Interview- Yung Lano

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Hyde Park, Boston rapper Yung Lano presents "Rose Gold", his latest single release produced by Stoopkid featuring Brooklyn rapper Jay Critch. The song comes on the heels of his most popular 2022 video release "SLIDIN" (watch the video). Also produced by Stoopkid, "SLIDIN" helped the artist gain notoriety by garnering over 1million views on YouTube, thus pushing him to release his next video “Outside” (watch the video). Yung Lano had this to say about "Rose Gold", “I crafted Rose Gold specifically for me and Jay Critch. It's an ode to the streets letting everyone know i've got options and am here to stay. Staying focused is the number one priority. My team believes no one in Boston has commercial rap appeal like me so i'm just playing that part. Everything i rap about is just another day in my life.”

1. What can you tell us about the track "Rose Gold"? What was your inspiration? Thoughts behind the hook? Music video?

Believe it or not I freestyled this whole verse, good ol punching in every couple seconds but the finished product was a vibe. When Critch said he would show love I wanted to give him a record that he typically wouldn't jump on. He loved the hook and  TBH at the time the whole 448 team had just purchased Rolex Presidentials and when I say "the whole time I've been thinking about prezzi.. I just swapped out the rolli for my AP" just real life shenanigans.. it wasn't meant for a flex, I was just talkin shit.

2. How has growing up in Hyde Park influenced your style of music? 

Fast times most definitely. My brother and I were a wild bunch. Thank god we had a family that tried to keep us off the streets. Growing up watching my father DJ Wallyworld Djing parties and events as a child was super dope. The way he could control the crowd with his music selection and wit. My style is similar to a chameleon. Whatever the sound is, I can craft melodies and flows to it. 

3. When did you realize this was the life for you?

Growing up I was always the youngest in the room/streets, getting money. When everyone always tells you you're gonna make it before you even decide to rap, you should start rapping. Besides looking like a rapper I found a passion in creating music. It was a perfect lifestyle fit, allowing me to grow and find my sound. I make the type of music that you wanna hear when you're making money or you just got paid. I'm just here for motivation... 

4. Who are you often compared to? why? How do you distinguish yourself from those artists?

I get a lot of Lil Baby and Lil Durk, I don't think I sound like them but i tihnk It's because of my ability to uplift those around me and really help people create a life for themselves. Real leaders lead from the front and those guys really set a great example. 

5. What can we expect to see/hear from you in the future as far as new projects?

Expect a new single every month paired with boutique style visuals. Going into the new year I will be going harder than ever with the birth of my son. I have every desire to create a life second to nothing for him. Tunnel vision all 2023. You can expect Yung Lano to be a major player by summer 2023. Big Features on the way! 

6. Any shoutouts?

My manager Lucas, my Pops, all of Boston and my partners at 448 the label.

interview: Benny Okoto

benny okoto

youtu.be/jOl6_jEwImM
Twitter @bennyokoto @jahmalgittenss
Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | bennyokoto.com

Singer/songwritter/producer/rapper Benny Okoto presents the music video for "Ever Told". Directed by Benjamin Coffey, "Ever Told" appears on Benny Okoto's soon to be released album "Lonely Hearts Club". Produced by Jahmal Gittens, the "Ever Told" clip comes on the heels of visuals for Benny Okoto's previous single "Doubletree Doughboy Schemes" (Youtube). Ghanaian-American Raleigh, North Carolina resident Benny says "'Ever Told' is about embracing the low points in life, and instead of self destruction or losing faith, choosing to instead take your time and exude patience. While I was dealing with a lot of life issues and responsibilities, I had remembered conversations with different women in my life. They all told me to take my time in one way or the other. This gave me a new perspective on where I was at and what I know I was blessed to look forward to. The last of those conversations was with my mother, who told me to take my time while I was eating. This repetition of the message became a metaphor for women’s influence in our lives in general."

What can you tell us about the track "Ever Told"? What was your inspiration? Thoughts behind the music video?

Ever Told is a personal track for me. I feel like it's a song that after I made it encompassed and resolved and will resolve a lot for me. My inspiration was reminiscing back on conversations with different women I had encountered in the past. While I was going through an uncertain time, I wanted to find the positivity in the conversations as opposed to focusing on the negative fact our relationship is no longer what it was and remembered that each of them symbolically in one way another to exude patience in life’s toughest moments. I had worked with Ben on a video previously and wanted the direction to be fairy-tale like. Sort of like Goldilocs and The Three Bears vibe, I always love the moral of that story and it still resonates with me today. Having the older womanly character and the younger representation of what could be me we aimed to amply the lyrics with a metaphor for the nurturing nature women possess in general.

