RESPECT. Interview: 24hrs Talks Transition, Growth + More

Being the mysterious enigma that he is, 24hrs has made his way up the ladder quite discretely and without the industry catching on. Teaming up with his brother MadeinTYO, the two plan on taking everyone by storm. RESPECT. had the chance to catch up with 24hrs and spoke about his journey through the industry and who he will be working with soon. Read the interview with 24hrs below.

RESPECT.: You’ve been making quite some noise in the short time you’ve been in the game how do you feel being surrounded by artists that you used to listen too?

I’ve been doing music since the 5th grade and I’ve been seriously doing it since high school. As a new artist I’ve been in the game for years, since when I got my first record deal in 2009 and then I ended up getting another one with RCA and Jermaine Dupri in 2013. Then started my own label Private Club Records with my brother MadeinTYO blew him up and then reinvented myself as 24hrs. That’s a simulated version of how it all went down, there so much in between the gaps that happened but that pretty much sums it up. One thing that hasn’t changed is that I’ve never given up and I’ve always pushed the people around me to push themselves one step harder than last year and continue to improve.

RESPECT.: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your background?

I was in New York and Tokyo had been performing for Supreme and we got a hotel, which ended up being one of those hole in the wall hotels I think it was called the pod or something but it had bunk beds in the room I’ll never forget it. I had been doing some singing records with my old name and we put it into Serato and the Dj sped it up and started thinking that maybe I should put out records like that from now on with a new start.

RESPECT.: I’m aware that you have a joint project with your younger brother MadeinTYO, can you elaborate on how you guys formed this dream to come up together and how you guys came up with the idea for the project?

Me and Tokyo we did everything together, it just seem normal for us to do everything together growing up. This is always how we did it even if it was going to parties or dances or even with sports that’s how we went about it. A few months ago we dropped 24 hrs & Tokyo, which is pretty lit I think most of the songs got a million plus views.

RESPECT.: I’ve read through a couple articles and I’ve seen that you’re known as “enigma” & as well as a ” mysterious artist” would you say that you fit the description that everyone seems to believe to be true?

Ideally the background story about me is that I transformed from Royce Rizzy to 24hrs. I didn’t let anyone know that I was transforming online I let it grow and build and adapt to a level to where people are like who the fuck is 24hrs then I came out about it and put myself out there announcing my official new name. I think they were right about the mysterious and which is understandable because you could barely see my face and being to myself. If you come to any of my shows you’ll see that the lights are dark and there’s a lot of neon lights and my whole aesthetic is different as an artist.

RESPECT.: Can you talk a little bit about meeting Jermaine Dupri and being signed to So So Def back in 2013? What was that like for someone like you at a young age to be making big moves?

Back in the day I had a record that was going crazy in Atlanta and JD reached out to me and he wanted to manage me and wanted to sign me and that’s how we got the deal with RCA. Bow wow is my bro and the first Rolls Royce I ever sat in was bow wow’s. I was always around him Bryan Michael Cox and Usher, even though i haven’t spoken about with him in a while thats my bro it’s all love. It’s a blessing.

RESPECT.: What is your relationship with Lil scrappy?

When I first moved to Atlanta he had a record label called G’s Up and he had been signed to DTP so he was with them a lot and I kinda grew up there. I was learning how to write and learning how to perfect my craft and going on the road and that’s when I got JD’s attention and that’s when I did the JD deal and that ran its course. Then I put out my label Private cut records, Tokyo was the first artist we put out successfully and then I re-blended myself as 24 and I got another artist Noah Woods, My Name Phin and Salma Slims so just creating a team.

RESPECT.: Where’d you come up with the name 24hrs? What’s the story behind it?

I grew up in Tokyo which is where my brother got his name from. My father was in the military, but the culture is different and it’s a completely different world over there. Me and my brother have always been able to adjust to our new environment. The culture shock in the beginning is what really helped us to get used to it.

RESPECT.: Who do you hope to work with in the near future? And what else should we be expecting from you like any new singles or mixtapes or albums?

I want to work with Nelly, but i’ve been working with a lot of peoples I’ve been working with Hit Boy, Dom Kennedy and Mike Will been working. I have a session coming up where I’m going to pull up on A$AP Ferg.

RESPECT.: Ultimately what does respect mean to you? What type of pedestal do you put it on?

Respect is up there and the one thing that me and my brother talk a lot about, matter fact I’ll read text from my phone. We some to each other yesterday and I told him “ Bro don’t worry about none of this stuff just stay fly and keep moving” they teach you as kids to treat others the way you want to get treated any people lose that as we get older. If you are able to respect yourself and others then it goes up there as an importance.