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REAL ARTIS EDITOR IN CHIEF Mason Taylor EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jared Quick FOOD AND FASHION EDITOR Earvin Sulapat
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......................................................................................................................................................... Prestige ............................................................................................................................................. Camille Sade` ..........................................................................................................................................Janelle Walker ................................................................................................................................................ Traci Turner .................................................................................................................................DAP The Contract ................................................................................................................................................ Lord Jordan ................................................................................................................................................................ Sarob ..................................................................................................................Spoken Views Collective ...............................................................................................................................................Chris Waters
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HIP HOP INGLEWOOD, CA thisisprestige
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story by Mason Taylor
Prestige thisisprestige
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your mentality that I have with every song I make, even if it does happen to appeal to the masses. background in music How does your faith lead your creativity?
Well to start, I grew up in Inglewood, CA and as far as my musical influences go, they’re centered around jazz and gospel. I grew up in the church and my dad was in the church band, so he [fasho] did NOT let me listen to hip-hop [haha], so I had to sneak and listen whenever he wasn’t around.
God is the center of everything in my life. With music, I know how to make the party bangers, the chill records, and even the cookout type G-Funk records. However I always think about the type of message that I’m delivering because there is power of life and death in the tongue. You not about to catch me rapping about drugs I don’t use, acts of crime that I never did, or money that I’ve never had, because that’s CORNY. I make it an effort to always find a way to be an inspiration through my music at the end of the day.
It’s all in a name, what was the inspiration behind your latest EP’s name, 90 Octane? The name came from a random idea I had. The last project I dropped was back in February of last year, and people had been speculating about me dropping more new music. My birthday in July was coming up, so I figured “why not just drop all gas on ‘em-- that OCTANE.” The highest grade of octane is 91, but I was born in 1990, so I said “BOOM; 90 OCTANE.”
What are the biggest distractions in your life? Distractions? Now that’s a deep question [haha]. I’d probably say the struggle of balance. Being an independent artist is GREAT if you have a method and the correct resources. But you still gotta maintain yourself as an adult, which comes with a cesspool of responsibilities that cannot be disregarded under any circumstances, on top of managing your career and maintaining mental health and stability. It’s more like a necessary evil opposed to it being classified as a distraction.
Who did you grow up listening to and how have they influenced your style? A LOT of gospel, and a LOT of jazz. It ranges all the way from John P. Keep and Fred Hammond, to Billie Holiday and Herbie Hancock. But more specifically for hip-hop, I was on a lot of DJ BattleCat, DJ Quik, Pharrell, and Timbaland for production. Artist wise, I’d say Tupac, Nate Dogg, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop, Kurupt, The Game, E-40, the list goes on.
What’s next for you?
As an artist from California, did you ever feel any pressure to make a certain style of music? How have you developed your own sound/style? Oh without a doubt, even currently. Everyone wants to hop on the wave of trap music, but in my eyes, it didn’t make any sense hearing WestCoast artists make songs that we DON’T do. So yeah, I’ve definitely felt that pressure. But if you stay in your own lane, then you never have to worry about traffic, and that’s the type of
I got a gang of stuff that I’m about to be announcing soon. I’m in the works of another self produced EP which will probably drop around early to mid fall. I also got a lot of situations lined up with the independent label Track Killers Ent., which will virtually change the game for independent artists, so stay tuned in for those announcements. And finally, I got a visual lined up for my single “Benjamins” which was on the 90 Octane project. Needless to say, don’t sleep on ya boy. p a g e
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R&B San DIego, CA
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story by Mason Taylor
camille-sade forever_ille87 Forever_ille foreverille
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camille sade Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background with music.
Who is Camille, behind the music? I’m the mother of a sassy and amazing 10 year old little girl named Lyric. I’m also a crime show watching, cat obsessed, pizza lover. I’m pretty simple and I like that about myself. I pride myself on being down to earth. When people meet me they always end up saying the same thing. They don’t expect me to be extremely goofy and slightly awkward. When it’s time to turn up the sexy I can def do that but I’m just as happy without makeup, in the bed with my cat, watching CNN.
My mom and dad both sing. So music was always around. Especially in my dad’s house. Babyface, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson and Eric Benet were always playing. My first experience with singing was elementary school choir. Then I discovered Mariah Carey and was in awe of that voice. My first love was ballet so I didn’t start taking singing serious until High School. It’s been my number one love ever since.
How has your upbringing, and the city around you, influenced your creativity?
Who in your life has been your biggest inspiration? What artists in the industry give you the most inspiration?
