow” and his beliefs that fueled its creation, as well as his favorite band and the almighty ones, Biggie and 2Pac. You can read through our conversation and stream “No God Flow” after the jump.
First off, run me through your history with music a bit. Did you grow up with music in the home or did you find yourself interested in what it had to offer elsewhere?
Music in the home! There was a piano in my house and I was drawn to it. I remember my mother smiling at me when I played it. My good friend’s dad was a pianist, and he gave me lessons. Music in the car! We used to take long road trips as a family, and we always had tapes and CDs to listen to—the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Buddy Holly, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, lots of classic rock and electric guitars. I started playing the electric guitar when I was 12 and never looked back.
What kind of stuff were you initially into and how did your taste vary over the years? I have to assume that it did as your music covers a pretty impressive spectrum of genres.
Around the same time I picked up the guitar, I was introduced to Nirvana (via the incredible Weird Al parody [laughs]). They’re still my favorite band. They might even be called “classic rock” at this point. The grit and anger resonated with me. I learned all their songs. My taste hasn’t changed at all; back in the day I was into dope music and today I am still into that. If anything, my taste grew (very slightly, as I mostly hate everything). In high school, I got really into listening to rap and making my own flows. In college, I got really into Radiohead. But nothing has ever replaced the Beatles and Nirvana. They’re my top 2 bands, and have been for over a decade.
Are there any specific artists that had a huge influence on you as far as hip-hop goes? I hear a lot of ’90s vibes in your work.
Eminem and the Beastie Boys introduced me to the hip-hop world when I was very young. I think I started writing raps to emulate them. In high school, I thought Tupac was the best because of his politically charged lyrics. He was like Bob Dylan. He was so well-rounded, too, because he unapologetically spoke from the heart, even if he just wanted to write about getting laid. He was a real person. Real people can feel good one day, and bad the next. I know that some days I wake up and think, “holy fuck I need to change the world because friends in my neighborhood are getting their faces sliced up,” and other days I wake up and think, “holy fuck I need to get laid tonight.” Tupac was real—rap was real. At some point, I think on my first drive down to college, I finally listened to both Biggie albums from front to back and that was it for me. He is the greatest hands down no question about it. Unrivaled flow and I won’t entertain a conversation involving supposed competition. On another note, Illmatic is probably my favorite rap album.
Tell me a little about The White Rhino persona and what led to you moving on from that moniker.
Eh, there’s not much to tell, really. I just thought it was a funny name because Rhine is my last name (people call me Rhino), I’m white, and “white rhino” is a strain of marijuana that I like. It got annoying that there were 5 other bands with many albums already using the name, not to mention the actual animal taking all the top hits on search engines. People weren’t taking me seriously because they thought I was a white rapper with “white” in his name. I smashed my guitar over their heads and said, “I’m a musician and a songwriter, ya fuckin shitasses.” I’m me. I’m spitting my truths straight from the heart. Kanye West uses his real name and so do I. I use my real name because I have nothing to hide anymore. My record label is still White Rhino Music, LLC. and I’m glad to own it.
“No God Flow” seems as though it may be your most focused and comfortable work yet. It touches on a very serious subject obviously but it feels as though you had a kind of carefree time putting it together based on your attitude in the track. You appear to have some strong views though on these popular topics. Is this something you feel you’ll be exploring even more on future work? And can you maybe touch on where these convictions stemmed from?
I will never stop exploring this topic. Like I said before, Bob Dylan, Tupac, John Lennon…these guys all wrote pop songs, too, and I love that, but when shit got real they spoke out. I will never stop demanding civil rights for my fellow Brooklynites, my fellow New Yorkers, my fellow Americans, and my fellow Earthicans and beyond. It couldn’t be simpler to me. Atheists are being persecuted every damn day. I have experienced it personally and seen it from within my own community, from the media, from zealots, from anonymous sources…I will not allow this. Organized religion is responsible for more murders than everything else (cancer, car accidents, AIDS, etc.) combined. Why the fuck does it still run the country? The world, even? Get it the fuck out of here. Enough already. Aren’t we smart enough to know by now that it’s all a bullshit power-scheme designed to control people and take their money? Wake the fuck up.
How did you team up with Jae-Mi for that track? It’s a pretty ideal pairing. The delicacy in her parts juxtaposed with the kind of volatile flow works really well.
