Ok-Tho:
What three artists characterize the type of music you listen to?
Will is Chillin':
I listen to all types of shit. I couldn’t put it into three artists. I mean like lyrical shit like Kendrick, Mos Def, Nas, Black Thought etc. But, I also love mad stupid turn up shit like Waka, Young Thug, King Louie. And when it’s not Hip-Hop I’d have to say shit like St. Vincent, The Black Keys… oldies like The Temptations, Delfonics, a lot of music. I just love music in general.
Ok-Tho:
What are your influences both within and without of Hip-Hop?
Will is Chillin':
First of all DILLA. Then Mos Def, Jay Z, Talib, Lupe Fiasco, The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill, Bone Thugs, Camp Lo, Ice Cube... the list can go on forever haha
Ok-Tho:
You seem to rep Dilla hard. You have a couple tracks produced by him, including the beautiful reflection that is "blue in green." What was your relationship with J Dilla? Who is your favorite producer to work with? Why?
Will is Chillin':
Well, I never got to meet him because he died of cancer. I got all his beats off Youtube. He’s a legend. The people I like to work with are people I’m already friends with. My homies Glassic, 5heriff, Drew Mantia (who also engineers most of my music), Tommy Bazooka, D.R.O, Paanda Head. I got a lot of producer friends haha. I’m actually planning on making an EP with D.R.O up in Canada. We prob got the best chemistry, everything we make together is pretty dope.
Ok-Tho:
I love D.R.O., glad to hear you two are cooking something up together. Some of those producers you mentioned are from Chicago, what was it like growing up there? What was the Hip-Hop scene like?
Will is Chillin':
Chicago is my favorite place in the world, maybe because it’s all i know lol. It’s a big city that’s for sure, the scene is pretty big too. I mean I personally feel nobody can fuck with Chicago when it comes to Hip-Hop in the past few years. I know so many artists who nobody knows about but they’re crazy talented. There is so much talent here, and I’m happy I know enough dope ass producers here it’s not too hard to make music haha.
Ok-Tho:
I was told very young that to be happy you must find something outside of yourself to live for. Do you agree with this sentiment? What do you live for?
Will is Chillin':
I agree fully. I live for my family and music. I live to spread love with words and rhythm. I live for a lot. Money comes and goes, true happiness is doing what you love.
Ok-Tho:
Since early on in your career you have maintained that you do not rap, but rather make music. What does that distinction mean to you?
Will is Chillin':
I feel I’m a poet, not a rapper. I started as a poet before I ever put it to beats. I make music, Hip-Hop MUSIC. Rap just makes it feel cheap to me. I listen to Hip-Hop and make Hip-Hop Music. I do consider myself an MC tho haha. The real thing is when you tell people you’re a rapper you get a look like "yeah so is a million other people." So I just tell people I make music because musicians get more respect sadly, which is wack because some of my favorite musicians are MC's.
Ok-Tho:
Have you listened to any of KRS-One's scholarly talks on Hip-Hop as a culture rather than a genre of music?
Will is Chillin':
Yeah, Hip-Hop is a culture, I just happened to be part of the music side. I got homies that B-boy, homies that tag, homies that DJ. KRS said it himself. Rap is something you do, Hip Hop is something you live.
Ok-Tho:
As you just said, and have said in your song “Nothin’ Less,” you are not a rapper, but a poet. Do you think that most rappers are not poets? What about most Emcees? What makes you a poet?
Will is Chillin':
I consider myself a poet just because I really love writing and respect the craft. I love the English language. It’s fun to manipulate. A rapper is someone who raps on beats, so I guess you can consider them poets. Anyone who puts words together are poets. MC's are masters of ceremony. They know how to captivate a crowd, how to keep a show moving. I only say I’m not a rapper I’m a poet because a lot of people make it seem like you have to freestyle a lot to be a rapper. Like I’m more impressed by something someone took their time and wrote, but when I tell people oh I rap, the first thing they want me to do is freestyle, which is not really going to do my talent justice. I freestyle a little more now tho haha.
