Peanut Butter Wolf on 20 Years of Stones Throw

By Andrew Chin

Iconic Californian underground hip hop label Stones Throw is celebrating its milestone birthday with an absolutely stacked tour. Label founder Peanut Butter Wolf will be joined by current underground rap kingpin Earl Sweatshirt, electro pioneer Egyptian Lover and rising producer Knxwledge (Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$) for what promises to be a packed night at The Shelter in Shanghai on May 6 and at 751 D-Park in Beijing on May 7. We look at the past, present and future of the label with Peanut Butter Wolf.

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Congratulations on Stones Throw's 20th birthday.
Thanks, I've actually been putting out records since 1990, so it's been 26 years for me. But I created the Stones Throw brand in 1996 and I'm thankful that we're still working with talented people - young and old. The label is as old as some of the artists on it, but what's most important for me is to still be doing progressive music.

What can people expect from the anniversary shows?
I was originally planning on doing only Stones Throw videos but now, I’m considering a small Prince video tribute as well.

Besides yourself, could you talk about the other artists that you will be sharing the bill with like Knxwledge and Egyptian Lover?
KNX is in my top three beat makers currently out there. He definitely has developed his own sound over the past few years and has a real good sense of pocket. Even Steve Arrington, who’s one of the best funk drummers from the 80’s asked me about him the other day without me bringing it up.

Egyptian Lover is one of my heroes when I became a teenager. To be working with him these days is a dream come true and I really admire how he’s actually doing more traveling out of the country as a performer these days then even during the 80's when his records were so popular. The internet has really opened things up.

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The documentary Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton does a great job looking back at Stone's Throw history. What about its future?
There’s a new album from Karriem Riggins that I’m excited about. He makes beats for artists like Common and Kanye, but his instrumental tracks stand on their own as well. There’s NxWorries, which is KNX and Anderson Paak. They work really well together and their album is now finished and ready for release. And Mild High Club’s second album is an opus. Homeboy Sandman’s is as well. Lots on the near horizon.  

Stones Throw started as an underground hip hop label but has branced out to different genres from soul to electronic. What does the label look for in artists?
It’s really simple. The key thing is: would the artist I’m considering signing be one whose record I would buy? My record collection is many different styles and so is my artist roster.

How was your last trip to China?
I really enjoyed it. It’s always been a dream for me to come partially because my step mom is from China. And to go with other artists from my label to celebrate 20 years for Stones Throw should be a much bigger deal this time around.

May 6, 10pm-late, RMB150. The Shelter.
May 7, 2pm-late (party starts at 9pm), RMB100-150. 751 D-Park, 798 Art District, Chaoyang district 朝阳区大山子798艺术区D-Park

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