Note: $wervin and Chao$ merchandise and Album Covers created by Justin Pilarski.

This week, I have been fortunate enough to interview Justin Pilarski, the creator of the band $lump3dUpHo3$ and a recent graduate from Dakota High School. He has been producing music for a few years now, and he is excited to say that he will continue to be producing more songs after his first album, Chao$, and two of his most popular singles, $wervin 1 and 2.

What caused you to start your band?

Well, I’ve always been interested in music in general, and when COVID hit, everyone was bored. So, what my friends and I decided to do was that we were going to make a funny song out of the blue. We made that song, and then a year later, I decided I should create an album. I finished that one, and that’s where we are now.

What inspired Chao$? 

So, what inspired Chao$ was when we made the first song in 2020, and then we recreated it towards the end of 2021. As I was going through it, I posted on Twitter, and I was like, ‘Hey, it would be funny if I made an album,’ and then after 6 long months of work and a lot of support for it, I was able to post the album without any copyright issues.

How did you come up with $wervin? 

$wervin? $wervin is a funny thing, because I was sitting in one of my classrooms, and I was just thinking, because in History you’re not really doing much other than doing the notes when you need to do them, and that’s it. It’s a pretty easy class. So, I was sitting there and listening to beats, and I found this one beat. I was like, ‘Oh! I’d be cool if I did, like, swerving…’ and then I never used that beat. I found a different one, and it was way better for what I wanted, and I somehow came up with the chorus, and now it’s a hit single straight from Dakota.

What inspired your other singles? For example, The Boys? 

So, I did a bit of theater. I was talking with a few of my friends after the High School Musical show, and I asked them if they wanted to come over and create a song. They came over and we planned to have a nice, clean song. We found a nice little beat for it, and then from there, we came up with the most amazing chorus we ever created, and we built the song around that. The Boys is still one of my most popular songs.

Who has helped you through this journey? 

I’m going to be honest; it was mostly me. I, for the most part, did everything. However, right now, I’m getting some help from ICP. They’re helping me boost my music a bit, and I was supposed to perform for them, I don’t know if it’s still happening, but they’re still there to support me. They even bought some of my merch!

Do you plan to continue to pursue this career? Are there any future albums? 

Honestly, after the first album, I was content with just being done. But people were contacting me asking, ‘When’s $wervin 2 coming out?’, ‘When’s your next album?’, ‘When’s this?’, and ‘When’s that?’, and I was like ‘Alright, so I guess this isn’t a one-and-done type of thing, I have to make another one.’ So, album 2…it’s coming soon. At some point in time, it’s coming. I’d say within the next three months or at least before December, because there’s also going to be a holiday song that comes out.

What was your favorite song thus far?

Man, that’s a hard one, because they’re all not my favorite in the world, but they’re all also pretty up there in my little chart. If I’m going to pick one, it’s probably going to be Gettin’ Paid. Yeah, I definitely think Gettin’ Paid is my favorite written one.

Follow up question: which song is your favorite that is in production right now? 

My favorite song in production? Probably Despicable. I’m going to be honest, Despicable is pretty good. I’m very excited to hear the full song when it’s done.

What was the hardest song to produce? 

The most difficult one to make? Face Lift. Absolutely Face Lift. It was the most difficult, and that’s why it’s the most garbage song on the album. It is so bad. Face Lift is literally the worst song. Someone made a list of their tiered songs, and Face Lift was really high up for no reason. I’m going to pull it up, hold on…yeah, my friend Chris decided that Face Lift was my third best song. How is Face Lift above $wervin? The only good part about it is the chorus.

What is your favorite album? 

Easily Train Wreck. Album is nothing to what I could have done. I have learned to do more things now, how to mix better…everything is just going to sound so much better in this second album.

Should we expect any new singles?

There might be one more single that will come out, but that one is in the early stages of production.

Any specific merchandise that are your favorite? Any new releases for merchandise? 

I love the new $wervin hoodies. They are so cool looking. I haven’t gotten one myself yet, but once I do, I can check the quality. I’m wondering how it feels, because I want to make sure my stuff is quality before a bunch of people buy them. I think one person has bought the hoodie? It hasn’t arrived yet though. I have to say though, the new phone cases from last month’s drop are so good. I have it on right now. I’m waiting for the slippers to come in from last month’s drop as well. Pretty much everything after the $wervin drop is really good.