Ok-Tho:
In “Nothin’ Less” you also claim that people wanted you to “write from where your souls at” and put meaning into your songs. At what point in your career did you make this realization? What is an example of a track that lacks the meaning you now fill your songs with?
Will is Chillin':
I realized I needed to write from the soul when I went to the open mic that song is about. It was called nothin' less and it was the first place I ever performed. I went there nervous as fuck but spit a bunch of bars about how I was dope and nobody could ever beat me. But then a bunch of poets went up and had a lot to say. None of it was how dope they were but about real life. So I felt a little wack lol. I decided I was going to be more diverse about what I was talking about and I cut a lot of swearing out, I only use it now to emphasize a point instead of to fill up space. I started going to the open mic with stories about my life and what not and never stopped writing the way I do. I got to the point I was the resident poet of the open mic. I learned a lot there.
Ok-Tho:
In “FlowGod” you say “I sound like me and that’s the end of it.” I would agree that you have a unique sound. What do you attribute this to?
Will is Chillin':
Well everybody has their own life and experiences. Everybody has different inflections too. My voice can get a little raspy because of smoking haha. I said that because I was getting a lot of comparisons to mac miller and Eminem and every other white rapper, but I know I sound different. I’m sure any artist hates being compared to someone else.
Ok-Tho:
Do you imbue your writing with existential thought and meaning with the intention of educating your listeners, or is it simply an exercise in self-examination? Or something else entirely?
Will is Chillin':
I mean I would hope I’m reaching someone with what I’m talking about but it’s always been a therapeutic thing. Writing calms me down, and I’ve learned a lot about myself doing it. Sometimes I feel I’m a little too wordy and people don’t necessarily understand what I’m saying. But yeah, it’s mainly for myself and whoever does actually gain something from it is a bonus lol. Don't get me wrong. I do love when people ask what a line meant or tell me that they really felt something I said.
Ok-Tho:
Do you think Hip-Hop artists, given their high visibility and potential to influence their listeners, have a societal responsibility to do what they can to make their listeners aware of the world’s issues? Or do you feel that we should not hold artist’s to such a standard?
Will is Chillin':
I think it’s up to the artist to decide if they want to be socially aware or if they want to just make party tunes. Or do both. It should be a responsibility but I don’t think it’s the artist fault that violent and sexual music is what sells. It is up to the listener to search for something else if they want, because they'll definitely have to look for it a lot more than the readily available party shit.
Ok-Tho:
Is “Bone” a true story? Was there actually a paint brush? To me the paint brush acts as a metaphor for the fact that you're essentially attacking him through your art. Was this intentional?
Will is Chillin':
Bone was true it happened when I was 16. The fact his blood is on my paint brush is practically me saying even tho I hate him for what happened he still has a hand in my art both for being in my life and being my father.
Ok-Tho:
In Instrumentally Unstable you talk about being a class clown reject in High School, getting your start out doing open mics, not getting talked about on blogs for the first few years, paying for your studio time with your unemployment check, and living off a dishwasher’s salary. Would you mind talking a little bit more about the path you took to get to where you are today? How did you come to the decision to become a Hip-Hop artist?
Will is Chillin':
Well yeah, I was real quiet in high school, a few people knew I rapped. I’ve wanted to make music since I was 14 making hella beats on FL studio. Then I started a rap group with my homie and he told me I had to rap because he didn’t want to come up with a bunch of bars. I was just the producer at first. We would press up a bunch of CDs and pass it out around school. Even did a little performance in the parking lot out of my friends car haha. Then out of high school I went solo. I worked a few dish washer jobs at different places. Let’s just say I’ve done A LOT of dishes in my life. It’s a shitty job. Around this time last year the place I worked at got shut down so I was literally going to the studio with my unemployment checks. As far as where I am now, I’m still broke but at least this music shit seems to be working haha
Ok-Tho:
The line about paying for your studio time is dope. It comes from “Broke” and in its entirety goes “Hit the studio, paid for with my unemployment check wow. My songs on a budget, but I’m not the first terrorist the government funded.” How did you come up with that line? What is your writing process more generally?
