When I interviewed WemmyMo, I was accompanied by Jared Avalos. We walked into a warmly lit apartment and took a seat, catching up with Wemmy. Before getting the recording equipment set up, we talked about what we had been up to since our last encounter. Since this was around the time Wemmy had released “Moppas and Choppas,” that was what we dug into once the interview started.
Marcus: How did your track “Moppas and Choppas” feat. D2X come to life?
Wemmy: “Moppas and Choppas” was a beat produced by DJ Baylor, so it had to be around November, December-ish of 2019. We were in the midst of working on a project and we didn’t have no track like that, we didn’t have no turn up track. So Baylor went to the crib, had an idea in his head because we talked about it beforehand, went in the crib, did exactly what we talked about, and sent me that shit. [I] hopped in the studio the next day [and] laid that on. I heard about D2X [by] just seeing him around, in the sense of social media and shit, and we had a show together at HotRod. DJ HotRod was throwing the LIT PIT concert he does every year and me and D2X was both on the lineup so I was like ‘yeah this’ll be dope.’ In general with my project I always wanted to make sure it was extremely Chicago-oriented in the sense of ‘this was a project for the city,’ you know what I’m saying? When you hear certain classics, like Acid Rap, when you hear Finally Rich, it feels like Chicago. So in order for something to feel like Chicago you have to have Chicago on it, so we definitely did our duties with that track, definitely going down as classic.
How was it working with D2X?
It was dope! He’s a real down to earth individual, g. He’s a real dude. I like working with those that I have a connection with in the sense of we both know what we’re in it for, and he’s one of them cats that’s really in it for the longevity. In general, we connected off bat, we chopped it up for like an hour and a half before we really started rapping, for real. I believe that was the first day I met him too, so it was definitely just good vibes. We was connected beforehand just showing love via social media, so as soon as we locked in the energy was already there.
When did you learn how to start playing instruments?
At the age of six, I started playing the drums. When I was like thirteen I picked up the keyboard. I’m Nigerian, as well, so we have a cultural drum called the talking drum. I know how to play every Nigerian native drum. Everything’s been self taught with everything I do, rapping, music, everything I know.
I definitely want to pick up a lot more instruments, like the saxophone, trumpet, possibly bass, I definitely want to learn. The younger you are, the easier it is to learn now than when you’re older. When you’re older you can still do it, it’s just not gonna work the same. I ain’t gone lie, to be truthful with y’all, I get more enjoyment in playing music than I do making it, if that makes sense. I’ll prefer to play the keys than to write 16 bars, but then again playing the keys I end up freestyling. That’s how it is for me, but I’m really music oriented when it comes to live instruments, I love that shit.
Building off of that, do you plan on mixing Nigerian music with jazz and rap?
Fuck yeah. I have a tweet that I made probably two years ago about that shit. But hell yeah bro, without a fucking doubt. If anything, with me it’s just patience. I don’t wanna force feed y’all, because I feel like in general when it comes to Afrobeat, it’s top right now in the sense that it’s become extremely commercial. But, everybody knows I’m Nigerian and those who know me know how Nigerian I am, I’m more Nigerian than some of these Afrobeat artists. I’m Nigerian as fuck! The same way I’m four years into this shit, I’m taking it step by step. For example, when y’all came in here y’all couldn’t just come upstairs all the way. Y’all had to get buzzed in, then after you got buzzed in you had to give your ID, then you had to take the elevator, then I had to open the door. But I feel like I treat music the same way. This is you getting buzzed in, this is the part of my life in which I’m buzzing you in. You don’t know shit about me, I’m just letting you know what I want you to know. But I’m an artist, bro, I haven’t even reached my full potential yet and y’all haven’t seen half of that.
You’ve been hyping up your project 002 for a while now, what should fans expect with it?
With 002 expect rawness. It’s definitely extremely raw in the sense of I’m speaking on topics that really connect with those who are listening. I feel like with my audience I have a range from my peers, to a lot of older people that’s like 20 or 30, and kids that are like 7 to 10, so it’s like the music is preparing those who are 7 to 10 for what’s to come, I’m speaking for those who are going through the shit I’m going through right now with my peers, and when it comes to speaking to those that are older it’s like ‘oh, I went through that.’ It’s the shit in which a OG can turn it on, she can enjoy it while she’s driving the car and you sitting in the car seat can too.
Exactly, it’s something for everybody. It’s not just targeting a specific group with, say, drill music. Drill, that’s not targeting the kids and the older fans, it’s a specific demographic.
It definitely is a specific demographic, but it’s a lot of kids who can also relate to it. It’s crazy enough because I also say people find satisfaction they understand and things they don’t understand, like us. Personally, coming from Chicago I can relate to the drill shit and love it for what it is, and a person that’s the burbs could know nothing about it, but because they know nothing about it they’re drawn to it.
How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist since the release of your project Bittersweet?
