DOPE AS USUAL Podcast

Episode: Chaos, Metal, & Mosh Pits w/ Slay Squad!

Hosts: Dope as Yolo (Thomas Araujo) & Marty O’Neill
Guests: Slay Squad (Various Members incl. Kilo, Stick & Queso), OG Ricky Martin
Air Date: March 11, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the roots, musical innovation, culture, and chaos of genre-defying Southern California collective Slay Squad—a group fusing hardcore metal, rap, and street culture from the Inland Empire. The conversation, soaked in weed smoke, tackles their unique sound, live show insanity (mosh pits, broken bones, and shattered venue norms), wild tour stories, vivid 90s nostalgia, psychedelics, and how connection to community and independence drives their DIY approach. They also muse on pop culture, AI in music, and share some favorite movies for a perfect mix of insight, humor, and pure chaos.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Slay Squad Origins & Scene-Building

[03:38–06:17]

• The group’s roots are in Rialto, Inland Empire—typical story of SoCal migration for better opportunities, leading to a melting pot of cultures and scenes.
• Natural integration of punk, rap, metal, DJ party culture, fashion, and graphic design. Their collective, “111,” is not just music—it's visual art, fashion, multimedia.
• “We all kind of drifted together really naturally... all those scenes are integrated.”
• Early days included trimming weed, blowing wax in the desert, and filling their own carts—DIY hustle from necessity as independent artists.

2. Genre Blending & Live Energy

[04:26, 06:03, 05:09]

• Their music brings together hardcore, rap, and metal naturally—not “two rich dudes putting their music together.”
• Mosh culture is at their core: “I grew up moshing before creating anything... It feel like catching the Holy Ghost in church or something.”
• Their shows feature actual breakdowns and live instruments, shocking crowds used to rapper-on-MP3 acts: "More than a mosh, because it's just like, that's when you're from it, you just…You got to do it."

3. Self-Sufficiency & Creative Control

[11:24–12:54]

• Slay Squad directs and produces most of their own videos (shout out to Brahim and Goosenecks), collaborating only when it makes sense—creative vision handled internally for authenticity.
• "It's just better [to] do it yourself with that. Because you don't know if [outsiders] looking through all the footage... With us, we know that feeling."
• They’re part of a sprawling “111” collective for mutual support, embracing all kinds of creatives—not just musicians: “You don’t got to get jumped in... Just be a good father.”

4. COVID Era and the Underground Scene

[13:15–16:41]

• COVID years (2020–21) were formative: They kept performing underground, building their machine and flow of power while the world was locked down: "We was still playing shows... just the itch to still be active."

5. Influences & What They're Listening To

[17:39–21:28]

• Musical diets are eclectic: Pearl Jam (“that epic feeling”), Stone Temple Pilots, Turnstile, underground hip hop (Skate Star, Baby Kale), and classic rap.
• "It literally is so fluid... one week I'm listening to a whole different playlist."
• Discussion of genre boundaries blurring, e.g. Turnstile making a "fire sonic shift."

6. First Show Memories & Scene Reflections

[22:01–29:44]

• Wild, pivotal first concerts: Wiz Khalifa, Pay Dues Festival with Living Legends & Jedi Mind Tricks, 2006 Warped Tour—contrasted hilariously with Yolo’s first concert: The Spice Girls.
• "My first concert ever was the Spice Girls. I thought you guys were like, I saw Fleetwood Mac."

7. Mosh Pit Culture, Diversity & Hardcore Reality

[06:17–07:55]

• Real mosh pit talk—broken bones, full contact, release and community, and rare representation: “I've never seen a fool with dreads ever punching an elbow in a mosh pit, where I’m from it’s all Mexicans.”
• "It’s like catching the Holy Ghost in church."

8. AI & the State of the Music Industry

[31:00–34:55]

• Hosts and Slay Squad break down new rulings on AI-generated music copyright (summary: “AI music isn’t considered copyrightable”), sparking debate about art, impersonation, and authenticity.
• “It opens a wide range of bullshit becoming legitimized.”
• General skepticism and dark comedy about where AI leads ("I don’t want my doctor passing his test over chat GPT").

9. Psychedelics and Mental Resets

[44:30–47:55]

• Detailed, hilarious, and honest dialogue about mushrooms and acid—bad and good trips, why set and setting matter (“I would need to really go like Joshua Tree, open space”), and seeing psychedelics as a “flush” or “oil change.”
• Insights into group trips gone wrong—"Two of us held it down...for him, it was cool. For me, nah, it was shitty."

10. Touring & Group Logistics

[52:25–54:29]

• Discussion on group coordination ("six people spread across SoCal so you gotta coordinate and communicate real hard").
• Weed community overlaps with the metal/alt scenes: “We'd pull up to Kush Factory and cook up some heavy ass...It’s just different flavors and mixing the potions.”

