Above the bridge
Above the bridge
Episode 134 SUFFICE ( Rap Artist )
Meet Suffice, an emerging hip-hop artist from Kaneohe, Hawaii. This episode we explore his journey through the local rap scene. We reminisce about cherished traditions like our annual KapunsGiving event and the unique experience of working together during the pandemic. This episode is a vibrant testament to the exciting potential of a young artist’s promising career.
Step into Hawaii’s thriving skate community, where passion and creativity collide at the Honolulu Skate Film Festival. Suffice shares the electrifying experience of collaborating with renowned crews like Genesis from Seattle and the thrill of seeing our films showcased on platforms like Thrasher. The tight-knit skateboarding community offers a unique blend of technical discussions and creative expression, capturing the essence of adventure and the potential for growth in this dynamic scene.
From dissecting rap writing theory to navigating the intricacies of the music industry, this episode covers the universal language of music and the dedication required to succeed. We discuss the creative process behind impactful verses and the vital role of collaboration with talented producers and artists. Inspired by legendary MCs and modern influences, the journey underscores the importance of perseverance and embracing risks, drawing parallels between skateboarding and music as we celebrate the pursuit of passion and artistic freedom.
okay, welcome to another edition of the above the bridge podcast. I'm your host, thaddeus park. For anyone just tuning in. Um, please like, subscribe to our content. You can find us on instagram. You can also get our podcast on any platform that you can get your podcast on also our youtube channel. So subscribe, like, listen. Thank you guys for all your support.
Speaker 1:Uh, first thing I want to do is shout out our sponsors first. We have defend hawaii and they've been my sponsor since day one. Uh, right now they're going through their christmas drops, so go check them out. They have a lot of cool stuff that you can get for christmas presents. They have a store in windward mall called no one, or you can go to defend hawaiicom. Check out everything you want to order. Um, use promo code atON, check out and you'll get 15% off your entire purchase order. Next, we have IREP Detail Supply. They're your one-stop shop superstore for anything you need to detail your car, truck, minivan, whatever vehicle you have. They have a store in Temple Valley Shopping Center, also in Las Vegas for you. Las Vegas listeners Shopping center, also in Las Vegas for you, las Vegas listeners. If not, go to their website, go to irepdetailsupplycom. Use promo code ATBPOD upon checkout, and you will also get 15% off your entire purchase order.
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Speaker 2:What's up, man, how you been I'm doing good, how you doing, uncle, how's it?
Speaker 1:I am doing great, bro. I'm stoked to have you on my show. I always wanted to have you on once. You did something cool and you got some shit cooking right now. That's pretty cool and I want to throw some shine at you. First off, thank you for coming to Kapoon's Giving. We all got fucked up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was cool, that was cool, yeah, that was cool I fuck it up yeah, when we were your age, we would do that every single thanksgiving we'd all go up to kapunahala and drink beers and and cruise and um. We're trying to keep that tradition going. We've been doing it for like a couple decades already, so it's cool that the next gen is coming out now you fucking, yeah, you fucking is crazy bro.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love you guys.
Speaker 1:You guys is nuts yeah, you got to spar with your dad and uncle mark, so that's always fun yeah, that was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was fun bro. Yeah, that was out of nowhere. I was like, oh, I was on bus and me and dad were just fucking around and uncle mark hop and I was like, okay, raj, fuck him, I'll throw yeah it was good it was good to just test too, because, like, what is it?
Speaker 2:you know that get, we all get different reaches, everyone get different. I always said about that right, so there's different agendas and shit. So you gotta remember that too. Right, like I, I get range, you know, you know. So it's like opposite he gonna rush you, he gonna don't close off distance. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:But well, your dad's a hammer, so you can't do shit he's nuts?
Speaker 2:yeah, he's not.
Speaker 1:There's nothing you can do mark, I can teach you how to fuck up. That would be easy. But yeah, thanks again for coming, bro. It was cool. That was a fun night, kind of chill.
Speaker 2:No, it's cool to be here it's cool to, yeah, just even be on what podcast and capoons, just everything in general kicking with you has just been fun, right?
Speaker 1:you're a cool ass guy I try to be bra, I gotta keep it real and I think I got look more. I well I knew you and of you since you were born and yeah, I've known your dad for years and, like I said, he's one of my closest friends, one of the few people on this whole fucking planet that I actually trust and I actually respect. And, yeah, your dad is something special, bro, special to me also. But I got close to you the most is when we were swabbing people's noses for the doogie, so much fun bro.
Speaker 2:Oh my fucking god.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you guys are the best co-workers I've ever had in my life oh yeah, they can't put me and your dad together on a job site, that's just or even just like also Kayone Steph, just everybody.
Speaker 2:That was just a fun group of people to be around. Everyone was just fucking good fun, Talk shit, get the job done. I just best my kind of people to be around, bro. I love productive, smart people.
Speaker 1:And it was a cruise job, we got to mess with a bunch of celebrities. Like what's so random, like how did we end up there when I was super weird?
Speaker 2:it was so fucking random.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep, yeah, good times we're trying to get you to hit on the fucking, the mean actress I remember that shit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was. Yeah, that was fucking fun, bro, that was fun, good, fun, good money, too good money, fuck. Oh, yeah, yeah, food, food was nice, but I had to do some bullshit here and there. It was fun, whatever, oh yeah, we taxed that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, oh, your dad would freaking come home with all kinds of stuff. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Anti-mercy too. Yeah, fuck. All the Filipinos say, asking for everything. We go over there. Oh my God, yeah, I laugh, that was fun. That was fun, bro, fuck.
Speaker 1:Yeah, did you watch that show?
Speaker 2:Fuck no, fuck no. It's funny too, my homeboy. He was like a stunt double On that shit. Oh really, yeah, he like he did some of the skating.
Speaker 1:That's fucking cool. Yeah, that was a random Job during COVID. That Random job. It was super cool, like yeah, we were making good money and To be low key. But I'm putting it out there Me and your dad was kind of like working two jobs at the same time.
Speaker 2:No it was working in the ER. That's how it was fucking out. That's how much that is.
Speaker 1:Good fun. Good fun, but from from getting to hang out with you on a rig was at least a couple of times a week.
Speaker 1:From getting to hang out with you on a reg was that at least a couple of times a week? I got to know more of your personality, more of who you were, not just my nephew, like Jaren's son. I got to see your capabilities and your potential and you had this passion for rap. And I meet a lot of people, especially the industry I'm in in the nightclub industry. I meet a lot of up-and-coming artists, wannabes, basically scrubs, and when you come up to me like, oh, I like to rap, it's kind of like ah I heard this before I got to be cool.
Speaker 1:You got to stand out because I can't do it, but I was kind of impressed For one. You wrote down your stuff and you were kind of a little bit more serious than what I've seen other people do.
Speaker 2:And when you started to flow, I remember we were at some house in Waimanalo.