I’ve moved around A LOT in my life. I was born in the Bay Area but moved to San Diego as a baby. San Diego is so diverse and down to earth and that’s something I really love. Some of the most memorable moments in my life happened in that city. I recorded my first songs in that city, my first performance was in that city. I could move anywhere in the world and SD will always be home. My childhood was not always easy and all the crazy situations I’ve been in (lots of them I put myself in) definitely gave me endless subject matter for music.
My dad. Period. Anybody who knows me knows the level of love and admiration I have for him. He is my biggest supporter and always has been. He isn’t the lovey dovey type dad either. I know that he shows his love for me by CONSTANTLY networking and grinding for me no matter where he is. He’s done a lot to help me achieve my dreams and I could not ask for more. Musically, Mariah Carey and Brandy have always been my top 2 faves. But some artists and writers I truly adp a g e
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mire are Sevyn, Kehlani, Eric Bellinger, Tank & James Fauntleroy.
What was your inspiration behind your song “Crazy Cat Lady”? When you’re single and lonely your mind starts to wander. Like I said, I’m a cat lover. So when I heard the track I loved it instantly. I honestly don’t know how I decided to start talking about what I’m talking about. What I do know is, I had been listening to a lot of Janet Jackson that week. The title was originally cat woman but that’s so basic and cliché. Crazy Cat Lady fit with me personally because of everyone knowing how obsessed I am with cats. For me it was also about getting your attention. If I saw some girl put out a song called crazy cat lady I’m going to go listen off top because I want to know how weird this girl is. So it’s a play on words of course.
What’s next for you? I finished my EP over the summer. Yay! I’m excited for that to drop very soon. More music and videos. It’s an exciting time for me. Ive been doing music for a very long time and maybe didn’t fully believe in myself. So I have tunnel vision right now, my focus is on next level. I want fans to feel like they can relate to me. I can’t wait to connect with new people and learn new things and create more memories and to keep growing artistically. Just knowing that this is the beginning and that I have so much more to share with the world, that makes me happy.
If you could describe your sound with one color, what would it be and why? Rose Gold. I love that color. But for me, it’s so feminine, and somewhat soft. But it’s also bold and strong and I think that describes me perfectly.
What is your writing process like? Some artists like to write songs and then put music around the words or find tracks that go with that particular song. My writing style, I prefer to have the music first. That gives me the vibe and based off of how the music sounds that’s gonna tell me what direction I want to go in. I always start with a melody that I record into my phone on an app called Voice Recorder Pro. I’ll put the track on and just freestyle the melody all the way through. Then I go back and clean it up. When I go back after that, I start plugging in what I want to say.
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To kick off our foodie explorations, we decided to take it back to where it all started. Mitch’s. Located alongside the Point Loma Marina, the casual seafood eatery is home to the most fresh fish tacos you’ll find in San Diego. But most importantly, it’s the location of our first fig. Our “go-to’s” are the calamari (a must!), half a dozen oysters, and six tacos to share. Since they catch their fish fresh, the menu of available fish always changes but some of our favorites are the tuna and scallops. We always opt for the outdoor seating for the full fishy smell and sea breeze experience. Not to mention, the variety of beers they have on tap to sip (or chug) while waiting for your food. by
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Earvin Sulapat
R&B HOUSTON, TX
iamjanellewalker
iamjanellewalker
story by Mason Taylor
JANELLE WALKER
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your orchestra, ballet and swimming. They are brilliant at literally everything they become involved with. background with music
They are far more brilliant than I was at that age and yet they still look up to me. It blows my mind and it keeps me pushing when I question if I have what it takes.
My name is Janelle Walker, I am 24 years old and I live in Houston Texas. Growing up I was always singing. My mother and I would be out grocery shopping and I would be skipping about, pretending to be a Disney princess. No really, I thought I was a Disney princess. I would go out into my backyard and sing at the top of my lungs hoping to attract small animals like squirrels and birds. In adolescence I always gravitated more towards rock music, which caused the children my age to label me as a “white girl” even though both of my parents are African American. It would hurt my feelings to feel as though my race did not want to claim me simply because of my musical preferences but not enough to make me want to go listen to rap music. I started writing songs when I was 9 years old just for fun. I never would have imagined at that age that I would actually be recording music and getting positive feedback from it but here we are today and I couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you for reaching out to me and wanting to know more about my story.
They inspire me to push harder not just with my music but with everything I become involved with. They don’t know it yet but they saved my life.
