You seem to be playing the long game, more than most artists in an up-and-coming position. What experiences or factors do you think have most informed your approach to the rap game?
First off, this is a really good question. My approach is less the playing the long game and more trying to create something that’s lasting. As an artist in today’s game it’s tempting to try and flood the market with content to remain in the “relevance” discussion, but in most cases it also reflects in the quality of the product. As a fan first, I have to make a choice between being the artist who is annoying because he doesn’t release enough material or the artist who is annoying because he releases a lot of filler and I choose the former. My focus is on creating music that I love and it’s for you, rock with me. If not, thank you for your time.
As a man with experience in both Nigeria and America, how do the hood experiences in both places compare and contrast?
Another good question. The hood is always the hood, and every place has the hood. I think the difference is the fundamental difference between a “developed” and “developing” nation. In America we have social programs that draw a line as to just how poor poor is, for the most part. There’s no food stamps, WIC, etc in most developing nations so poor can mean really having absolutely nothing. Alternatively, we all want the same things in life at the end of the day and people are going to do what they have to do to get those things. I hope that answers your question.
What’s your outlook on social media in terms of a musical marketing tool? Important or overrated? Why?
It’s a gift and a curse. I love it and I hate it. It makes everything readily and instantly available. It creates an instant artist to fan connection. It also erases the mystique of the game. They say never meet your idols and it’s so true. Once you realize how corny and contrived some of these images are, it makes it so you can’t even enjoy the music anymore. It levels the playing field for artists like myself, but it also oversaturates the market, which makes it a lot tougher to get heard because there’s just too much music out there. It kills the listener’s attention span, which is what creates the demand to release a new song every day. Growing up I used to get an album and sit with it for months, playing it again and again. My favorite song would change multiple times in the first few weeks of owning the album. I tend to gravitate towards the deeper album cuts on albums, and nowadays there’s really no country for album cuts. Nobody’s dropping album cuts as singles, and nobody’s listening to albums deeply enough to recognize the genius of those songs. People listen to an album once, write a review, put 2 songs on an iTunes playlist and discard the rest of the album.
What’s your advice for other rap artists trying to come up?
My advice is be yourself and be consistent. As long as you keep doing your brand of you, you’ll break through eventually.
What’s 2016 looking like for you?
New Year, New Money. Stay tuned. Check the new single, Night in Dubai available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, your local bootlegger, and the iPhone of your WCW. #ThatLife
Yinka Diz - Night In Dubai (Prod. Joe Prime)