Speaker 1:We were under the tent and you spit some of your stuff and I was like, oh wow, this guy, this guy might have something here. And we kind of lined up one of my friends, sage, he's a rapper and he brought you to Hoku's studio. Hoku's pretty big time, you know, like Hoku produced.
Speaker 2:I see him he be out there. Yeah, I see his resume. Yeah, you're doing shit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're hoku if you're watching this yeah, he's supposed to come on too, but he got.
Speaker 1:He got a chance to bring you to their studio and and mess around a little bit and yeah, we didn't want to stick around yeah, we didn't want to stick around to let you kind of do your thing, and I know your dad didn't want want you to feel like he was um infringing, so he let you do your thing. Yeah, well, it was cool that you got that opportunity, but then you kind of didn't do much in that genre until recently and oh yeah, I skating bro, yeah he's pretty much a skater, right?
Speaker 2:yeah, bro. So like I was just running with my homies just because, like I think, just out of nowhere, I got into skateboarding around high school and then I just met some people at a skate park. It was cool, and it was like it was cool for me because they were younger than me at the time, but they were like they were mad gifted, so super humbling, right. So you just like you like seeing how they, how they learn shit. Like when you see kids how quick they learn shit, that's what I was fascinated by. I was like, fuck bro, these kids get it. And then I kept meeting more people that were like that and then I was just like, oh, it's cool, skating is some of the fucking most interesting people you'll ever meet.
Speaker 2:Like even the way I talk is weird and it's because of skating, because there's so much dialects and shit going on. Like you thought pigeon came about weird from that. Like I speak weird street slang, what mixed with like pigeon, because of just how I like talk but also like write my raps and shit. So it's all incorporated. Yeah, fuck, skate. Yeah, skating took over. I didn't really make music for a minute but I had a good sm.
Speaker 1:You did tap into your creativity when you were fucking with those skater boys Because you were filming.
Speaker 2:You're making videos, so I was running my brand. So every Sunday we were running out streets all over the island. I mean we was in ditches and fucking Y&I in Keolu Ditch. We'd be on rooftops of schools, fucking almost every high school we probably hit. Like I can't I can't even describe to you like I have hard drives full of shit from places I've been at. We're just fucking running around because, like that's how everybody was, that's how 808 skate was, that's how apb was, like I'm just the next generation of fuckers.
Speaker 2:I was doing it, but it was fuckers long before me that I was running up. So it's cool to see like the OGs was fucking with me, like to see like you know what I'm putting up and they're like, oh your shit's tight To see all my crew come together the way that they did. And like a lot of them have shoe sponsors and shit. Now you know they have board sponsors and shit. So that's all thanks to all the shit we did going out on the streets and sending it to people from adidas and nike because we had the connection through a 808 skate shout out, fucking joshua rubes and uh chuck, they're the people that put us on with those connections is they know everybody your local skate shop knows everybody that's. You get put on, you get good with them and you're nice with it as you get put on. So that I did. I got my homies put on and then I did my shit. Now I'm kind of doing music. I'm going to try merging too eventually.
Speaker 1:Well, that's cool and I think because you gave so much shine to your friends and tried to prop your boys up, they're kind of going to do the same for you.
Speaker 2:Bro, yeah, they're good.
Speaker 1:Did you have something at the Honolulu Academy of Arts or something like that?
Speaker 2:Two years, bro, two years. First year, yeah, I can't remember Like 2020, I think I thought something. No, 2021, 2022. Fuck, I forget the years now, but I've had two different years in which I put out a video and I got played at that Honolulu Skate Film Festival, shit over there. So that was super sick to have it played in a theater with everybody from like all the skate parks and shit. You know, I mean people you've seen who just skate around the island, like the community, like everybody recognize each other because, like you know, instagram and shit, social media, so to see everybody in the same theater, that's crazy. Like everyone drinking, you know, I mean talking, have a good, like you come off because it's smoking, doing whatever, like it was just good, fucking fun.
Speaker 1:So that was sick that's super cool and what the um? The skate community here in hawaii is getting big. Are they got you guys? Got guys that can actually go pro and make a name?
Speaker 2:get plenty fuckers. I don't know if you know cypress blanco is, but he's from here. He's fucking nuts. Uh, when a lot, usually what happens is people get big here but, like you go out there to skate and have your fun, do a little trip, but then come back because a lot of fuckers come here to come skate shit too. Oh yeah, that's how people come to us, you know, I mean. People come here and they're like, oh, where should we go for like street spots and shit. We're like, oh, check out this this. You know, I mean, so I had, uh, this skate crew from seattle. They're pretty big, they're called Genesis. They're doing the same shit we were doing, but they're doing it on a way larger scale.
Speaker 2:The filmer, the organizer's name, is Ian Ostrowski. I think they contacted my homie and then that's how we all got connected. So then when they were here, I was filming shit for them. So then I think their video got put up on Thrasher. So some of the shit that I filmed for them got thrown up on thrasher as well. So that was fucking sick. I think it happened twice already, I'm pretty sure. So I've been in. Yeah, I just got to assist in a lot of cool shit because, like my friend, also rides for this this other brand called fuck the population and uh, I gotta submit some shit that I filmed with him to them. So that was cool to see my shit on their stuff and getting some free boards, some free shirts because of it.
Speaker 2:Like I'm cool with the team managers. Name is chris rising super fucking tight guy. Yeah, ftp is fucking sick. They're like what. They're wild as fuck. I love how they film shit, their brand image, marketing, creative direction. Dude, they're killing a fucking game like if I got they also have records too. Right, they have like a record label. I think chief keef is fucking signed, signed to them. If they ever wanted to sign me I'd be so fucking game for it. I just fuck with their brand. I already know their team manager. My homie writes for them.
Speaker 1:It's like fuck it'd be sick, perfect fit. What do you use to film?
Speaker 2:Right here, this is my HPX 170. This right now has my fisheye lens on it just has that distorted shit. If you turn the stem viewfinder around like, yeah, I'll be out fucking doing follow lines, long lens, shit, whatever, oh yeah this is I use? Yeah, just usually shit like this Fucking. It's pretty big.
Speaker 1:That's cool. It's not like you're using your phone and shit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I got to like take this shit off of here Because those are recorded to SD. It records to these fucking P2 cards. See, like this shit's kind of bust because I had a skateboard flying to the back of it, but fucking this shit's all. Yeah, so it's P2, so you have to transfer it off the P2. It's fucking stupid man. Sometimes it's tedious. I want to get a different camera, but I'm focusing more on music right now, so I'll do that later. This camera is still good, but I have more goals to elevate my filming as well as my music. And how do I do shit?
Speaker 1:Well, everything's a process. You got to go one step at a time. I think you're stepping bigger into your music and I kind of been waiting for you to do this, bro. I was kind of hoping you would come on, pull the fucking trigger like oh, yeah, just go about it be about it.