How have you developed your sound/style up to this point? It took a few years to develop a sound that is authentic to who I am. When I released my first EP titled “ Under Construction” my goal was to record a song from each genre because I had NO idea what my sound was. I was hoping the feedback I got off of each individual track would point me in the right direction. At the time I thought it did, looking back now I realize it caused me to make music that people thought I should make. Which, as an artist, is suicide. To create something that was not authentic to who I am distracted me for about a year after that. I had to take a break from recording. Luckily I work with an amazing producer named Eddie Ferguson, @walkonepros on Instagram, who knew and understood my sound before I did. Working with Eddie has been one of the biggest blessings of all. He is so unbelievably talented and humble. He’s not just a beat maker, he is a PRODUCER, and artist and honestly one of the biggest reasons I am the artist that I am today.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why? I look up to people like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Pink, and Hayley Williams from Paramore because they are all so strong, powerful, spunky and positive. Each of these women have their own unique sound/style that inspires the masses and me especially because I don’t want to just make music. I want to start a movement that empowers people from all over the world. I want to inspire women, I want to inspire the underdog and the outcast. These women do just that and for this reason are some of my biggest inspirations.
What has been the most inspiring event, whether good or bad, in your life that has led to creativity for you?
Who has been the biggest inspiration in your life?
Honestly it has to have been the 3 month hiatus I took from social media. Summer 2018 was really rough for me. I spent most of my time working jobs that I HATED just to make little to no money, which means I wasn’t recording music or videos, I felt stuck, trapped. I started to wonder if this was my life now, work work work and no time for creativity. I was looking at other people on social media who were able to do the things I wish I had the time and money to and I became depressed and angry. I began to compare my life to theirs and when I realized what I was doing I knew I needed to get off of social media in order to focus on getting my mind right. In the time that I was disconnected from the madness I spent more time in nature, read more
My family has been my biggest inspiration. My parents for one because they are so supportive of my goals, no matter how outlandish they might be at times. They were both born into less fortunate families near the end of segregation and went on to be homeowners. My mother a teacher and my father a retired engineer have sacrificed so much for me and I am truly blessed to have the parents that I do. One day I will give them the world, it is one of my biggest most passionate goals. Also I have two young cousins ages 9 and 12 who are truly brilliant. They speak 3 different languages and are involved in, p a g e
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books, listened to inspirational speeches, and started practicing Nichiren Buddhism. My life has changed completely, my goals became less shallow, I stopped comparing myself to others, I became more grateful for the people and opportunities in my life and I became inspired to do things that I have never done before. I became inspired to tap into talents that I had neglected. I have some amazing new projects that I will be releasing in March and I am stoked!
If you could pick a color to describe your sound, what would it be and why? I would have to say blue because the color blue represents so many different emotions/expressions. Sometimes my music is a grayish blue, dark, brooding and thought provoking. Sometimes it resembles a Royal Blue, vibrant, sassy and demanding of attention. Very rarely it is a pastel blue, soft, gentle and dreamy. I actually plan on recording more Pastel shades in the new year but I am focused right now on completing my next single, which is almost done, I just need to add a few minor adjustments. My next single is grayish blue and it symbolizes a dark chapter in my life closing. I can’t wait to share it with you guys!
What’s next for you? An active Youtube channel in March. I haven’t really told anyone except for my mom and one other friend who is helping me with my footage. The purpose of the channel is to spread positivity and inspire people to challenge themselves and the norms of society. I will have a segment titled “complete 180” which will basically be a three minute pep talk that will cover topics like, how to overcome jealousy, how to stay motivated, how to rewire your mind, etc. I have a couple of other projects for the channel in the works but I don’t want to say too much too soon, so you’ll just have to keep an eye on my social media around the end of February for the announcements! I also recently signed with an acting agency based in Austin TX so who knows, you might see me on the big screen one day.
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| visual artist Reno, NV
TRACI TURNER
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Traci L Turner Art
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story by Mason Taylor
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Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background with art, and where you’re from? I’m originally from the DC/MD/VA area, but relocated to Reno, NV in 2013. Painting is my preferred method of artistic expression. I’m most comfortable using oils. Color plays a huge part in my work, I rarely hold myself back. Thematically, a lot of my work is inspired by my personal responses to humanistic topics such as love, connection and Black femininity. Even when I paint something unrelated, like fruit, people still seem to connect something human or emotional to it so I just embrace it. A few fun facts about me: some of my favorite things are dancing, BBQ ribs, and watching YouTube videos. I love making food to share with my friends, or swapping recipes. My latest pet peeve is when people respond with their gratitude for having a significant other, right after someone laments their troubles with dating. It’s like, come on man you could have kept that read the room. It’s a false empathy.
