SEARCH FOR: INTERVIEWS

Detroit artist Allstar JR is continuing to cement his name alongside the most popular in Detroit, with his most recent release Organized Crime 2. Even from the first time I’d written about JR not too long ago, I’ve seen his following and work grow considerably, which is no surprise (to me, at least). The clever lyricism, distinctive style, and pressure-packed energy have only become more methodical and apparent as time has gone on, and it’s clear with this latest LP. Detroit is a music hub bubbling with talent and style, and JR was able to wrangle some of the city’s biggest names for this one. The entire project has a complete and well-rounded feel, almost compiled like a narrative story. Babyface Ray, BabyTron, and Icewear Vezzo are just a few of the names JR was able to land, further showing the respect others have for him and his talents. TraumaTone, W$ Kharri, Flex OTB, Pooh Beatz, ForeveRollin, and more submitted beats to round out the heavy-hitting production team. I was also a huge fan of the interludes, which took shape of radio interviews with esteemed music journalist Ahmad Davis. I listened through the whole album twice now, and I’d say …

If you know anything about the music scene in Atlanta, it’s that many new sounds were created in the thriving city over the years. Rich Homie Quan, also known as Dequantes Lamar, emerged on the scene in 2013 and developed a sound that would inspire artists for generations to come. Throughout his career, Quan has been nominated for Best New Artist and Rookie of the Year from BET, earned a spot on the 2014 XXL freshman class list, and went double platinum independently. While the platinum-selling rapper reached many milestones over the years, he is ready to reinvent himself after taking some time off to focus on what matters most. To celebrate his 33rd birthday, Rich Homie Quan released a new body of work titled Family & Mula, which features eight songs and a single feature from NoCap. This project gave listeners a glimpse of what Quan created during his downtime and how his music has changed due to fatherhood.   This month, I had the opportunity to speak with the Atlanta legend about the legacy he has built and what we can expect to come. Check out our interview below. Lyrical Lemonade: What was it like being from Atlanta in 2011 …

As much as I love finding out about a new artist and doing a deep dive to find out anything and everything I can about them, sometimes that’s just not entirely possible. There are emcees I come across that may not have a massive following so they don’t have countless interviews or bios out that are easily accessible or existent in the first place, so as much as I prefer knowing more about a musician, I have to look at it as a glass half full scenario. I say this because it allows me to go into someone’s music with completely no knowledge whatsoever, so there’s no chance for my bias to show or judgments to be made outside of the music itself. This is how I approached SNLDRE’s song “1,2,3,4”, a track that was sent my way from one of the homies and it certainly was a pleasant surprise. Over an instrumental that boasts an intensifying piano progression, punchy drums, and a menacing melody that gets your head bobbing and your heart pumping. SNLDRE comes in with such an even-keeled demeanor, never really getting too far ahead of himself and just letting his lyrics flow out of his mouth …

It was about five years ago buzzing rapper RG Simba was sentenced to 24 years in prison, essentially a life sentence that many thought would be it for the young superstar in the making. Thankfully, he stuck with his not-guilty status, the case was overturned and now Simba is picking up right where he left off. Many artists drop a record upon leaving but Simba’s “First Day Out” is packed full of the energy he’s been channeling since being locked up. He is coming out the gates hot ready to make an instant impact and making up for lost time, it won’t take long for the world to remember exactly why he was one of the most exciting young artists out. Many may have heard of RG Simba through Cordae’s interviews, they refer to each other as brothers after growing up and making music together in the early days. Cordae has been vocal about the talent of his brother and signed him to his level Hi Level which is set to make RG Simba the star he was destined to be. It’s no surprise that Simba is the first act signed to the label, the last we heard of him …

During the week of Summer Smash 2022, L3MON (Web 3 leg of Lyrical Lemonade) hosted Carton NFT holders in Chicago for a holder-only event & the music festival. Our friends over at NFTNow came to town at the same time to document what the L3MON team has been building and got the chance to chat with holders and team members. The video consists of interviews with LL founder Cole Bennett, Toni Sudimac, and L3MON team members Jarrito & Wags all speaking on the potential Lyrical Lemonade has in Web 3. The coverage of the holder event included brief talks with Carton NFT holders on what their experiences have been thus far and what they’re most excited about in the future with L3MON.  To learn more about L3MON and Lyrical Lemonade’s approach in this new vertical, be sure to check out the interview below!