Speaker 1:You know, I mean, and yeah, right, you, you're coming hard and you're coming quick, bro, like since there's a backstory, but since you put it out there, it's coming in fast and quick and you're getting. You're getting spotted because my friends who are ogs in the game started talking about you. Um, chris styles hit me up and he's angry locals like one of the og rappers. Um, ai, yeah, or I I all yeah, they're.
Speaker 2:They're big in the hawaii rap scene and yeah, it was cool to get props to everybody. That happened real fast. That was crazy too. I didn't expect that to happen so quick because I have my scheme right, but like I didn't think I was gonna get noticed that quickly, I thought I was gonna gain more of an audience outside of hawaii and then I gained the audience here. That was always my plan, because I didn't think people here listened to like rap or cared about it as much. So I started going to like aloha got soul and I was like, oh shit, motherfuckers actually care.
Speaker 2:I think the more and more I started going out and like seeing what was there, then I was like, okay, word, I can put this out, because when you're just around a bunch of kids my age who don't fucking listen to the shit, you do, you know, I mean like I'm listening to like music so old that like you can hear the tape hissing in the fucking background. You know, I mean I love that shit, like I love that old grimy, like shit from like stretching bobito freestyles, like all of that shit's ill. But like so once I figured that out, I was like, oh, I have a market now. So then I just started like actually writing and taking it seriously. I didn't think I could take this seriously. That was my whole thing. I didn't think it was possible to be like, oh, I could be a rapper, you know, I mean because there was so many fuckers who were like mcs, but you ain't really. You know, you don't impress me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, and trust that I don't get impressed easily.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I told many a friend, bro, don't quit your day job, because this ain't it, bro. They play me their stuff and I'm just like yeah.
Speaker 2:But first off.
Speaker 1:I want to hear about how you came about with your name, suffice.
Speaker 2:Okay. So suffice is is interesting Cause I so I go by three different like stage names, in the same way that, uh, this rapper, mf doom does, and I have my reasons for this. I'm not going to reveal why, but essentially, uh, suffice is the main ego kind of the main person, and suffice is the main ego kind of the main person, and suffice just as a word. It means to be enough. So, in key, suffice wants to be enough for the game. And far as like pop, I want to.
Speaker 2:My biggest goal isn't really like fame or nothing. It'd be cool. Like if naz heard my shit, I was like yo, that's tight. Or like if m heard my shit and was like that's, that's, that's the main thing. Like if the people who I fuck with, who inspired me to write this way, like actually fucked with me. I was like that's enough for me, like that's my impact. You know what I mean. Now I'm acknowledged, I'm in that hall of fame for me, so that's all I really want. So that's what Sufais was. It's just my urge to kind of almost be acknowledged and that becomes like my up and down here and there. Uh, sincere is actually was my original stage name. I was gonna go by sincere, and sincere comes from that movie, belly with naz and dmx, okay, and I just really fuck with naz.
Speaker 2:So naz is playing a character by the name of sincere, so that's where I got the name from, but you can tell it's sincere because sincere doesn't cuss. So he's also my creative limit. That's how I test myself creatively if I can write bars without cussing. So if I have a song sincere on it, he's also my creative limit. That's how I test myself creatively if I can write bars without cussing. So if I have a song sincere on it, he's not cussing. So that's basically how I do radio plays and how I do other things when the time comes. So you got to find ways to finesse things. And then, uh, pawn was a really a character that exists solely off of the chess piece, and I kind of wanted his girl to be symbolic, because I want pawn to eventually become a queen when he gets to the other side and the board is life. You know, I mean, yeah, that was the, the metaphor I had. So I have a.
Speaker 2:The current two songs I have are about sincere and pawn. Uh, the story with pawn is he's a part of this gang. He gets set up. Basically he gets uh assigned to kill somebody, kills the person and kills a bystander in the process and then finds out it's like his brother and then the song ends there and there's a mob beat reference at the very end that I sampled and that song kind of comes from like mixing elements of naz's phone tap and immortal techniques. Uh fucking, what was that one song? I can't think that's piano dance with the devil. There it is. Yeah, I'm just mixing different elements from the songs I like and then sincerely sincere is more or less a letter from sincere to suffice, talking about what life is like back at home, because for some reason, suffice is mia and the idea of me, the idea of me returning, is me dropping this ep I like that.
Speaker 1:I like that um pawn analogy because I'm a I'm a fan of the, the piece I play chess, all I play it now I'm just on my chest all the time so one thing about a pawn what I like and um, something one of my friends told me, is that the pawns. Pawn is the only chess piece that can get leveled up no matter what you do.
Speaker 2:No, matter what, it's the only one that can.
Speaker 1:And the pawn also can only move forward, it can never move backwards. Never back, yeah, that's why I like that piece you ever watch the Wire. No, I don't think I have.
Speaker 2:Dude, there's a Fuck. That show's really good. They use a lot of chess metaphors and they'll do it like, sometimes literally, or they'll like do it visually and how they convey it through storytelling. And one of the things I noticed from a critic and their observation was that this one character was getting gunned down by two different opposing gunmen, and the gunman moved in a diagonal from the right, like the bishop and the knight would, yeah, and the pawn that was on the corner didn't back down from the fight, even though he had a chance to, in the same way that a pawn can only move forward. I was like yo. So once I realized that, I was like okay, there's numerous ways you can convey anything, so that's why, like, symbolism became so important. And then, like, I had a deeper understanding of like, I think film and then art from all of that. Then I was like, oh fuck, you need to understand everything now. There's so much you could miss if you don't pay attention yeah, well, just like eminem.
Speaker 1:Right, he has two alter egos. Right, he's eminem, he's also slim shady, that's two different two different uh types of style that he raps and his six boys have the same kind of situation. His whole crew. D12, right.
Speaker 2:All six of them have two different alter egos, right?
Speaker 1:So that's why they're D12, the dirty 12, or whatever the fuck they were called oh, they have numerous.
Speaker 2:I heard that because also they had this freestyle on Tim Westwood in 98. I bumped that for like fucking hours. But I think they also said still like you go by d12, because when you get stumped it's it's not d6, it's 12 of us, sneak licks or some shit like that. That was sick. That's crazy.
Speaker 1:I never heard it from that point of view yeah, it's six of them, but each one of them have two eagles. That's crazy, I never.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I never heard that one. That's cool.
Speaker 1:I love learning shit, yeah yeah, but I I trip because you are inspired from artists that that me and your dad grew up with and, yeah, this day and age, I am super disappointed with how rap is, and that's it could be because I'm older. It could be, it's just it's not. There's no heart in it.
Speaker 1:I grew up with yeah, I grew up with real yeah, yeah, music like poetry, you know, I mean and one thing that I got from my friends that listen to your stuff through um instagram was like brah ia hit me out. Oh, he got that 90s hip-hop. Feel cristal is like oh, he has that hunger it's. They think that you you're coming across with that old school vibe, that poetry. It's different than what the new guys are doing and it could be just me hating because I don't fuck with it, but I like the old stuff better because it has more heart, more soul. It puts people in tune with their culture. Now it's like big booties and fucking. That's really not fucking. There's no depth to it. You know what I mean? I totally agree.
