SEARCH FOR: INTERVIEWS

Daniyel is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met, let alone artists, and not too long ago I brought him by the LL headquarters for a new Lemonade Stand interview! I spoke to Daniyel about plenty of interesting subjects such as growing up in Portland, submitting to America’s Got Talent as a kid, wanting to get into filmmaking, meeting Stevie Wonder + Slick Rick, the “Lost Ones” music video directed by Cole Bennett, his latest album 82, artists he wants to work with in the future and much more. This was one of my personal favorite interviews that I have ever done, take a few minutes out of your day to watch it below!

Creative Direction: @shotbycones We are a couple of weeks removed from our annual Summer Smash festival, and we are all still having major withdrawals from such a great weekend. After the past year that we had of quarantining, social distancing, and avoiding large events, it felt amazing to be able to come outside and enjoy our festival once again. With over 75 artists on our lineup ranging from the up-and-coming rappers to superstars and legends, it was truly a weekend to remember, and a special moment for not only Lyrical Lemonade but Chicago as a whole. I had the opportunity to work as a lead for the Summer Smash Media Team—a squad full of some of the best photographers and videographers in the game put together by our guy Cones. All weekend long, they captured tons of videos, photos, and clips of the entire run of show. While our full recap of the entire Summer Smash weekend is dropping very soon, I felt it would be a great idea to give my perspective on some of the best moments that happened during Summer Smash. At last, here are some of the best moments of Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash 2021!   …

Tommy Richman is an artist who I was told about a handful of months ago, and because he is still on the rise, it is somewhat difficult to find out more information on him. This kind of adds to his allure, in my opinion, because his very unique music is nothing like I’ve heard recently, and seeing how versatile he can be makes me realize that I don’t need to read interviews and articles to know just how talented he is as an artist. Nonetheless, The Virginia-based talent is never taking his foot off the gas and that has led to some of the most incredible music out right now. Although I don’t normally write about this style of music, I’m a big fan of it regardless, so when I saw that he released a new song called “Chrono Trigger”, I had to tune in and I was blown away with the results yet again. As soon as you press play, we’re greeted by some distorted 808s that quickly transition us into a soothing guitar progression that proceeds to lead us right into a fast-paced, upbeat drum line that really gets things moving and sets the tone of this record. …

Just yesterday, I wrote about a brand-new Yung lean track and talked about how he and bladee are some of the most original, incredible artists in the entire music industry, and that’s largely due in part to the fact that their styles just don’t sound like anything else you hear in music right now. I’ve been heavily invested in the hyperpop music scene over the past few months, and when I see interviews with many of these young artists, they cite bladee as being one of their influences, and while their music doesn’t necessarily sound very similar, that have this way of expanding upon his experimental, individualistic sound that is as unique as it gets. Most recently, the drain gang leader decided to bless fans with a music video for his song entitled “egobaby” which is shot by Hendrik Schneider, and I couldn’t wait to share it with you all as soon as I watched it. Opening up in a very shadowy, somewhat ominous setting, bladee emerges from underneath a man-made track through a sewer cap-looking entrance wearing what appears to be a spin on an outfit that a jester might’ve worn back in the medieval times. Containing a filter …

Joey Purp has been a mainstay in Chicago’s music scene for some years now and he’s one of my personal favorite rappers of the past decade. A few months ago I had Joey Purp come by the Lyrical Lemonade office for a new interview, and today we just dropped the final product. You will find Joey talking about several subjects such as his musical influences, how Savemoney formed, his upcoming music releases, Leather Corduroys, Knox Fortune, his discography, working with fellow Chicago native femdot, a collab project with KAMI, what he thinks is missing in Chicago’s music scene and much more. This was one of my favorite interviews that I have ever done, it was a great conversation and I hope that you think the same!

