An Interview With Kid Swift Thank you for taking some time to be interviewed for Clout Culture Magazine. Can you please introduce yourself to our readers? My name is Kid Swift and I’m a recording artist from Chandler, AZ. When did you starting recording and writing music? Have you always been doing hip hop and rap? I’ve been writing music in my head for as long as I can remember, but I started writing down the lyrics for bands I was a part of starting around 13. It wasn’t until I was 15 that I even started liking or listening to rap, because prior to that age I could not connect with the lyrics of most rap songs. I recorded for the first time professionally at 16. I started using the name Kid Swift in 2009 and have been releasing music ever since. Were you always doing rap? Or were you involved with other genres before this? I was originally in the punk/alternative scene, took some baby steps into the hardcore scene, and then really found a home in the local hip-hop landscape. The other genres allowed me opportunities to meet some really awesome people, but not anyone I could call family. I have a family in the hip-hop scene. Who gets bragging rights for helping you get to where you are? And who is your support system now? The person to blame for that is definitely Dela Preme. I have a lot of respect for dude and I’ve seen him grind through things unthinkable. He was who introduced me to Jon, and he definitely brings me out to more sets/events/festivals than anyone else. Dela is a key part of my support system, along with Jon and his wife Caity, my mom, my boss Tesi and my producer Naser. It takes a lot of people to keep me on track and focused and offer criticism when I need it and these people are definitely willing to do that whenever they notice an area I can improve in. I saw you posted your set list on social media. There where a lot of features on there. Can you tell us about the album? Who is on it? What can we expect? The album is 10 tracks, and it’s 10 features. The album is called WITHOUT. It’s 9 AZ artists and one Nashville artist I met when I worked in the studio out there. The artists I selected to be a part of this project were people that have been recording and grinding shows out here for years, which made it really easy to turn into a quality finished product. Every single person brings a new perspective to what AZ music sounds like, and it was a lot of fun creating all of these tracks over the last two years. There are a lot of neighborhoods and cities represented on this album as well, which is something that is cool to look at now that it’s done. Got any other albums planned for this year? After WITHOUT I got three more albums dropping this year, STUNT, SAVAGES, and PROSPER. That’s 30 more tracks, no features, and they will all be out by 12/30. It’s been a long time getting ready for my shot, and this is the year I’m capitalizing to the fullest. What else you got in store for us this year? Any music videos in the works?
Funny you should ask, we are getting ready to shoot Bring It Back with Dela Preme under the very capable hands of director Sammy Black/VIBEGOOD. We have a lot in store for the video and I can’t wait to shoot it. It’s gonna be a cinematic type feel, it’ll make more sense when you see it. If you could go on tour with anybody in the world. Who would be on the bill with you? Where would the tour go? What’s Kid Swifts “Dream Tour”? I like this question, first off. If this was my “Dream Tour”, we’re doing like 90 days straight in countries and continents all over the world. If there is an audience for good music, I’m there. Dela Preme would definitely be with me on said tour and we would be turnt at every stop on some rockstar shit. It would be cool to go on tour with Lil Skies, Shakewell, Caskey or Tyler the Creator or something like that, those people all have fantastic live performances and definitely inspire me when I’m trying to step my concert game up. What hardships and tribulations have you been hit with on your journey and how has it affected you and your sound? I got kicked out at 18 for smoking weed. I was definitely not prepared to be living on my own at that point, but I did what I had to do. I had a lil baby studio and I probably recorded 200-300 tracks in 6 months at that first apartment. I dove head first into trying to better my sound on both ends of the glass, but found that the artist side is the side I aspired to be on. I have definitely been molded somewhat by some shitty past experiences, and it makes it hard for me to trust people. That’s why it was so crazy meeting Jon for the first time because I felt that I could trust his judgement with my music even from the first session. Jon has helped me find my sound and fine tune it over time with more practice and experience. We went to Nashville in February for a week and I wrote and recorded 26 songs in 30 hours over 4 days. I think that part of my sound and creative process is derived from what I had to endure. I could never afford a lot of studio time all in one session, so I had to get good with writing and practicing my music before I recorded in order to save time and maximize my output from every session. It also helped when I was recording myself, because I got tired of me messing up takes and I wanted myself to not waste my own time haha. Where do you see yourself in 3 years? How about 10? In three years I’m still gonna be with the shits as far as touring, writing, creating, and everything else. In 10 years, I see myself falling more into running and establishing my record label as a dominant force in the music industry. I plan to expand the roster eventually, not soon, but when the time is right to include artists with a similar mindset to my own and people who have a proven track record of hard work and bouncing back from losses while learning mistakes. I don’t want to add artists to my label that are already established and successful. I want to turn my label into a proving grounds for the young dope spitters who have something to prove and are willing to do what they have to in order to reach their goals and aspirations. What is the name of your label? Koalaty Music Group LLC. I couldn’t start a business without a pun lololol. As we wrap this up. Is there anything else you want our subscribers to take with them? And thank you for your time. I want everyone who reads this to know that you possess everything you need to do whatever you want. It’s gonna take time, it’s gonna take money, and it’s gonna take shaking some hands, but if you don’t continually try you will never progress. You can’t score goals without taking shots. So just do a little more everyday and you can do ANYTHING (not just rap). Thank you for having me shozzout Clout Culture and shozzout Lil Seltrah we out here.