Speaker 2:Well, it's more or less like it's like the media, right, it's whatever, whatever it sells, because you also remember there's like, there's party music and then there's shit you play in your house or like shit, yeah, playing your car. A lot of people confuse like party music, which is more or less pop, with opposed to like hip-hop, which is more or less your soul and like what you put your ends up into.
Speaker 1:So I think people get the the terms confused, I feel so if you were to categorize your style of music, what would you categorize it?
Speaker 2:as hip-hop more or less. But there's also, like I have a song that I or an instrumental that I rap on in this ep. That's very r&b like and I kind of want to do more r&b soul things, because that's kind of what hip-hop is. It kind of merges a lot of things because you can sample a certain record and incorporate samples from a different genre and maybe that'll influence the way your beat sounds. So it gives a certain distinction to it, because you have like boom bap, which is more like aggressive sounding instrumentals, which is kind of like that eminem sounding snippet I have currently out live now, die later. I rhyme greater.
Speaker 2:And then you have like uh, that other song with the bibidubi sample I have, for example, is more like modern, because I'm taking a sample that's kind of reminiscent of like uh, shiloh's dynasty I'm closing my eyes, but I'm using it in a similar manner to how Jocelyn Flores is flipped into it. So there's all different sort of styles. So I guess for me it's like I'm mixing shit. I'll be at some R&B shit, but I might be on some boom bap beat and I might be on some chill shit, but more or less like rap essentially. But I do dabble into like R&B and other things here and there.
Speaker 1:So you're not I like switching hands, certain, certain kind of yeah, you can't you can't commit to nothing.
Speaker 2:If you stuck, then it's just like you're stuck, you know. I mean like if you threw me over anything that just has some drums over it, I could probably spit to it because there's a bar line I can follow. So it don't matter. Like I'd be in public hearing like some live shit and I'm like yo, can I spit to this for fun, just to like have fun with it, because, like it sucks, I'll be in public, bro, and I, me and my girl be like at a dinner and I hear some song and I'm like, damn, I gotta shazam this shit, like I want to sample this or like I need. And she'd be getting mad at me because I'm I'm so caught up in like my daydreams and shit, like I daydream a lot when it comes to this music. So I try not to be in one thing. I like to be a sponge and absorb everything. So there's a weird mixture of shit.
Speaker 1:But that's one thing. I always that's one thing. What you just touched on I always thought was cool and it's something I don't have, unfortunately. Like my best friend, like one of my best friends, dj Hoppa Boy, like he's so in tune to music, or when I meet artists that that sing, like I I know common kings and stuff like that, like when they hear music they don't hear it, like how I hear it. When you hear music, you don't hear it how I hear it. You can break it down yeah, so it's good and bad, you know I mean.
Speaker 1:But yeah, you guys will appreciate the music as art a lot more than I will. I would be like, oh, this is cool. Like you guys will pick up, oh shit, that's a cool beat. I liked how he faded this in, or like I don't have a year for that, you know.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's something that certain people have that I always was jealous about. I always. I always tell dj hopper boy, I was like brah, I wish I could hear music through your, your ears, or how you hear it, like one time, just to know what's going through. But, um, what is your process when you start trying?
Speaker 2:to make a song that's so fucking hard. Uh, firstly, I need to fall in love with the fucking instrumental I'm rapping on like, because I'll hear something and if it's inspiring enough, I already know what I'm going to say. Within the first four seconds I know the flow of it. Uh, the words don't matter as much. The cadence is the most important part, because with time you can always switch the words out and strengthen a scheme better. So, firstly, find an instrumental and then the lyrics in which you put onto this instrumental. You have two choices you can either go with it and be in harmony with it, or you can contrast it and create something to look at here. Create something to look at here. So, for example, you could take really raw sounding lyrics from like some gritty, like freestyle shit, like how I mentioned with these meek mill tapes, and then put it over some like soulful beats and throw it together and you have this nice, weird boiling passion of like anger and aggression mixed with this calming, soothing harmonies. So there's a lot of, there's a lot of things to obviously consider. So I guess for for me in my case, firstly, fall in love with that beat. Secondly, depending on what the beat is and what the tone of the notes feel and what the atmosphere is created from that instrument. So your lyrics can either one contrast it or go along with it. And then, from that point on your writing, I don't know. I have a, I have a theory of writing. I wrote this whole theory and I have all these notes and so forth. I don't even know if I want to discuss these here, because at some point in my life I would love to do what Lupe Fiasco is doing and do an assistant rep course at some university. But the theory comes from what I got from watching this documentary. The theory is a use of both subconscious behavior, aka freestyling, and conscious behavior, aka writing, can yield more significant verses.
Speaker 2:Because people have a tendency when it comes to rapping is that you're either really good at freestyling, you're good at writing, and you can't be both. So it's almost like a left hand and a right hand and your left hand is controlled by the right side of your brain and vice versa. So if you want to be a good artist, you have to be able to get your hands dirty and keyword is hands. So you got to use both. So I was very good, I think.
Speaker 2:Naturally I was always good at freestyling back then because when I was getting into rapping, I was just listening to beats for a while and then I just developed a tone of rhythm and just listening to freestyles and fucking around and practicing whatever. I got into the habit of it when I was around like 14, 15. But even like when I was in grade school, middle school, I remember writing shit for fun, but I remember like in high school, I remember I was like embarrassing fools. Everyone was like, oh, I'm a soundcloud rapper or whatever. Everyone's like calling himself a rapper around this time. Like 2016 is 2020, which was, truthfully, that soundcloud era which I totally get. But yeah, I wasn't fucking with it because it's like you can't freestyle, then why are you calling yourself a rapper?
Speaker 2:yeah that was my thing. Right, it was always if you can't freestyle, you can't be a rapper. That's one thing. But I think, uh, freestyling is more or less correlated to the battle. Rap and writing is correlated to actual artistry, because if you can't think about what you're going to do in a long run, then you're not really thinking, you're just moving one step at a time yeah so, yeah, that's why, uh, I'll freestyle first and I'll write shit down and then I'll switch it around.
Speaker 2:But that's kind of my theory of writing. Right, if you combine the two it works. But I have a flow chart of how it's done. I I take notes of a lot of things like, uh, additional thoughts on writing, or I can share these. My additional thoughts on writing are as follows uh, if you're writing, write with concepts in mind. Don't limit yourself to people or ideas. Try to always think broad picture. Subject matter is important. You can choose to either overwhelm the listener with a plethora of references or stick to a set theme. This is for me, and it may vary in the situation, but every verse you write should have some sense of progression. You should lead with a hook that catches the attention. I just realized that rhyme, progression and attention. That's funny. Uh, lose them with complex schemes. Find them again with simple one-liner gems. That that was another internal. Yeah, find them again with simple one-liner gems. What the fuck?