Will is Chillin':
I honestly just write out whatever I can think of. I just let the beat take me where it wants to go. At the time I wrote that the whole Mike Brown situation was going on and I was obviously broke as fuck with no job. I was on some fuck the government they used to fund Osama so I thought it was funny cuz I’m talking all this shit about the government but they funded the song. Funny thing is right before I recorded “Broke” I got jumped so I actually recorded it with a black eye and definitely had more aggression in my heart than usual haha
Ok-Tho:
Another line from “Broke” talks about how the poor can’t afford college tuition. To remedy this you drop knowledge in your tracks and release them for free. What are your thoughts on the way education works now? How would you rather it work?
Will is Chillin':
I got accepted into Columbia College, a music school in Chicago. Only problem was it costs an arm and a leg to go there, as well as any other college in the country. There are countries in Europe that have free college. The education system in my opinion is set up to keep the rich rich and the poor poor. The only people who can afford college are rich kids, and if you’re poor and go to college you end up in debt. I mean you could go to community college, which I was going to for free for a while. I don’t know how it should be, I just know jobs looked at you differently if you have a diploma from a big name college, but it doesn’t seem worth the debt.
Ok-Tho:
You released the video for “Broke” and promised the video for “Pennywise” when “Broke” hit 10,000 views. What can we expect from that music video?
Will is Chillin':
"Pennywise" is just dark as fuck. A lot of creepy shit and a spooky clown mask. Hella fake blood and what not. It’s pretty dope tho haha![]()
Ok-Tho:
Out of all the music videos you have been a part of, which did you have the most fun making? Why?
Will is Chillin':
“BUNK”. We went out into some place that term's old car was and we trashed it with rocks and sledge hammers it was dope
Ok-Tho:
I had a feeling it was “BUNK”. That’s my favorite music video four shore. Also features probably one of the illest six bars ever to grace YouTube. How did you get involved with Stank Face Records?
Will is Chillin':
Loud used to be in Supreme Regime so he knew people I knew and showed it to the crew and they put me on the team. Everybody in Stank Face got mad stupid bars.
Ok-Tho:
Is “Doors Closing” about a specific girl, or is it more a metaphor for how your interactions with women in general tend to go?
Will is Chillin':
It’s a real girl, one I saw on the train on my way to school one day. I didn’t say anything to her but I ended up writing a decent song about her so maybe she'll hear it haha
Ok-Tho:
“Doors Closing” ends with the quote “If you were forced to choose, would you call yourself good or evil?” How would you answer that question? Why?
Will is Chillin':
Well that was stolen from some Dr. Jeckyll show because "Doors Closing" is supposed to be my good side. I was in school and the whole song is me almost in love with a girl I didn’t even know, while "Pennywise" is me at my worst when i was going through some shit and thought I was cool because I stole some shit. So “Doors Closing” is Dr. Jeckyll and "Pennywise" is Mr. Hyde. I guess I would call myself good, there’s good in everyone and everyone makes mistakes but for the most part I’m a good dude
Ok-Tho:
On your YouTube channel you have two cyphers, both from 3 years ago. What is going on with your cypher game these days?
Will is Chillin':
Shit, I usually just cypher with friends, none of them get recorded. Those were for like random online cyphers. I’ve done a couple with Stank Face too. Anytime I can rap I do it tho, just haven’t done many cypher vids.
Ok-Tho:
You also have a couple songs on your YouTube Channel that you produced. Why don’t you produce anymore?
Will is Chillin':
I don’t know, it got to a point I would only produce because I couldn’t find beats, but now I got so many I don’t really need to. I do help with production if a producer is making it from scratch. I do that a lot with Tommy Bazooka. But usually that’s just suggestions, I don’t actually help with the beats haha
Ok-Tho:
Instrumentally Unstable was gold. What’s in the works now?
Will is Chillin':
Random shit. I’m working with my new group Tiny Chain Gang which is me Rebel Legato and Bruce Bayne. I’m also working on my tape with D.R.O. called 86 Braincells.
