Pierre, Hawkins, and Mister Negative
Photography by Julian Cox for PILOT Magazine
You might not have already heard of Shemar Pierre and Zakee Hawkins, but the Philadelphia-based duo who produced an EP— from conception to completion— in a matter of six months seems determined to remedy that. The EP, of course, is Mister Negative, a five-track foray into the ethereal. Conceptualized by Pierre, who provides sedate vocals throughout, and mixed and mastered by Hawkins, who features on two tracks, the album opens with The Devil is a Liar, comprising an enchantingly melancholy three minutes and fifteen seconds of vocals over a shimmery cosmic beat. This is followed by Orion’s Belt, the title of which encapsulates the otherworldly quality of the album with its reference to the constellation of Orion, and whose echoing, understated refrain—”I feel like a star in Orion’s Belt/This feeling that I have never felt” injects it with an achingly longing quality. The middle track, Scoreboard, is in keeping with the rest of the EP with its signature lo-fi beats, but dips more definitively into rap than the prior two, bringing a more energetic edge to the EP’s ambience. The penultimate track, Evolution of a Butterfly, is a hypnagogic five-minute instrumental whose name hints at one of the primary themes of the album. Placed immediately after the relatively upbeat Scoreboard, Evolution of a Butterfly serves as a meditative interlude before Everybody Knows, the album’s final and most decidedly lively track. Everybody Knows closes Mister Negative on a spirited note and will definitely enhance the energy of your next party (whenever we might be able to have them again).
I had the pleasure of meeting Pierre and Hawkins over video chat. Their enthusiasm for Mister Negative was palpable even through the screen, as was the ease of their collaborative relationship. Both quick to laugh and eager to answer questions about their project, Pierre and Hawkins effused a natural conviviality that will no doubt take them far in their musical aspirations.
Meet Mister Negative — and the creators behind it.
Me: How would you describe your sound?
SP: It has a sort of atmospheric, eerie, ambient, spacey vibe, with the background vocals.
ZH: Yeah, like, it feels like I’m in a cloud, but it’s nighttime, you know?
Me: What sort of setting do you envision people listening to your music in?
SP: There are different styles throughout the project. The last track is more upbeat, I’m literally saying “dance” over and over on the beat. And then others are definitely more chill.
ZH: Yeah, the EP has so many vibes you can choose from. There are casual ones where you can listen to them day by day, and then there are ones where you would have to be at a party or with your friends.
Me: Do you have any inspirations/influences?
SP: Yes, definitely, I literally just started making music six months ago! Some inspirations--Cudi, 070 Shake. I don’t like using the word alternative because--what does that even mean? But definitely some alternative sounds.
ZH: I was listening to everything you [SP] were playing, I was inspired by you. Also it might sound weird but Donna Summer, she has this crazy 11-minute song or something--I liked how it was really ambient in the background.
Me: Do you have advice for anyone inexperienced and looking to write and/or record their first tracks?
SP: I just started six months ago I guess the best thing I could tell someone to do is if you have an idea in your head just do it. I literally recorded on these earbuds in a shed. It’s 2021--we live in the age of technology, there’s no excuse to not do anything. Google anything you don’t know!
ZH: I would say the same thing. You can make an entire album from the palm of your hand. Don’t abide to societal rules or musical rules, break the rules, the rules are there for a reason. Break them!
Me: Do you plan on having any shows in the future?
ZH: I’ve already done shows and they were amazing....I’m planning on having him doing a couple shows in Philadelphia, and I’m excited for the opportunities I can bring for him in other cities. I don’t know too much about the West Coast, but here on the East Coast we need to be heard, too just as much as people on the West Coast. But yeah, with concerts we can give a visual presentation of what the album sounds like.
Me: What would you say your goals are, musically? Any other genre(s) or techniques you hope to explore?
SP: I want to get into the punk vibe of not really caring about music norms...
ZH: I definitely feel like we’re trying to do that for you, especially pop and alternative, blending those sounds.I mean, Carti just had an album right now, and the whole point of the album is distortion. We want to combine and blend a bunch of sounds together. It’s the 20s, the sky’s limit.
Me: The 20’s, that’s so weird to think of....
ZH: Music has always been a display of what’s going on throughout history. Like, in the 60s, you got Black people on one side, and then the Beatles and the Rolling Stones getting into psychedelia and all that. So we’ll see what the 20’s bring.
Me: How did you choose the EP/album art?
SP: I have a butterfly tattoo on my neck. Butterflies to me represent growth and change and evolution. They go from a caterpillar ugly worm thing into something beautiful. It’s like, I didn’t know I was doing when I started this [Mister Negative], and then I watched it grow into something.
Me: Yeah, I saw one of your songs is called Evolution of a Butterfly, so it definitely comes across as a theme.
ZH: The song placement of that one too, the place that you (SP) placed it in was perfect.
Me: What is the significance behind the name of the EP, Mister Negative?
SP: Over the summer I saw the video with the murder of George Floyd and it really upset me...talking about how us as Black people are perceived. It could be taken like that, abstract, like I’m talking about Black people, or it could be more personal, like am I perceived as negative or am I just responding to things that are happening?
Also, my brother plays this video game, and the villain in that game is Mister Negative and he’s in those inverted, negative colors and I just kind of ran with it.
Me: Can you tell me a bit about yourselves individually?
ZH: We like raging, I’m Zakee, I’m from Philly, I’ve been here all my life, I was doing music for a long time, my dream was to be a DJ. I was exposed to a lot of different sounds at school, I wouldn’t have had that if I didn’t go to school with white people. I want to see Pierre be the biggest star that he can be. I feel like this EP is just the foundation of what you could be. You (SP) did all the graphic design, all the video, nobody’s doing that right now, this man does his own merch, his brother does his own beats, everything is in the house.
SP: I’m 22, I’m from the Poconos, I just recently moved to Philly over the summer, he (ZH) mixed everything, I did background vocals, he made it what it is pretty much.
ZH: I mixed and mastered it, I had two features on it, but everything else was Pierre, the idea, the concept, just putting it all together and setting the glue, just creating it, that was all Pierre. It’s crazy how much of a success you had with your first project, like what will it be 6 months from now?
SP: Everything is in house. I go to school for animation, so, I did the video. My little brother, he’s 12, he makes my beats, I'm going to call him the executive producer, ha.
ZH: I’d also like to add,
there’s more music to come for us, for real. Not just for music, but for creation in general.
Keep up with Shemar and Zakee
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