“I just want the music to speak for itself, you know?”

Tory Lanez has been extremely busy the past year. From coming out with new tunes, feuds with other popular R&B singers, and nailing down interviews, it’s safe to say the 24 year old Canadian artist has finally broken into the realms of mainstream success.

Recently, Tory Lanez hit up “Sway in the Morning” to discuss the ongoings in his life and career at the moment, and touched upon his follow up to his long list of mixtapes- an album entitled I Told You.

“I’m just here to be number one, I don’t have no personal problems with anyone.”

Throughout the interview, Tory Lanes persists that his disagreement with others in the industry isn’t his primary source of nervousness. “I’m here to talk about me and this album because that’s when that pressure is coming up.” He also antagonizes other’s labeling of him as an “R&B singer,” and thinks of himself as an artist instead.

I Told You is set to drop on August 19th. You can preorder it here.

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The post Tory Lanez Talks New Music with Sway in the Morning appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

One moment we couldn’t stop talking about was Dave East‘s freestyle on Hot97 during the Funkmaster Flex show. Bringing two and a half minutes of straight bars, you know he made the list. We also snatched up the impromptu live streamed DJ set from Mad Skillz as he came “Live From the Basement” with his special mash up tribute to legendary music icons Michael Jackson and Prince.

Bringing a new element to his legendary freestyle segment, Sway not only blessed us with some bars from Mir Fontane & Don Flamingo, but some banging production from Mike Zombie. Noreaga, Remy Ma and Memphis Bleek teamed up and quietly dropped their blazing track “4 Da Win” and Brasstracks gave lyricists everywhere an epic beat from an unexpected source on Rhythm Roulette.

Check out the videos of This Week’s Hottest Unofficial Hip Hop Moments below, thank us later.

Dave East Freestyle on Hot97

Mike Zombie, Mir Fontane, & Don Flamingo Freestyle on Sway in the Morning

Mad Skillz live in the Basement

Noreaga, Memphis Bleek and Remy Ma Team Up “4 Da Win”

Brasstracks Shows You How To Do This On Rhythm Roulette

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In the nearly 40 minute long interview, which is filled with quotables and fairly bizarre moments, (he describes Kanye West as “50 Shades of Gray”) Young Thug discusses a variety of topics including his family, his style, his musical influences and what he plans to do to Plies when he sees him.

Peep the full interview above, and be on the lookout for Slime Season 3, which drops February 5th.

The post Young Thug discusses family, Kanye West, and more with Sway in the Morning appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Oz was booked to do a show in Kansas, and had all of his plans set to rock the stage out of town, and prove his skills on the mic. He had already posted promotional tweets and pictures about the show, and people were excited about the moves that the New York kid was making. Three days before he and his boys were set to go on the road for the Kansas show, they decided to call the promoter for the show to ask for an official poster with Oz’s name on it, so that they could promote it on social media to the fans. They were greeted with a shocking response.

Oz had been taken off of the bill for the show. Most people would probably be devastated. And Oz was disappointed, but not in the same way as most people would be. He recalls being more upset at the fact that it was tarnishing his brand to be promoting false information to his fans. “Even down to the jerseys we wear. We do what we want to do because we like it, we are never trying to be something we’re not.” But then his positive outlook on life, which we talked about in parts 1 and 2 of our interview, shined through. He said, “I had a good feeling about it. I knew that something bigger was going to come out of it. It was too big of a thing to go wrong, for something bigger not to happen from it.” A day later, he got a call from one of the biggest hip-hop radio shows in the world, Sway in the Morning, asking if he could come down to the station, to fill in for a rapper who could not make it later that week. He was going to be on a show that would put him in front of a national audience. A show that he would not have been able to attend, had he been in Kansas.

“He told me he needed me to be there at 9:45am, I showed up at 9:00am.”

While writing down his visions earlier in the year, he wrote, “appear on Sway in the Morning” as one of his goals. All of his other goals were accomplished as a domino effect of this one moment. After talking about the Sway experience, I asked him about the MJ jersey that you can spot him wearing in his twitter picture, and on his Instagram (@OswinBmusic).

If you haven’t checked out part 1, or part 2 of this interview yet, then I suggest you go back and read those. Then come back here!