What three artists characterize the type of music you listen to?
Will is Chillin':
I listen to all types of shit. I couldn’t put it into three artists. I mean like lyrical shit like Kendrick, Mos Def, Nas, Black Thought etc. But, I also love mad stupid turn up shit like Waka, Young Thug, King Louie. And when it’s not Hip-Hop I’d have to say shit like St. Vincent, The Black Keys… oldies like The Temptations, Delfonics, a lot of music. I just love music in general.
Ok-Tho:
What are your influences both within and without of Hip-Hop?
Will is Chillin':
First of all DILLA. Then Mos Def, Jay Z, Talib, Lupe Fiasco, The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill, Bone Thugs, Camp Lo, Ice Cube... the list can go on forever haha
Ok-Tho:
You seem to rep Dilla hard. You have a couple tracks produced by him, including the beautiful reflection that is "blue in green." What was your relationship with J Dilla? Who is your favorite producer to work with? Why?
Will is Chillin':
Well, I never got to meet him because he died of cancer. I got all his beats off Youtube. He’s a legend. The people I like to work with are people I’m already friends with. My homies Glassic, 5heriff, Drew Mantia (who also engineers most of my music), Tommy Bazooka, D.R.O, Paanda Head. I got a lot of producer friends haha. I’m actually planning on making an EP with D.R.O up in Canada. We prob got the best chemistry, everything we make together is pretty dope.
Ok-Tho:
I love D.R.O., glad to hear you two are cooking something up together. Some of those producers you mentioned are from Chicago, what was it like growing up there? What was the Hip-Hop scene like?
Will is Chillin':
Chicago is my favorite place in the world, maybe because it’s all i know lol. It’s a big city that’s for sure, the scene is pretty big too. I mean I personally feel nobody can fuck with Chicago when it comes to Hip-Hop in the past few years. I know so many artists who nobody knows about but they’re crazy talented. There is so much talent here, and I’m happy I know enough dope ass producers here it’s not too hard to make music haha.
Ok-Tho:
I was told very young that to be happy you must find something outside of yourself to live for. Do you agree with this sentiment? What do you live for?
Will is Chillin':
I agree fully. I live for my family and music. I live to spread love with words and rhythm. I live for a lot. Money comes and goes, true happiness is doing what you love.
Ok-Tho:
Since early on in your career you have maintained that you do not rap, but rather make music. What does that distinction mean to you?
Will is Chillin':
I feel I’m a poet, not a rapper. I started as a poet before I ever put it to beats. I make music, Hip-Hop MUSIC. Rap just makes it feel cheap to me. I listen to Hip-Hop and make Hip-Hop Music. I do consider myself an MC tho haha. The real thing is when you tell people you’re a rapper you get a look like "yeah so is a million other people." So I just tell people I make music because musicians get more respect sadly, which is wack because some of my favorite musicians are MC's.
Ok-Tho:
Have you listened to any of KRS-One's scholarly talks on Hip-Hop as a culture rather than a genre of music?
Will is Chillin':
Yeah, Hip-Hop is a culture, I just happened to be part of the music side. I got homies that B-boy, homies that tag, homies that DJ. KRS said it himself. Rap is something you do, Hip Hop is something you live.
As you just said, and have said in your song “Nothin’ Less,” you are not a rapper, but a poet. Do you think that most rappers are not poets? What about most Emcees? What makes you a poet?
Will is Chillin':
I consider myself a poet just because I really love writing and respect the craft. I love the English language. It’s fun to manipulate. A rapper is someone who raps on beats, so I guess you can consider them poets. Anyone who puts words together are poets. MC's are masters of ceremony. They know how to captivate a crowd, how to keep a show moving. I only say I’m not a rapper I’m a poet because a lot of people make it seem like you have to freestyle a lot to be a rapper. Like I’m more impressed by something someone took their time and wrote, but when I tell people oh I rap, the first thing they want me to do is freestyle, which is not really going to do my talent justice. I freestyle a little more now tho haha.