How has traveling throughout your childhood affected your style of music?

Directly it influenced the way I talk and come up with words and indirectly it shaped my worldview or at least helped to accentuate it. We would spend a lot of time on the road traveling for soccer tournaments, field trips, and overseas trips. From my earliest memories the radio would be playing and when you get to different areas the station may have the same frequency or number but the music that that station played would be totally different from where you left. So I listen to and am influenced by everything, not just hip-hop. Every place we would visit had an energy, a way of life, people that were represented, that was emitted through the music you would hear in that region just being out and about. I pick from everywhere and don’t want to limit myself to one style.

What’s it like being a Ghanaian-American rapper on the scene today?

It’s kind of crazy. At a time being African in general wasn’t something most people wore on their sleeve like today especially amongst Americans.  It was easy to tease Africans in grade school because of the depiction of the African by many media outlets. Don’t get me wrong Africa has progressed a lot since I was growing up, still a ways to go but being a 1st generation Ghanaian-American rapper I think gives me more leeway to not be put in a box and experiment in genres or sounds and looks that may not be typical in the States or in hip-hop but that other parts of the world can and do enjoy.

What are your thoughts on the industry today and the direction it's going?

I honestly feel the artist is wiser today so you will see the three major record companies share or hold on the industry diminish quite substantially over the next few decades or so. Natural course of things as more people experience one thing the future generation learns what to and what not to do when put in similar situations. More rappers, musicians in general are especially becoming conscious of the business side of things or the access to information is abundant and accessible which means that availability leads to people to become financially literate and independent which is good for musicians both new and old. There are more ways to generate income by being a musician but in regards to hip hop they’re expanding exponentially.

Tell us about your organization Ten Steps Ahead, how did it come to be?

Initially I got the equipment for myself to make music only. After that for a couple years, my brother and friends passively started making tracks here and there. It wasn’t serious until I got out of high school and was about to head off to college. We all were always doing creative things where in the entertainment, science, or technology worlds I always wanted to synthesize the spheres I and those around me existed in. I want to make an avenue to let creation flow freely. So we got together that summer before college and formed T$A (the Ten Steps Ahead came later). We had been operating for a couple years doing things here and there and then we decided to make it a company to help better facilitate our goals and visions.

What can we expect to see/hear from you in the future as far as new projects?

A lot more different displays of the creativity and the ingenuity I bring to the game. I got a project that “Ever Told” will appear on, releasing right before the summer. There will be a couple full length projects released before the years up.

Any shoutouts?

Shoutout Muddaland WorldWide for the clothing you see in the video. Go follow and shop. Thanks to Benjamin Coffey for helping aiding my vision on this one. Thank you all for having me on your platform. Shoutout God and God bless T$A.

Switch & Sythe- Mentally ILL EP

SWITCH & Sythe- Mentally ILL Ep

STREAM: https://songwhip.com/switch2/mentallyill

Thank you for the opportunity to feature, Mentally Ill

We have some interview questions if you can send back by email would be great.

INTERVIEW

1. How do you feel your mindset was when you created this album/EP? - Understand it is titled mentally ILL, yet can you describe what motivated the album?

Word well it actually started with just calling a song that. One a the first joints we recorded for this project we called mentally Ill and then we just eventually decided to call the whole project that. The reason we decided to call the whole project that is a lot of the material on this EP in one way or another discusses “feelings” not necessary always mental illness but something in that realm whether it’s anxiety, depression, addiction, etc. We also know that the word “Ill” obviously means something else in hip hop so we wanted to capitalize on the double meaning.

2. Can you tell us more about your YouTube, Noticed you have a new segment Spitting with Switch

Spittin with Switch is a series I’ll be doing which is basically just one take videos of me rapping various verses. People like consistently and this is a relatively low cost way to generate high engagement. I’ll be doing one of these every few weeks. If your on my mailing list you will get them a few weeks before the general public, you can sign up for that here https://switchhiphopmusic.com/join-the-team/

3. What is your favorite song on the EP?

My favourite song is a tie between the title track (Mentally Ill) and “Running Rampant”, the dark stuff is always my preference haha.

