Climber-rapper sends your proj in Nikes and swoops your girl before you’re even tied in.

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What’s 1C2B about?

Bars, broads, and bouldering by the beach. I’m about sunning with honies and sending in tennies. I’m about bouldering in HP40 Friday, dropping bars in ATL on Saturday, and roping in Foster Falls on Sunday. Then partying hard on private beaches in Melbourne the next week. I’m about living life to the fullest, and I’m about rock climbing—and I’m about to combine the two. I’m about living your passion, whatever and however that is. I’m about to take your girl on a climbing world tour. The motto? You only onsight once (YOOO).

I’m about to flip the climbing game on its ass is what I’m about. What’s up with this new climbing generation? We had rad trad daddies like the stone monkeys to inspire us, what happened? We’re too tame, too calm.

It’s like people are afraid to make noise and FSU. So that’s partly what I’m about. If we really want more people enjoying climbing, embrace your passion and create something cool for someone else. I’m really bored with what I’m seeing in the climbing world, no one is making me laugh, cry, whatever. Climbing really difficult stuff is cool—I would know, I’m a V19 climber—and it’s really inspiring, no doubt. But I see additional potential for influencing climbers in other ways that aren’t being used right now. There’s a niche for everything. These songs are just one example.

Your SoundCloud profiles says, “@onechaintwobinerz making my debut, taking over the rock climbing rap game.” You’ve got some stiff competition with Kris “Odub” Hampton out of Cincinnati. Do you think this community is ready for a new voice?

I keeps it real: I don’t really know Odub like that, and didn’t know about him when I first got started. He did his thing for a while, sure. But 1chain knows no stiff competition. The community is ready for a new voice, a new everything. A new demographic that goes hard or goes home. I’m only just getting started. Climbing is one of the dopest sports, yet our headlines are wack as hell: “Climber sends really hard line,” “Climber uses very small holds to get to top of rock.” And that’s supposed to get climbing into the Olympics? Hell yes we need a new voice. Here’s a headline: “Climber-rapper sends your proj in Nikes and swoops your girl before you’re even tied in.”

 

Related: Climber Spotlight: Kris “Odub” Hampton

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Word is spreading about your Kanye-level genius. How do you feel about these comparisons?

Kanye and I—both being lyrical geniuses, massive successes in the hip hop industry, and radical narcissists—agree that our exceptionality must be divine. Indeed, he and I are shaking the game by making absurd claims, and backing that s*** up. They thought Kanye was a joke before Jay took a chance on him. They didn’t think a producer, with his college-backpack-teddy-bear style could make it in the gangster rap world.

They thought 1C2B was a joke until they heard my bars and saw my huge following.

I told a few people some time ago about my aspirations to escape the Flatlands of Florida and go on a world tour, creating music about rock climbing. You can imagine the smirk on their face, right? I think they thought I was joking. But now that I’ve created some tracks and ruffled some feathers at a couple rock shows, people are just beginning to see the potential. And frankly, I don’t care if they do, hence personal tracks like Lift Off.

Tom Barnes, quoting Kanye: “The name of my album is called The College Dropout,” Kanye told MTV two years before it debuted,

All that’s saying is make your own decisions. Don’t let society tell you, ‘This is what you have to do.’ Society told me, ‘Man, don’t move from Chicago.’ People told me to stay in school, this music is this, this music is that.

But Kanye paved his own way. He’s lived this philosophy throughout his life, and he’s truly an inspiration for anyone trying to make it in a highly competitive creative industry. They say Ye and I are crazy. Why aren’t YOU crazy about something?

Tell us about your creative process: inspiration, duration to write a song, etc.

I’ll just be listening to a song, and think it’d be hilarious if the rapper said this or that. Then I make my version: a professional team of ghostwriters, producers, sound engineers, and graphic designers put together a dummy track and promotional media.

If I approve, I bring it to my boy Q—Quincy Jones, that is—we go in the studio and make a platinum record onsight, no takes.

Usually some kind of inspiration will hit me, something funny or a dope bar. Then I’ll crank out the verses pretty quickly, usually built around whatever that funny/dope theme is. Half the time the hook just comes out in the booth. For Climbing Ain’t a Thang, though, the hook was definitely the original source. Meanwhile Lift Off has little organization and no edits—that song was written and recorded same day, and really wasn’t meant to be put out. But it was a good taste of my passion and what 1C2B is really about.