RESPECT.: You’re from New York, but you still rep that Chicago Bulls Jordan jersey. How important is Michael Jordan to you? Are you just a fan of greatness?
Oz: Man, whether it’s rap or basketball, whether you’re from New York or not, you know that Michael Jordan is from New York, and you know that Jay Z is from New York. You can’t be there and not make reference to the two greatest in their given areas or fields. The greatest basketball player ever is Michael Jordan, and the greatest rapper ever is Jay Z, in my opinion. So you can’t be from New York and not pay homage to, or use them kind of as a blueprint for where you want to be. It’s not just rap or basketball, it’s greatness. That’s what everyone should strive for, to be the greatest at whatever they do.

RESPECT.: Yeah I agree. Why else are you doing it, if you’re not trying to be the greatest?
Oz: Yeah, if you’re not trying to be the greatest and have the greatest impact on the world. Because I feel like the greatest is subjective. I feel like that whole Nas and Jay Z conversation, it changes all the time, but it’s like, who had the greatest impact? I feel like who had the greatest impact should be more important than being the greatest person, or the greatest rapper, or basketball player. I want to have the greatest impact on the world.

RESPECT.: I think that’s what gets lost. For the people who are making music just to make it, or to make money, or to get a deal, they forget what’s important. I think you should want to change lives, and that should be your greatest goal.
Oz: Exactly man. That’s the whole point. If you’re not changing lives, if you’re not opening minds, if you’re not allowing people to succeed in a different way, then what are you doing? You’re just taking up space.

RESPECT.: Yeah exactly. You speak a lot on the soul. I study philosophy in school, and Aristotle talks a lot about the soul too. I was curious how your fascination with it came to be, and what you view the soul to be?
Oz: I talk a lot about the soul, and it’s kind of like, me talking about where I want to be. I never want to be labeled as a conscious dude, I just want to be labeled as a human being. I was just in a relationship, and I had to leave it because of the music. I didn’t know if there were going to be other women, and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to be faithful, but I want to be as perfect as I can. When I talk about the soul it’s like, even though I have these issues, I want to be as perfect as I can as an individual. I want to reach that point as a person, where certain things don’t matter anymore. I heard of a theory, I don’t know if you know, I think it’s from Plato’s the Republic, and it’s talking about the gold soul, the silver soul, and the bronze soul. You were born into certain types of souls based on what your family did. But it’s interesting if you were born into a certain type of family, but you had the gift of music, then you could propel to a gold soul. You don’t have to stay a bronze soul at the end of the day because it was all about location. So when I talk about the soul, it’s like, just because you started off as a bronze soul, doesn’t mean that’s where you have to end. Just because you started off here, as a drug dealer, or as the ugly dude with low self-esteem, aka the bronze soul, or the majority of society, that doesn’t mean that whatever gifts you have or whatever you feel in your mind, your thoughts, your emotions, that those can’t transpire into something higher than where you already are. So, just taking that whole concept, and just trying to apply it to everything you do. Just the whole soul thing I feel like, is just staying true to who you are. Humanism is my main thing. Yes I’m spiritual, and yes I love God, but I also love bitches with fat asses (laughs).

RESPECT.: Yeah man, you’re human! (more laughs).
Oz: Exactly! And I feel like, when I talk about the soul, that’s what it is. Don’t ever try to be something that you’re not. “What’s good with your soul, what’s good with your spirit?” is just like, who got more soul than me? I am one hundred percent comfortable with who I am. The same Oz that fucked the wrong joint and got clamidia, is the same Oz that will sit in front of you and tell you that God is good, and that I’m gonna be alright. At the end of the day I’mma be what I’m telling you. I may not be the go to guy, for everything that’s benevolent and good, BUT I know where I want to be. So when I talk about the soul, this is my journey, this is my path. And no I don’t have it all together, no it don’t make me a Christian rapper; I am a human being. I’m trying to find my way like everybody else. I’m trying to find my way out of this bronze soul that I was born into, into somewhere higher than that.

RESPECT.: Beautiful. It’s like the most perfect version of yourself right?
Oz: Yeah, exactly.

Then we talked a bit more about Philosophy and had a good wrap up of our conversation. Finally, he ended off by telling me a couple of funny stories. He told me how he rapped for Kendrick Lamar in the Apple Store during a Q & A session. After the host told him that he couldn’t rap, Kendrick said alright (no pun intended), and Kendrick told him that he felt it. He asked him what his name was, and said that he would remember it. “Not too many people say that they rapped for Kendrick, and not too many people can say that he felt it.”