I’m definitely not the same person, but in a good way. I’ve grown a lot since then. In general, I feel like there’s a kid within everybody, so that premature, adolescent, youthful, vibrant person is still in me, but it’s just a more mature version of me. I show it through my music, through everything I do. I know you just met me recently, but this is the first time I’ve grown out my hair in like seven or eight years, ever since I’ve been rapping I had waves. But with me gearing up for my second project, I’m using my life and I’m using my physical appearance as a representation of growth, you know what I’m saying? My fucking beard ain’t all the way connected yet, but that’s okay because I’m growing! Music is always a timestamp of life, like you see with DaBaby’s album cover he has a mask on, that’s a timestamp right there, you know what I’m saying? It’s like ‘oh I remember in 2020 when we wore masks!’ It’s just what it is. I’m saying that to say that Bittersweet Wemmy is still here, but it’s just a more developed version.
What has 2020 taught you in terms of music? How have you developed as an artist not just since Bittersweet, but with 2020 as a whole?
In regards to music, I feel like what this year has taught me is to branch off, in the sense of everybody being in the house, on their phones all day, and listening to music at an all-time high now, you realize we’ve all been listening to the same shit, every song you play has heavy ass 808s in your ear, that shit is redundant. And as an artist who’s trying to get on to what he’s trying to get on, you can see how easy it is to adapt to and assimilate to that type of shit just for the value of being on. But, regardless of the fact, I’ve learned to enjoy the process for what it is. Musically, I play the keyboard a lot more, I’ve been singing a lot more than I used to. It’s only been a benefit, it’s only given me time in which I can strengthen the areas I need to work on.
How do you feel about the recent events that have been unfolding following George Floyd’s death and everything that’s been going on as far as Black Lives Matter goes?
I feel like in general, it’s crazy you say this because I was thinking about it in my head today, the founding fathers of this country once said the rebellion to tyranny is obedience to God. So essentially, this country was built on fighting for your rights, fighting for what you believe is correct. When you have an instance where from the beginning of this situation with black people in America, we didn’t ask for this. Y’all came to us and was like ‘Oh cool what y’all got going on over there?’ And took everything, did what y’all did. Then you put us in slavery, “abolish” slavery and did Jim Crow. ‘We abolished slavery, but you still can’t eat with us!’ You know what I’m saying? The 13th Amendment still exists, everybody is free unless they’re in prison. So what we’re going to do is we’re going to finance this system in which we can make sure there’s circumstances to place them in the prison, because we’re not even going to give them reparations for what we stole from them, we’re not going to gear them up so they don’t have to do that. We’re going to do that, watch them do that, make fun of them, and program it through the media. Did you hear about the Looney Tunes character Taz? Shorty, I just learned that the Looney Tunes character Taz was based on the Tasmanian people, so it’s based off of a group of people that were black. If you think about the way Taz acts, he acts all crazy, you see what I’m saying? You learn that as a kid, though! You get what I’m saying? It’s all conditioned. It’s all programmed. It’s all a situation where we’ve been dealing with this shit and the thing with George Floyd was this was just put on camera. You can see this n*gga’s knee on his neck. You see it so you’re like ‘bro what the fuck?’ That’s why it’s so fucked up, because you see with the Breonna Taylor situation they’re lagging and beating around the bush with it? Because the shit wasn’t on camera! You get what I’m saying?
Nowadays, so many people don’t wanna fight for what’s right if they don’t have “proof” or “facts,” like not everything is recorded.
In general, when it comes to the whole police, all that shit originated from slave patrol. So the institution itself is embedded in systematic hatred towards people that are poor, and attached to that are black and brown people. It’s a domino effect, everything is connected. At the end of the day, regardless I’m for all of this shit. There’s a lot of things that I don’t fully agree with, but who the fuck am I to tell you how to channel your energy? We are all frustrated so at this point we know we can’t keep begging. If I’m giving you food to eat and I know that I’m getting rich off of it, why would I stop doing what I’m doing to fuck up what I’ve got going on? They’re capitalizing off of what we’re doing, off of us, so how can we expect these people who are capitalizing off of us to help us? For the allies that do wanna help, yes we need that. But, in general, we have to be more financially responsible, we have to have an economic system in which we’re going to thrive because that’s what it is now. Fuck all the social shit, we’ve gotta learn how to hunt and grow our own food. We gotta take care of ourselves.
What does Black Lives Matter mean to you personally?
Black Lives Matter acknowledges the fact that all lives matter, but in this current situation because all lives don’t matter to everybody, we have to specify that black lives matter. You get what I’m saying, because people hit it with that rebuttal. We eating at a table, you got food, you got food, I don’t got food! You got steak on your plate, corn, mashed potatoes, I’ve got a fork and nothing. So I’m like ‘aye bro, I think I deserve food!’ and you’re like ‘yeah, you deserve food. But everybody deserves food!’
Yeah, in that situation it’s like obviously everybody deserves food, but I’m the one at the table hungry without nothing on my plate.
Right, that’s exactly what it is bro. I saw a comedian who was like ‘let’s say your girl come up to you and she’s like baby do you love me? [And you’re like] I love everybody! But do you love me?!’ You know what I’m saying?
