Sunday, April 14, 2013

Interview with Sycksyllables



Interview with Syck Syllables

Emcees from the West coast have made a tremendous impact on hip hop. From the N.W.A days to The Game and now recently Kendrick Lamar reintroduced the world to the hip hop scene in the west coast. This includes Latino rapper SyckSyllables from Arizona. Although born and raised in California, making the move to Phoenix shaped the delivery and rhyming style of Sycksyllables. With the track “La Botella” making noise on the heavy rotation on many blog sites and an album coming out, Sycksyllables joins intrigued to talk about the music industry, hip hop in Arizona, working with Cappadonna and Block McCloud and what’s next for 2013.

1)            What it is my dude? What you been up to these days?
Sycksyllables: All g! all clockwork fam! Working hard on various joints & projects…features… feeding the public networking… building.

2)            How did the name Syck Syllables came about?
Sycksyllables: The name Sycksyllables was given to me by my cousin Crane One from Maryvale Arizona… One of the grimiest sickest producers out. Back in day I used to go by the street name Raid/Raider… years back when I really got into recording I would reinforce patterns and wordplay being super strict to syllable count in bars… it all started with just the name Syllables… from there it evolved into SyckSyllables.

3)            You’re originally from Cali and you moved to Phoenix Arizona, how is the hip hop in Arizona scene there?
Sycksyllables: To be honest… I love Arizona… but the scene sucks horribly… not a lot of support for true lyricism… if it's not mainstream it's not pop'n pretty much… between artists there's a lot of egos involved… so it's poor and definitely needs more unity… but there are a lot of solid artists out there.

4)            Did the move to Arizona help your career?
Sycksyllables: Definitely… it helped me evolve… I built w various people who had a very positive impact in my life… if it wasn't for Arizona and the people who added on in my life... I’d probably be dead or in prison.

5)            Who are your musical influences that made you want to take this serious?
Sycksyllables: Tha Mexakinz have to be my biggest influence… grew up listening to them as a kid running around tagging the streets of Long Beach… thanks to their music I got heavily into hip hop and I feel both Sinful El Pecador & Capitol I-Man clearly show in my style. Terror Squad, Cypress Hill, Psycho Realm, Wu-Tang, Jadakiss & Kool G Rap have all influenced me to take this music shit seriously.

6)            What age did you decide to take this hip hop music seriously?
Sycksyllables: I would say 2011… I’ve been working at it hard before that… but the birth of my daughter is what flipped my whole life around and now as a father i have a different perspective of things… I'm more motivated, dedicated and professional.

7)            You did some work with a few known artists, how is it like working with Block McCloud and Cappadonna?
Sycksyllables: Cappadonna is a legend… very smart, good hearted and positive person. Crazy dope artist... He's given me lots of advice when it comes to music and life.
Block Mccloud one of the most outgoing talented people i know… and definitely a hardworker… good father husband and business man. I'm HONORED to have built and still be building with both.

8)            What got my attention was your new joint “La Botella”. Has a good Latin groove, radio friendly for the ladies but has a hood sound to it. What was the concept behind the video?
Sycksyllables: Botella is a drinking/party song for the fan of lyrics and wordplay… it bounces around from a party subject and just raw wordplay and multisyllabic rhyme patterns. As far as a concept it's not that deep… Latin rapper, Latin model… Latin vibe on the production… and alcohol consumption.

9)            La Botella is making noise around the hip hop blogs and websites. Peeps are receptive to the video. Did you expect the video to get a lot of attention?
Sycksyllables: The song is over five years old… it was leaked around the internet unmixed sounding like shit… people loved it! that's when i went around re-dropped revamped and remastered the joint… and the feedback has been incredible honestly didn't expect it to buzz the way it did… and I'm absolutely shocked at how many people from different countries feel it… crazy how language is not a barrier in this case.