When did you know that art was for you? Probably sometime in high school. There’s so much pressure during those years to know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life, even though most teenagers don’t even know who they are! And at that time, skipping or delaying college was absolutely not an option for me with my mom, so I had to pick something. It made sense to me to go to school to study whatever catered to my strengths. Eventually I realized that art was what came easiest to me, and it seemed to make the biggest impact with other people. Luckily my mom is a staunch champion of being true to oneself and investing in the pursuit of what you love, so that set an environment for me to see nothing but green lights towards whatever I wanted to do with art. Having that influence that tipped the scale for me to recognize my path back then.
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Tell us about your art vlogs. The YouTube channel started off as just another way for people to find me, and to allow them to get a glimpse into my personality in hopes that they would also want to buy my work. But it ended up being this really fun creative medium for me to express myself, talk about art and connect with people - which are the better reasons to do any of this. I even have a couple of “YouTube buddies” now. Most of the vlogs just chronicle my artistic journey. There are also a few live streams and artist talk type of videos. A lot of the time I think that I’m super boring though! The views are low but I don’t even care, I like doing it and I’m learning a lot. My main aim with the videos is about sharing and encouraging other artists rather than being instructional, because I’m not a teacher and so many artists are already doing that with their channels for free. The tone I prefer to achieve in my videos is like a laid-back friend that relates to you, gives you advice and supports you, because that’s what I would want to watch. This year I hope to do videos on more conversational topics about art and art-making in general.
If you could choose a superpower to trade for your creativity for 24 hours, would you do it? What would it be, and why? As long as it was only for 24 hours, then hell yeah I’d trade! But knowing my luck I’d probably be stuck with it...So I guess I gotta make it count. I’d probably switch my creativity for whatever superpower it is that puts infinity money in my bank account. I would for real do some “up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start” type of cheat code if it were possible! Some say money can’t buy happiness, but I wouldn’t mind trying to prove that wrong. I’d want that power just because it would make everything so much easier, and it would free up so much time. I could do all of the things that help keep me sane - like traveling and treating my friends/family. I’d take that whole day to buy up and plan everything I could think of. Then
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when the power is gone I would enjoy the spoils I set up and go back to the art life.
it. The last time it happened, he helped knock me out of a year-long slump, and I went on to make one of my best paintings to date. So I think the combination of these three people in my life kind of voltron into one entity that pushes me to develop all aspects of being a creative, but especially perseverance and creative integrity.
How do you continue to expand on your style? I follow my intuition. That probably sounds a bit esoteric, but I think intuition is a huge part of the creative process, and influences direction and growth. Perhaps anyone can tell you what to do with your work, but ultimately you’re the one that has to produce it and slap your name on it. So it’s been important to me to make sure that I stay connected to the part of myself that can point out where I need to focus, without much outside input. At the same time, I do also try to stay open to allowing some outside influences to inspire me and to help me avoid blind spots toward what I’m doing. For example, I’ll seek out professional critiques on my body of work every now and then. I make continued education a priority through reading books, online resources and/or taking classes. Looking at other artists helps a lot too. Not necessarily to compare myself or copy their work, but to take notes on the successful components of what they’re doing, especially with how they market themselves, and seeing if I can find a way to tailor it for myself. Or on the flipside, if I see an artist that’s doing something similar to me (and there are plenty), I try to figure out ways that I can distinguish myself from them.
Who’s in your top five, how have they inspired the way you create? (In no particular order) Françoise Nielly: I love her color sensibilities, so wild yet deliberate. Her work inspires me to be unafraid to go H.A.M. with color. She is also a great example of how one can have a tightly focused, consistent approach to their work and still be interesting and successful. Marc Quinn: Ever since I discovered his Self series, where he uses his own blood to create frozen sculptures of his likeness, this man can do no wrong to me. I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care. Going to such an extreme pushed the concept of self-portraiture into a realm that is rarely achieved, in my opinion. That series hit me in a way that no other artist has affected me before or since. I think of this whenever I approach my own self-referential work. Frida Kahlo: The passion behind her work inspires me the most. She used so much of herself in her art, with no abandon. At a time when I was reticent about my work - yearning yet reluctant to taking a personal, intimate approach - learning about Frida Kahlo was what gave me permission to go for it.
