Exclusive | Rapper AJAY Talks Sacrificing Sleep, Money, and Relationships to Pursue His Dream
Georgia rapper, AJAY, talks sacrificing sleep, money, and relationships to pursue his hip hop career and being inspired by his family to keep gong in an exclusive interview! Check it out here!
“I’m one of the greatest things to come out of the South. ”
By: Omar Cook
This week's "Who's Hot?" Artist of the week is Georgia rapper AJAY! AJAY is a 26 year old artist who hails from Decatur, Georgia and is formerly known as Phonic. AJAY makes up 1/4 of the music group All Black Congress which features T. Mason, Honey Simone, and Shinobi X. This artist brings a smooth flow to every track that keeps you locked in. AJAY has been on the music scene for a a few years but is constantly evolving in his music and we can expect more from him in the coming year. Don’t sleep, AJAY is just the type of artist that hip hop needs right now.
AJAY - Circles ft Evan Bailey (Official Video)
We talked with AJAY in an exclusive interview, check it out below!
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MAKING MUSIC AND HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
I’ve been making music since I was about 13 years old. I started writing raps when I was 12 years old after hearing OutKast for the first time. I had “Southernplayalistic” and “Aquemini” loaded on this busted little MP3 player and listening to those albums helped me decide that this was what I wanted to do.
MUSICALLY, WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE IN HELPING YOU ALONG YOUR JOURNEY AND WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE MUSICIANS?
Musically my biggest influence, my main one, is Andre 3000. Mr. Benjamin. But there’s also Roy Ayers, Sade, Bilal, Notorious B.I.G, Eminem, D’ Angelo, Frank Ocean, Erykah Badu, Ludacris, Schoolboy Q, K. Dot. The list goes on & on, man. Right now, my favorite artists are Tame Impala & Tyler, The Creator.
WHAT ARTISTS WOULD YOU LIKE TO COLLABORATE WITH AND WHY?
As far as artists I want to collaborate with, Tame Impala, Dr. Dre, D’Angelo, & Frank Ocean. Those are just my long term choices off the top of my head. There are a few artist I want to collaborate with right here at home too. NoGum Hundo, Jaye Newton, Muddy Mia, DavidTheTragic, Risa Pearl, Flwr Chyld. Just to name a few.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS YOUR BEST SONG/PROJECT EVER RELEASED AND WHY?
What is my best song? Honestly, I don’t know. I love all my music. I don’t want to say “oh yeah, my best song is blah, blah” because then that gives the people a reason to go listen to just that project or song. Play all my music. Then you tell me what my best song is.
AJAY - Ballad Of Jerome
WHAT PROJECTS CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE NEAR FUTURE?
With future projects, I’m hoping to continuously expand. Bend genres, cross boundaries, & all that. I’ve never wanted to be pigeon holed as just a rap artist, so I’m thinking directing movies, producing, & anything else I come across in the process.
HOW DO YOU GENERATE NEW IDEAS FOR YOUR MUSIC?
When I want to get new ideas for music, I try to do something I wouldn’t necessarily do on a regular basis and just venture into a different territory. Try my best to search for a different feeling. That also means not doing the same song over and over again and trying beats that I haven’t heard in my catalog before.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU AND HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?
My motivation comes from life itself. I know that sounds really simple, but being dissatisfied, being in love, being disappointed has been my motivation to keep going. Being out of love, growing old, living life is all motivation for me because it continues to give me things to reflect on and talk about. As long as I have something to talk about, I’m motivated to continue this journey. The accolades, the acknowledgement, those things are wonderful but me being able to be honest with myself and with other people through my music is what the idea of success looks like to me.
HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC TO PEOPLE AND WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM OTHER ARTISTS IN YOUR GENRE?
I describe my music in many different ways. For example, the intro and the song after that on my last project How Will U Survive, I’ve always pictured Kane coming out at the Hell in the Cell match between Undertaker & Shawn Michales and just causing the most destruction he possibly can when I listen to it. So, yeah.
DO YOU BELIEVE THERE IS A FORMULA TO BEING A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST?
I don’t believe there is necessarily a formula to being a successful artist. It’s no handbook to this. It’s something you have to jump into if you’re going to do it and never look back. It takes long nights some times. There are a lot of ups and downs and you kind of just have to ride the wave. Keep your head down and continue to work as hard as possible. Connections help, knowing people helps, but sometimes there are no connections. So, you just keep going.
