Rising Stars: Meet Sydney Green

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Green.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Inglewood, CA raised in Westchester for a partial amount of time, with both Mom and Dad up until the age of seven. I started at Paso Del Rey Elementary School for all years, but during kinder garden, 1st, and 4th grade, I was in an after school program called star. They had different things for the kids so I joined band. They taught us how to play instruments like electric guitar, drums, base, electric piano, all different types of stuff. I played the drums for a minute but I played the electric guitar. During that time, I had the chance to play at the house of blues in La. It got better for me because I went to Orville Wright Middle School which is where it all started. In 6th grade, I was part of orchestra playing the violin. I had so much fun I was doing that up until 7th grade.

While in 7th, I switched up and started doing something else with my time after school. Keep in mind I was playing basketball throughout all of this since 5th grade to be exact. Anyway after school, I joined another program where they taught me how to use logic pro and engineer myself, I even learned how to produce music. It was an after school program that gave us options because not everyone was a singer or a rapper, you know? I was the type of kid that wanted to learn every trade so I tried picking up on as much as possible. I made super good music for that age. Self-producer and engineer by my teacher Mr. Scott, he was great and Grammy-nominated. I was in the program till 8th grade. I then went to Westchester High School and continued playing basketball for the school team.

One day during late 9th grade, I went over to my cousin’s house to record a song, my first real official one at that. I called it “GURLYFACE” it was featuring my cousin whose house I recorded at. His name is UknoKenny, that song was the begining of who the artist $ymmone really is. During the release time of Gurlyface and songs like Vibe out, I was under the stage name TruulyUnknown. It stemmed from an Instagram I had called “urstruuly.sg”. See but $ymmone is the name my parents gave me in honor of my mom’s grandmother loving Nina Simmone. Music has been in my blood for generations to me thats why I feel so connected. What I do right now is work with my cousin in videography, I’m an on set Stylist, giffer, and gaffer, and lastly all around personal assistant. Like I said, I want to master all trades of this industry. I love making music I can’t wait to see how far I get with this.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The struggle is still going on as we speak. The road to success is very up and down, so much goes on behind closed doors. I’ve been through homelessness, a HUGE amount of deaths, a struggle of school. My first time going homeless was for eight months and I ended up going to live with my bestfriend at her grandmother’s house. Then a few years later (recently) went homeless again for almost two years. I was living back and forth from the Hotel my mom and grandma stayed at and my cousin Ukokenny’s house. He took me in to take care of me but to also put a stable roof over my head until my mom got her new place. All different types of situations have added to my depression and stress but those are the things that make the art so much better. I’ve lost so many family and friends my life has felt like a roller coaster. The loss of my dad, grangran and popa affected me the most. Yet these things inspired me the most as well.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I sing, song writes, rap, design clothes, and assist my cousin with music videos. I’m the most proud of the growth in my music. I do so many different genres of music it’s crazy. I’m doing things I thought I could only dream of. Never thought I’d be doing Indie Rock, or really any alternative. I’ve always done R&B and rap those are the basics to me. Growing out of my comfort zone is what made me feel better about what I’m doing. I’m known for my art period, My clothes, to my music, to my paintings, to my poetry I can do it all. That’s what I really take pride in. What sets me apart from others is my actual talent and ambition for the arts. A lot of the kids out here just do it for the money. They have no actual skill sets, unlike me who has also been performing since in pre-school, I’ve been dedicated to this my whole life even while playing sports. I’ve done vocal training for seven years and working towards dreams since I can walk. I’m different because of the cloth I’m cut from. Most people don’t start at such a young age and are actual are good at what they do. Most people also say that they dabble in other genres but even that isn’t true, most of these artist are like so many others and so that sets me apart from the rest of the industry.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Honestly, you just can’t be shy. My networking came from being on set of so many music videos. Don’t be a try hard but be you, don’t try to be anything you are not, my mentor was my own cousin which is so fortunate for me. Just have to have good social skills that’s all.

Pricing:

• Verses are $150
• Styling is $17 an hour
• Making clothes the prices vary. Pants like jeans start at $70. You can check my Instagram for better and more details

Contact Info:

• Email: sydsymmone.booking@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.topfloorofficial.com/productions
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/shelovesymmone?utm_medium=copy_link
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/HBDmdLsVG1U
• SoundCloud: https://m.soundcloud.com/user-835445344?locale=en

Image Credits:
Photo credit to pic#1 (instagram) @zayyshotem pic #2 @uknokenny pic #3 @jayfordawiin