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Grammy Nominated Band Tank & The Bangas Interview on Sway In The Morning | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
May 20, 2022
Tank and the Bangas is a New Orleans based band with an eclectic style than spans across multiple genres. The band won the 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Contest and in November 2019, they were nominated in the Best New Artist category for the 2020 Grammy Awards. They have released three studio albums, Thinktank (2013) and Green Balloon (2019), and Red Balloon (2022) and step in to the bubble at Sirius XM studios to kick off the first Sway In the Morning live performance of the year.
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Grammy Nominated Band Tank & The Bangas Interview on Sway In The Morning | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
https://youtu.be/efJ-P1kL_W8
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0:00
citizens yes indeed let's get a big
0:02
round of applause for the anointment
0:03
that's taking place live on these
0:05
airwaves right now i need the room to
0:08
make some noise
0:11
let's go energy there it is right now
0:15
this is our first live broadcast hbo
0:17
2022 here in the new york studio i know
0:20
well it's our first time having a live
0:22
band here yeah um and boy
0:24
in two years in two years my god yes and
0:27
it couldn't be done incorrectly all
0:30
right and the way this process happened
0:31
was purely divine intervention speak on
0:34
that tracy g please let us know i found
0:37
out about this band
0:39
uh years ago uh when i came across a
0:42
project called think tank okay
0:47
well y'all better stop playing man start
0:49
shouting and crying and um i was so
0:52
amazed by what i was hearing i thought
0:54
the band then
0:56
uh should have been world renowned but
0:58
they were independent artists at that
1:00
time okay uh they soon put out another
1:03
project called green balloon that i was
1:05
hip to and by the time i saw that i
1:08
believe they would sign the umg
1:10
if i'm not mistaken okay and that means
1:13
somebody
1:15
saw something uh-huh all right i heard
1:17
something somebody somebody felt went to
1:20
one of the shows
1:22
and that means somebody got a raise too
1:24
for uh bringing them a part of this part
1:26
of their organization but uh the lead
1:29
singer is something different i told her
1:31
when i met her your conduit
1:33
you know you're a vessel
1:35
you know you're here for something
1:37
bigger than what we all know right and
1:40
sometimes it takes time y'all been here
1:42
a long time and now you're starting to
1:44
be recognized all over the world whether
1:47
you're performing at coachella whether
1:49
you're performing at barnaroo whether
1:51
you're on live late night tv dope
1:53
whether you doing npr tiny desk whether
1:56
you being grammy nominated i said grammy
1:58
nominated i said grammy nominated
2:00
somebody's celebrating did somebody say
2:03
it did somebody say it
2:05
buddy say that church
2:17
the new project tracy g is called red
2:19
balloon
2:20
and um a couple of our good friends are
2:22
featured on it uh the one and only wayne
2:24
brady yeah
2:26
you're taking it citizen swing in the
2:28
morning yeah um my good friend who
2:30
played right here set up his band right
2:32
here and did a whole live jam session
2:34
the one and only robert glasper
2:37
so many different
2:39
they've worked with pj morton he's a
2:40
citizen of sweden in the morning
2:43
they've done a lot of work to get to
2:44
this point and citizens we do this all
2:46
the time we tell you if you don't know
2:49
you should know
2:50
how many artists have the bee have come
2:52
through this platform they become major
2:54
artists i stopped counting
2:57
i stopped counting sway
2:59
today is gonna happen again welcome them
3:02
all the way for new orleans citizens the
3:04
one and only tank in the bangor is here
3:09
let's go
3:11
l-e-t-s-g-o let's go oh you're about to
3:14
have a good time right now tank what
3:17
[Applause]
3:25
thank you so much absolutely
3:27
what does it feel like this a.m this
3:29
felt like the first day we ever met
3:32
yeah
3:33
for some reason it feel like even though
3:35
we obviously been together with 12 13
3:37
years
3:38
today feel like the first day of the
3:40
beginning of our career amen i don't
3:43
know why i feel like that to me but
3:45
that's what it feel like yeah
3:47
back at the liberation lounge
3:50
that's where we at right now
3:52
that's where we at
3:53
that's where we are
3:55
[Music]
4:00
that was church
4:02
church he bought god with us this
4:03
morning that's just what it was we the
4:06
morning the top of this show was
4:07