An Interview With Yung Ranma Can you please introduce your self and tell us what you do? Yeah I’m Yung Ranma, mainly go by Ranma now a days. Musician, artist, rapper. Thank you for the interview. What genre would you consider your self? And what other genres are you involved in? Underground for sure, I’d even go as far as to call it “fusion” music. I yell and scream over purposely hard beats, on top of rapping normally. A lot of my new music is strictly harsh vocals, which come extremely natural to me because of my background in hardcore/metal. I’ve always been obsessed with rap music, especially the musicianship behind producing and “beats” It’s cool because I’ve met a lot of other artists in Arizona who also do the whole punk thing, like the shooters in Doom Division. Those cats are on one. I’m still active in the hardcore scene, but I haven’t fronted for a band in over two years. What’s your local scene like? Popping venues? Pros? Cons? The local scene here is huge, and is a big mix of underground stuff mixed with every day stuff. Ive met a lot of hardworking artists in the 2 years since I started rapping and moving solo, away from all the bands. I definitely fall in the underground scene side of things. Not everyone likes hearing a dude scream over a beat. The venues we have here are good, for all genres. I have to give Doom Division a huge shoutout for opening and managing their own warehouse so they can throw their own events. Most of the shows I have played are with them, at their warehouse. That is a huge pro. The cons here in our scene are just dealing with promoters who don’t exactly know how to throw a show, at least in my opinion and based of my experience. Very interesting. I didn’t know this. Who are you inspired by the most in rap / hip hop? Keith Ape inspired me the most and really threw my ass into gear to start moving solo and start working on myself as an artist. Back when he was rapping strictly in Korean alongside “The Cohort” with fellow rappers such as Okasian, Kohh, Bryan Chase and JayAllDay. As soon as I heard “It-G-Ma” and saw the visual, I was hooked. I’ve always been a fan of hip-hop & rap, but this was something fresh I saw in the underground. Before Keith Ape, I was inspired by Yung Lean, and he was doing whatever the fuck he felt like, which was really cool in my eyes.. Slug Christ and the awful records guys also played a part in the inspiration, as well as Denzel Curry and the rest of Raider Klan at that time. Also wu-tang and ThreeSix Mafia.