Speaker 1:that's another internal rhyme yeah what the hell yeah, I didn't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what the fuck? I just realized that, uh, I ain't done yet. Oh, writing backwards is key. Uh, find a punchline first and build to the punchlines.
Speaker 2:I actually learned that from watching dave chappelle yeah, because dave chappelle does that with his jokes. He had this fucking skit. Dude, I love it. Shit. I'll be smoking with my dad, I'm watching that shit. But, like bro, dave chappelle is a shit. But he has this fucking skit. Dude, I love his shit. I'll be smoking with my dad and watching his shit. But, like bro, dave Chappelle is the shit. But he has this one skit where he's talking about I'm so good at writing jokes, I start from my shit, from the end, and I tell a whole story leading to the joke, and then he does that.
Speaker 2:So I was like you're a fucking genius. So I was like hold on, you're just writing. Same concept of a narrative, but it's a different thematic language of expressing it. For me, rap is a coded language that's rhythmatic, so his jokes are more or less just like relying on the narrative aspect and just talking to you, I have to be clever with the rhythm and to do the same thing. So it's the same concept, really. So, yeah, that's how I got the idea of writing backwards. Uh, I learned this one from naz I think naz talked about this.
Speaker 2:Uh, when storytelling, you should keep things quick and moderate. No, no, sorry, doom talked about this. My apologies. And storytelling. Keep things quick and moderate, be unpredictable, but enough for people to follow. Misdirection is crucial, so I I do that a lot with my verses as well. I try to make it that I'm overwhelming you with either a punch line or I'll set up something that you're not aware of ice. I try to overwhelm the listener as much as possible in most cases in the in the purposes of being aggressive and establishing myself as like lyrically gifted. If I'm trying to tell a story, I'll take it at a more calm pace and the flow will be more common, but the rhyme will be less condensed, so there's less for you to catch on to yeah uh, fuck, where else?
Speaker 2:I'm sorry. I've often heard the phrase consider the audience slash, which to me means you got to consider the art or, sorry, the artist first, then the audience second, as art cannot exist without these two and without art you're failing to be an artist. And then this last thing is a quote from william farrell that I thought was really fucking. It blew my mind when I first heard it uh, make something undeniable but equally as infectious. Those are just things that I have, but I keep it goes. Yeah, this fucking notepad goes on and fucking on like it does it. Good, bro. It was like I have sample choices possible versus like I have verses in the stash, right, but then I also have possible punch lines or ideas for punch lines that I return to, possible choices for samples. I try to think about everything like these are just like some of the punch lines are possible verses I might use, but not really official. And then, like my actual verses I have in here for like features if somebody wants a 16 or 32 or whatever. I try to have as much material as possible so I can still make more. I don't want to lose this, and I feel like I've.
Speaker 2:I've been recently hitting a point where I haven't law ability to write anything bad. There hasn't been a moment where I've had rivers block and I don't think writer's block exists. I refuse to allow myself any sort of doubt within my subconscious. So therefore, if I don't on my subconscious, I would never fail, because really, this whole rap developed out of nowhere. I had nobody teaching me. You know, yeah, I'm just listening to beats and I'm listening to how people rap and how they talk about it. I'm listening or I'm watching their rhymes get highlighted in verses. I do that too. There's an app called rhymes block, I think, and I like the rhymers block or whatever, and if you put a verse in there it'll highlight all the rhyming sections, and there's videos on youtube that do this as well, as well as sample breakdowns and shit.
Speaker 2:But I analyze so much because if you don't have it in your subconscious, you won't be aware of it when you're consciously doing it. So what's the fucking point?
Speaker 2:yeah yeah, going back to the question what the fuck do I do? There's a lot, there's a million fucking things you have to consider, but I take it one step at a time, based on step one how the beat goes, what you're going to write, depending on the beat and then critiquing your point of view, your narrative, and just you have to know when to call it. It's really a very subjective thing for the artist. Well, I think knowledge of self is important. Sorry, what?
Speaker 1:that that definitely is true, and um you're speaking as someone who's taking this craft very seriously and for me what I like about it the most is that you found your passion, and I know it was something that you could have been struggling with um prior, because everybody has a passion and nobody knows how to find it. And once it, once you lock into it, then it's like, okay, this is what I'm gonna stand on and it's been a minute for you to figure it out. But, brad, it's last couple months.
Speaker 1:I'm like, okay, he found his passion and what you just spoke to me right now shows me that you found your passion because you're you never took anything that serious before you know, I mean, and because you're taking this seriously, that means you're putting it in front of you now. You got goals. Now you got ways to achieve your goals. Now you got fucking means to to make moves. And it's the tip of the iceberg, bro, and that's what I know I know your dad is waiting for you to, um, find your passion.
Speaker 1:Just like him, he loves to dive. That's his passion. You tell him anything about diving and he'll go deep, you know, I mean, and he's he's passionate. But what you have that your dad also has is your dad was always a hustler. Since we were young, we're hustling all kind of shit and schemes and and your dad works hard, and that that's how you gotta be. So if you're gonna take this serious, bro, you, you seem to be got to.
Speaker 2:I don't got no other choice. Man, if this raps you don't work out, fuck, am I gonna do? You know what I mean? Like I don't fuck. Ain't no such thing as plan b, so I'm fucking plan b.
Speaker 1:I got a plan a and I'm not going to follow plan b but what you're, what you're doing in your plan A, is you're also creating an avenue to learn, and when you're learning, you can apply that for whatever you do in life, even if it's not rap. What you're doing is creating life lessons. This is your college right now. You're learning what you just spit at me. You learned that and you created that. So somewhere in life you can draw upon that and use it. So what you're doing if you're going to be huge in rap, that could be your calling. If you're not, whatever you're doing now is going to create learning experiences for you to use in something else who's to say? But I think you're passionate enough to not fail.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what I'm hoping for, bro. For it, bro hoping. Passion and talent overcomes everything I know that's not all the game demands of me. No, it's also like connection, and I know this and I know so and so, and you?
Speaker 2:know, there's a lot of strings that get pulled. There's weird. The shit moves weird behind the smoke and mirrors. There's some weird shit. So I just, you know, I mean, it's just like on some cap williams shit, what do you consider rich? Yeah, either money or what. What party you're gonna sell for that money? You know, I mean yeah like there's some weird shit going. Look at p diddy, bro.
Speaker 2:Bad boys for life, you know what I mean, like I, but exactly I don't know what the fuck we're gonna be having it there and I'm a newbie coming into this shit. My dad ain't a freak. He don't know what the fuck going on. I don't fucking know what's going on. You know what I mean? Like I got to play this shit right, because I'm trying to get played.
Speaker 1:But what's universal is music. You can listen to music anywhere on this planet. It's a universal language, yeah and you can fuck with it. Like you listen to some hip-hop from africa and you start moving your head. It's it. It transcends um cultural gaps, so you just got to figure it out. What I want to ask you is how are you getting your beats like? Are you creating your own beats? Or like how?