WHO IS YOUR GREATEST INSPIRATION?
My inspiration comes from my family. Past, present, and future. My family inspires me to be transparent now because that’s how they accept me, as I am & of course I look for my supporters to do the same. My future inspires me to not be an “almost was”.
IN YOUR OPINION WHO IS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL AND SUCCESSFUL ARTIST IN YOUR GENRE TODAY AND WHY?
The most influential artist of my generation, in my opinion, has to be Dwayne Carter. Every artist I hear has a piece of Wayne in them and that’s undeniable. Andre may be the reason I wanted to start rapping, but Lil Wayne is the person who taught me how to rap. How to put metaphors together and how to come with witty punchlines.
WHICH EMOTION MORE THAN ANY OTHER, CURRENTLY DOMINATES YOUR MUSIC? JOY, SADNESS, ANGER OR PASSION ETC. , AND WHY?
Curiosity is what dominates my music right now, if you can categorize that as an emotion. I’m curious to see what my limits are and how I can continue to push through those barriers and create new experiences for myself and listeners.
WHAT SACRIFICES HAVE YOU HAD TO MAKE, TO MAKE YOUR DREAM A REALITY?
I’ve sacrificed sleep, money, relationships, and much more just to see this dream play out in the best way possible. I won’t lie and say I have no regrets because I have many, but I look past it because I’m giving it all up for the one thing I love more than anything.
WHAT ASPECT OF THE MUSIC MAKING PROCESS EXCITES YOU MOST, AND WHAT ASPECT DISCOURAGES YOU THE MOST?
When it comes to the process, I love recording. I love being able to see my ideas come together as I’m recording vocals, adding harmonies, ad-libs, etc. My distaste lies within the writing process which my seem a bit odd but there’s always the choice of what to say that bugs me because I always want to say so much within 16 bars but that’s not always necessary.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AND YOUR MUSIC IN 10 YEARS?
In 10 years, I want to be happy with what I’ve done, ya know? I feel like a lot of artists aren’t happy for whatever reason. I don’t need a garage full of cars, I don’t need this crazy, insane house, or 13 chains. In 10 years, I want to be at peace.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER UP AND COMING ARTISTS OR PEOPLE LOOKING TO BREAK INTO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?
My advice to other artists is none of that stuff you see is what it seems. Do what it is you love and those who love it will follow. Write, sing, rap, play freely.
Follow my Soundcloud, I used to be Phonic but now I'm AJAY, download my music, exercise, drink water, live freely, don't trust the government, be safe out here. AJAY loves you.
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Exclusive | Lyricist DFlowetry is Leaving "No Regrets" With His Rap Career
Las Vegas lyricist is leaving “No Regrets” with pursing his rap career! We talked with this dope rapper in an exclusive interview!
This week's "Who's Hot?" Artist of the week is west coast rapper DFlowetry! DFlowetry who's real name is Damascus Fields, is a dope lyricist out of Las Vegas, Nevada and his flow is definitely something you need to be paying attention to! This is an artist that is on the rise in hip hop as he is a true artist that matches hot visuals to go with top notch lyrics! DFlowetry has an original flow that is being less and less seen in hip hop today.
DFlowetry - “Nights Like This” (Music Video)
We talked with DFlowetry in an exclusive interview, check it out below!
Question: How long have you been making music and how did you get started?
DFlowetry: Been doing music for 3 and half years now to be exact. It all started cause i had friends and a older brother that were doing music so i was like let me try it out. I was easily influence by them but never rap to anyone or to my friends, just kinda kept to myself until i was ready to tell them I want to do music. And once I told them, everyone was pretty much surprise but supportive at the same time though.
Question: Musically, who has been your biggest influence in helping you along your journey and who are your favorite musicians?
DFlowetry: Honestly Kobe Bryant was my biggest influence. Despite him not being a Music Artist, he was the one that gravitated towards me the most cause of his drive and determination to win no matter what. I try take that same approach in my daily life no matter how tough things might get, It builds character. As far as Musicians, Its a long list when it comes to my favorite ones. My top 5 favorites are Michael Jackson, Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, Ludacris, and Lil Wayne.
