FULL EXPOSURE

WhoIsFaber, or just Faber, is one of the names fans of underground trap might think about when someone mentions the New Zealand scene of up and coming rap music. Releasing a body of work that draws from the Soundcloud scene and places itself amongst the greats across the world, Faber has done exceedingly well for himself as a small-time, Wellington-based artist. 

Nexus: As the name asks, who is Faber?

I wouldn’t say I am very trappy necessarily, but for an umbrella term of a rap subgenre it’s fine. I’m a musician, a touring agent, an artist, a manager and a fan of fashion. I co-run a company called Pastel Embassy Ltd with fellow members WHYHAZ and SAMMYSLOWMO. Pastel is a multi-media company focusing on touring artists from around the world to NZ and Australia, as well as being a record label for artists. We throw our own shows and focus on being independent.

Nexus: You and your group Pastel Embassy made it on stage at RnV in 2018, what was it like performing your music to crowds like that?

Playing RnV in 2018 was crazy, I think the biggest crowd we had so far, close to around 2,000 people! Whyhaz, deadboyposh, sammyslowmo and I had the team energy goin crazy as well, you know? Hittin’ each other’s adlibs perfectly, all that shit. Got a lot of new fans from that gig too, people were sad we didn’t pull up again 2019.

Nexus: You’ve worked with artists like Chxpo and opened for the likes of Bladee, Lucki and Lil Xan, what kind of experiences have you had with these big-time creatives?

Yeah, working with artists like Chxpo, warhol.ss and k$upreme on music has been crazy. Before I started rapping even, I was looking up to these guys, so I’m glad and hella blessed to be able to share music with them. Opening for bigger artists has been cool too, most of the artists we open for have been from shows that we as Pastel Embassy organise you know? Like when we played before UnoTheActivist, Bladee, Black Kray, J $tash, Xavier Wulf, Thaiboy, Warhol.SS, those were all from us organising the whole tour. The one bigger artist we have opened for was Lil Xan, but that show sucked (laughs).

Nexus: Your Instagram is full of fits that don’t really fit the mould of “soundcloud rappers” – where does your style come from and why is it so hard?

My style comes from the people I surround myself with. The homies who run the fashion label PAULANTHONY are some of my closest friends, and they inspire my steeze a lot. Even a lot of the pieces I have are 1 of 1, handmade by the likes of John Mallett or Dereck De Souza. Otherwise I just really be collecting rare clothes and rocking them too. I kind of treat the fashion shit like real estate. Investment. But at the same time, if you’re buying the right shit that suits your style, then you have a win/win. Brands I fuck with a lot these days are like Acne, Rick Owens, Dior, have a few pieces from like Moncler and that.

Nexus: What do you do when you’re not working on your craft?

When I’m not on the grind I’m forever seeking information and knowledge. I always want to learn new skills. Whether that be learning how to day-trade foreign currency, learning Japanese, learning with my girlfriend and about the social work she does, I’m just trying to keep my mind open in a time of so much distraction.

Nexus: Who is your dream collab?

Dream collab is easy, Lil Wayne. I just want to be in the studio with him and study his workflow.

At the time of interview, Faber was on the cusp of releasing mixtape “In Abundance”, consisting of around 25 unreleased tracks from a five year span through his career, released exclusively by DJ YOUNG KASH on DatPiff, Soundcloud and YouTube. Here’s what he had to say about it:

I wanted to flood the internet with music and collaborations from a very important decade for me. This current decade is going to be a whole different one though, so I thought I’d leave the past out there to settle, and to really show how ahead of the time we were. This new decade is the decade where I make a good living from whatever I want, and to not have a “boss” or have to punch in to any shifts. My lifestyle is one that needs to be open; no one, especially not a boss, will ever tell me again where and when to be.

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