Speaker 2:you get your your music I'm gonna I going to make my own beats in the future. That's always a goal of mine. I'm trying to do what Jay Dilla did at some point and I'm trying to make my own instrumental album using a variety of different samples. That I think would be very interesting. But as far as beats, currently, I've been very, very fucking grateful for the amount of people that have been reaching out to me who've been wanting to send me shit, because I was just running out free, silent and shit, just in public doing whatever before I was making music. And then I got motivated by the folks from Aloha Got Soda to actually record and actually take this shit seriously. If the people from the record shop are like, yo, you should actually record and take this seriously, then I'm like, oh fuck, okay, I guess I gotta actually record and take this. Yeah, you know. So that's when I started, you know, doing that shit. And here I am now. So I've had, uh, only in mind, eric cruz. He's been super sick. Uh, shout out sean as well.
Speaker 2:There's also this guy from maui, I believe. Hey, jai, I think I've calling him Jai. I don't know what the correct pronunciation is, because we've never met face to face. He's you know we've only communicated over Instagram, but I was actually able to feature on a mixtape of his called, I believe, bum Bat Music and I was just featuring a bunch of different Hawaii artists here and over his instrumentals that he's made. So I have a beat of his that I wrapped over. That's featured on his shit that I currently have out. I think it's called 32 kilos I. I thought my verse was pretty fucking good, definitely coming out the gate swinging nice where are you?
Speaker 2:where are you?
Speaker 2:recording your stuff currently, uh, there's this guy in chinatown. I know his name is, uh, obi-wan jacobi. I think it's his instagram, what he goes by and shit. Yeah, he's cool, super cool guy he's been. I've been recording with him. He mixes my shit too because, yeah, fuck, I'm not trying to reach it. Yeah, it was hard reaching in, like sometimes, man, like reaching out and shit, motherfuckers, be like charging you too much and it's just like damn, I didn't know it was like that. I mean, then you like hear from like your homeboy.
Speaker 2:you know what I mean. It's like it's like coughing like an eight for like 125, but then learning from your homeboy it's like actually 45 bucks, you know what I mean for. And you're like, oh, what the fuck? You're like, that's what it was like. So I was like, damn like.
Speaker 2:So I'm glad I knew people. When I got to ask some right people like I was blessed enough to at least know some people who were making music so I had some connections and I could traverse my way around. Because, yeah, it really is a who do you know? Game, because there's always some, there's fucking weird hurdles and shit you gotta jump over. So I had to play, play this shit, right. I'm lucky that I already had an audience from my brand, you know, I mean before coming into music, so that I already have a base out of these people who fucked me before I did this, so that way I can merge it to when the time comes. You know, yeah, less with that. Yeah, jacoby, super cool, and that's what I recorded. That's what I engineer with beats wise, eric Cruz, sean and hijai and whoever else wants to send me shit If I fuck with their beat, I'll, I'll let you know.
Speaker 2:Oh, kwan Lee is another dope dude. He's a guy off the internet that I've been fucking with for a minute and what he does is he does what knowledge does. They will take freestyles and shit that don't have a beat, or maybe have their own beat over it, take the vocals from it and then make their own really good beat and then throw it on there and it almost sounds better than the original. So I fucking love what they do, but Kwan Lee had a sick beat, so I'm having that on my EP. That beat's crazy. That's like some Kanye soulful shit.
Speaker 2:I really love the sound that he has going on over there. I want to dabble more into that. I feel like this project, every song is in a certain direction. Yeah, but I want to do more Kanye sounding shit, cause I want more of that, cause I think everyone's very much on some bullshit. I want more soul, soul, school like some Kanye Cole shit. But I could. I'd also love that East coast chill, not shit too Like I. I fucking love East coast. As far as my influences go, it was shit.
Speaker 1:So what you've been doing some live shows too. How's it been being on stage?
Speaker 2:Just like. So what? You've been doing some live shows too. How's it been being on stage just like as it is in the booth? Oh man, nothing changes, fuck, I just gotta. Now those muggers want to hear me spit. This time, you know, it's like oh, this is cool, like I'm spitting for motherfuckers. That isn't my friends. Because even when I was freestyling and shit back with my friends, they were always like oh, why don't you like take music seriously?
Speaker 2:and I was just like I mean, I just didn't think, I didn't think it was like I was in that right time because, like you know, mumble rap was so present, you know yeah so, like there wasn't, I'm like what place do I have to sit here and like I can do some of those modern 808 production, like rust sounding stuff, but it's not really my forte, but I also listened to a lot of rust growing up.
Speaker 1:So I don't mind it either.
Speaker 2:I mean, if I got to write hooks and spit six scenes, that's cool. But like naturally when I write, it's 32 bars, which is like a minute and a half.
Speaker 2:A six is like 45 seconds, 30 seconds, maybe you know so it just it is what it is. But everyone has their own game and how they play it. But I'm just going to switch hands with every project. I do because I want to have more styles. But I don't intend to be in this music shit long. Hopefully I get signed for the resources that I can make and then I put out a great amount of fucking so-and-so projects like four or five good albums. You know I mean shit. You wouldn't skip shit enough I get my royalties off of. Hopefully I own my, my master's, my publishing, my admin. I'm not getting fucking no record deal. No labels taking a fee, none of my shit's getting reposed, no bullshit copyright, none of that shit. We good, my dad good, hey, this bitch, I don't gotta do nothing. You good, we can fucking chill, go to capone's. Whatever the whatever the fuck I want.
Speaker 1:If I play this.
Speaker 2:Right, I'm set, so I'm just trying to not fuck this up. This is the only thing I got really going for me as far as music-wise and shit. Other than that, I can go to college and do whatever, but since I already have a pretty good base level, just fucking around and figuring this shit out here?
Speaker 1:I got to keep going. Now like fuck, I came this far, yep stage, the same shit, I gotta go.
Speaker 2:So when you're on stage, do you get nervous, or is like fucking butter I don't have, I don't have time. Like half the time I'm buzzed, you know. I mean I don't have, I can't have time, to be afraid, like. So that's what skateboarding taught me, and I think that a lot of people are afraid of eating because you will fall almost every fucking time. So you tell me, you don't trip the whole time, you don't fall. Like bro, I'm watching my friends literally break their fucking noses and then get the fuck back up and do it. Like what the fuck are y'all doing? You know, I mean like y'all think you have a drive. You ever seen a skateboarder do some fucking ridiculous shit that we're probably gonna get the cops calling us for I might get a fucking court case for this bullshit, you know. I mean like and we'd be at spots.
Speaker 2:We shouldn't always be at bro, like I'm being straight up. Skateboarding is dickhead culture, but I fucking love it because it's the coolest dickhead culture, in the most sincere way possible, because you can be confident and doing the most fucking craziest shit and it works. I've seen shit I didn't think was fucking possible, like every fucking Sunday these motherfuckers were blowing my mind. So just like, fuck, I have to. You know what I mean. Fuck, I'm going to be afraid for it. I have that same mentality. What am I going to think about falling? I can't do that shit. Like I got to fucking go. Like I can worry about that shit when I'm fucking broke or when shit's falling, but I don't got time right now.