Your recent hit, Backflags and Rose Moves, has taken off—I’ve seen it at least twice on my Facebook feed. Where do you attribute this success?

I did, indeed, start from the bottom and am now here. I’d firstly like to thank myself for being a lyrical genius.


Believe it or not Tampa, FL has one of the dopest climbing communities in the world, over at Vertical Ventures. I couldn’t have reached this level of celebrity without the support of several inspirational friends, you know who you are. Of course my parents, who taught me to chase my dreams. My homie Lil T for getting me into climbing and being a lifelong inspiration. And the climbing community for being the greatest sports community I’ve ever been involved with.

I owe a huge thanks to Cody and the organizers at Rock and Rave this year at Stone Summit Atlanta for the success of Backflags and Rose Moves in particular. That was a huge venue and a great opportunity to show the world what I’m about—these #bars. And of course, you guys at Moja Gear for giving me this platform to share my passion with the world.

In your lyrics, you laugh at crash pads, flash in approach shoes, carry two racks and a dozen shoes. What gear is 1C2B climbing with?

Racks on racks on racks.

I got more steel than a gun show, more 4/5s than the Wild West. A set of two brass nuts and one tool. I got like… Ten cams? Fifty cams, hunnid cams..? Bump it man, let’s just not even discuss it man. More hexes than Hermione, they need cow bell like Christopher Walken. This all assumes Alex and I are even using gear that day.

Be on the look out for 1C2BelayerBlockers belay glasses. Pulleys popping on your proj? You’ll want to try the TheraMitts, cold compress gloves. If you want your gear plugged in, topped out and on stage with 1C2B, reach out to my manager [email protected] in time for 1C2B Tour 2k16.

And of course, I’m always sending in my diamond encrusted chain, and two 24 karat gold carabinerz.

In Lift Off, you share some powerful, no-BS lines: “Flow doper than a Horse Pens sloper in October. You’re a hoper I’m a dreamer, if you can’t tell a difference that’s onechaintwobinerz.” What does this mean?

Damn, you caught me being mad corny and cryptic. One of 1C2B’s principles right now is this difference between hoping and dreaming. “Hoping” carries this connotation that you’re doing nothing more than wishing for something. But without action, it doesn’t matter how smart you are or how hard you hope, you have to DO it. You can DREAM of unrealistic things as long as you take action to make those dreams a reality. If you’re simply hoping, you’ll never send. So that difference between hoping and dreaming is also 1C2B. If you can’t tell the difference and it looks like I’m “just dreaming,” step your game way up. Real recognize real.

Big fans are taking note: Sasha and Chris to name a couple. Is it true that your “climbing bangers” have bumped their sending power?

So I’m chilling with my boy Chris in his home in Spain, Jimena whipping us up some drinks, when Chris tells me,

1chain, I’ve been cruxing hella hard lately, I’m just not feeling like myself, you know? How do you maintain such ridiculous climbing strength?

It was then that I wrote the banger Backflags and Rose Moves, and I think it really unlocked the beta for him. He ended up backflagging and rose moving all over Catalan Witness the Fitness, V15. He wanted to thank me publicly but I couldn’t take all the credit, you know, he is Chris Sharma and all.

As for Sasha, I think the world is ready to know. Sasha officially hit me with a written confession of love at her autograph signing at Rock and Rave. It’s highly personal, but I’ve included an image for your viewing pleasure. Please note all three underlines which confirms sincerity and authenticity, according to Adidas. But I’m a climber-rapper, I can’t stay tied in, locked up like a GriGri, nah mean? Our equally prodigiously successful professional climbing careers are at stake. But I do love some drama …

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“Please note all three underlines which confirms sincerity and authenticity, according to Adidas.”

The hats … Where can I get one?

For now, you can contact me on Facebook and Instagram @onechaintwobinerz—it goes down in the DM. I’m psyched to be working with a fan in Australia on getting some schwag sent over to him. The 1C2B site is under construction, for now make sure you follow me on social. Of course, you guys at Moja Gear will get the hook up.

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Anything else you’d like to share?

Y’all be climbing mad heavy, maybe you need to LIGHTEN UP. Climb something, it’s fun. I’m on the grind, cooking something up for you, climbing world. Be ready.

1C2B was born in ’92 and has been climbing since ’09. To stay in the loop with his upcoming tracks, follow him on Instagram, and SoundCloud.


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