An interview with $hun
The other day I was on the train scrolling through new songs on SoundCloud when I came across this artist called $hun. His bio read “Got tired of waiting on artists to drop new music so I decided to do that shi*t myself”…he seemed real to me so I wanted to hear what he had to say. I started with his track ’09 JAMS. because I saw that it was produced by 9th Wonder who happens to be one of my favourite producers. Yes, JAMLA is The Squad. I knew if it had that 9th Wonder beat it was sure to be a great song.
After hearing the track I was sold. Not only was the beat fire but $hun’s mellow flow and lyricism was the perfect accompaniment. I noticed that the song came from an EP he released this year titled WILL RAP 4 A WAY OUTTA HERE which comprises of 12 songs which I then went on to listen to. This is what the artist had to say…
Tell the readers a bit about yourself in a couple of sentences.
My name is $hun and I’m an up and coming hip-hop artist out of Houston, Texas. I’ve been making music going on three years now. I’m not really fond of the new age of hip-hop. To me, Jay-Z is the GOAT.
How would you describe your sound?
I would describe my sound as me. I look at hip-hop as an intelligent movement and I feel like a part of that is taking your influences and creating your own sound. I feel like that is what I do. My sound is hip-hop with my own twist to it.
I like that. Who are your biggest inspirations?
My biggest inspirations would have to be three artists. Jay Z, Curren$y and Dom Kennedy. I really love how they attacked the music industry with their own rules and gained a fanbase. So when they meet with big name labels, they have the leverage to demand the things that they want.
True. Dom Kennedy’s album Get Home Safely didn’t get the recognition it deserved. I’m still bumping Still Callin. Is there anyone you would like to collab with?
If I could collab with anyone at the moment, it would have to be off the top of my head Jay Z. Other than that, at the moment it will have to be Anderson .Paak. He’s so dope to me.
Anderson .Paak is actually one of my favourite artists. I’m glad you said him. Now that would be a collaboration I’d love to hear! What is your opinion on the state of the hip-hop industry today?
I feel like the state of hip-hop is at a good place. I know people like to say it’s the age of mumble rap but if you ask me, two of the three kings of hip-hop right now are conscious rappers (Kendrick and Cole). You’ve always had different branches in hip-hop ever since the start of the 2000’s. It’s just that the real hip-hop is what is timeless and what sticks around.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
In the next five years I see myself still at it and grinding. As long as I’m still progressing in five years then I’m fine with that. Whether I’m on or not.
What advice would you give to young musicians struggling to breakout into the industry?
Keep pushing and never compromise your art. If you like it, then believe somebody else does as well. You need to always know there are enough people in the world for everybody to have fans. Do what YOU love and make what YOU like.
You’ve got some really dope tracks on ‘WILL RAP 4 A WAY OUTTA HERE’. What was the inspiration behind it’s name?
I’m honestly not sure where the inspiration came from lol, it just came to me one day. It was around the time of the presidential election as well, as a string of unfortunate incidents have happened to my people over the past few years. So I wanted the title to represent multiple angles. Will rap for a way outta this society, out of this realm, out of this age. It can represent so many things to me.
Can you tell us a bit about the themes or ideas you are thinking of addressing in your next project?
C’mon now, you know I can’t do that. Just stay tuned…
INTHEWRITERSMIND 