Speaker 1:All right, I got, I like that. That's true. Like skaters, I mean, you can catch a cool video, but for each trick that you catch on film they probably eat shit about seven times. You know what I mean? Yeah.
Speaker 2:I see my homie literally. Wait your arm got broken from that shit too. My arm got my arm got broken hill bombing and I fucking broken, you know what I mean? Like my homie literally broke his nose and he still drove us that day and we didn't even fucking know it. Like my homie literally got a car shit. There was so much fucking wild shit that's happened and we're just like fuck it, we ball and we did it. So I was like fuck, same mentality well, that's good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, bro, what about battle rap you? You ever try that like live in?
Speaker 2:I know osna is coming out with some shows that that's gonna have battle raps if you wanna oh sorry, I don't care for it too much because even like what is it? People think that battle rapping is like, well, I'm assuming traditional battle rap, I'm assuming you mean acapella, no beat, yeah. Yeah, see, I don't care for that too much because battle rappers are interesting for the bars that they do, but then they they're, they're, they're kind of a what is it? Battle rappers are like boxers. It's a poor man's sport, does?
Speaker 2:that make sense, yeah who am I to fight with somebody else? When I could, I'll be trying to write time in the studio talking about shit that isn't you doing, shit that could get my family you know yeah you know, doing shit, they're gonna earn me some plaques. I just gotta make money. But I'm also having fun while I'm making money, that's what I'm trying to do here.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to make this a career that I could like if I could live my life and only work on music. That's pretty much what I do at work, you know. I mean I'm writing verses. So battle rap school, because I fucking I study a lot of the battle rappers. Actually, like, my favorite battle rapper of all time is probably old solo, and that's because of how fucking funny his bars are. Like I love battle rappers for the, but it's also to me it's very repetitive because it's it's also illusionary. Your, your enemy, isn't existent. I don't like thinking that I have to be better than somebody else to be considered great, because if I'm only better than you, then that's just putting me better than you. I want to be better than this. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1:fuck being here better than your own self fuck that, I always thought like putting other people down doesn't put you up.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean yeah, because originally it's too like. So I was going to come out into this dissing fucking everybody that I didn't agree with from their creative standpoint, and then I was like no, that's stupid, because you know exactly what I just told you. If I think I just have to be better than them to be successful, then you're not really being successful yeah you're just trying to be better than somebody else.
Speaker 2:You just want to do it for your ego. You're fixated on you. Why would you live by that? There's yeah, there's a lot of shit. This manga taught me, called vagabond, and it's a fictional tale of miyamoto muzashi's life. He's that japanese philosopher and swordsman guy, but there's a lot of shit from that book, those themes and those messages and shit from those narratives that I learned and that applied to, applied to how I view myself as a rapper, because I think as a rapper, there's that quote from Giza your tongue is your sword, and that's why I kind of see myself, if you notice the art I put out and the shit I talk about. There's a lot of swordsmen in anime and shit and I see myself as them, because a swordsman is devoted and they live solely by the sword, and that's how an mc should be. So you have the choice to either live righteously and protect those who need it or just kill and do whatever yeah so that that's the way I view it.
Speaker 2:So I gotta, I gotta follow the way my mcs did it. That's how. That's how wu-tang was. You know what I mean? Shaolin island. So I'm following that footstep and I'm trying to be because I don't see it too much too like I'm. I'm part of that dying breed, especially for me. From my age most people don't fuck like if I throw in a 90s beat and we're just freestyling over it like over time they're gonna want to hear some modern shit yeah so I'm, I'm really in my.
Speaker 2:It sucks because I've always wanted to have like a group or like a homie of mine, but like that never really happened. Like even when, like I hit the people for like verses, people don't get back to me and that's kind of like it is what it is. I'm not trying to get mad, you know I mean, but it just sucks. I'm like I shouldn't have to chase you down for a verse yeah, especially if you agree to the project. But I'm not about to like be like yo, I need this, you know. I mean, like, if you just don't want to be on the project, that's cool. Like I'm not trying to force you to do some shit you're not good at. I just don't know why you'd be like, oh, I'm game, and then fucking leave me on the liver. So I'm like it is what it is.
Speaker 1:That's what happens in life. And then when you blow up, you'll be all about it and it's like, bro, if you don't fuck with me now when I'm coming up, then why would I fuck with you when I'm up it? I have a lot of people that I would hit up to come on my show and they'll ghost me. But then as I got bigger, as I'm growing, then they'll be like oh, I'll come on your show. It's like, oh, now that I established, something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, now it's a big thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, now you want to be on. And it's like it is what it is, bro. Exactly. But, like you said, you don't have to be better than them. You just got to be, better than yourself yesterday.
Speaker 2:That's all you got to do. Yeah, I was too fixated on the idea of having an opponent. If you think that there's somebody else in the way of where you should be, then you're fucking thinking wrong.
Speaker 1:Yep, exactly, you should always just try to be better than yourself the day before. But you have an old school feel. So I kind of wanted to ask you mentioned a couple names, but who are the guys and um artists that inspired you to to do this kind of?
Speaker 2:stuff. Oh, uh, I think. So going off, jump mf doom. I don't know if you know who that is, but he's probably my favorite mc of all time. I, I love this, know who that is, but he's probably my favorite MC of all time. I love his shit so much that I combined two of my favorite things. There's this manga panel and it's from Vagabond, the same Miyamoto Miyazaki I was talking about earlier. But I had somebody draw art. His name is 658, if I'm correctly. I'm hoping I'm saying this correctly. If those fucking order is wrong, I'm sorry, but he's a gifted artist and he drew this. Fuck, I don't know if you're going to see it, but my fucking lock screen here. But it's literally just me standing next to Doom with two swords.
Speaker 2:I think Doom did a fascinating job of treating the English language like it was a piece of toilet paper. He used words in such mannerisms that were filthy, that like when, when I heard some of the shit he said, I had to like pause it and put my fucking phone down because I didn't think he was gonna rhyme that I remember. He said a line that like really fucking spitting like a bionic sneeze that frees vodka just to clear the air like the ionic breeze quadra. Everything he said. I didn't fucking understand what he said till I had to google it. So spitting like a bionic sneeze superpower, cybernetic superpower that frees vodka. To freeze vodka is at negative 30 degrees celsius, so you're spitting so cold at that level of that's how deep you're going, you know, I mean just to clear the air like the ionic breeze quadra, not a fucking ionic breeze quadra is.