Gaaang!!! Who gets bragging rights for helping you get to the point you are at now? Who always been there pushing you forward? My big homie Kevin aka Pinchin Pennies, and my shooter Grayshade were there with me since the Jump. My homie Troy of Easy Money gave me a lot of constructive criticism I needed last year when I first started hitting it. He’s had my back for years. A lot of people in the hardcore and metal scene as well, too many people to name. The Doom Division shooters helped me put everything into perspective when I started linking up with them the final part of this year, and once I saw all of their talent, it naturally started pushing me harder than before. Thats awesome. This makes me excited to be back on Phoenix. If you could go on tour with anyone in the wolrd, who would be on the bill? What’s your dream tour? This question is tight. My dream tour would be with Keith Ape, Slugger, KirbLaGoop, Okasian, Bryan Chase, Yung Lean and Robbanks. Its one of my favorite questions to ask. And what cities would your tour hit? Definitely all over California (it’s all about planned strikes) east coast stuff like NYC and Boston, Atlanta ect. It’s also my dream to tour Japan and South Korea. What are your plans for 2019? New releases? Music videos? 2019 I plan on going to Tokyo to shoot a visual for one of my new singles off my upcoming album. Working on a tape currently, and working with producers in the game I respect for another Tape. 2019 is gonna be the year of the Tapes. Also planning on playing shows in every city I can in 2019. New music, new music videos, new merch drops. 2019 will be exciting for me. I’m already getting stoked. How did you come up with your name. Whats the back story on that? “Ranma 1/2” was the first anime and manga series I really got into as a kid, besides Dragon Ball and Pokémon. I was watching it on VHS tapes with English subtitles maybe when I was 6? I figured since I’ve loved it since that age, might as well name myself “Yung Ranma” it helps that Ranma is a boy as well. I did go by Yung Gold which is my Instagram name as of 2012 but only for a little while, then I changed it to Yung Ranma. I like Yung Ranma. As we wrap this up is there anything else you would like to add? Thank you for the interview. Thankful to the fans and supporters in state and out of state that I have. Special shout out to OrngKush & Lil Snorlax from LA, and special thanks to Easy Money & Doom Division. I’m the type of artist that’s wants all my other homies to win. There’s no competition
An Interview With Joseph Bills Thank you for taking some time to be Interviewed for Clout Culture. Can you please introduce yourself and tell use a little bit about what you do in the scene? Of course happy to do it! I’m Joseph Bills the #maxout man and what I contribute to the scene is my energy and genuine support. I always build up people I believe in and never been afraid to show love. I like this vibe! I’ve been watching. How long have you been in the game? And who gets bragging rights for helping you get to where you are now? Been rapping since I was 15 but as far as pursuing music as a career, about 10 years. And bragging rights, I would have to say the fans. Honestly, it’s been them pushing me into different spotlights that led to the connections and relationships I’ve made over the last 3 years. The #maxoutmob are the ones who brought me to the table. What are some of the pros and cons of your local scene and where do you see room for improvement? The pros of the local scene here in Phoenix is that there is a vast amount of artists all pushing for their dreams and there are a lot of different lanes as well. There’s no shortage of events you can go to all the way throughout the week. The cons are probably the same in every scene it’s hard to break through the “gate keepers” but if you make your own lane, eventually, [the] dope will always rise to the top. Unless you’re cooking [in] it I think. When your not performing and traveling what do you do with the rest of your time? Any other passions or professions? I am a certified audio engineer so I sometimes help some of the homies with their projects. I also do a little bit of voice over work from time to time. But when it comes to passions it’s really just making an impact through my music. If you could go on tour with anyone in the world, who would be on the bill with you and where would you go?
Mainstream J Cole, Kanye, Lil Wayne, and Jay Z. Heavy bill I know but my style would offset all of theirs perfectly. Anyone I know included, Dela Preme, Truminati, The Free Boys, Futuristic, Sincerely Collins and Fonz. That’d be an #overlituation. Where would the tour go? A US tour for sure but I also want to do Asia and Europe for sure. I was trying to go to China this summer [it] didn’t pan out though. Although I did do my first mini tour in South West Colorado, New Mexico, LA, Nevada, which is all going to lead up to me as one of the headliners to the Arizona hip-hop festival. So, I just discovered you. What albums should I have in my library. And do you have any new material coming out this year? I have my “Past Due Bills” series on all streaming platforms. That culminates with my latest EP, “The Collection”. Depending on how much time you have to dive in, Vol. 2 is a classic and Collection is my first 50k+ streamed project, it’s full of bangers. I have a ton of new material with some pretty exciting features as well, but no dates in mind. I do release singles out of nowhere from time to time, so look out for those as well. Let’s do some manifestation work. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? How about 10? Five years I seeee… earning 6 figures annually from all music and entertainment solely. Also have got Bills Ent., a commonly known brand, my clothing line will be in multiple outlets, and #maxedout will officially eclipse turnt up and lit. Also some “secret” business ambitions will be fully realized I just don’t want to put those in the atmosphere until I can pull the trigger of them. Ten years, I’m glad you asked because I need to practice seeing that far into the future. I will have to answer that one next interview. Sounds like a plan! I like to keep these things short and sweet for the readers. As we wrap this up, is there anything else you would like our readers to know? I would like anyone reading to know I stand for what I believe in and [I] am genuine in everything I say, on and off the mic, and if you support what i’m striving for, please visit shopgotbills.com and cop some merch to keep the grind alive. Tag a friend in a video, share a song, tell your friends to follow the journey because we’re just getting started. And most importantly, stay true to YOU. Don’t conform to what you think or have been told is the “right way”. Be yourself. Nobody can do it better than you. God is great #MAXOUT Homeshopgotbills.com