Ok-Tho:
In “Nothin’ Less” you also claim that people wanted you to “write from where your souls at” and put meaning into your songs. At what point in your career did you make this realization? What is an example of a track that lacks the meaning you now fill your songs with?
I realized I needed to write from the soul when I went to the open mic that song is about. It was called nothin' less and it was the first place I ever performed. I went there nervous as fuck but spit a bunch of bars about how I was dope and nobody could ever beat me. But then a bunch of poets went up and had a lot to say. None of it was how dope they were but about real life. So I felt a little wack lol. I decided I was going to be more diverse about what I was talking about and I cut a lot of swearing out, I only use it now to emphasize a point instead of to fill up space. I started going to the open mic with stories about my life and what not and never stopped writing the way I do. I got to the point I was the resident poet of the open mic. I learned a lot there.
Ok-Tho:
In “FlowGod” you say “I sound like me and that’s the end of it.” I would agree that you have a unique sound. What do you attribute this to?
Well everybody has their own life and experiences. Everybody has different inflections too. My voice can get a little raspy because of smoking haha. I said that because I was getting a lot of comparisons to mac miller and Eminem and every other white rapper, but I know I sound different. I’m sure any artist hates being compared to someone else.
Ok-Tho:
Do you imbue your writing with existential thought and meaning with the intention of educating your listeners, or is it simply an exercise in self-examination? Or something else entirely?
Will is Chillin':
I mean I would hope I’m reaching someone with what I’m talking about but it’s always been a therapeutic thing. Writing calms me down, and I’ve learned a lot about myself doing it. Sometimes I feel I’m a little too wordy and people don’t necessarily understand what I’m saying. But yeah, it’s mainly for myself and whoever does actually gain something from it is a bonus lol. Don't get me wrong. I do love when people ask what a line meant or tell me that they really felt something I said.
Ok-Tho:
Do you think Hip-Hop artists, given their high visibility and potential to influence their listeners, have a societal responsibility to do what they can to make their listeners aware of the world’s issues? Or do you feel that we should not hold artist’s to such a standard?
Will is Chillin':
I think it’s up to the artist to decide if they want to be socially aware or if they want to just make party tunes. Or do both. It should be a responsibility but I don’t think it’s the artist fault that violent and sexual music is what sells. It is up to the listener to search for something else if they want, because they'll definitely have to look for it a lot more than the readily available party shit.
Ok-Tho:
Is “Bone” a true story? Was there actually a paint brush? To me the paint brush acts as a metaphor for the fact that you're essentially attacking him through your art. Was this intentional?
Bone was true it happened when I was 16. The fact his blood is on my paint brush is practically me saying even tho I hate him for what happened he still has a hand in my art both for being in my life and being my father.
Ok-Tho:
In Instrumentally Unstable you talk about being a class clown reject in High School, getting your start out doing open mics, not getting talked about on blogs for the first few years, paying for your studio time with your unemployment check, and living off a dishwasher’s salary. Would you mind talking a little bit more about the path you took to get to where you are today? How did you come to the decision to become a Hip-Hop artist?
Will is Chillin':
Well yeah, I was real quiet in high school, a few people knew I rapped. I’ve wanted to make music since I was 14 making hella beats on FL studio. Then I started a rap group with my homie and he told me I had to rap because he didn’t want to come up with a bunch of bars. I was just the producer at first. We would press up a bunch of CDs and pass it out around school. Even did a little performance in the parking lot out of my friends car haha. Then out of high school I went solo. I worked a few dish washer jobs at different places. Let’s just say I’ve done A LOT of dishes in my life. It’s a shitty job. Around this time last year the place I worked at got shut down so I was literally going to the studio with my unemployment checks. As far as where I am now, I’m still broke but at least this music shit seems to be working haha
Ok-Tho:
The line about paying for your studio time is dope. It comes from “Broke” and in its entirety goes “Hit the studio, paid for with my unemployment check wow. My songs on a budget, but I’m not the first terrorist the government funded.” How did you come up with that line? What is your writing process more generally?