She’s great. My bandmate, Sebastian, knew her and suggested her. No special story here, just a community of musicians working together towards the goal of making a great song.
So is “No God Flow” just a one-off single at this point or will it be featured on something forthcoming? Can you reveal anything about what you having lined up?
Just a one-off at this point. I have no plans. I’m just trying to find the apex of where quality and quantity meet right now. I am going to put out singles one at a time, as fast as I can, without rushing the process of making a dope track. Good, fast, and free! Lots of rappers move quickly because they buy beats or even get beats for free, which is great. I might be a little slower because I make my own beats and write my own lyrics, but I think there’s increased quality and personal satisfaction when music is made by guys like me who do it all on their own time and their own dime.
You’ve been receiving a wealth of positive reviews and acknowledgement for this new track. Are you surprised at all based on the subject matter? Have you been catching any flak for being as forthright as you have?
Yes, for sure. The vitriol doesn’t surprise me, because people are so blinded by faith that they’ll kill you before allowing you to speak truthfully on the subject. What surprises me is the support. I think there are two movements that I have found myself in: The atheist uprising as well as the yearning for authentic music. I’m very glad to be a part of both.
Listening to a track like “No God Flow,” it’d be easy to assume that one would have next to no idea how much of your past material is firmly rooted in pop and rock. How do you decide when to ditch the guitar and go full-flow with production as opposed to a more rock-based instrumentation? How do you approach the writing of a song as far as genre goes?
In my bedroom/chudio I have a guitar, a keyboard, and a mic. Sometimes one will call out to me. Sometimes I just close my eyes, spin in a circle, and whichever instrument I’m facing is where I start. The instruments are just conduits. The soul is where the music comes from. “No God Flow” started out with me strumming guitar chords and rapping over them. I took what I had to my bandmate GC and we listened together. We felt the chorus was soft and pretty, and that a girl should sing it. Then that led to replacing the guitar with a piano. I really think the genre of the song comes out naturally as the song develops. Every song’s initial genre is just me trying to make the best, most fire track I can. What it gets labeled as from there is anybody’s guess.
We’re big fans of festivals here at UTG, especially ones like SXSW and CMJ, both of which you’ve played in the past. How would you describe your experiences with those events as opposed to one-off shows unrelated to major fests like that? Do you see yourself returning in the future?
I think that the purpose of a festival is that people have their ears wide open. People are looking for the next big thing. People are automatically turned on by the festival vibes and are ready to listen. People are happy to be there. There’s lots of people that wouldn’t otherwise know me or want to see me that just happen to be standing near my stage when I start, so they waffle on over. That’s a beautiful gift–the festival delivering my live music to new people. It is really hard to get people to come to one-off shows. SXSW does the advertising and promotion and crowd overcapacity blowup for me. Conversely, festivals are also about money money money corporate bullshit. I had to wear a Pandora bracelet to play my show at SXSW. And I told the venue owner, “Fuck Pandora, they told me they wouldn’t play my single on their station unless I paid them more money than I’ve ever seen in my life.” The venue owner said, “What’s Pandora?” So there’s that. Real shill shit. The one-off shows, though potentially not as crowded with industry folk, can be filled with real die-hard fans that sing along and go crazy. I love that. Hopefully I can do a better job of getting more intimate and well known with festival crowds.
Do you have any touring plans or other festival appearances set for the rest of the year?
Friday, August 8, at the Knitting Factory. Hometown Brooklyn show, baby! Beyond that, anything can happen. I’m hungry to tour/gig always, but it has to be the right opportunity.
Overall, what are your primary goals for this project? And as far as your genre, do you expect to jump between rock and rap as you have, or stick with hip-hop from here on out?
My primary goal is to heal the world with my entertainment. That’s what it’s always been. Music helps me heal my own soul through catharsis and emotional truth, and if I’m healing myself, then I’m doing good. I think I make myself laugh and cry, and both are powerful in the healing process. Hopefully my work does the same for others. I have always been extremely passionate about civil rights and the law (my father and brother are both lawyers). I believe that there’s hope for humankind, but we’ve got to continue to be super progressive and really fight for egalitarianism. As far as genre, I have always felt that I make pop music. I just close my eyes and go. Rock and rap are both sub-genres of pop, and I have deep-rooted love for both, and truly believe they go hand in hand. Every song I make might not be the same exact genre, but every song is Julian Rhine, and that’s all I care about.
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