He also did the same thing for Ab-Soul at a CRWN, hosted by Elliot Wilson. He asked the same question, and was denied by the host once again. Ab-Soul, again, said, “sure rap.” Ab told Oswin that he was dope and had a really soulful vibe. Not many people can say that they’ve rapped for 2/4 of the original TDE members, and that they both liked it. You can actually hear the verse that he spit to Ab-Soul at the end of his Dear Summer rendition on his mixtape, which released to the world on Wednesday, and you can check it out in part 2 of this interview here.
Thank you for reading this, and for listening to Oswin Benjamin. We both appreciate you.

The post RESPECT. INTERVIEW: Oswin Benjamin on the soul (PART 3/3) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

RESPECT.: You talk a lot about God and spirituality in your music. Was that always a part of your life? Did you always feel like you were meant to be an artist, like God gave you these gifts, so this is you are supposed to be doing? I guess, how do you see music in terms of your religious beliefs?
Oz: When I was growing up, my mom always told me, “if you’re put in a position to speak, just make sure that it’s from a genuine place. You may be the only little glimpse of God that anybody is able to see.” So I kind of feel obligated. I heavily believe that this is a purpose of mine. This is bigger than music. This is bigger than making words rhyme. If I’m in the position to spread any type of light or benevolence to anybody’s situation, and I’m in a position where anybody is listening to me, then I’ve gotta use these abilities, for what I feel like is best. A lot of people get caught up in a certain type of situation, where they’re like “I’m this or I’m that”. And you need a certain type of arrogance for rap, just cause it is the nature. But there are a lot of lost people who are so stuck in their situation that they are unable to see anything other than that. So I feel like, if I’m put in the position where people are listening, then I’ve gotta let em’ know that it’s not anything that I’m doing. It’s something that God is doing.

RESPECT.: Have people come up to you and told you that they have heard your story and they related to it, or that they heard your song and it saved them? If so, does that motivate you to tell yourself “okay, I can’t stop”?
Oz: Definitely. It’s so crazy how God works. And every time I feel like “what am I doing this for?”, literally every time. This has probably happened about 6 times over the past 6 years, and every time I feel “I’m still broke” or “what the fuck am I doing?”, and I feel like giving up, I get a message from someone in Africa (or somewhere else) who will tell me, “yo, I listened to your music. You gotta keep doing what you’re doing because you’re motivating people to be themselves, and do what they like to do, and not do what everybody else is doing.” So every time I feel like giving up, I get a message, or I get a phone call or something to let me know like “yo keep going.” That’s probably one of the greatest feelings ever.

RESPECT.: I think that’s the thing. Even if you’re affecting one person, or you saved someone with your words, you were put on this earth for a purpose. And no one can take that away from you.
You mentioned it for a second earlier, but drug culture is huge in hip-hop these days, especially with Future and lean, but you don’t really talk about drugs much. You actually have the line “Peter Parker just shut down the web without Marry Jane”, does that mean that you don’t smoke weed?
Oz: Growing up I never smoked weed. It was never a big thing. But then I moved to the city and I’m like “you know what, I’m the type of person where I need to experience it and I need to live it so I know whether I fuck with it or not”. So I’m seeing everybody smoking, and they’re all happy all the time. So I don’t know if I don’t like this cause I don’t like this, or cause I’m programmed not to like it. But I was like let me try it for myself. So I smoked weed probably around 6 times in my life. And 2 out of those 6 times, I had the worst experience of my life (laughs).

He talked about those bad experiences and mentioned wanting to jump in front of a car, and wanting to slap the shit out of his friend while on his bad trips. After his friend told him that he would just have to get used to the feeling of being high, he said, “no I don’t want to get used to this feeling.” I told him that I felt the same way and never really felt the need to try smoking weed, but only did because I wanted to know for myself.

