Today we’d like to introduce you to Sicwest.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The journey was quite interesting, I got started with poetry at the tender age of six years old. You know how in school you go thru different activities like drawing, collages, & poetry, well when my class started the poetry segment I just never let that leave me and I started writing poems & short stories on my own every single day.
My older brother Soco Burns, & my older sister got me into Hip Hop very early around the ages of seven to eight and thats when I started to translate the poems into raps. I would write bars every day and freestyle to myself, constantly trying to perfect my craft.
I grew up my whole life in Torrance in the suburbs, although I was born in Inglewood, most of my family originated from Compton/Watts, Culver City & Los Angeles so I was pretty well rounded as far as being exposed to different cities and environments and just having that eclectic blood in me gave me a creative drive to draw from and truly explore myself. I was exposed early to 2pac, Wu-Tang Clan, Lauryn Hill, & Biggie, those were some of the first hip hop acts I listened to at the time and this was late 90’s, early 2000’s time frame.
Fast forwarding thru middle school & high school I met my best friend, Alvin Washington. We both had a true love for Hip Hop. Somehow he was that one friend that always had all the hip hop DVD’s (yes DVD’s they existed haha) so we studied everything from The Beef Series, Smack DVD, Eastcoast vs. WestCoast beefs, 8 Mile, Rhymesayers DVDs, & the art of Hip Hop and understand the foundation of the four elements Dj, Graffiti, Emcee, & B-Boy.
We trained and developed each other to be the best emcees possible working non stop everyday. During my senior year of high school, I recorded my very first solo track called “Love Cali” it was a great song that had a lot of local success. After awhile I ended meeting up by sheer accident with another Southbay producer by the name of MohdalSoul. We have made alot music over the years, he is one of my closest friends to date. We were apart of a collective called FeedThePlanes that were together for at least three to four years, that’s were I met my homegirl Christine Ongjoco who is another talented Southbay artist/producer, we all crafted music and ideas together. After that group did continue, we all individually made music so we were always involved in each other’s projects. In 2015-2017, I met my great friends Max Philipson & Cameron Rae who played a monumental role in producing & engineering my first studio album entitled GRVPE: Villain, which is my most recent project. We worked on Villain for two years and released it in July of 2017. It is work I am most proud of to date still continue to push and perform this album to present date.
Within this time frame, I had alot of help developing Sicwest as an artist/brand and creating the concept of GRVPE and the story of the villain as a whole new aspect and chapter of myself as an artist and new types of expression with more melodies and diving deep within writing concepts. A friend of mine at the time Antonio Aiello was a sole contributor to the foundation of the artwork and really making the brand of Sicwest come to visual life. He designed for me as well as mutual friends of Michael Seyer & BanesWorld as well who are also Southbay/ La natives, who some of us attended high school together as well as meeting thru mutual friends & musicians. GRVPE is still at the beginning stages of development but has been growing ever since the release of my first album and resonating with many people slowly but surely. I truly love this project, it gave birth to a whole new me as an artist.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Man, there were definitely alot of hardships throughout creating music, Matter of fact when I first started until now I went thru having management and having alot of people there for me, to having alot falling outs with people and a rollercoaster ride of events during my music career. I have promised so many things from record deals and luxurious lifestyles all for these individuals to get ghost, or lead me on. This is one thing artist out there have to be careful of, people will sell you anything, including the most fictionalized version of yourself, so I had to learn to protect my artistry at all cost and really grow to become more independent and self-sufficient. Which in turn molded me into who I am today which I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
GRVPE – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from others?
I am rapper, producer, poet, photographer, and overall creative powerhouse. I’m most known for my unique style of blending between different forms of hip hop and even diving into the realm of alternative of as well. I love to work outside of the box and try to do something that the common artist isn’t doing, it just important to me to be as organic as possible. I am super proud of my most recent work GRVPE: Villain because it has truly laid the foundation of the beginning of my brand and the start of something fresh for people to dive into. The main thing that sets me apart from other artist is my ability to adapt and blend with many different styles and production. I never was really sold on finding one style and honing I was more like I need to have a utility belt like Batman and be well rounded as an artist so I always focused on being fearless with writing and having no limits in the studio, all ideas on the table type thing.
I have always felt like things like age, surroundings, and even family can sometimes set these unspoken “limitations” on the creative mind but my motive is to inspire people to really fuel the dream and do what makes them feel awesome inside no matter what cost or what is at stake.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I think success can be defined in many ways. It is so interesting that most people in my field view success as a million bucks or fifty million streams or your first “real Gucci bandana” that cost you $500. I don’t think success is any of these things, to me it is seeing my friend grow around me as an individual and us as a unit feeding off each other physically and spiritually day by day till it becomes natural without effort, I believe in positivity, resilience and consistency is a drive toward self-fulfillment, that alone feels like success in my eyes, Throughout the creative process of making GRVPE and Sicwest come to life it has definitely been an achievement to produce an awesome project with my family of friends who always gave me a place to call home in the studio and encouraged me to be the best person I could possibly be in that moment, no holds barred. The world is unlimited, I have achieved very many small successes that I am super proud of and I plan to follow suit with new music projects, as well as incorporating other various mediums in the near future. My goal ultimately is to continue unwinding my energy and continue to nurture the multi-faceted nature of my being as an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: sicwest.com
- Phone: 4243238681
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sicweezy
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwo_SoSetitySSzLKO66VzQ
Image Credit:
Cindy Portillo, Rigo Bonilla, Ron Yamasaki, Kevin Soriano, Alexandra Dorion, Aaron Villalona, & Conor Magan.
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