4. Can you tell us about who you collaborated with on this EP?

There are no other vocalists on this album but myself and sythe really collaborated creating this. We discussed the lay outs of the beats, the concepts of the songs, artwork, videos etc. Also Nato Down who mixed and mastered the EP also obviously has a lot to do with it having the sound it has and we did a lot of back and forth to get it just right so I’d say just those two and myself are the ones responsible for the sound of this project

5. What was the most challenging Part of the EP ?

The most challenging part of the EP was and always is all the marketing. Switch is a very blue collar operation and everything done over here requires a lot of time, effort and planning. From the physical copies to the work to the advertisement, to the videos/singles it can be a lot to think about so for me that’s always the most challenging part I wish someone else could just do all that so I could focus on just making the music haha but that’s being independent for ya

6. Where did you record it?

I actually recorded all of this at my home studio. All of the beats were produced in house by sythe and I laid the vocals from home, I have a nice set up here and it really allowed me to take my time with the recording, I was able to experiment and re record a lot of stuff which made me much happier with the overall product.

This ep is solid, intense flows yet it is cool for your style and mellow boombap hip hop sound.

Hit the Gas, the music video is quite impressive. Switch has been rockin with Luke Connor Visuals for a long-time now and you can see the enhancement not only on the tracks, also the quality of music videos. Very serious work. Everyone knows that the rapping/performing is a task in itself, and switch handling the full 360 with these albums and consistency is solid.

Switch has been on the move making new tracks and from his video here: Behind the Scenes / Save Yourself Merchandise, he has elevated levels and is focused on his next releases.

Switch’s music videos and style are fantastic, he has the mellow hip hop boom bap with his own style on the track

To Purchase Switch Merchandise visit

Interview: Menacin Johnson

stream Growth Season
Twitter @menacinjohnson @moka_only @moshakray
Facebook | Spotify

Los Angeles emcee Menacin Johnson presents the Big Rif-directed music video for "Crown", the lead single from Growth Season, his new album produced entirely by Canadian beatsmith and emcee Moka Only, featuring guest appearances from DJ Ethos, Allen Casilla and Rain Bisou. Menacin's Brand New Headsets 2 album (Soundcloud) featured A-Plus of Souls Of Mischief as well as Menacin’s fellow Project Blowed representer Abstract Rude, and his Stargate Aquarius album with producer Duke Westlake features Slimkid3, Frank Nitty and Pigeon John. Constantly touring, he has performed alongside Aceyalone of Freestyle Fellowship, Tre Hardson formerly of The Pharcyde, X-Clan and many more. Menacin says the new single "is about rocking my crown, manifesting my vision and embracing the next chapter in my life while creating new vibes on my music journey and bringing it to the world for everyone to join my tribe and get down with us."

How did you come up with your rap name?

I was battling others MCs alot in high school and just getting into trouble as a youngster so my long time homie and rhyme partner Grande Scheme had this running joke calling me Menacin because we would be sitting around bored and I always managed to get us into some shit. So he was like "dog you always getting us into some shit, you a menace, like the black version of Dennis the Menace". lol When we would link he also called me Johnson! So one day we were working on our raps and he said "Yo! You should call yourself Menacin Johnson!" And the rest was history.



How did you hook up with Moka Only?

I've always been a big fan and supporter of Moka Only and had always wanted to work with him, so when the pandemic lockdown came around i had a lot of time on my hands since I was no longer working a 9 to 5. So I reached out to him, and shared my vision for the project with him. He was super cool and down to earth and was down with my vision. We got to work right away. It was pretty seamless and easy going. He sent me a lot of fire ass beats! And I did my thing.


What’s the concept behind Growth Season?

The concept is based on personal growth as a person and artist. I felt with George Floyd, Breanna Taylor and the pandemic and everyone stuck inside it gave me time to reflect on how I was feeling. It was the inspiration to the overall vibe. Through the recording process I felt that I and the world needed positive music more than ever. I also felt i needed to step away from a few support systems and fly on my own independently so I can create something new, raw, stripped down from the ground up. I had a brief conversation with Moka and he expanded on the idea and the first song we did was called "Love to Give" so I ran with that as the theme of the project. I also lost my mother and started to see people that were my so-called friends and family show me their true colors during my grieving process so that also became the theme and emotion behind the project.


How have you been adjusting to life since the pandemic?

I've been doing a lot more reading, working out and mediating and writing lots of new music. Staying on top of my spiritual and mental growth.

How has it affected your music an career?

My pen game is stronger than ever! Since I haven't been on tour in over a year plus. I've had time to dig into the writing and recording process more, having lots of fun with it.


What’s next for you?

Working on a brand new full length album with Najahead for early release next year! And a few EPs as well.