DFlowetry - "No Regrets" (Music Video)
Question: What artists would you like to collaborate with and why?
DFlowetry: That list is long as well, but the two I’ll say is Logic and Wiz Khalifa. Logic because flow wise I think we’ll sound good together on a track, and we might have a little similarities in certain areas. Wiz Khalifa is one of the most versatile artist ever in my opinion so that alone is the reason i will love to work with him.
Question: What do you feel is your best song ever released and why?
DFlowetry: Man Thats a tough one cause I like everything I put out. It can be my worse song I did and I’ll still love it like its my best work. And I think most Artist in general will feel the same way cause most will cherish everything they do for the simple fact they put a lot of time and effort to create a song. But those that support me seem to like “Nights Like this’’ from me out of all the songs I did recently cause they being going hard sharing the video all over twitter for me.
Question: How do you generate new ideas for your music?
DFlowetry: You just got to live your life and experience, That can help a lot when coming up with new music. So I try to do that as much as possible.
Question: What motivates you and how do you define success?
DFlowetry: Seeing others doing well Motivates me. Thats why It doesn’t make sense to me when some people pray on other peoples down falls cause they not successful. Everyone should use someone else success for motivation on what they got going on for them cause I’m a firm believer thats its room for everyone to win if you are doing it right. Thats my way on looking at things, we got to uplift each other. And What defines success to me is when you are able to help family and your close ones financially. Thats real success in my opinion.
Question: How do you describe your music to people?
DFlowetry: I say its Honest, Real, Turnt up, a vibe, and motivational.
Question: Do you believe there is a formula to being a successful artist?
DFlowetry: Not at all! Its no rules to this music game. Everybody that made a name for themselves didn’t do exactly what the next artist did to get recognize. They did what worked for them and sticked with it. But you can follow a successful Artist footsteps and apply it to you and still be yourself.
Question: Who is your greatest inspiration?
DFlowetry: Kobe Bryant and Michael Jackson.
DFlowetry - "The Vent" (Music Video)
Question: In your opinion who is the most influential and successful artist in your genre today and why?
DFlowetry: Easily Drake! Thats a fact. No explanation needed honestly.
Question: Which emotion more than any other, currently dominates your music? Joy, sadness, anger or passion etc. , and why?
DFlowetry: Passion and joy. The effort I put into a song reflects on how my supporters hears the music. I don’t half ass on a song, I put my all in one song to bring out whatever emotion there is. When you give it a 100 percent, the rest will take care of itself.
Question: What sacrifices have you had to make, to make your dream a reality?
DFlowetry: Till this day Im making sacrifices cause I don’t work a 9 to 5 anymore. I don’t hang out with friends as much as I use to cause I’m pretty much working on me during my spare time. Those are the two main things I sacrificed and I don’t regret it at all.
Question: What aspect of the music making process excites you most, and what aspect discourages you the most?
DFlowetry: Finding the beats is the best part of the process to me. Its always a great feeling when you are listening to new beats cause it gets you excited to actually write to it before you even record it. I just like to vibe first before anything. When it comes to sound quality, that can be the most discouraging part in the process of making music honestly. I say that cause most times you get a song back thats done mixing and mastered, Your not going to like it 9 times out of ten. So therefore, your constantly going back and forth with engineers just to get one song or project right on the quality. That right there can be frustrating.
Question: Where do you see yourself and your music in 10 years?
DFlowetry: Thats to far ahead to look into but I’m going with the flow in the meantime. Hopefully great things is going on for me 10 years from now.
Question: What advice would you give to other up and coming artists or people looking to break into the music industry?
DFlowetry: I’ll know when I get there, Im still in that process as a upcoming Artist.
Question: Is there anything else you would like people to know about you or your music?
DFlowetry: Yes of course. Im a Artist from Las Vegas, NV and been living out here for 15 years now. Prior than living in Las Vegas, I lived in San diego, California and also lived in Okinawa, Japan. I grew up in a Military family and that explains why I was moving around a lot at such a young age. I was born In North Carolina, Fayetteville but only lived there until I was 6 months old. North. Las Vegas is where I’m currently living now and is what I call home now. If you are reading this follow me on all my social media. Everything is @DFlowetry. Stay updated and New Music coming soon.