11. 90s Pop Culture Showdown (Fun Bit)

[55:10–68:08]

• Extensive, rapid-fire debates: McDonald's vs Burger King (unanimous nostalgia for McDonald's toys); Freddy Krueger vs. It; Full House vs. Family Matters; Biggie vs. Tupac (unusually, majority pick Biggie!).
• "His storytelling was crazy, incredible actually." (Slay Squad, [62:00])
• Movie nostalgia: Forrest Gump vs Pulp Fiction, Jim Carrey vs. Adam Sandler in the ’90s ("We got about six, maybe eight or ten in the 90s with them [Sandler movies]...But, you also have Dumb & Dumber, Ace Ventura, and The Mask. It’s over with. It’s over with.")

12. Anime, Nerd Culture, and New Generations

[87:47–92:52]

• Group’s love for anime like Attack on Titan, Berserk, Dragon Ball Z, and Death Note; nostalgia and changing social norms (watching anime was “nerd” as a kid, now it’s cool).
• “Attack on Titan is just structurally the best one...I love a good unpredictable anything.”

13. Favorite Movies / Rewatchable Picks

[125:37–129:13]

• Group’s “put-it-on-anytime” movies: The Fridays, The Town, heist classics, the surreal ‘Holy Mountain’, The Other Guys, Tokyo Drift, Will Ferrell comedies, anime as background “moving art.”
• “My girl keeps White Chicks on all the time too… That movie is funny as hell.”

Notable Quotes & Moments (with timestamps)

• On authentic artistic crossovers:
  "It's the difference between being and trying to be." — Slay Squad [00:38, 103:35]
• On mosh culture's spiritual release:
  "It feel like catching the Holy Ghost in church or something. Like you just. You got to." — Slay Squad [07:20]
• On doing it all in-house:
  “It was just better just do it yourself... you get to supersede certain things like that when you do it yourself.” — Slay Squad [12:27]
• On blending genres:
  “You get a lot of people attempting certain clashes of sounds and... they get real corny real fast.” — Slay Squad [04:47]
• On the first time at Warped Tour:
  "...my first show ever, so it's always been one of them things, like, on some Do It Again." — Slay Squad [25:35]
• On AI and music authenticity:
  "It was cool that if it was like, okay, you can't really like put this out and go out with this shit. I think that kind of like opens a wide range of like bullshit becoming like legitimized..." — Slay Squad [32:14]
• On psychedelic resets:
  “I see it as an oil change.” — Dope as Yolo [46:49]
• On the new generation’s access to culture:
  "The comments of every social media post are the funniest thing about social media. People are funny... It’s gonna be sick, dude." — Dope as Yolo [39:06]
• On being unique in the current music flood:
  "The only way to stand out is to be some shit like, 'Oh, I don't know who the fuck sounds like that.' That's why, when I bring you guys up, I never heard nobody do this and I fuck with it." — Dope as Yolo [101:32]
• On being grouped with other Black artists in the scene:
  "They just be like, hey, have you ever heard of [random band with black members]? The style ain’t the same, the sound ain’t nothing to compare." — Slay Squad [102:01]
• On comfort movies:
  "Friday, all three for real. And I watch the third one crucially every Christmas." — OG Ricky Martin [126:23]
• On DIY even with drugs:
  "I'm usually the one rolling up the weeds, so we... brought our own." — Queso [84:21]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Intro & Roll Call: 01:15–03:02
• Slay Squad Backstory & Community: 03:38–10:51
• Directing & Creative Control: 11:24–13:15
• Underground Rise & COVID Hustle: 13:15–16:41
• Musical Influences & Faves: 17:39–21:28
• First Show Memories: 22:01–29:44
• Mosh Pits, Hardcore, and Race in the Scene: 06:17–07:55
• AI in the Music Industry: 31:00–34:55
• Psychedelics Discussion: 44:30–54:42
• 90s Culture Trivia: 55:10–68:08
• Anime & Nerd Culture: 87:47–92:52
• Touring, Scenes, and Current Plans: 52:25–55:03, 132:25–133:18
• Movies & Comfort Flicks: 125:37–129:13

Conclusion & What’s Next

• Slay Squad promises “mo bangers, for sure”—more music, wild visuals, and high-energy cross-genre chaos (104:31).
• Summer festival runs and a world tour are on deck; tickets and merch at slaysquad.com.
• “111” community still expanding—stay tuned for much more from their creative orbit.

Find Slay Squad & Stay Tuned

• IG, TikTok, Spotify, YouTube: @slaysquad
• Merch/Tickets/Updates: slaysquad.com
• Next show: Has Heart pop-up in Van Nuys, first week of April (133:06)

Final Words

First guests ever to roll and smoke full weed branches on set.
Signature Slay Squad energy—raw, communal, do-it-yourself, and always pushing boundaries.

For more on mosh pits, DIY hustle, and blending worlds in music, revisit this chaos-packed episode—whether you're a hardcore head, rap fan, or just want a trip through '90s nostalgia and weed smoke.
“Have a dope ass day.”