I honestly just write out whatever I can think of. I just let the beat take me where it wants to go. At the time I wrote that the whole Mike Brown situation was going on and I was obviously broke as fuck with no job. I was on some fuck the government they used to fund Osama so I thought it was funny cuz I’m talking all this shit about the government but they funded the song. Funny thing is right before I recorded “Broke” I got jumped so I actually recorded it with a black eye and definitely had more aggression in my heart than usual haha
Ok-Tho:
Another line from “Broke” talks about how the poor can’t afford college tuition. To remedy this you drop knowledge in your tracks and release them for free. What are your thoughts on the way education works now? How would you rather it work?
Will is Chillin':
I got accepted into Columbia College, a music school in Chicago. Only problem was it costs an arm and a leg to go there, as well as any other college in the country. There are countries in Europe that have free college. The education system in my opinion is set up to keep the rich rich and the poor poor. The only people who can afford college are rich kids, and if you’re poor and go to college you end up in debt. I mean you could go to community college, which I was going to for free for a while. I don’t know how it should be, I just know jobs looked at you differently if you have a diploma from a big name college, but it doesn’t seem worth the debt.
Ok-Tho:
You released the video for “Broke” and promised the video for “Pennywise” when “Broke” hit 10,000 views. What can we expect from that music video?
"Pennywise" is just dark as fuck. A lot of creepy shit and a spooky clown mask. Hella fake blood and what not. It’s pretty dope tho haha
Ok-Tho:
Out of all the music videos you have been a part of, which did you have the most fun making? Why?
Will is Chillin':
“BUNK”. We went out into some place that term's old car was and we trashed it with rocks and sledge hammers it was dope
I had a feeling it was “BUNK”. That’s my favorite music video four shore. Also features probably one of the illest six bars ever to grace YouTube. How did you get involved with Stank Face Records?
Will is Chillin':
Loud used to be in Supreme Regime so he knew people I knew and showed it to the crew and they put me on the team. Everybody in Stank Face got mad stupid bars.
Ok-Tho:
Is “Doors Closing” about a specific girl, or is it more a metaphor for how your interactions with women in general tend to go?
Will is Chillin':
It’s a real girl, one I saw on the train on my way to school one day. I didn’t say anything to her but I ended up writing a decent song about her so maybe she'll hear it haha
Ok-Tho:
“Doors Closing” ends with the quote “If you were forced to choose, would you call yourself good or evil?” How would you answer that question? Why?
Will is Chillin':
Well that was stolen from some Dr. Jeckyll show because "Doors Closing" is supposed to be my good side. I was in school and the whole song is me almost in love with a girl I didn’t even know, while "Pennywise" is me at my worst when i was going through some shit and thought I was cool because I stole some shit. So “Doors Closing” is Dr. Jeckyll and "Pennywise" is Mr. Hyde. I guess I would call myself good, there’s good in everyone and everyone makes mistakes but for the most part I’m a good dude
Ok-Tho:
On your YouTube channel you have two cyphers, both from 3 years ago. What is going on with your cypher game these days?
Shit, I usually just cypher with friends, none of them get recorded. Those were for like random online cyphers. I’ve done a couple with Stank Face too. Anytime I can rap I do it tho, just haven’t done many cypher vids.
Ok-Tho:
You also have a couple songs on your YouTube Channel that you produced. Why don’t you produce anymore?
Will is Chillin':
I don’t know, it got to a point I would only produce because I couldn’t find beats, but now I got so many I don’t really need to. I do help with production if a producer is making it from scratch. I do that a lot with Tommy Bazooka. But usually that’s just suggestions, I don’t actually help with the beats haha
Ok-Tho:
Instrumentally Unstable was gold. What’s in the works now?
Will is Chillin':
Random shit. I’m working with my new group Tiny Chain Gang which is me Rebel Legato and Bruce Bayne. I’m also working on my tape with D.R.O. called 86 Braincells.
Comments
Post a Comment