Who in your life has been your biggest inspiration creatively? I think this is a 3-way tie. I would say my friends Stephanie, Celeste and John. With Stephanie and Celeste, it’s so comforting to be able to talk to other Black female creatives who are actively pursuing their goals. Stephanie is an actress who has found ways to use her creative talents while organically building her VeganWhat? platform for several years. She’s always encouraging me to be more visible and shares good advice about using social media. Through her influence I’ve been able to find ways to have fun with building my online presence. Celeste is probably the best example in my life of someone who has raw talent, that “it” factor.
Elly Smallwood: She paints exactly the way that I thought my work would end up, except for her limited color palette. I appreciate the energy she evokes through her loose, expressive style, yet there’s still a vulnerability to her figures. I try to conjure the same feeling in a lot of my work too. I love everything, everything that she does. Her treatment of the female nude is unmatched right now. Van Gogh: Loose, expressive color, internal conflict and memorable portraits. Discovering him was a defining moment for me in my early years as a painter.
Her energy is powerful. Studying her and talking shop with her reminds me to be less cerebral about my work, and to just do it. With my friend John, I think sometimes we pull from the same pools of inspiration, so it’s like we can speak the same language. We always have conversations about our creative pursuits and he usually ends up saying something that is so on-point for me it’s arresting. He doesn’t even realize he’s doing p a g e
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story by Mason Taylor
DAP THE CONTRACT HIP HOP NEW YORK, NY
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Tell us your story - how did you get to making music?
Who’s in your current top 5? Kanye West, Andre 3000, Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott
I have been playing the piano (classically trained) since I was 4 years old. My whole family is really musical: mum was a piano teacher, my brother sister her and I are all Grade 8 piano (ABRSM) or above. I grew up on Motown classics, gospel music and Christmas music for the most part, but really I was given the tools to understand and appreciate any genre of music. I started producing at 14 when all my friends in high school started rapping, and naturally being the awkward shy nerdy one in the group, I loved being able to hide behind production and let them be the stars. However, they all stopped making music one by one and so I started rapping at 18 and realized that I had a knack for storytelling and putting words together. I studied Latin and Greek as an undergraduate so that furthered my passion for wordplay and literary devices in poetry.
What’s next for you?
I am already 30% done with the next visual album to be released in the spring, and then I plan to pivot to my Nigerian roots and using all those sounds of hi-life and afrobeat as the base color in my palette next year.
Who has been the biggest inspiration in your life? Personal life - mum and sister. My mum and sister gave me all my musical foundations by playing me such a diverse array of music from such a young age. Till this day every single Christmas break we watch the Sound of Music front to back and love every second of it every time.
Who did you grow up listening to? Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Bebe & Cece Winans, Smokey Robinson, Prince, Bob Marley.
Do you have a song you’ve made that sticks out from the rest for you? Back Around - this was the only song I made during my first semester at law school after making music almost every day for a whole year. When I listen to this song, I feel the same mix of emotions but mostly a feeling of relief and love that I felt when I made it during my final week even before my final exam. I hear the pain in my voice but the strength it took to get through that 2 week exam period without losing my mind.
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LORD JORDAN RAPPER KILLEEN, TX
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story by Jared Quick
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How did you get your start in music, what made you want to be an artist?
Do you do other things beside your songs, such as produce beats, ad lib, or ghost write for other artist?
I’ve always been into music sine i was a small child. When i was in the 4th grade i joined the choir and never deviated away from music. Whatever it was whether it be a dance club, glee club, drawing. As far as what made me want to be an artist it basically always been there.
I have ghost written for another artist in the past but it is not something that i do to often.
Are you doing any projects or collaboration currently if so, with whom and what are they?
When did you discover you had this special gift and love for music enough to want to pursue it?
I just finished a project with Astraux Guillotine known as the Mizu Bushin ep that is now available on all streaming plat forms. I am currently working on my first debut album known as sleeping in the ocean. Which will probably released no later than December. Being in this industry what lessons and
In 2014 is when i started rapping and wrote down my 1st actual verse. Basically I wrote two types of verses one for my mom being the clean version and one for myself that was more explicit. So i preformed the one for my mom and she loved it, so i went ahead and pursued it.
challenges have you been faced with to help you grow as an artist, would you share those lessons with other artist or allow them to find out on their own?
Would you say that you have a style, how would you describe it? I’ve been compared to a lot people for example ski mask the slump god, Eminem, Ludacris, etc. for the most part i think everyone that has compared me to these people i think they are wrong. I have a fast and energetic style.
i learned that you have to actually work hard for your own music to be out there, because it’s not going to b e handed to you. When you make your music you have to push, network and capitalize on everything you do for your music. Also, you can’t do this on your own...you need help with boosting your music.
