The Hovertwins, Philadelphia's most popular DJ duo, are also the most infamous. Kendra and Pipus have made a name for themselves by throwing some of the city's best parties that pretty much always culminate in some sort of disaster, the most noteworthy being when a club they were performing at caught fire and burned down. This drug-addled hover stunt landed them in court-appointed rehab, from which I'm told they are currently on the lam from. Last night I was given the opportunity to do an exclusive interview with them and their manager at an undisclosed location in North Philly, to promote their comeback show tomorrow night at The Dolphin in South Philadelphia which will most likely result in their immediate re-arrest.
+ Just to introduce the setting for everyone reading this - We are in what appears to be a film studio in the middle of an abandoned warehouse, in what I think is North Philly. The impression that I get is that this studio is normally used to shoot pornography. Lets get started: for those who haven't been to your shows, who are you? Where did you come from?
Pipus: We the HoverTwins. We met in Philly and hit it, everything. We got into shit so hard that we had to go our separate ways. Pipus to Spain and Kendra off to California. We knew from early on how to get people going but we went our separate ways and had a shot at genuine lives. But that didn't really take.
Kendra: Yeah, we weren’t feeling it, so we met back in Philly to once again become the life of the party.
+ Yeah, okay. Honestly I don't really know what to ask you guys. When did you guys know that you wanted to be DJs?
Kendra: When did you know you wanted to walk? Or eat? Or get lit? This isn't some hobby of ours. It's not a choice. It's in our code. We are future driven. And the future is hoverboards, djing, and vape pens.
Pipus: And after that the future is getting paid to make appearances at parties without having to DJ them.
+ That seems to be the goal of all DJs these days. Well in light of everything that’s happened and how easy you’ve "made it", do you think there’s a chance you could ever take for granted your ability to connect with your listeners?
Kendra: We aren't worried about that. We don't listen to anyone, not even our manager. So in a way, we'll never be able to connect to our fans. We appreciate the love, but how can you feel connected to a bunch of followers when they are just a number? It's unfair of them to ask us for that.
Pipus: Yeah unfair question we are having a DJ night anyone 21+ can come.
+ That makes sense, clearly you guys are social influencers, and you've earned the right to not listen to anyone. Okay I don’t know if legally you are allowed to talk about this, but honestly how did it come to happen that you actually set a fire that burned the club down?
Hovertwins Manager: No comment. But it definitely isn't related to the spontaneous combustion of boards.
+ Fair enough, you guys are in enough trouble as it is. Well lets try this a different way - Hoverboards have caused a lot of problems for you guys, but they seem to be an essential part of your shows and your identities. Given whats happened, some might speculate that you're addicted to hovering, among other things. For example you're sitting down right now and you're still on them. How do you respond to that?
Kendra: Everyone is too concerned about addiction. What if people tried to stop Michelangelo because he was working too hard on the sistene ceiling?
+ Okay so you actually know who Michelangelo is - Where do you feel like you fit into the context of art history in the greater sense?
Kendra: I dunno. You tell us, You're the one writing about us.
Pipus: Nowadays with the internet people don't remember things for as long. We more worried about what's going down tomorrow night.
+ It is definitely hard to say where you "fit in", but it seems like you guys are tastemakers. Have you ever tried to put that to the test? For example: I’ve been trying to make a new thing pop off… so when something is like really really lit, ive been saying “damn, that is WELL lit”. You know, like a well-lit room. Do you think I can make this happen, and do you think maybe you guys can throw it around a little bit?
Kendra: No.
+ I'm just trying to make a connection here. So everyone in Philadelphia knows that you both got sent to rehab after that club burning incident, how do you feel that going to rehab changed you guys?
Kendra: It didn't and it was a complete waste of time.
Pipus: It's like "well lit", someone forcing u to do something doesn't catch.
+ Fair enough. It seems like the Hovertwins are making a strong effort to bring the value of partying and a lack of seriousness back into the forefront of the discussion of music. How far are you willing to go to convey that message?
Hovertwins Manager: They'll go all the way. Look, producers are the real geniuses we all know that. But who wants to bump cocaine with a wise guy? If I was a producer and I got one of my songs in the HoverTwins hands and they put their names on it.. It's a done deal. People who really respect their own work don't want to flaunt it for the whole club. PRODUCERS: stay at home, email over your tracks, and let the big dogs take home the victory.
+ That doesn't really answer my question. What about this: what trends do you forecast for Philadelphia art and music? Who will be the heavyhitters of 2016?
Pipus: Tunji Ige got that song been stuck in my head. Grave Goods is always the underdog and ALWAYS gonna impress.
Kendra: Yeah, but mostly us.
+ Okay there we go. Tunji is great. Tell me about some of your influencers, and shout out your favorite Philly musicians?
Pipus: SqKuiRreLLtaX & Dilpole have that hit with Justin Bieber but gotta go with us, Grave Goods, Spank Rock, Noah Breakfast, Tunji Ige, Heaven In Stereo, DJ Sylo, Magglezzz, Gwappy Boys, Hooded Leaders, City Fitness, Diamond Girl, Gun$ Garcia, Dirty South Joe, Sam Greens, Yolo Ono, Bounce Boys, Theodore Grams, Anyee Wright, Tierra Whack, 0nlineB0yfriend, Bad Dawg Max, Lamda, Scüter, Dexter Loos, and BigPeteOnTheWeb, littlespaceyyy.
+ Thats quite a list. On the other side, I know you guys have made a whole lot of enemies in Philadelphia. Who is fight on sight? Who are the most embarrassing posers in the music game right now?
Kendra: SqKuiRreLLtaX, Dilpole, Grave Goods, Spank Rock, Noah Breakfast, Tunji Ige, Heaven In Stereo, DJ Sylo, Magglezzz, Gwappy Boys, Hooded Leaders, City Fitness, Diamond Girl, Gun$ Garcia, Dirty South Joe, Sam Greens, Yolo Ono, Bounce Boys, Theodore Grams, Anyee Wright, Tierra Whack, 0nlineB0yfriend, Bad Dawg Max, Lamda, Scüter, Dexter Loos, and BigPeteOnTheWeb, littlespaceyyy.
+ Jesus Christ. Okay what can we expect in the future from The Hovertwins?
Pipus: Short term - We got our comeback gig Thursday January 7th at The Dolphin. Then we got some shit up in New York the following weekend. And then we got more Instagram videos we putting out etc. etc.
Kendra: Long term - Nothing but W's. We've cracked the fuckin code. The game is ours. We're Neo when he revives himself at the end of the first matrix movie and then starts stopping bullets n whooping ass. Except we're two Neos and we're on hoverboards. We're kinda the twins in matrix reloaded too. Wait what was the question?
You can catch the Hovertwins tomorrow night at The Dolphin Tavern in South Philly at 10pm. For more information about the show and for more of their videos, check out @kendrauncut and @pipusthewise on instagram.