RESPECT.: Yeah, I think it’s cool because you just wanted to experience things for yourself. I think that’s the problem with today’s culture though. People do things because they think they should be doing them. Were you always the type of guy who wasn’t into what your friends were? Did you always feel that comfortable with yourself, or how did that come about?
Oz: I was always the type of person that just did what I want, and I always got teased for it. I didn’t lose my virginity until I was 17, and my friends would be like “yo why aren’t you getting no ass?” and I just told them “it’s just cause I’m not getting any ass.” (laughs). But I was never the type of dude that was like “they’re making fun of me so I’ve gotta do this.” Stuff like that never phased me growing up, because I know that I feel how I feel, and if you don’t feel like that too, then you don’t feel like that. But I never felt peer pressured to do what they were doing. I think that I learned how to be an individual early on, and the easiest way is to just be yourself. I felt like I was put here to be an individual and to show people how easy it is to be yourself. I never followed what people were doing, I always felt like that was super corny.

RESPECT.: I think that the only leaders who we follow are the people who are themselves. Even in music, people always try to hop on the trends, but they are just trying to perfect someone else’s craft. Then someone else comes along and creates something new, and those are the people that stick. I think that is what connected me to your music. In this era of everyone trying to be the same, it feels like your music is just you. Do you feel like your music is a reflection of who you are?
Oz: Yeah, I feel like it’s a reflection of me and the people around me who can attest to it. The people that live the specific situation that I talk about in a record, I love to play it for them and have them be like “yo I remember that. He’s not lying. I was there for this. I remember when she said you were ugly!” (laughs). But I’ve learned too, especially in New York where everybody is trying to rap, I see people at these shows trying to do what everyone else does, trying to give the hood what they want. But they (the hood) don’t know what they want. They just want you to be you. People are so scared of themselves. And like you said, the people who are setting the trends are the people who are just being themselves. There will never be another Jay-Z.

We talked about how Jay-Z, Drake, and Kanye were all hated and ridiculed for being themselves, but they stuck with it and became idols in the game. We discussed how when you start conforming, you lose who you actually are, and that is never the way to connect with the masses.

RESPECT.: Speaking of the friends who you said you play a lot of your shit for, when you have the line “I don’t deal with people in between”, are you referring to any of the people around you? It seems like anytime that someone experiences some success, there are the people around them that try to bring them down, and sometimes those are friends. Have you experienced any of that with your growing success?
Oz: You know what, I’ve never experienced that because I am surrounded by a lot of selfless people who want to help in any way that they can. Anything that they can give to propel the brand, or even me, they are with it. My manager Tyler quit his job right after I got fired from mine. He was supposed to be a teacher, but he turned down a teaching position so that he could work in a stock room with me to work on music.

He told me that all of the employees and management at his former job were behind him. They all believed in the vision so much that he would record in the break room while everyone else ate in the food court. He recorded his entire second mixtape in that break room. The manager put up a sign that said “Do not disturb, Oz is recording.” And everyone respected that. Needless to say, he has a positive circle around him.

While you read the rest of the interview, check out Oswin’s new mixtape below. Let him know what you think @OswinBmusic

I asked him about his best friend and manager and how they turned this music thing into a business relationship. He walked me through a story that was straight from a movie scene. There were beats being made by banging on the lunch room table. Oz was getting made fun of by some dude. The guy was spitting some bars as a joke at him, and after some encouragement from his boys, Oz had an out of body experience where he freestyled for two minutes straight, and roasted the guy who was making fun of him in the first place. After that, he met his now manager, and the rest is history. Next I asked him about some more of his lyrics.

RESPECT.: You had the line “you’ll never fly if you never jump out the nest.” Do you place an importance on taking risks and going outside of your comfort zone?
Oz: Man, I feel like that’s the only way you get stuff. Even with the whole homeless situation. Me and my manager, we are homeless right now. Certain risks, need to be taken. I’m a firm believer that if you have a plan A, and you’ve spoken to God, and God’s solidified that plan in your heart, then you’ve gotta take any step to make that happen. I’ve lost relationships, I’ve cut off family members, to get this done. Because not everyone has this vision that I have. So I’m a firm believer in taking risks. There were days where I didn’t pay rent, because the unemployment money was used for a show, or for studio time. I’m telling people this is my plan A, and if I believe in what I want to do, then I need to act on it.

RESPECT.: Did you ever have a plan B?
Oz: Nah. I did for a short amount of time, but I realized how miserable I was. There are certain people who are meant to sit behind a desk, and have a family, and have a salary, and they’re happy with that. I tried that. It’s crazy because I was living with my girlfriend at the time, and she would cook every day when I would get home from work, and my clothes were always clean, and the bed was always made. Everything was amazing. But it wasn’t. Because I felt like something was missing. I wasn’t at the studio. I was working 9-5, getting paid decent, the bills were paid on time and I still had enough money to do whatever else I wanted to do. But I wasn’t doing music, and that’s always been my thing.