I would say Mac miller, beat king, asap rocky, sauce walka, Tyler the creator, Denny brown, ab-soul, school boy q, naruto, and Travis Scott. There is no real inspiration to be different, I’m just who i am whether that makes me different or the same as somebody it doesn’t sway the fact that i am me.
As for right now Sleeping in the Ocean is my main priority I haven’t really thought to far ahead yet, but you can be expecting a collaboration ep with Chris Waters and I in the future.
Who would you say influences you, what inspires you to be different and to want to What projects can we be looking forward to in the future? create music?
Have you ever been inspired to create a song that was based off a social or political influence? No, that is not the type of rapper that i am, now chris waters on the other hand might be the guy that you are looking for.
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story by Mason Taylor
SAROB HIP HOP COLUMBUS, OH sarobali
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What is your background with music?
sic: being able to speak different languages, essentially. I mean, in a lot of ways being a Black American requires knowing how to code switch, but because I’ve been exposed to such drastically different communities, I have a uniquely inclusive perspective and that helps me deliver ideas to people.
I actually didn’t have any formal training in music until a few years ago. When I was younger, I was a writer and visual artist and went to a magnet school for that, but I wasn’t really interested in music until high school. First, I was all about writing lyrics -- it helped discover myself through reflection and introspection -- and then after a few years I got into singing, playing keys and producing.
Who’s in your current top 5? I normally don’t like talking about who’s better than who because I think it’s amateur -- a great artist doesn’t try to evaluate or rate anyone other than himself -- but a few people who blew me away this year, rap-wise, are J. Cole, Smino, Saba, Phonte, and Royce da 5’9”. That’s not exactly a top 5 but those are 5 people who put on a masterclass this year with their albums.
Growing up, who were you listening to? How has their music shaped how you make your music? My taste in music is primarily influenced by my mom. She grew up in the fifties so the music she loves is mostly soul, rock and funk. I grew up on Carlos Santana (who is one of my favorite musicians ever), the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Earth, Wind & Fire, and the Rolling Stones. My brother was also heavily into Linkin Park, Incubus, Fall Out Boy and stuff from that era of rock, and I would overhear him playing that from his room.
Can you take us through your creative process when it comes to what you need in order to create? I usually prefer isolation. I like sitting in small, enclosed spaces when I’m working. No lights. I’ll block the windows if necessary. I’m really meticulous about every single syllable I write, so it helps to separate myself from the physical world and meditate on my thoughts. For a while, that was the only way I could create -- spending hours in a dark room until something clicked.
I actually wasn’t allowed to listen to hip-hop when I was younger, so it’s sort of ironic that I’m a hip-hop artist now. But I think what’s special about my music is that it’s inspired by so many different styles and genres, and because of that it can resonate with a lot of people who might not even typically like rap. I mean, I write jazz compositions and rap over them; I produce neo-soul music; I work with rock and alternative bands; I’m currently working on funkinspired joints. So all the stuff I was exposed to when I was younger helps me reach for something that’s outside of rap while I also use my talents as a rapper to make the song.
Although I typically like being by myself when I’m writing lyrics, I’m more comfortable now with writing or playing things on the spot. My first time doing that was a few years ago during a session with Charles Hamilton. We were trying to get as many tracks done as we could and I didn’t want to hold him up, so I just made myself write faster. Like he would record, then I’d be up to record. And I couldn’t do too many takes because I was afraid I’d look bad. So I was super stressed but it was a breakthrough moment: from that point on, I’ve just been able to pull up at a session, write some stuff, and it’ll be good. It’s a bit less meticulous but it still turns out fine.
How has your environment influenced your creativity? To say it simply, I have a dichotomous background. I grew up in Dayton -- in the city, not a suburb -- but I went to school like 35 minutes away with kids whose parents are millionaires and dropped them off in Lamborghinis. So I’ve been extremely privileged in my education, but I also grew up seeing people who were extremely disadvantaged. By living in a predominantly-black, inner-city community and spending most of my formal education in a predominantly-white, excessively-wealthy community, I learned how to relate to different people and communicate with them in ways I knew would resonate. That’s a huge part of my identity and my mu-
What has been the biggest challenge for you when it comes to putting out complete projects independently? As difficult as it can be, creating music is what I feel most confident about. The tough thing is figuring out a way to deliver the music and make sure it sticks. The biggest challenge to me is not having the resources to bring all our ideas to light. A lot of the ideas I have are straight up expensive and we have to p a g e
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find smaller ways to do it, which bothers me a lot because I want to these ideas, once executed, to be of the highest possible quality. It’s been getting easier lately because my business is growing but sometimes I just don’t have the funds to execute all the advertising schemes or create all the content I want to create.