Speaker 2:I think it's like a ceiling fan or some air filter, so like that's the fucking shit he was doing. But like also to have that much depth with like multi-syllable rhyming and say the most outrageous shit ever. But uh, like it almost disgusted me. He had such a masterful level of the pen that I couldn't, I don't think I could ever do what he does, and that's what inspired me to do what I do. And I mean doom is sick. I think him and black thought were probably the strongest mcs to ever roam this earth. And like, if you don't know who either of those are, to put put it into scale of power level, you know who method man is correct.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Method man was in a room with Black Thought and they're all cool. Everyone in hip-hop is cool with each other, as far as I'm aware. Seems like a big fucking family cookout. Looks sick as fuck. I'm trying to join that table one day.
Speaker 2:But Black Thought and Method man were on, I think, shade 45 and then they were just doing interviewing shit and then they threw on a beat and they were like they were freestyle and shit and black thought is free. As far as I'm aware he's freestyle. I've never seen this man read shit. Uh, he's already done a 10 minute freestyle on funk flex first take. That fucking killed everything. And I had so much knowledge that like I could never that's old man shit. I have to live 45 years to understand what the fuck he just said because I I would never be able to get there. But going back to method man, method man literally said because black thoughts in the room, I'm gonna read my shit and nobody held it against him because fucking black thought is that good.
Speaker 2:So I think those two mcs some of the strongest ever roam this earth, definitely some of my biggest influences. But I've studied a lot of cats but just those two I think are like, are like top. I think Black Thought is currently the only living MC. Doom passed away, but Black Thought is currently the strongest ever on this earth. Everyone else has influenced me as well, but those fuckers I regard. I've listened to Wu-Tang. I've listened to Black Thought, doom, nas, big L, big Pun, eminem, fucking Big Jay-Z. I've listened to battle rappers, rappers, random soundcloud rappers. I've listened to modern shit, old shit. I've listened to it all. I just have my, my definite uh preferences for what I like and where I get my influences from.
Speaker 2:That makes sense that's cool, yeah, and I'll channel certain people for certain songs. Yeah, yeah, I almost understand how certain people write, or at least like because I studied a lot of like early Slim Shady rhyme schemes. There are certain rhymes that I've written that almost like sound very reminiscent of like Eminem shit, like even that one sample or that one thing I have right Live now, die later. I rhyme greater. That's a Biggie line, that's a flip, a biggie line. Biggie's line on a long kiss good night is laugh now, cry later.
Speaker 1:But live now, die later I rhyme greater.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to get a bud, just like a woman's vibe writer. But fuck that. I'm gonna take his motherfucking nut sack, string it up instead, but with a bunch of fucking thumbtacks. That same piece up is how m would do it. But then also, the concept is from method man's intro right, smacking the guy in the nuts with a spike bat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so like I have my influences so they'll get it on me. But like that song particularly is called thin ice and that's kind of like what I think a modern slim shady would feel like, at least my rendition of it, because you know, we all play a role differently. It's like an actor, would you know yeah this is just my perspective. So, like if this was like slim shady modernized, this is how I would feel, like he'd be modernized. You know, I mean, this is me fucking around doing what m would do that makes sense so that's, that's what that song is.
Speaker 2:But then the other one I have out is more reminiscent of xxx andacion, who I also really like, because I think he does what I do and I think he does a great job of spitting on modern 808s but then spitting on that old school drum kit that you guys fuck with, and I love both and he loved both and I thought that was sick. He did a great job with that. So that's kind of where my ideas come from, and more or less my lyrics were dependent off of the tone of the sample and I've written my entire like verses, everything around the sample, but I I just love that sample for a while. Oh, that's a b-b-doobie, unreleased song.
Speaker 1:Yeah I I'm going on anything.
Speaker 2:I'll look for any unreleased shit. I love raw iphone footage like I have things I'm going to sample one day when I learn how to make beats. Or sometimes I'll just feed my producer samples and then we get shit off of there. But I got mad shit in the stash.
Speaker 1:I can't wait for this so what is, what is your um future goals like where? Where do you want to take this in the future?
Speaker 2:uh, so I I'm gonna drop my ep soon. That's going to come. I have two. My next two projects are written out conceptually. I already know what the concepts are going to be and how I'm going to execute them. It's just more or less getting everything together and executing them and then laying my shit down, so I have enough material to do like two albums, essentially.
Speaker 1:Nice. Take it one step at a time, man, like don't, don't go at a pace that you're not gonna be able to do exactly how you want it done. You know what?
Speaker 2:I mean drive, slow drive slow brad.
Speaker 1:That's super dope. Your ep is coming out. I know you don't want to release the date.
Speaker 2:It's just gonna happen one day soon, yeah it'll pop out it's gonna fucking wake up and it's gonna be there like christmas. That's about it.
Speaker 1:That's about it right on and you've been sharing some stuff with me and I've been tripping bro. You got action um social media wise, and where can people find you on instagram? Also, um, where can people listen to your music?
Speaker 2:uh, yeah. So let's go to my instagram. That's at sounds by suffice. I have two. I only have two tracks out. You can listen to it either on spotify or soundcloud. I do have a youtube channel that has some shit there. If you want to go look at it, I might put out the ep there with like official visuals on there in the future.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure I have. I have some schemes. There's a lot of digital artists I want to work with and people to do 3d things. I'm definitely gonna have a lot of fun with it. So when the time comes, my thing is I ain't got. I ain't got the resources just yet. I'm definitely gonna have a lot of fun with it. So when the time comes, my thing is I got, I got the resources just yet. I'm literally there's a bunk bed in the fucking background. I ain't gotta say much. You know, hey, humble beginnings bro. Yeah. So when the time comes, times come, yeah, instagram, find all my shit. Spotify is there. Suffice. I have two tracks out. Yeah, just go to my instagram. You'll find everything. Shit's there bro right on.
Speaker 1:And for us, you can find us at above the bridge podcast on instagram, youtube. Our website is atb pod and my instagram is thaddy daddy hi. Well, man, I am super stoked for you. We've been going for an hour. I'm proud of you and your passion and your drive. I'm stoked to see you I'm stoked to see you fucking dedicating yourself to something and brah, like I said, your dad is one of my closest friends and he's someone that I know sacrificed for you and your brother for years.
Speaker 1:And you, I know the back stories, you may know the front stories, but I know what your dad has done to to provide for you kids and give everything for you kids and, um, all he wanted ever for you guys is to see you guys succeed at something you're passionate about. So I know he's probably talking shit and like trying for see you do some action, but I know he's proud and I think he'll see exactly what you got going on and bro your dad is somebody is um, real, your dad ain't.
Speaker 1:ain't somebody that um, you can bullshit. So if he'll see, he'll see the truth. Bro, and and um, talking to you now, I know that this isn't just a gimmick or some kind of flash in a pan scheme that you're running this. This is something you're passionate about and you're putting the work behind it. So keep doing your thing, man, and yeah, uncle's proud of you, your dad's proud of you and keep fucking going hard, bro, go hard in the paint and like you said, bro, you ain't got time to fear nothing.
Speaker 1:I like that we ball, fear nothing, yep right on. Well, shockers for the cameras uh, fuck yeah right on, we're out. Shout out to the artist group network aloha.