RESPECT.: Yeah man. I think you can work all day to try and get through the day, but then you’re not enjoying your day. It seems like you were just trying to get through the day, and you were just so tired that you couldn’t even make music; the one thing that you loved to do.
Oz: Yeah. Every job I ever got hired at, I got fired from. And it was because of the music. I would just be in the bathroom writing music. And it got to the point where managers would know, if I’m missing for more than 30 or 40 minutes, then I’m just in the bathroom writing a verse. This is it. There is nothing else for me. I can’t work a 9-5. I’m putting my faith into this and it’s going to work out.

RESPECT.: I respect that, and you have to. Are you big into the law of attraction and speaking things into existence?
Oz: I just got big into writing my visions down. I just got into that recently, this year. One of my goals was to double my plays on soundcloud, another one was to get $1500 off of music, another was to get on Sway, and the last one was to get on Hot 97. And all of those things happened within the last three months.

In the final part of the interview, we talk about his spontaneous appearance on Sway in the Morning, and wrap up our conversation by hearing his thoughts on the soul Thanks for reading. Check out Oswin’s appearance and interview on Sway below.

The post RESPECT. INTERVIEW: OSWIN BENJAMIN – ON THE SOUL PART 2/3 AND MIXTAPE RELEASE appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The artists who have made the greatest impact and have maintained their longevity over the past decade in music have been those who have not been afraid to completely be themselves one hundred percent. From Jay Z and Kanye, to Cudi and Drake, the people who have been confident in their identity and who they are as people, regardless of how some may have judged them at first, have captured the hearts and ears of their listeners. In the internet-age where everyone is so quick to jump on trends (see autotune or the “Versace” flow), being true to yourself seems to be the best possible thing an artist can do to stand out, and relate to listeners. Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with an artist who has the rare trait of being completely comfortable in his own skin and his place in music. His name is Oswin Benjamin.

Oswin Benjamin (Oz, as his friends call him) is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and artist out of New York who is looking to change people’s lives through his music. After speaking with him for over an hour about life, music, philosophy, his story, the soul, and everything in between, I can say with confidence that he will be making an impact in a lot of lives with his words and through his music. Considering how comfortable he is with himself and how genuine he is within his music, Oz will be able to capture the ears of the masses sooner than later. That is exactly what drew me to him. Due to the honesty in his music, you can relate to his vulnerability, even if your story is not exactly the same. Not to mention, this kid’s got bars. This interview is a great introduction to who he is as a person and musician if you are unfamiliar. If you have heard his music and are already a fan, then hopefully you will get a better look into his soul. Here is part 1 of my interview with Oz:

RESPECT.: What’s going on in your day-to-day life right now?
OB: Right now there’s a lot going on. I’m just trying to find inspiration. My unemployment is about to run out in a couple of weeks, and I am not trying to go back to a 9-5. So, I’m just trying to figure out how to make bread off of this music. Or even just to get to a place where the notoriety is elevating.

RESPECT.: Your music is really personal. Was that a conscious decision? Do you find inspiration in your everyday life?
OB: It’s difficult for me to write outside of what either I have been through or what somebody that I know has been through. I don’t have any songs about pulling up in a Ferrari or spending a thousand dollars at a strip club because I don’t do that. I can’t touch on those things because I have never lived it. People have different ways of letting off their steam; some people smoke, some people play basketball. Me? I write about them. That’s my way of coping. When something happens, I write about it.

RESPECT.: Was it always writing raps that was your outlet to express yourself and cope or was there another outlet when you were younger?
OB: Rap happened recently. It used to be basketball. I’ve been singing my whole life though. I grew up in a church. From the age of five, I was singing in church. Everyone thought I was going to be a gospel singer, but it wasn’t until college that I started taking rap seriously.

[RESPECT. Note: We talked a little bit about his beginnings in the church and he told me that music had always been a part of his family. Everyone thought he was going to be a gospel singer when he was younger, and he even formed a gospel group with his brother at that time. Recently, he started using his vocal chords again to sing over some of his tracks. He said that it just happened one day in the shower. He started singing and it sounded good, so he called his brother and told him “I think I can sing!” Next I asked him about some of his song lyrics.]