What’s the balance like for you creatively between singing and rapping? So I admitted in a song with my friends Dom Deshawn and KMB, I’m an “R&B nigga, I just happen to rap.” Deep down, I want to make R&B music -- and that’s what I spent a lot of this year developing -- but I haven’t fully found my way in that space yet. Depending on the song, I really try to showcase both my rapping and singing, and incorporate a lot of soulfulness and harmonies in my rap verses. As of now I’m 70% rap, 30% singing but I want to have the musical dexterity to do both really well. Like, I want to be as good as Jay Z was at rap and be as good as Marvin Gaye was at singing, simultaneously.
What’s next for you? I have a collab project being wrapped up now with a producer from Minnesota who goes by BAARD. He produced a song called Crystal Clear from my 2017 EP, Seeing in the Dark, and it was so well-produced I wanted to work with him on something bigger. We’ve been putting the pieces together since last year, and it’s easily the best work I’ve done and some of the most stimulating and creative production that you’ll hear in hip hop today. It’s fresh. There’s no release date currently but the project is like 94% done so it could be out like literally next Tuesday. I don’t know. I’m also working on solo material that’ll be out in 2019. I spent a lot of this year further discovering my sound and I wanted to improve on some of the shortcomings I noticed in Seeing in the Dark. Although it’s an incredible project, I wanted to really chisel away at the follow-up and make sure the story is stronger, the production is better, the vocal performance is sharper. I want the follow-up to be timeless and give people a reason to believe in my art like I believe. So far, I think it sounds brilliant.
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32 story by Mason Taylor
Spoken Views Collective a conversation with Iain Watson, co-founder/director of SVC
svcreno
instagram.com/spoken_views_reno
How did SVC begin?
and take on leadership roles.
SVC began as an event actually. Myself and a friend were collaborating on hip-hop music back in 2006 and discovered we both had a love for spoken word, but there were no venues that were promoting spoken word in the way that other cities were .
How can poets/artists get involved with SVC?
We both came up with an idea to host an event that was spoken word orientated, but we also included some live music and a DJ. The venue was at Se7en, a small tea house that used to be in downtown Reno. The name of the event was called Spoken Views and later we adopted that name as the title of our collective, so hence the name Spoken Views Collective (SVC). Shortly after our first event, we started doing monthly open mics and poetry slams. We have experimented a lot with different platforms to present spoken word, like our Speak Easy event that included a live jazz band backing the poets; we have had also been housed at a handful of different venues over the past 10 years.
There is no membership when it comes to our collective. The main thing is to just show up. We get a fair amount of opportunities to share our poetry outside of our monthly event, so if you’re a regular at our events, we usually try to invite those poets to perform when those opportunities arise. As a collective, we encourage anyone to speak with us if they have ideas that can better what we are doing or create more opportunities to get out into the community and be heard. We have had a lot of amazing poets that have come and go, so we welcome those who want to get involved for as long as they can commit. Even if you’re not a poet, we are open to have people help work the door, promote, even help with design of flyers, etc.
“
NOT YOUR TYPICAL POETERY READING
”
What is SVC all about?
For people who have never been, what’s the experience like at an SVC event?
We are a collective of poets from all walks of life who have a common love for the expression of spoken word poetry. Our mission is to create a safe place where people can enjoy and participate in open mics, slams and performances. I would also say that SVC is all about community and opportunity. It’s a goal of mine to make sure the people serious about participating in our events have the opportunity to spotlight at other events, host, create their own events
We do our best to keep the energy up! We love spoken word because it is not your typical poetry reading, there is almost a theatrical element to what we do, so it’s usually a very fun experience when the crowd is involved with their cheers, snaps and sounds of approval. Our monthly event happens at The Holland Project - please check them out if you never been to their space, they do so many amazing things for our community and we are proud to be p a g e
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involved with them! We usually start with a 30 min open mic, followed by a poetry slam (3 round elimination competition, judged by audience members). We are also lucky enough to bring in touring poets to perform; some more well known than others, but we have always had amazing guests grace our stage. I have been told that even when our audience is small, we are attentive and always very receptive to our touring guests. We consider ourselves a welcoming and loving community that is excited to listen to others with an open mind and heart .
How can the community support SVC?