something so different and so special
4:09
and sway been talking about y'all since
4:11
this morning and so the energy is just
4:13
anointed today the voice is gonna be
4:15
anointed today yeah the power of the
4:17
spirit is all here today this that
4:19
manifestation happening today so get
4:21
ready
4:22
get ready it's like rainbows bursting
4:25
open clouds
4:39
let us rejoice
4:44
bring them home tracy
4:46
i mean listen y'all couldn't have come
4:48
out a better day y'all probably do not
4:50
know but we title our thursdays good
4:53
news thursdays yes yeah the gospel which
4:56
has changed the airwaves and although
4:58
you know shade 45 is known typically as
5:01
a hip-hop station but we've expanded it
5:04
because we know that hip-hop doesn't
5:06
have no limits hip-hop is not narrow
5:09
yeah absolutely and you guys are
5:11
bringing the good news
5:13
so thank you for that
5:16
so let's go back to the liberation
5:17
lounge day
5:18
[Laughter]
5:20
black star cafe what yes
5:22
books are cat
5:24
absolutely and that's where everyone met
5:26
that's what most of us made okay
5:28
three yeah us and um the drummer um i
5:32
actually met him a little bit before
5:33
that because we had the same hairstyles
5:37
[Music]
5:39
went to school with jails josh barton
5:41
danny jonathan is joshua's brother
5:43
beautiful
5:45
norman brought in etn and albert
5:47
you know and i met tia at a grammys uh
5:50
event years ago okay
5:52
i didn't know anybody did it she sent me
5:54
she said
5:56
we went in college yes
5:58
jelly
5:59
ain't even know
6:00
really she hid it from me that's weird
6:03
oh i love a good surprise
6:09
and how did you know did you say that
6:11
y'all come together and say hey here's
6:13
the idea here's the purpose here's the
6:15
path how did y'all know this was going
6:17
to work
6:19
but i must say that i spoke it into
6:21
existence yes before i met anybody i was
6:24
um slamming with team snow slamming new
6:26
orleans
6:28
and um and after we won our national
6:30
competition i knew that it was time that
6:32
i was i wanted a band so i saw saying
6:35
things like i want a band
6:37
i want an album
6:38
you know i started saying these things
6:40
and before i knew it um people musicians
6:42
just started to to to
6:45
gravitate towards me i started going to
6:47
a different open mic one that wasn't
6:48
just focused on poetry one that was
6:50
focused more on music and that's why i
6:52
met the rest of the musicians before
6:54
that i didn't even have no musicians in
6:56
my life i was so
6:57
not into the elements of instruments
7:00
that when mary first met me and told me
7:02
to come to black star and that he wanted
7:04
me to meet nation because he had a base
7:06
i said i don't need no bass what's
7:07
that's going to do
7:09
he said he's going to ground the show
7:11
that's going to ground the show like man
7:13
look i just want to look guitar you know
7:14
something pretty
7:16
so it's crazy what i didn't know and
7:19
what i've grown to know now and how much
7:20
you just you need everybody to make this
7:22
beautiful um big sound yes indeed
7:26
well you know
7:27
get a drummer song
7:29
somebody get a drummer son
7:35
not too much
7:40
did you um because i heard you said you
7:42
did a lot of slam did you
7:45
also get a chance to bump into a lot of
7:47
local new orleans artists i know big
7:49
frida worked with you before big frida's
7:51
been on the show before plenty of times
7:53
okay
7:55
okay it was insane
7:56
um but definitely we work with uh of
7:58
course pj martin and uh jamison ross
8:00
lives in new orleans now and we work
8:02
with trombone shorty trump on shorty
8:04
come on
8:05
we got soul rebels
8:07
john betty oh our family yeah yes very
8:11
award-winning so so many uh new orleans
8:13
is doing something very special in the
8:15
city right now yeah and we're so happy
8:16
to be a part of it because new orleans
8:18
has been known to be a city where people
8:19
come have a good time
8:21
you have a good time and you leave it's
8:23
time that it just does something
8:25
different now because we have so much
8:27
more to offer the world i love what's
8:28
going on with with new orleans right now
8:30
and the music did you ever come across
8:32
the the d1s or the boys the currencies
8:36
the wings
8:38
not wayne i've never met wayne yet
8:40
before okay but d1 for sure okay yes
8:43
that's all new orleans uh my family uh
8:46
from outside of new orleans i got a lot
8:48
of family from louisiana um and with us
8:51
comes a lot of spirituality yes you know
8:54
and we're rooted in that
8:56
some of us are rooted deeper than others
8:58
how deep are you it's very special the
9:00
ground um you know that everyone when
9:03
you leave the country you know that
9:05
