1. Thank you very much for your time! Before we introduce your new release to our readers – what kind of drink would you recommend to zip on while they listen to your new music?
let’s get a bottle of Fortaleza Reposado! I like mine on the rocks but a margarita matches the summertime vibe of the track! For real though, I’m such a tequila guy I drink tequila all year round but I feel like tequila is the perfect summer spirit and in my right is the perfect summer song. so grab a bottle and some fresh lime and let’s get this party started!
2. Please give us an update about – new single, new album, tour dates, new videos?!
oh my god I have so much going on right now! In my ride is out, it’s the official lead single for my debut album. We are currently filming the video for the follow up single slated for release in October. it’s been a busy year for us, and we have a couple more surprises to round out the year. We are still working on the album so I’ll have a more concrete dates on that soon. I like to sit and marinate with my music and make sure everything’s cohesive before I release so as soon as I reach that point, we will announce an official release . I want to focus on performances next year and really pushing the album so we’re working with people and venues, so tour dates are in the works too….
3. We live in times of many conspiracy theories. Which, harmless, theory would you wish were true? (For example Dinos living inside Earth or E.T. living in a home in California)
I really hope that aliens are living among us and are here to correct us from destroying our planet. Also I can’t believe we are the most intelligent form of life in this universe. I need someone to come save us! I know that sounds awful, but I feel like humanity is in a dark place right now. It would be amazing to know there is something bigger than us looking out for us and is going to turn the tide into the right direction. And I also think it would be really cool if that was aliens!
4. What fashion style or brand would best describe your music?
I feel like my brand is a mix of slutty gay go go dancer meets vogue. We like to pull edgy fashion elements while continuing the “Pretti Boi” aesthetic. I never want to lose the fashion elements of the community I represent. I also pull a lot of inspiration from my favorite female MCs. Like I’ll send pictures of what my favorite female rappers are wearing and ask my stylist how do we make this male and gay! Every time we do a photo shoot or a music video we try to push the envelope a little bit further and elevate, the fashion, a little bit more. If you look at the outfits for my first two videos compared to what I wear now there’s a very distinct style, but it’s been elevated over the years.
5. Tell us more about your songs! Topics! Message!?
I think the biggest thing about my music is that I want people to have fun. I want to have a song for every occasion I want people blaring my music when they’re getting ready to go to the club, I want people playing my music when they’re writing down PCH at 3 AM just cruising. With this album in particular, I wanted to narrate the story of me becoming whole again after losing someone I really really cared about. The ebbs and flows of the album really resonate all the emotions you go through during a break up. Albums used to be part of telling a story. I want my album to tell a story, I want my album to tell my story.
6. Beside music, do you have any special talents?
I’m not sure if I’m allowed to talk about that in public. I will leave some of my hidden talents to your imagination. But seriously, what most people don’t know about me is that I went to school for visual arts,more specifically photography and metal work. I’m actually a really good painter as well. I think that reflects a lot in my music videos because I like to take creative direction and I think my artistic mind and background help with that so yeah I guess you call me a true Renaissance man.
7. Name 5 things we all should know about you as an artist?!
One is as an Aries I don’t do anything halfway. I’m all in with everything I do. Two at the end of the day it’s my way or no way when it comes to my art. Three I may come across as stand offish but I’m actually one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet and I’ll always go out of my way to help a friend in need. Four, I write all of my own music so any lyric you hear me perform I wrote myself. Five I am my own worst critic and every time I release a track I have a major anxiety attack about how it will be received. I also listen to my music before it’s released by the time you hear it, I’m already tired of the song.
8. How did you learn to sing/ to write/ to play??
I think there’s a certain artistic ability that people are born with. For example, both my parents were musically inclined, and I think I inherited some of that I think being around it constantly helps shape you and build your brain and ears for music growing up. I used writing a lot to escape, the harsh realities of my childhood. I also love to read which really helped expand my vocabulary. The rapping aspects really developed when I started listening to more secular music. I was instantly drawn to the sounds of Southern hip-hop to my all-time favorite artists like Ludacris and TI. And later my all-time favorite female MC Nicki Minaj..
9. Do you feel like there’s any direct competition for you in your current area of music?
I don’t see a lot of people doing what I do on a scale that I do it on. I do work with a lot of artists within the same lane as me, but I think we’re all doing our own thing and I don’t feel like any of us are in competition with each other. People I have had or still have issues with I always felt stemmed from jealousy over competition. If you don’t like what I do or think you can do it better then go for it. There’s very few people within the queer hip-hop community that I’ve ever had problems or beef with and nine times out of ten I’m not the one who created the problem or started the issue. that’s why I address it in my music and not on social media, put your pen where your mouth is.
Instagram: @prettiboiroq
Photo: Nicholas Eastman