Interview: Will
Will is an artist from the southwest side of Atlanta who released a free project called Stoned On MARTA late last year. Besides its title, which most Atlanta natives can relate to, the release showed a lot of promise. It was a lyrically heady effort, highlighted by some excellent beats and technically on-point rapping. In the first quarter of 2011, Will has been following up on his growing local buzz by releasing a few new songs and putting on several memorable live shows. BLVD St got the chance to talk to Will recently about himself, his background, and his nascent musical career.
Are you from Atlanta originally? What part?
I was actually born in Cleveland, Ohio, but moved to Atlanta at the age of 3 so it’s all I know. I’ve lived on every side of the city but grew up a lot in the S.W.A.T.S. and the south side.
What do you remember about your first time hearing rap music?
[Laughs] All I can remember about my first time hearing rap music is my mother saying “This is garbage.” and changing the station. I also remember having The Blueprint by Jay-Z in my room and her hiding it from me.
At what point did you figure out that you could rap?
April of 2010. All throughout school I was in music programs and played instruments. Once I graduated high school and there were no drums around to play, I had to find another way to get music out. I started writing seriously around 2008 and recorded for the first time on Ethereal’s 42 Degrees tape.
I really like that song you did on there. Catalyst and Clan Destined are good dudes. So what’s your association with Thumbs Up (*Note - not to be confused with Mac Miller)? How did you join up with them?
My manager Jamal, my homie Josh and I came up with Thumbs Up randomly outside of Wal-Mart one day. Since then, we’ve made it a point to just do everything better than everyone claiming to do the same thing in the city. We really had all been connected. I went to high school with Ethereal and met Kit shortly after. I stumbled upon some of the other members of the family like Keith Charles and my producers Introspective Minds.
Do you have an absolute number one favorite emcee of all time? Who would you put near the top?
No, simply because the artists that have been my favorites have tarnished their legacies trying to stay relevant. My top 5 consists of Andre 3000, Jay-Z, Eminem, Nas, and Lupe Fiasco, but I can’t say I’m a fan of any of these artists’ recent music besides Distant Relatives. The game needs some of these guys to step aside.
I notice your top 5 only includes one southern emcee. Are you a fan of southern hip hop?
I love it, not all of it though. I listen to a lot of Rocko, Rich Boy, Webbie, Grand Hu$tle, and like, southern street shit. I can’t get with the new, young, popcorn sound a lot of these kids put out.
I definitely hear that. A lot of your music seems to be pretty laid-back, low-key and jazzy . Is that an accurate representation of you as a person?
Yeah, definitely. The loudest person in the room is the weakest. I stay mellow. I don’t speak unless I have something to say, and I’m high a lot. So there’s not a lot of room to be hype.
What kind of reaction have you gotten so far to Stoned On Marta?
Stoned On Marta was a lot more successful than I expected. I was never necessarily popular in school, so I really only expected a few people to listen to it. Then I wake up one day and it’s on blogs like yours and Maurice Garland’s. It’s sweet because I know the people that do like it fuck with it because it’s jamming, not because they’re my friends. I barely have any of those [laughs].
Are you working on any projects currently?
Yeah, man. I plan on dropping a short EP this summer to follow up on Stoned On Marta called Stoned In A Stang. Otherwise I’ll just be putting out random jams on the site and featuring.
You can check out Will’s material and stay up on all his new releases at his BandCamp page.