everyone has been to new orleans now if
9:07
you're asking me if i'm if i dabble in a
9:09
little voodoo you know can't say it
9:11
about that
9:13
okay
9:14
well you know i i watched my mama make
9:16
the gumball that you called me
9:18
and just growing up in just church
9:20
honestly just paul a pastor uncle a
9:23
pastor
9:24
aunty a pastor cousin to pass a family
9:26
of church but um i've since i grew up in
9:29
church so much and i honestly don't go
9:31
every sunday like i used to but i really
9:33
feel church when i play with the band
9:35
and i've learned that it is inside of me
9:37
yeah and i can bring it anywhere
9:39
it is tank
9:41
tank i love it man and the bangers what
9:43
are the bangers what does that mean
9:46
yeah what's a banger
10:02
it's all good so um the bangers
10:05
was the house band the black excuse me
10:08
there you go the bangers was the house
10:09
uh house band at the black star books
10:11
and cafe uh-huh it was a guitarist uh
10:13
amari and bass players um
10:18
jesus i was about to say salvo all kind
10:20
of stuff anyway um
10:22
they me and josh fit right in we started
10:24
coming every sunday drums and keys fit
10:25
in with that and
10:27
we were the
10:28
liberated soul collective after you know
10:30
we got a liberation lounge you know we
10:32
had the collection of artists or
10:33
whatever and then after that kind of
10:35
dismantled it was tanking the black star
10:37
bangers the two original members left
10:38
and then we changed the tank into vegas
10:40
yeah i was like and we're still wrong we
10:42
still don't have a real definition on
10:43
what the bangers is but we claim it yeah
10:45
it feels good
10:46
they hit hard maybe that's the
10:48
definition right
10:49
i didn't i didn't like the name for a
10:50
long time wow
10:52
that you did when did it finally settle
10:54
in maybe like um maybe
10:56
maybe four years ago probably
11:07
i was stuck with it i had to i had to do
11:09
what i had to do because it was
11:10
terrianna tank ball in the black star
11:11
bangers but then it's so long
11:14
but you know nation had a bad name in
11:16
mind that i loved i wanted to be called
11:18
purple freak
11:19
f-r-e-a-q like that could be your aliens
11:22
that could be your social fears
11:27
but it has definitely grown on me
11:29
especially since it it spiritually makes
11:31
so much sense tank which is a name that
11:32
my dad gave me who passed away
11:34
which is a nickname and bang you know
11:36
that's what a tank does and you know
11:38
it's protected it's full force it make a
11:40
loud noise it's it's instrumental
11:44
daddy's nickname was cannonball so oh
11:46
it's perfect oh it's alive yeah it just
11:49
had to come together you know tank so
11:51
many times we hear artists say yo i did
11:53
this all myself you know we hear about
11:55
diy generation we hear about people who
11:57
really push um autonomy which i
12:00
understand but we also know that their
12:02
strength in numbers speak on the
12:04
difference of how it feels in your body
12:06
when you was doing slam poetry as an
12:08
individual versus being a part of the
12:10
collective man i honestly feel like i
12:12
never did even the poetry alone because
12:14
i love the group and we always had to
12:16
depend on each other even if we went
12:18
over time when we were slamming you felt
12:20
so horrible because you're like i let my
12:21
team down i went over my time i've
12:23
always been around people that believed
12:25
in me much more than i believed in
12:26
myself and that was key in
12:29
my growth in bringing me where i am i
12:31
honestly believe that all of us believe
12:33
in each other a little bit more than we
12:35
believe in ourselves and that's the
12:37
pushing moments i think they um somebody
12:40
said that the key part of the
12:41
relationship is that you don't fall out
12:42
of love at the same time
12:45
you know and i think um that's important
12:48
so when one is down somebody need to be
12:50
pushing you forward and that's the
12:52
beauty of a group um i wouldn't want to
12:55
do it alone
12:56
do i have days i'm like man i would have
12:58
went to the six
12:59
not the five
13:08
you know but all in all
13:11
i'm pretty grateful phone
13:14
look at her say something
13:16
i'm ready to hear music are you ready
13:17
yeah that's it
13:19
okay so we got tank in the bangers here
13:22
the new project is um it's here it's
13:24
arriving
13:26
yeah the baby is here
13:27
okay uh red balloon what does that mean
13:32
i know everybody like to ask that when
13:34
we first thought about conceptual
13:36
green balloon we always knew that it was
13:38
going to be
13:39
two albums green and red and at first we
13:42
were going to put them out at the same
13:43