A little less than two weeks ago, Cochise came to Chicago to shoot his latest music video for “Tell Em” featuring $NOT, directed by Lyrical Lemonade’s own Cole Bennett. The day before that video was shot, Cole asked if I would be interested in interviewing Cochise, who I knew very little about at the time, so I agreed and started doing some research. I met Cochise roughly fifteen minutes before this interview started but it turned out GREAT, he has such an amazing personality and it made for one of my favorite interviews that I’ve done to date! I spoke to Cochise about several topics in this interview such as when he first started making music, his love for Odd Future, his soccer career, his new record “Tell Em” featuring $NOT, using his voice like an instrument, how he wanted to become a pirate and much more. Take some time out of your Monday to watch this brand new interview below!

“A lot of people have told me that I was the first person that made them feel at home and made them feel accepted. I want to make people feel the most authentic and show the world the best version of themselves that they can be.” -MK XYZ Photo Credit: Jackson x Joshua As much as it may seem like common sense, being your true self and owning your own personality is something that seems like it’s beyond normal now. With so many people trying to emulate whatever the next trend is, it’s rare that we find those artists that are just true to themselves inside and out. Once we stumble across an artist like that, we hold them near and dear to us–as they could go on to be a trendsetter, a leader, and an innovator for those who follow after them. One artist in particular who stands on their beliefs high and proud would be the next R&B sensation, MK XYZ. There are plenty of things that make MK far more unique than the average R&B singer. First and foremost, she was raised by Filipino and Black parents, experienced two different cities coming up, and is someone who …

To my knowledge, Lyrical Lemonade was one of the first big blog outlets to cover 18Veno – at the very least, we did one of his first interviews, which remains one of my favorite interviews I’ve done to date. I remember finding “1942” for the first time, mesmerized by the level of charisma packed into the song and equally as excited about the otherworldly production behind the release, courtesy of Neeko Baby. As time went on, the promise that Veno showed when I originally came across his music only grew. He developed into an outstanding storyteller, a firecracker of energy on every song he touched, and an artist whose hunger and excitement about music oozed through every song, every verse, and every line. Simply put, it felt like 18Veno wanted it more than anyone else. He was the chosen one out of South Carolina, developed by jetsonmade and the BoyMeetSpace camp into an undeniable voice in his state and beyond. Tragically, 18Veno’s life was taken in January, just 18 years old and on the verge of a breakout year. When the news came out, an outpouring of support arrived from artists, producers, fans, and friends alike, only cementing the profound impact …

As a Massachusetts native, I’ve had the pleasure of watching Brockton, MA supergroup Van Buren Records develop over the years, both individually and as a group. To say the least, every name in the crew has put in the work several times over. They’ve explored different sounds, figured out what feels right, put things out, gone back to the drawing board, practiced, and ultimately, found a sweet spot that speaks for itself in the form of their outstanding debut project, Bad For Press. 13 tracks long, Bad For Press is a massively focused effort – no easy feat when you’re a group trying to bring so many different voices, personalities, and styles into the same space, especially when done with such grace and fluidity. Each track feels like a step further into the world of Van Buren, which is especially important considering the group’s Brockton, MA roots (I’ve written about this before, but when you come from a place like Brockton that isn’t nationally known for music, it’s commendable to embrace those roots and make the effort in bringing listeners to Brockton.) Working on this basis of shared experience and chemistry, the group carves out an illustrious world of sound, cohesive in …

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to feature one of my favorite artists, syd B for her latest song, “Freezing” and today, she’s back on our pages for her new offering called, “Guilt Trip”. What’s best about this one is that syd didn’t do it alone; The up and comer enlisted help from her dear friend and close collaborator, Floyd Fuji which makes for a full piece overall. Instead of just writing some words in article format, I thought it would be beneficial to sit down with both syd and Floyd to talk about life, music and their working relationship! Continue reading to check out my conversation with them! — Sam: I’ve actually never written down questions for interviews. I just like having conversations and seeing where it takes us; So the first thing I’d love to know is how the two of you met. Both of you can take turns telling your side of the story. syd: Okay, I want to go first! Floyd: I knew she was going to try to go first! She hopped up so quick! syd: Okay, so, we both went to Berklee kind of around the same time. I’m a …