It was only a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon a song titled “Colgate (ft. Lil’ Dell)” by Swagged Up Squad. The song wasn’t perfect, but it was our only new school anthem and it would have to do. The song was actually quite catchy, with its auto-tuned hook and comedic verses.

I recently had a chance to interview juniors BaRack Little and Jordan Mc­Cord of Swagged Up Squad. Here’s what went down:

Q: What do you guys think has been the key to your success?

McCord: I don’t really think we are suc­cessful yet. We have a long way to go before I’m satisfied. However, I do think we’re on the right track because we’re very focused and have great fans here at Colgate spreading the word.

Little: I think the key to our success so far has been our ability to make many dif­ferent types of hip-hop music. Our new­est mix-tape From G’s to Gents shows that, but yeah, we make all kinds of rap, from hardcore to pop.

Q: Did you expect Wendell to kill his verse like that on the “Colgate” song?

M: I never had really heard him rap be­fore. I knew he was on Rock-B’s (BaRack’s) solo mix tape, so I knew he could rap, but I didn’t expect him to do it how he did.

L: Personally, I didn’t know what to expect from Wendell on a track like “Colgate.” Wen­dell has a real hardcore, “street”-type flow, so I didn’t think he could adapt for Colgate. He did though, and he did it well.

Q: What rappers have influenced you guys personally?

M: I have a wide range of influences, but the ones who have influenced me most are probably Lil Wayne and Kanye West; espe­cially Kanye, because I am from Chicago, so I can relate to a lot of things he talks about.

L: So many rappers have influenced me, but I think Gucci Mane, Lil Wayne and Fab­olous have influenced me most. I am from Atlanta and Gucci is very big there, so he be­came a natural favorite, and I think Wayne and Fab are so good with punch lines. I try to imitate that style sometimes.

Q: Thoughts on Odd Future? Are you guys fans?

M: Nah, I’m not really into Odd Future. They’re a little too odd for me.

L: They’re a different kind of group and I respect them because they are try­ing to do something different and be themselves. I don’t really listen to their music like that, so I can’t really give you an honest opinion.

Q: Who is your favorite new rapper?

L: Although he has had a lot of main­stream success now, I still think of Wiz [Khal­ifa] as a new rapper and he is definitely one of my favorites. I’m also feeling new up-and-coming rappers like Big Sean, Nipsey Hussle, Wale and Dom Kennedy.

M: My favorite new rappers are probably Wale and Wiz Khalifa.

Q: What can we look out for next?

L: As of right now, we are still trying to push From G’s To Gents since we dropped it on April 8. We hope to get more and more buzz from it and maybe get some more shows in the near future. We also are in the process of starting a new mix tape.

M: Yeah, we are actually working on a new mix tape called You Don’t Mind, Do You? where we are rapping over other artists’ instrumentals.