JPEGMAFIA
I saw Fear perform live at a young age, so I guess you could say I draw from that same energy.
So much of rap sounds the same, and that's okay, but that means some people want something that can be the complete opposite too.
The intention behind 'Prone!' was to make a punk song with no instruments.
People in rock had this idea that rappers aren't talented. In my opinion we're better writers, we think deeper, and our concepts are harder - Rap evolves faster than any other genre.
There's no right or wrong way to do things and I think a lot of the SoundCloud rappers with their DIY music are proving that to be true.
My music experience living in Baltimore was life-altering. To this day, there is no scene that works as hard or puts as much effort into their art.
I don't think any other place puts out music with no promise of success and still works like Baltimore.
There's just more emotion and raw feeling in Baltimore music. It can't be copied.
I started producing when I was listening to The Diplomats. The first time I heard Cam'ron was 'Dead or Alive.'
I really got deep into downloading music when I moved to the South and got a computer. So I was downloading the The Diplomats, AZ, Half-A-Mil, 40 Cal.
When I die, I want people to be like, 'Respect the music.' I don't really care if you hate me or like me - what I want badly is the validation and respect of the people.
I been compared a lot to Brockhampton a lot.
When I first started rapping, I used to just jock Jay Z super hard. Back when I was like 14 and 15, it was, like, Jay Z, Ice Cube, and Lil Wayne.
The first thing I ever put on the Internet was actually a beat tape, but the first thing I ever put on where I was rapping was called 'Generation Y,' and it was hella political.
Well, me and Freaky been knowing each other for a while, and he was always playing crazy music in his room, but he would never release it. He's, like, the most underground rapper I know, and he's crazy talented.
Most of my experience with racism comes from living in the South.
I'm an artist but I'm also a real person. I have bills like everyone else.
Either people cling to the past and refuse to advance their ways, or they're always looking to future and not appreciating what's in front of them right now.
In my opinion, the most dangerous thing an artist can do in this day and age is not embrace the present.
Baltimore's just like, it's like being in prison but being on the yard the whole day.
I love Baltimore, I miss the people, but I think L.A. is way more chill.
I like for things to be judged fairly.
If I wasn't making music I'd still be listening to it and talking about it. That's why I'm able to chill with Denzel Curry and then Jeff Tweedy, because the thing that's linking us is music.
I love soundtracks. I used to have three iPod classics: one with regular music, one with soundtracks, and one with demos on it.
I was born in 1989. I literally watched 'Rocko's Modern Life' on live television.
My first live performance was when I was in the military. I went to some bar, and they had open mics. You could just sign up and perform. Nobody cared. Nobody liked it.
When I take from my influences, it's rare that I do it literally.
The only real thing I took away from the military is that it just reinforced all the things I already thought about the underbelly of America, like how racist it is. So, it didn't really affect my music literally, but it affected the way I work on it.
I enjoy making music more than anything in the world. It's the only thing that it's felt the same since I was like 15.
One consistent good thing I can say about the music industry is that at least I can make music freely now, and I don't have to do it when I'm off of a nine to five shift or something.
Baltimore has the hardest work ethic out of all cities. It makes you want to work harder.
I honed my craft in the military, because it's the only thing that got me through it, to be honest. Working on music - being able to come home and work on music whenever I got off - was essential. If I didn't have that, I probably would've lost my mind.
As a black person, I have two parties to choose from: liberal and conservative. If I choose to be a liberal - regardless of who I choose - I'm picking the lesser of two evils in my mind basically.
When you're you long enough, you get to this space where people start respecting you.
My dad used to play old dancehall records - Cutty Ranks, Ranking Dread, Michael Prophet, these type of dudes.
On 'Black Ben Carson,' I had strict no melody thing. I wanted straight, raw, rugged noise music.