10)         The music industry has always been competitive but now it’s who you know. Where do you see yourself in hip hop?
Sycksyllables: Now… i feel i barely stepped the second foot into the game and now have a solid stance on the ground. In the future? i have no idea "lol"… but I'm a universal artist… i'll write to anything as long as it's good music mainstream or underground… spanish, spanglish or english… So i hope for a little radio buzz in future.

11)         You worked with the production team the Grimm Reapers. What kind of sound do they have that gets you amped and kick a sixteen? 
Sycksyllables: They have that dark suspenseful underground hard shit… when a beat from them kicks out them speakers oh man… that's it.

12)         Describe your writing process when making a song. Do you listen to the beat and then write to the track?
Sycksyllables: After listening to the beat once or twice… i come in w a intro bar, the last three or so syllables that bar was ended with is the pattern i start going with… so the second bar matches it… once i go into the next set of bars i usually start it off w the pattern the other one ended with… then that same third bar either continues that same pattern or flows into the next one. It's like mathematics slash puzzles…

13)         You have an album coming out called the Spanglish Chronicles. How is everything going with the project and when is it going to drop?
Sycksyllables: Album is done… it's more of a compilation… a lot of features but all joints are solid… should be dropping mid May 2013 for free digital download and hard copies signed for sale… there really is no official release date… 

14)         Is it difficult trying to get your music to listeners outside of Arizona?
Sycksyllables: It's difficult being heard… but it's more of a challenge being heard in Arizona than what it has been to be heard overseas.

15)         You made a statement of it take more than the ability to rhyme to become relevant in the music scene. Elaborate more on that and what talents do you see in an aspiring artist that wants you to work with them?
Sycksyllables: I look into track record, bars, delivery, patterns, prod selection, lyric content… and more than anything the persona and attitude behind that person… I'm always willing to network… but I’d prefer to build than just sell a feature.

16)         Which artists we should be looking for from Arizona?
Sycksyllables: definitely be on the lookout for The Society Of Invisibles…  There's a lot of talent in this state to run through more names… like i said, mofokas just need to get over their egos!!!

17)         You’re going to share the same stage with Bobby Valentino and Scarface at the Arizona Event Center. I know you’re amped and ready for it. Also two females from the show the Bad Girls Club are going to be in the building. A little off topic but do you watch the show?
Sycksyllables: Definitely excited… splitting the set with some of my peoples but shit'll be insane for sure… been a fan of Scarface for years… and as far the show Bad Girls Club, I've skimmed through it before looking for ish to watch… I'm not too big on tv so really can't say i watch the show or I'm a fan of it.

18)         What can fans expect from Syck Syllables?
Sycksyllables: A lot of ill collabs… leaks… major features and appearances on others albums….  i'll be on shit with The White Shadow of Norway… Grim Reaperz Blood Leg vol. 2… Tha Mexakinz upcoming album… More videos… all that!

19)         If you can change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Sycksyllables: Nothing at all… I'd deal with it the way it is and keep striving for mine… hard work pays off no matter what's going on in the industry.

20)         What’s next for Syck Syllables for 2013?
Sycksyllables: the project I have in the works titled "Life Sentences" prod by appetite… feat Block Mccloud, Capitol I-Man , Sinful El Pecador, HCP, Joe Barron, Kwote n many more…

21)         We’re about to wrap this interview. Thank you for joining us, definitely a pleasure interviewing you. How can peeps get at you for collaborations and other work? Any shoutouts!
Sycksyllables: Thanks for having me! Appreciate the support!
For collaborations contact through syllablesbookings@gmail.com!!
S/O to Tha Mexakinz! Joe Barron! Hcp! Kwote! Guess! Block Mccloud! Es Oh El Music!!!! Dark Syde Prophets! Superpower!  my dude Cappadonna!!!! Daniel Cordero! Grim Reaperz! my brother Appetite! Hectic! Termanology! Clip! Big Rah!! and the whole St Da Squad Hood Hustle Movement! and everybody out there who's been showing support… peace… God Bless.



Go check out Sycksyllables joint “La Botella” produced by Crown of the Grim Reapers. It’s a smash, definitely a sure banger.

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