time but we thought how about we wait
13:45
some years wait until we mature wait
13:46
until life hits us see how we
13:48
spiritually change and that's where red
13:50
came from but as far as the balloon and
13:52
the colors it just sounded whimsical to
13:54
me and fun and airy and curious
13:57
but at first it really was that's what
13:59
it was and we made sense of it later
14:01
that's honestly how i write i'll make
14:03
sense of it later yeah okay before y'all
14:05
start i want to read something if if
14:08
that's okay it's very okay is that okay
14:10
oh it's okay
14:11
is that okay yes
14:14
let me try to find it real quick
14:19
what is it you pulling up you need
14:20
glasses no i don't need glass i just
14:22
need to uh find it
14:25
let me see no i don't tell you
14:27
when i worked and he knows i'm reading
14:29
this
14:30
when i work with tanks she was very wide
14:33
open and in the moment ready to create
14:35
and try new things on the spot that's
14:37
what i enjoyed about her and the whole
14:40
band that's from robert glasper
14:43
[Music]
14:56
you know we're on radio
15:00
that's what we do joshua
15:04
ladies and gentlemen citizens you are in
15:06
for a treat let's clap them up
15:08
okay taking over the airwaves let's make
15:10
sure everything's turned on make sure
15:11
all in mike's turned on
15:14
okay this is a critically acclaimed
15:16
group right here okay they are they are
15:19
down by god yes okay not just law as we
15:22
say in hip-hop about to take over our
15:25
first live performance in the bubble
15:27
2022 here in new york city citizens
15:31
without further ado give it up for the
15:33
one and only tank
15:35
in the bankers yeah yeah yeah
15:44
laughs
15:57
[Music]
16:00
two
16:01
[Music]
16:24
[Music]
16:31
[Music]
16:34
i
16:39
[Music]
16:51
earrings on
16:54
[Music]
17:15
[Music]
17:39
[Music]
17:41
yo baby brother
17:51
to protect you from these
17:53
it's time for some of y'all
17:56
[Music]
17:59
green
18:00
this song i sing you're the front porch
18:02
you like a green lawn you a sweet hello
18:10
[Music]
18:43
[Music]
18:54
as i try to learn them
18:56
[Music]
19:22
you're my
19:23
[Music]
19:31
but my face
19:36
[Music]
19:50
god everybody wanna know heaven's nice
19:55
everybody
19:58
[Music]
20:25
yeah come on wow
20:29
astounding tank in the bangers
20:32
see you at the grammys wow
20:34
yeah
20:35
see you at the grammy's kiddo
20:38
and the winner is
20:40
[Laughter]
20:41
hey we calling here we told lizzo we
20:44
told mclemore we told jack harlow nick
20:48
we told him since y'all dropping names
20:49
we trying to get one of the pictures by
20:50
the elevator
20:56
we told anderson too anderson pack we
20:58
told him first first first place he ever
21:01
stopped courtesy of adrian miller was
21:03
right here
21:04
we call him what'd you see what's up hb
21:07
what'd you see in the future and the
21:08
winner is i'm telling you sister
21:11
broadway
21:12
tone
21:13
oscars
21:15
claim it put it out there let's go the
21:18
talent is oozing over y'all yeah
21:22
y'all this is this is
21:24
your fingers
21:26
cause i can't help it yeah i just i feel
21:28
it like i'm telling you it's it's it's
21:30
unbelievable and it is so
21:33
refreshing to watch and see you it is
21:37
unbelievable to watch and see you like
21:39
here and just just accepting all the
21:42
gifts that god has given you and putting
21:44
them out here the way you're doing it
21:45
girl and the winner is
21:48
[Music]
21:51
don't forget to thank us that's the one
21:53
thing these artists be forgetting i
21:55
don't be hearing the shout out for
21:56
swinging in the morning
21:59
i didn't hear that party they'd be
22:01
forgetting us tanking the bangers
22:04
thank you for speaking there for us baby
22:05
because when we were there last time
22:07
nobody knows but i didn't want them to
22:09
call a name i was so scared
22:12
my heart was being so fast my neck was
22:14
so hot
22:16
i never felt this way before and i was
22:18
like please don't call my name please
22:20
don't call me i wasn't ready i'ma share
22:22
something with you that rev run told me
22:24
when i was dealing with the spirit of
22:25
fear and just didn't really and i don't
22:27
know why i was on my spirit to share
22:29
with him one day over the phone
22:32
and he said do it scared
22:34
you know you're scared that's right he
22:36
said do is scared
22:37
when they call your name thank god and
22:39
just walk in your greatness sis like do
22:42
it scared
22:43
and that's that's all i can tell y'all
22:45
do it
22:46
that's enough yeah
22:52
yeah to hold you back as you're supposed
22:54
to exactly because wherever you are is
22:56
where you're meant to be
23:12
you
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