Sam: Man! What’s happening bro! contradash: I’m good dude! I’ve been up every night until like 6am for some different reasons…truly sicko mode recently; just the best and worst kind of fucked up sleep schedule where I’m just making shit that I’m in love with, but it just completely obliterates my morning! — Sam: That’s trash for the sleep schedule, but great for the music bro. Are you in LA right now? contradash: Yessir, I’m in Hollywood! — Sam: Easy, well man, I just appreciate this time you’re taking to chop it up for a bit. I’ve been a fan for a minute and have really enjoyed watching the way you move and seeing the musical progression…So let’s dive into this thing. First and foremost, how are you? How is life treating you?  contradash: It’s good man! Right now life feels like it’s at a pivoting point for me. Before my label deal, I hadn’t had many indie releases under my belt, since I fell into a really privileged situation that I’m incredibly grateful for, but now we’re back on it. And it really tests how much you believe in yourself, because I haven’t been in these waters for over …

Our parents typically have such an influence on everything we do as we grow up and develop into the people we are. When I research artists to help with interviews or even just to learn more about them, I always come across the music they grew up listening to with their parents, and I know my taste is heavily inspired by what my mom and dad had played as well. Pretty much from the moment I was born, I was consuming classic rock from bands like AC/DC, Metallica, Van Halen, and so many others, so even when I began to branch out and discover music on my own, these are always bands I come back to and think about when listening to modern music, even if it sounds unlike any of these groups. Doeman is an artist from Southeast Houston, and his upbringing listening to everything from The Temptations and Sonny Ozuna to DMX, 2Pac, and Big Pun has certainly shaped him into the musician he is today. Aside from this, he was once training to become a professional boxer, and even though a severely unfortunate accident took him out of the ring, I think the disciplined mindset he learned …

It always amazes me when I take the time to read bios and interviews with artists that I don’t know very much about because there never fails to be a handful of information that surprises or impresses me. Whether it’s something about their upbringing, their career, co-signs, connections, or even milestones that they’ve achieved, there is usually at least one or two things that I find interesting. Rich Amiri is someone I have heard of many times and have listened to every now and then, but I never took too much time to learn more about him, so when I saw he released a two-pack of records called “ruthless” and “trouble”, I wanted to give him a once-over so I could understand his journey a little more. I was just blown away to find out that he only started taking music seriously not very long ago, and even after starting to upload songs that were recorded in his bedroom to SoundCloud in 2020, it’s truly impressive to see the blossoming career he has built through great music, an individualistic sound, and a compelling personality, with a few viral moments to help along the way. In his newly released track “ruthless”, …

We have interviewed nearly 100 people on our Lemonade Stand interview platform so far, but today we have a first, as we recently interviewed athlete + podcast host Shaun Crawford! This episode is the first time that I have interviewed a non-musician, so it was a little bit different than what I (and our viewers) are used to, but it was a solid conversation and I plan on doing some more of these in the future. I spoke to Shaun about growing up in Ohio, his high school experience, attending Notre Dame, his football career, starting his Varsity House podcast, One of None, and much more! This may have been a first, but be expecting to see at least a few more athlete interviews from us in the near future, for now though, check this one out below!

There are some underground artists who are massive and have a huge fanbase of loyal listeners, but when I search for them on the internet, nothing comes up in terms of interviews, articles, or any other sort of publicity surrounding them. While I give those artists props for continuing to progress their careers, I love to learn about emcees who aren’t necessarily getting coverage from the nationally known publications out there. With all that being said, BIGBABYGUCCI is someone that I don’t have to search for too long in order to find information because it seems like every time he drops something new, there are ten more articles on him, and I think I learn more and more every single time. In fact, I found out that he was born exactly one day before me on August 13th, 1996, so while this is probably not relevant for most people reading this, it makes me feel more personally connected to my Leo brother, and that’s saying a lot because I have always been a massive fan from the jump. Well, enough of that rant, because I can’t wait to get to his brand-new song “No Smoke” which comes equipped with a …