Exactly! You don’t need to show that you love everybody because that’s not the issue at hand. The question is do you love me? I don’t give a fuck if you love everybody else.
And that’s all it is, g. It’s just like right now we’re dealing with a situation, and it’s not even right now this has been for years, years, years and years. That’s what it is man, that’s what Black Lives Matter means to me.
What are your goals for the rest of the year?
Definitely more music, more content. I definitely plan on putting out my next project in addition to doing a lot of things to better the circumstances in which we’re in now. It’s a lot of dope organizations out there who I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with to do a lot of dope things. What I’m doing with that [is] finding more balance, because there’s a lot of things that I want to do, but just knowing what exactly it is that requires more of my time right now and what can wait.
I’ve noticed you’ve been getting a lot of radio placement with “Moppas and Choppas.” I feel like there’s a lot of people that don’t understand how to get their music to the right ears through radio. Can you explain the process that went into that and give them insight?
In regards to Chicago, a lot of the platforms that want to play your song are out there and they promote it. Vocalo is one, Illinoize Radio is one, DJ HotRod uses the LitPit that he does every Saturday for promotion to underground artists, I know WGCI has submissions, you know so it’s open. I also try to find different states and countries. They were just spinning me in London a few days ago. It’s just about doing your research and digging. It’s out there, g. We in a time where everything we need is right there. Back in the day, especially when it comes to this music shit, you couldn’t even go to a radio station without a label backing you. A radio station wouldn’t even look at you.
Yeah, back then you didn’t have social media and all that to speak for you.
Fuck no. Fuck no. No social media, at all. But the resources are out there, the information is out there.
What’s the meaning of 002?
002 is my second mixtape, so that’s why it came. That number was just in my head, I’ve had that number in my head for a long time. It was a thought that I brought to life, like the way I say it on my track, I’ve always had that in the back of my head. The full title is ‘Suffering and Smiling: 002,’ so the meaning behind it is in order to be and get what you want out of life you have to suffer. But, it’s temporary suffering for the greater reward of smiling. Those who never sacrifice and never take risks end up suffering forever, and to cope with that suffering they smile. So, there’s like a double meaning to it.
What are your plans after the release of 002?
Hmm, I like that, that’s a good question. After I drop 002, I’m dropping an EP titled WemmyThePooh. That’s an exclusive, you heard it here first. I haven’t even told my homies about it yet.
And is that just now something that you’re putting together?
The songs are already done for it, so I just have to package it.
I was watching your interview with Lyrical Lemonade and noticed you were talking about how there’s not really an industry in Chicago to connect creatives with the resources that they really need. If you were the one who had to bring this industry together, how would you go about it?
I would create a center. Some type of hive that can bring all of those who are passionate in the arts into one. Whether that’s having a fatass community center, whether it’s leasing a space and having studio rooms, whatever it is, and I would throw events on a day to day basis. Because that’s all it really be, bro, Chicago is together but it’s so big that it’s together in certain pockets. You know when you go to Coachella or Lollapalooza there’s mosh pits going around, right? Artists yelling out ‘mosh pit! Mosh pit!’ You got a mosh pit there, mosh pit there, a mosh pit there, and a mosh pit there, but if everybody turned around they would realize ‘yo, if we stepped back it could be one big ass mosh pit.’ And that’s how Chicago is, everybody’s together but it’s all scattered out.
I feel like you could attribute that, at least in part, to just how segregated Chicago is.
Yeah! It all connects. That’s what I’m saying, there’s so many aspects in how Chicago is operated, even in the legal system, that has to do with why it’s tied together. Think about it, a lot of black people in Chicago migrated from the south, so that’s why we have such a tie. That’s why we have drill music. It comes from inspirations of Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Three 6 Mafia. You get what I’m saying?
What specifically do you think artists in Chicago need to know on the business side of things?
I feel like advice that is definitely useful for a lot of upcoming artists is that once you have that buzz, and once you have that solid foundation of following, nobody can ever take that from you. Aligning yourself in the best way to where you can have that easily can guarantee a long [career], you can live off of music for the next 50 years. If you could understand to own your publishing, understand to own your masters, understand that yeah, streams off of Spotify and Apple Music can make you money, but the money really at the tours and merch. If you can grasp an understanding of that and how it plays back into the connectedness you have to your fans, because think about it bro. I can put you onto me right now, you can look me up on Apple Music and listen to my music, cool. I got that out of the way, you’re listening, but if you’re down to buy a shirt with my face on it, that’s different, you know what I’m saying? That’s the type of mentality you have to have when it comes to the business of this game.
You just gotta understand that having a core is better than going viral and getting your little 15 minutes of fame. If you get that 15 minutes of fame, cool you’ve got eyes on you for a little bit, but if you don’t capitalize on that you’re going to fall off.
Right. And you gotta understand it’s another thing because [of] labels. You know how this shit is run, we create this whole hip-hop shit and then these capitalistic ass motherfuckers buy it from us, then they sell it back to us. So if we can understand the importance of ownership, it’s not only gonna help us in hip-hop but all facets.
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