RESPECT.: On your song “Never Settle,” you mention your mom telling you to “never despise a humble beginning.” How important is the process for you? Have you always appreciated the journey and the struggle or were you more focused on the destination?
OB: I’m a fan of the struggle. I feel like that’s what makes you, and it puts you in a position where you have no choice, but to learn about yourself. I’ve been through a lot, and if it wasn’t for the struggle, then I wouldn’t be able to appreciate where I’m at. The process is cool because it’s an amazing thing to witness the accolades change and how you grow. That’s where most of my motivation comes from. I wouldn’t even be an artist if it weren’t for the struggle. I sort of welcome it now, because when shit goes wrong, it’s like, okay I’ve got another song.

RESPECT.: I think that people are so quick to dismiss the struggle when things are going wrong and tell themselves, “Ah, maybe this will never happen. Maybe it’s not supposed to happen for me,” but I think that it’s all just a part of the journey…Once you start to embrace, and accept it, that’s when you start to see things in a new light.
OB: Yeah man, it’s all perspective. Me and my manager Tyler have been homeless before and we have had to sleep in the studio for days or find somebody’s couch to sleep on. Not take any showers or anything; not brush our teeth or nothing. We’ve been through all of that and as time progressed, we have learned how to see things for what it is. You only get as far as your mind allows you to get. So, if you focus on the negative and always look at things in a negative light, then you’re always gonna be that dude. Okay, so I lost a crib, but now I don’t have to worry about paying this bill and I can create. I can see the world for what it is. I am learning how to see the blessings in everything as opposed to how horrible life is because I don’t want to be that negative dude.

RESPECT.: Yeah, I can tell from your music that you’re a positive dude. After going through all of that, do you feel blessed to even be breathing? And even more blessed for thousands of people to be hearing your music? Do you appreciate everything a lot more now because of it?
OB: It’s weird to sit back and look at it ’cause I’m not even supposed to be here. So, every blessing that comes, I know that it is not because of me. I put the work in, but I pray before I do anything. I pray before anytime I hit the stage. It’s God. I tell him, “I just want people to see you through the music, cause I’m nothing but a man with a bunch of gifts that you gave me. So, if they can’t see you through it, then what am I doing it for?” I’m at a place where I recognize that it’s not just talent, it’s not just hard work. If God don’t want certain doors to open for you, then no matter how hard you try to walk through that door, if it’s just not meant for you, then it’s not going to open. I’m blessed for all opportunities. Because I know that it’s just not me, it’s something bigger than me.

We continued to talk about God, spirituality, his recent appearance on Sway in the Morning, and how he hopes to impact the world with his words. Part two of this interview will be up tomorrow right here on RESPECT. Magazine.

The post RESPECT. INTERVIEW: OSWIN BENJAMIN ON THE SOUL – PART 1/3 appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

SEMI the GAWD isn’t new to the scene, but his recent endeavors have definitely gotten people listening more than ever before. The young Harlem-bred emcee has set out on a path of destruction as he has vied to reach the top spot. He hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down anytime soon as he’s released countless projects and, more recently, made an appearance of Shade 45’s Sway In The Morning with a buzz-worthy freestyle in tow. I recently got the chance to sit down and have a quick chat with SEMI as he opened up about his career thus far, and the motivation behind it. Keep reading.

RESPECT.: I have to ask you, of course, how you’ve been.

SEMI the GAWD: “I’ve been alright, man. Getting a lot of love these past couple days. Just soaking it all in.”

RESPECT.: Your latest project Tales of the Underdog 2 has really hit well with the public. What’s it been like working on it and finally seeing it come to fruition?

SEMI: “It’s been crazy just for the simple fact that a lot of those records are old records. I’ve gone back in and revamped the project so many times. I held on to it for so long just because I felt like it was a really dope project, and I didn’t want it to fall on deaf ears. We did some of those records as long ago as 2011, and some records were done just weeks before it dropped. But overall, I’m really happy with the feedback. It just proves that timing is everything. Nothing sounds outdated and nothing sounds like I’m trying to keep up with the times either. I think people can agree that I have my own genuine sound and that’s the most important part for me.”

RESPECT.: When it comes to keeping that genuine sound, how difficult has it been to do in New York?

