Oklahoma
jacket GIVENCHY
Where are you from?
I’m from Oklahoma City, born and raised
Describe your music.
Food for thought
How does your Midwestern roots influence your music?
My life influences my music. Maybe when I was about 14 years old I was more influenced by Oklahoma. This was the alternative and country music here, on top of the rap and blues I grew up on. But now I’m influenced by my everyday life.
I know midwest artist like Common , Twista , Bone Thugs , Do or Die , Kanye , Chance ,but Oklahoma is so closely connected to Texas I was more influenced by Dallas and Houston music. Also, in the black community, Oklahoma has a relationship with Cali and we know about their underground music. New Orleans too.
The thing about Oklahoma is that it didn’t really have a music platform like other cities had. So we had to look for our influencers a little more. They weren’t up the block when I was a little kid.
What’s the most thing you miss about life in Oklahoma?
Family. I’m so accustomed to seeing my family so often it was weird being by myself in New York City. I have a big family and a lot of us are really close to one another. I miss playing ball at noon and going to the mall to eat at the Chinese spot with a few friends. Oh and Bobo’s Chicken….. yeah, Bobo’s should pull up to Brooklyn. For real, shoutout to them.
If you could have any deceased musician over for dinner who would it be and what would you serve?
Either Prince or Tupac .
For Tupac, I heard hot wings and Hennessy was his favorite. I’m down for the cause.
For Prince, I would cook a bunch of pancakes because of that Dave Chapelle sketch, not knowing if he liked it or not. Because my momma taught me not to waste food, if he didn’t like the pancakes I’d still be eating pancakes. But I’m open to dish him out whatever he was feeling.
Do you remember your dreams and if so, do your dreams ever influence your song writing?
I remember my dreams often. I have a lot of reoccurring dreams that are more in-depth and vivid as time goes. I’ve written about it, but not all of my dreams are cool enough for a song. A lot of randomness too, but maybe soon one of my dreams will make a dope song.
When is your most creative time of the day?
5am as soon as I wake up.
If your music was a color, what would it be?
Iridescentpurplepurpleblackyellow .
What’s your relationship to sports?
Ball is life. I’m the last generation of “be back before the street lights come on” lol
I can play a lot of sports. My favorite to play though is basketball and dominos .. (If you don’t think dominos is a sport, you can’t play with me. It takes a lot of athleticism to slap 5 as hard as I do.)
Are you competitive with sports?
Probably too competitive. I am obsessively competitive with anything, not just sports. A lot of people don’t know that we were racing when I walk past them in the city. haha shit gets real
Do you have the same personality when writing music and playing sports? If so, how?
Slightly .. Well in terms of work ethic, yes. Besides that, I am a completely different person playing sports and writing. When playing sports, I’m free from thought. The only strategy is winning and a lot of that is instinctual. Repetitive motions over and over until the game is second nature. Once the sport becomes that fluid to you, it’s really about enjoying the workout and competing to win.
Writing isn’t about a finish line in that regard. Instead of being free of thought, I’m letting my thoughts be free. Conceptually for me, it isn’t about first and last. I’m not competing with anyone but myself. Writing is more about the journey.
I’m a free spirit in sports and a free thinker in writing.
What makes you smile?
My nephew, Chance. Probably my favorite person on the planet, next to moms. Chatting about nothing with my friends. Food, Bobo’s Chicken, Ice’s catfish and Waffle House definitely makes me happy. Oh and playing pranks on my mom makes me weak.
What makes you cry?
I don’t cry, but seeing kids that don’t have the same privilege as others is tough. I always think about them and help when I can. I love being around kids.
What’s your favorite R&B love song from the 90s?
I have a few.
Me and Those Dreamy Eyes – D’angelo
The Other Side Of The Game by Erykah Badu
Honey Molasses – Jill Scott . (I know that one isn’t 90’s, but it’s one of my favorites)
Do you have a secret talent?
I draw a lot of cartoon characters and create the dialogue for my characters from people watching.
Oh and I can speak words backwards without hesitation (devin – nived, computer – retupmoc) . I used to feel like I was a little creepy when I was young, so I wouldn’t do it after a while. I used to write my poems backwards so no one could read them but me.
Do you have a secret crush?
My bass guitar.. Coco 😍and this one Girl from queens….
What is next for you?
I’m a pretty present person, you feel me? There are things that happened in my life that have made me care less about the future, and more about today. Today, I’m living, laying a brick a day, trying to be who I think I am and showing love to someone who needs it. Everything beyond that is between me and the universe.
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denim jacket and jeans DIOR HOMME
shirt DSQUARED2, vintage jewelry