Interview: David May

Twitter @itsdavidmay @fashawn @mitchgeist
Instagram | Facebook | Soundcloud | nogalesnoise.com

Walnut, California rapper David May presents "Life Debts", his new Mitch Geist-produced single featuring fellow Cali emcee Fashawn. In 2012 Black Cloud released David’s debut album The Lifestyle Of A Dream Chaser and performed alongside Pac Div, Curren$y and joined The Road To Paid Dues Tour with Murs and Fashawn before following up with 2014's Video 94 EP (watch the music video for "Store Runs"). Since then David has released tracks with Fashawn and Trizz as well as several collaborations with California producer Huss (stream "That's Crazy"), alongside his work as a member of the One Step Ahead collective. "I made this song when I was thinking about all the people who are no longer with us," David says. "I thought about how close I've been to being gone and I let that sink in. I want to build a legacy and be remembered long after my time on earth is gone. I have no more time to waste."

You’re coming off a bit of a hiatus. What’s been going on in your life?

Life is always in session. I had stepped away to provide for family and fix some things in my life. I spent my early 20’s living with no regard of the future. I made a conscious decision to break down my old life and build up something stronger. I worked a corporate job for 5 years while I stacked up. I’ve gotten to a place where I have multiple streams of income now and it’s not a make it or break it situation with music. I truly do this shit cause I love it. I work a gig at a dispensary cause I love working with cannabis and all things stoner culture. My state of mind has done a complete 180.


What’s the story behind Nogales Noise?
Nogales Noise is my brand… I hope to grow it into a movement. I grew up right off Nogales St. in LA County. It goes through parts of Walnut, West Covina, Rowland Heights and La Puente. I hadn’t see a prominent figure in recent years that represented that area and I wanted to be that. Right now Nogales Noise is the vehicle that carries the sound and it’s the name that sticks. I built a website and I’m directing all my releases there. Eventually it will grow into an entire content machine that is involved with these emerging markets. I’m heavily involved in the cannabis industry as well as the gaming community. I see these as having unlimited growth potential and they also tap into some things I love. In the past people may have looked down on those things but I hope to be part of the wave that helps normalize making some real money off these things. I want to inspire those around me and in the area to get the bag… ideally finding a way to pursue their passions along the way. The music is a soundtrack to the area, to cruising down Nogales plotting the next move. It’s giving you the confidence to do what you love. The ultimate goal is to open a store front right across from Nogales High School.


You have an enduring musical relationship with Fashawn. How did that happen and how has it evolved?
I initially met Fashawn when I opened for Wiz Khalifa back in like 2009 or something. Just kind of a what’s up, I’m the local opener kind of thing. It wasn’t until 2013 when I was able to go along with Black Cloud Music, Murs, Prof and Fashawn across the country on the Road to Paid Dues Tour that I really got to know Fash. We were close in age and we were 2 of the biggest smokers so we just vibed. He was the big homie to me and it was awesome. I asked him questions about the road, music, and just some big bro shit in general. We would be smoking and freestyling at different spots and it was dope because that helped sharpen the sword… you know, being around someone who does it forreal. We kept in touch once the tour ended and ended up in the studio a few times. As busy as he’s been he’s always been a text away… just a real down to earth dude. It was during the first year of lockdown I was working on music to release once shit got going again and I hit him up. He had a verse for me in like a day turnaround. Absolutely nuts. Shoutout to Fash!

What have been the lessons and realizations of the pandemic for you?

I think the pandemic was an equalizer in a lot of ways. At least in the musical act sense. Everybody had a year + of no shows. For a while nobody was really putting anything out either because nobody was checking for new music. Even if somebody dropped a single or whatever there were no shows to help promote. No radio appearances. It was the perfect example of… the game just changed how are you going to adjust? I think the power of the internet and online communities were highlighted more than ever. More people are online than at any other point in history. Tiktok is here to stay. That’s the only platform where we welcome content from complete strangers. We fully trust the algorithm to recommend things for us. That’s different from Facebook and Instagram or any other platform. If you can make the algorithm work for you, the audience is bigger than anything you’ve ever tried marketing to. Even Spotify… the way their algorithm responds to shares and playlists adds and takes that into account for your next release. It starts to recommend you on people’s personalized playlists. I mean the tools are here. You gotta study up and learn how to take advantage of it all. Lastly the importance of having your own website or community outside of the major social networks. The next phase of internet where people are interacting directly with the creators on their websites and discords and everything in between. It’s forward thinking. E-mail lists are still vital!


What’s next for David May musically?
Right now it’s holiday season so I’m reviewing the year and setting up for 2022. The goal is 2 singles a month all 2022. Somewhere in between all that I have 2 EPs coming out. One with Jordan Fox that’s called Game 7, and another with Gunnah… Video 94 Vol. 2 . I’m stoked. Hoping to capitalize off the momentum and see what opportunities come from the consistency.