We want nothing more than to grow our audience and involvement! We love to see new faces, first time poets and audience members. I believe it takes one time to go outside of your comfort zone and experience something like what we do to for it to become a life changing event. I encourage everyone to check us out at least once; I know what we do is not for everyone but if you love literature, lectures, theater and the arts, it is definitely worth checking out. Aside from the physical support, we are always accepting donations to help with our programming. We are also happy to go into schools and work with other community organizations and share what we do. Please look us up on Facebook and Instagram (spoken_views_reno) for more info and to connect with us.
Any plans for expansion outside of Reno? It has always been my dream to see the members who have moved away to start a Spoken Views chapter in their new city. Of course bigger cities usually have an established spoken word community, but I always thought it would awesome to see us expand into other places. Another goal would be to have some of our collective do a national tour just to make our presence known in other cities. We have been able to send teams to compete nationally at the National Poetry Slam event and Brave New Voices (BNV) youth poetry slam. We do need to get back into the high schools and try to get a youth chapter going again since our original group are now too old to get involved with BNV. The National Poetry Slam competition is on a hiatus at the moment, so hopefully we can send a team again in the future. We are still a small operation so growing our support and involvement in Reno is our main focus right now.
We do have a website (spokenviews.org), but I’m in the process of looking into getting it revamped. p a g e
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story by Jared Quick
Hip Hop Autsin, TX
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Chris Waters iamchriswaters
Who are you, and where are you from?
Would you say that you have a style, how would you describe it?
Chris Waters out of Austin Texas. I grew up around hip hop my whole life since 3 years old listening to Eminem’s Marshal Mathers LP in the back of my daddys car, and Missy Eliot in the back of my moms. One day the homie lord Jordvn said he was going to start rapping, we were in the same dance crew and all my homies rapped. I was writing poetry and was always taking artistic ventures so at the time so it just made since.
Mf Doom, Andre 3000, J Cole, Kendrick and Ab-Sou.l I can name [hella] but I’m inspired by life in general. And I was always told the best way to be different is to be yourself most of my favorite artist are themselves and not fabricating a lifestyles so why should I.
Have you ever been inspired to create a song that was based off a social or political influence?
How did you get your start in music, what made you want to be an artist?
I actually have a song in the safe right now on some social stuff. I haven’t touched on political yet but I’ve played aroundwith the concept.
I actually was trash when I first started so I wouldn’t call it a special gift more like a sharpened craft. Standing with my brothers Prophecy and Lord Jordvn I just picked up quick but summer 2014 all me and Jordan did was freestyle everywhere we went. It got to a point where I would be writing all the time, and I just couldn’t stop.
Do you make other things beside your songs? Such as produce beats, ad lib, or ghost write for other artists?
When did you discover you had this special gift and love for music enough to want to pursue it?
I have ghost written for people before. Hooks, lines and such, but I focus on my own as of now. If the bags right, I’ll write for folks. I’ve been working on my adlib game. I haven’t found that one but I have a couple and the homie Rokoro has been helping me with this producing tip.
I just mixed what I was doing with poetry with different rap techniques. I had to start being choosy with my words because I envisioned being authentic. I realized it’s [hella] easy to come up with gun bars when u ain’t never shot.
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Are you doing any projects or collaboration currently if so, with whom and what are they? SOLSTICE PROPHECY X CHRIS WATERS coming soon. We have about 2 more songs until that’s done so be ready. I did a joint on Mizubushin, with Austreaux Guillotine, and Lord Jordvn out now. I have a few joints on Rokoro’s new project RESIDUAL AFFECT releasing in November with Chryst Moon and Jahn Lion. My project’s coming this year - I’m sitting with a few titles as we speak.
Being in this industry, challenges have you been faced with to help you grow as an artist? I’ve learned so much just working with a group and being in this industry. I teach it my bros and lil homies now, and that’s how you make sure you’re standing on you’re own two feet. If you’re working in a group, you never know what’s going to happen - so always work on yourself or you might lose yourself, and your sight of what you want for yourself as an artist. Follow your own advice. Solstice Splash Outfit
avaialble everywhere 1.31.19
Winter 2019. This issue marks year 3, and I’m not all the way sure how we got here. I do know that our why makes the journey worth it. We took the last two quarters of 2018 to really take a look at how this platform was growing, what it was growing into, and what we actually wanted it to be. It’s one of those things man, looking around at the people who make R.A.W what it is, wev’e all grown so much in this span of time - it’s only right that our platform does the same. BY creatives, FOR creatives, means that we each have our own creative outlets outside of this and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Shout out to all of the artists we’ve featured or worked with up to this point. Shout out to all of the future features, and salute to the team. Stay Real. Stay Righteous. Stay RAW. -Mase