Today we’d like to introduce you to Outlaw The Artist.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started off when I was really young writing poetry, I couldn’t even tell you how old I was… but around 12/13 is when I started rapping. The literal Act of rhyming words always came naturally to me but once my friends at the playground in secondary school asked me to spit some bars over a beat, it opened up a new world for me. I started MC’ing & I never looked back, I just fell in love with grime, rap, flows, lyrics, the whole situation.
I did the grime boiler-room style sets, I rapped, I made beats, I wrote songs for my friends that sang. Anything to do with music sparked an interest. I also have wanderlust, so at 18 I left East London and went to college in New York. I did all the open mics I could find, met people through music, traveled around, and did shows as much as I could! Just around graduation one of my absolute best friends on this planet was in a group called stooki sound, his name is Jelacee and he was moving to LA. He asked me if I wanted to get a spot with him, so I said yeah and now I’m here.
Obviously, that’s the SparkNotes version of how I got here; During that journey, I lived with family friends, cousins, had nowhere to sleep, slept in someone’s room at the dorms, had no roof over my head, slept on my pr homie’s couch, worked all kinds of jobs, got my first appt, quit a job, went on tour, went to songwriting camps in a couple different states & Korea, did shows in a bunch of states and all kinds of other adventures that I wouldn’t take back.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Most definitely not. But like I said I wouldn’t take it back it’s given me my view on the world and a wealth of experience that provides infinite inspiration when I’m making music. I’d say ‘one of my most recurring struggles has been being a British artist in America. I grew up in London and at this point, I can 100% go back and forth between a British and American accent when speaking but for some reason, it just feels weird/wrong if I try to rap without my regular British accent. Now… I am starting to feel way more acceptance but there was a point where a large number of people would laugh or even seem disgusted that I was rapping in my British accent.
Other than that the usual up and coming, starving artist situation, I could rap my ass off but I didn’t have the means or the money to get me in the right places. I figured it out though, a lot of hard work and my mindset to build my own table rather than beg for crumbs at someone else. Rest in power Nipsey Hussle, he definitely inspired that side of me! Along with the wanderlust that I mentioned earlier, I was never shy or not down to hit studio sessions in different states or anything like that, I just wanted to create… still do.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
As an artist, I rap, might have some melodies in there here and there. Every now and so I might make an instrumental if I’m feeling spicy. I song write, as of now I have a few songs out there that I wrote for some of the bigger K-pop bands and those albums made it to the top 10 on the Billboard world charts. I mix most of my own stuff and I either Art-Direct or do any of my own graphic or visual work.
I have an album coming out on October 9th called Villains Never Die.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’m extremely lucky. Regardless of the situation, along with my work ethic, opportunities seem to always randomly popped up for me and I’m super grateful for that. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon, nor did I have any money or special backing but I can’t see a limit to how far I can take this. So even if it’s just that I’m lucky to have the mindset that I do… I do feel that I’m very fortunate.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.OutlawTheArtist.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlawtheartist/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OutlawArtist
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OutlawArtist
Image Credit:
Allen Daniel, K. Chong
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