Fleetwood Fred

BH: What constitutes a perfect song in your mind?

The perfect song for me would be a simple melodic tune with a strong unorthodox bass line. Sometimes substituted with a nice 808 wherever the baseline isn’t filled in. A nice harmonic singer, and the words have to match the track. Not too much or to little of anything.

BH: What rap line that comes to your mind the most, and why?

My favorite and most reminiscent rap line comes from my favorite under ground rapper Freddie Gibbs in a song titled ‘Ghetto’ “ This is where the laws have caught niggas, Our own has fought with us, everyday we gotta pray that the lord will walk with us, in the ghetto. “    This is my favorite because it shows that mid-west grittiness in an inspirational way. To hear other peoples dispositions, and to know I’m not the only person grinding it out from job to job and music motivates me much.

BH: Where would you like to perform?

I dream of performing at Coachella Music Festivals in California, Gothenburg’s/ Summerburst Music Festivals in Sweden, and also The Summer Music Festivals of Moscow, Russia. I read that the hip hop festivals are huge in these places, and to have 50,000 fans singing along with you has to be mind blowing.

BH:What has been your best (most memorable) performance experience?

 

I had the pleasure of performing at Atlanta’s A3C Festival in October of 2015. It was 150-200 people that came to see a bill of 6 artist and I was one of them. I received the opportunity to close out the show around 1a.m., and was ecstatic that at least three fourths of the crowd knew my music and enjoyed themselves. That was the best show of my tenure so far. Cant wait until that’s every nights results.

BH: Do you define yourself or your style? If so, how?

I probably would define my style a few years ago, but now I have artistically reached to do something much different sonically. Not conforming to anything sonically that has been done before, my next project titled  “The Ghetto Gospels of Weed, Women, & Cadillacs” is a Jazz/ EDM fusion of lyricism and harmonies. I definitely don’t know how to define myself due to this not being done before, so we’ll see where it goes from here.

BH: Out of all the things in the world that you could be doing, why music?

I played the trumpet from 5th Grade to graduation, so music has always been second nature to me, and while listening to some of the greats like Andre 3000, and Nas, they inspired me to try something artistic myself. I grew up around some very solid lyricists also, who I feel have set the standard on the East, so I decided to put my bid in and compete.

BH: When did you know for sure that you wanted to pursue music at a professional level?

I had a conversation with an artist and friend that goes by the name Nayo, and he told me that I can’t put in halfway work and expect big time results. It summed up reality to me, that If I wanted to win big, I would have to take big sacrifices/risk. Since we’ve had that conversation, I’ve been a full-time artist.

BH:What is the thought process behind your music and who were your influences?

My thought process comes from prior trials and tribulations, or even fantasies. I’d like to be laughing with friends. Preferably with a few drinks, and some well mannered women that enjoy a good laugh. And a little of a lot of marijuana. My influences are underground artist such: as Dom Kennedy, Currensy, Boldy James, and a lot more. I love to see artist come up from nothing. Listening to an artist’s first EP or mixtape, having little to no fans at all, and competing with the big whigs motivates me a lot.

BH: Atlanta has proven to have one of the most diverse independent music scenes. There is a lot of ‘competition’ here, What is the grind like for you?

This grind is a long learning streak of give and take losses and wins. I think whatever your goals and objectives are determines the routes that should be taken. I don’t pursue much radio exposure so I have to grind harder in other endeavors with music, such as performing at festivals and internet hustling; Selling merchandise etc.

BH: Do you get discouraged at times? If so what do you do to get out of that funk?

I get discouraged at times, really due to financial issues, of what I can or can’t do. Paying an arm and leg for recording, editing, artwork, can get steep, especially if your paying for professional work. In the end it will all be beneficial though.

BH: Do you have a plan B?

Nope. This is my plan and I’m sticking to it. This is the back up plan that’s backing the back up plan. With the proper blueprint, and taking lessons and losses, I figure with consistency and team work, it will all be good.

BH: Have you thought about your legacy?

Not much at all. I pray the legacy I leave behind has nothing to do with anything material though. The principles and morals that I was raised with shall live on greatly through the people who knew me best. What we stand for, and pursuing what it is you really want out of life is what matters most. If you desire a nice house on the hill, you have to exalt all energy in understanding the necessary steps needed to be taken to own, and up keep your property. Each one must teach one. You’ll definitely be prepared if you do all your homework in understanding the process taken to have that house on the hill.