SEMI: “It’s not hard at all. If you have a genuine sound, it really shouldn’t matter where you’re at. The music you make here would be the same as the music you would make if you were in Cali. It’s all about how you feel when that beat comes on, or what state of mind you’re in. I mean the environment does kind of have an effect on the content of the music, especially when you’re in a fucked up place. But the sound comes from within.”

RESPECT.: So, how exactly has the environment affected your content? Your upbringing, your surroundings. How have they all molded the artist you’re becoming?

SEMI: “Ah man, it’s funny because it’s really a conflict between who you want to be and who you could end up being. Being someone who came from the hood at a young age and saw everything one way, then moved out of the hood and saw things differently, then moved back to the hood to see all those same things all over again, you become conflicted. It’s like you got so much love for your homies and the people around you but you know they aren’t living right cause you’ve seen better. So, sometimes you might want to kick it outside until 4 in the morning but you know that nothing is going to come of that, you want to hang on the corner with all the drug dealers because those are your people but you also know you’re putting yourself in harm’s way. I think moving back to the hood was a big lesson learned because I used to always want to come back thinking I was missing something when I really wasn’t. When I got back it was like damn, such and such is still over there doing the same thing, them niggas over there ain’t doing much more than they were years ago, and you think ‘Man I really got to get up out of here because that could be me.’ So, my music became a little more rough and edgy because of my environment, but also more honest. I want to be the artist that’s like ‘Listen the hood seems cool in these songs, but it’s really fucked up here too. Like I’m not telling you not to sell drugs, get your money by any means, but what are your plans for the future cause you’re looking lost.’ I just want to help young niggas understand that they’re lost out here and let them know that they have the potential to do so much more.”

RESPECT.: With all that in mind, talk about your creative process when it comes to making music. You clearly have the motivation, so what’s it like when it comes to pushing your pen?

SEMI: “I’m always writing to impress the people I looked up to. The real lyricists like Jay, Fab, Nas, & guys that are known for their ability for story telling and hard hitting bars. We’re in a time where people couldn’t care less whether you can actually rap or not. But for me that’s the only thing I care about, even if I know something might go over the average person’s head. I’m sitting there writing like, ‘Man one day Hov is going to hear this shit and jump out his seat.’ That’s always what I’m going for. I’m never going in the studio thinking ‘Man I got to make a hit record’, because nowadays you never know what a hit is. Half the records I hear now, I’m like ‘Damn, this is the shit people are listening to?’ I just go in there trying to make the music I like and trying to outdo myself every time. I’m my biggest critic. Usually my writing consists of me pacing back and forth, looking crazy for about a half hour [laughs].”

RESPECT.: On the topic of lyricism, let’s switch on over to your latest appearance on Sway In The Morning. You definitely got people talking with that freestyle. What was that experience like?

SEMI: “It was crazy for me, that was the biggest thing that has happened to me in my long years of grinding. I was more than prepared, I was planning on going for at least 10 minutes [laughs] but, I definitely appreciated just the opportunity to even go up there. They showed a lot of love and gave a lot of good advice. It just reassured me that I’m on the right path and I’m really built for it. A lot of people have been telling me how inspiring it was to see me up there because they know how long I’ve been working at this. It’s like everyday people are basically just waiting for you to give up and after seeing me up there they felt like ‘Damn, he’s really doing what he set out to do despite the doubters and the naysayers.’ People have been saying ‘It feels real now!’, but it was always real for me. It just took them seeing me on Sway for it to be validated.”

RESPECT.: It’s clear you’ve been taking big steps, man. So, what’s next? What have you got coming up?

SEMI: “We’re trying to get all the videos for ‘Tales Of The Underdog 2’ out before we put out the next project so that’s the main focus right now. A lot people have been hitting me after seeing me on Sway for tours & little things like that but we just want to make sure it all makes sense before we jump out the window. I’m just trying to stay focused and keep working, put on for my people, and crack the door open for my niggas. But Flo Montana & I have a project in the works. So ,that’s coming real soon. Definitely look out for more visuals though.”

RESPECT.: How can anyone get in contact with you?

SEMI: “They can hit me by email if it’s about business, tharealsemi@gmail.com. But if they’re looking to show me love they can hit me at @ThaRealSEMI on all my social networks from Twitter and Instagram to Facebook.”

The post RESPECT. Interview: SEMI the GAWD Talks New Projects, Making It Out, & Sway in The Morning appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.