[New Interviews] -topic || Sertified

-topic

What were some of your first performances in Austin like? How does it compare with Dallas or Denton?

My first performances in Austin were simple - a PA system, a flash drive, and a couple of mics - but I could always feel the energy and appreciation out there. I loved it from the start. Dallas and Denton have a few similarities, but I gotta say Austin has THAT vibe.

As a producer as well as rapper, who are some of your biggest influences as far as musicians in general?

MISSY ELLIOTT. MISSY ELLIOTT (yes, she gets the first two slots). Timbaland. Outkast (3000, wha up!), J*Davey, K-oS, a bunch of rock and jazz and stuff with no words by people I don't quite remember, and a bunch of other soundtracks from video games.




You've been really active outside of Dallas, do you believe that it's possible nowadays to have success based only in Texas or do you think going out of town and building your name/brand while claiming Texas (or Dallas, specifically) is the more viable option?

With the internet and a car, ANYTHING is possible. Ha! In my opinion, home will be home - get out and see the world.

What do you envision the next step in your evolution as an artist to be?

I'm gonna squad up with a couple people I've looked up to, learn, study and play my ass off, and teach myself new things. There's a lot more to it, but I won't talk yer head off.

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Sertified

Everybody in Austin knows you represent the South Side. What are some of your favorite places that represent South Austin to you?

Places like the S.1st/Oltorf area are what comes to mind when I think about this side of the city. I bought my first CD's at a place that is still up there named "Turntables" that my mom had taken me to as a kid. Another place for me is the "weird" strip of South Congress that is still very active aswell. These areas have really developed in these few past years. It's a bittersweet thing seeing the people come and go but growth definitely is necessary. These place give off the vibe of what South Austin embodies in my opinion.

You really started getting attention outside Austin with your last album, FilthyFckingHumans. How did that album came about?

Being active on these socials. I caught the attention of a producer that goes by the name of Heartbeatz, I started to follow him through Twitter and after diving into his Soundclick page I found a beat I liked and me & the homies recorded to it that night. The following day he hit me up out the blue and said he dug what I had going on & wanted to shoot me a beat. I then replied back with what we had already recorded to from the night before & from there the relationship blossomed into 15+ songs and counting. He's an extremely dope producer that has a funky-rich mix between West Coast & Southern styles of beats and they come all the way from Germany!



As far as Mexican rappers, probably the most famous rappers are Cypress Hill out of California and then it's kind of a steep drop off. It seems like nowadays there are a lot of Spanish-speaking hip hop artists, musically do you feel a need to represent that side of your culture?

I'll be honest: I wish I could contribute more to that "lane of music" that intertwines Spanish/English lyrics but being that I can't speak the language, it has me somewhat stuck in the middle of that barrier because I was raised in a Mexican-American home but was brought up in a mainstream hip-hop culture of the early 90's so I wasn't responsive to anything other than that. I definitely have always embraced my culture now that I've grown to learn more about it as an adult. To answer your question though, I do feel the need to rep but not by me trying to be someone I'm not; I'll do it by paying homage to the people, places and things that I can take something from morally.

What are the next projects that you're working on? You're notorious about staying in the studio.

MAAAAN, I'm about to drop an album with LNS Producer H+ titled: Chips 'n Salsa, The Side Order sometime in June. Me & JayWeezy of The LOEGZ are working on something SERIOUS (still looking for producers!!!)..... all while wrapping up the project I started with Heartbeatz & Dj Burn One annnnnnnd DIE SLO is about 50% done with the group project..... just keeping myself busy yo that's the most important thing.

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