Hi! Can you share the inspiration behind your song “Prime”? What message were you trying to convey through this song?
A:Yeah, nothing too deep, really. One of those times where I thought of the hook before I put together the rest of the song. The phrase “This is my forever prime” just came to mind so I formed the hook and much of the content of the 2nd verse in particular around that. Just how I feel at the moment. I think with the stuff I’ve been writing and putting out, I’m definitely at a creative peak.
How does “Prime” reflect your evolution as an artist?
A:Just that I’m improving on every aspect I guess. From rhyming to putting together hooks, I’ve been getting better. Also feeling more comfortable on more slower, vibe type production. My impulse is to go on full rappity-rap and take people’s heads off. On this track, I think I’ve struck what could be the perfect balance of a slowed down, chill vibe with maintaining the lyrical bar I always want to be at. It’s also more of a West Coast type of beat, which I’ve never really rapped on before.
What was the creative process like for “Prime”? Can you walk us through from the initial idea to the final production?
A: It actually started with a Tik Tok, actually. Aaron (Kayy, the producer) posted the beat as one of those open verse duets for rappers and I wrote a quick verse and posted, which he dug. I loved the beat and thought I could expand on it and make a dope track out of it so I hit Aaron up, got the beat and wrote the rest of the track pretty quickly.
How has your background influenced your music, particularly in songs like “Prime”?
A: I guess for Prime, one of my favourite rappers ever is AZ and my flow approach on this track definitely comes from studying people like him a lot, where it’s complex but bounces smoothly on the beat to the point where you can help but feel it. This track is really inspired by how people like him or Rakim would create tracks like this where they don’t sacrifice their pen game while making something catchy.
Can you share some of the challenges you faced while producing “Prime” and how you overcame them?
A: Can’t think of any challenges really. It all came together really easily and Aaron is great to work with and will provide feedback when you send drafts so it was pretty seamless.
How has the reception been for “Prime”? Were there any responses that particularly stood out to you?
A: Very good from what I heard, was released during a time where I had a bunch of features dropping at once so people were getting a lot of music at one time so they had to consume a lot in a short time. The response was all positive, though.
What are your future projects? Can we expect more songs like “Prime”?
A: My next full project is actually getting mixed/mastered as we speak and should come out next year, likely sometime between March and May. And yeah I think anyone who felt Prime should hear something on this project that’s in a similar vein. I think it should be a good mix. The focus on lyricism and MCing will never change but it will definitely have a different sound from my last project, “The Overture.” While the last had more modern-sounding production, this one will be more boom-bap and Golden Era-inspired, the stuff that inspired me to rap in the first place.
How do you see your music, including songs like “Prime”, evolving in the future?
One of my fears is getting to a point where things are getting stale or samesy so for projects in particular, so I always want to make sure every project or whatever I’m doing has something about that sets it apart from the last thing I’ve done. So I’m definitely seeking out ways to do that as I go.