SOL:
Hola Lwansta why arent you making music that can make you commercial?
BYLWANSTA:
*Yo king...let's call it a preference...because all it it really is on my part is preference, I have absolutely (lol) nothing against commercial music, my issue is that, the term "commercial" has becoming a STYLE, opposed to, back in the day when, a commercial song was a song that would sell very well, the term "commercial" was an ATTACHMENT rather than a style, where any song that was SELLING was considered a "commercial song" for example, take Tupac's "Do For Love", considered one of the best selling songs of 1998, having sold over 500,000 units that song is considered a "commercial" success, yay, but that was Tupac's style, Tupac didn't have to make a certain SOUND or make a certain song for it to sell 500 000 units...but it was commercial though...fast forward to today, when someone says "Make something commercial Lwansta" doesn't that blatantly mean I should conform to a certain STYLE and STANDARD...oh, and FORMULA? 'Cause that's what "commercial music" has become these days there's a blueprint and guidelines for this formula, written in some of our favorite songs. So for me I don't have a problem with that music. I just feel like I want people to like no appreciate what I have to offer opposed to just liking a song...that's probably a copy and paste of something else...I just want to stand for something.
SOL
On your intro you have dude that talks about how you need to sound like a certain artist to blow up. Which artist do they say you should sound like?
BYLWANSTA:
I don't think he meant a specific artist, but rather the artists who are popping right now, the guys who blow up everyday, their formula isn't too different from my perspective, like I mentioned above there's a FORMULA ne, so homie on the song is suggesting that I use the formula and just get people to know my name at least. So basically, he's talking about a lot of artists in the game right now dissecting their come up, their methods, and hoping I use them too, but I'm stubborn unfortunately. That skit was actually inspired by a real life event that happened at a house party I was at homie thought he was helping me out, I get that, he means well for sure he wants me to win....but I didn't let it stick in my head for a second.
SOL
Your content is quite backpack and lyrical and Indian Ocean is a love song that was unexpected. What type of girl does Lwansta write a whole interlude for like you did Indian Ocean?
BYLWANSTA:
* This would be much easier to answer if she wasn't sitting right behind me laughs. I feel like for me to write a happy song, period, I have to, HAVE TO not have anything depressing to write about so how the song came along was through peace around me this "type of girl" managed to block out all the negativity in my life for a good while, long enough for me to get frustrated at writer's block (because I get most of my genuine inspiration from frustration and disappointment) and to just write about what was happening right now. I called the song Indian Ocean because one would usually associate the beach with calmness so basically she was the beach to my frustration calmed me down that's why it was "one of the hardest songs I've had to write", I was channeling a side of me I left outside music. So she's a special "type of girl" for that to happen.
SOL:
You sound like you've had some interracial relationships based on the track Grey. What was the experience? Is that a made up story?
BYLWANSTA:
laughs I've had one since I got to Durban same "type of girl" I speak of in Indian Ocean, that's why the song gels into Grey so obviously (beach, sunny weather, into heavy storm vibes), it's like the story continues, like, Lwansta finds his happiness on the first song, but has to fight for it not to be taken from him in the second. I had a song on my NORMVL Mixtape titled The Corner that had a similar formula in The Corner, I imagined having a conversation with my father breaking down how deep this music thing is for my brother (Kimosabe) and how serious it is mentally and how he needs to let us do it, but it's not a conversation I imagine having in real life, hence why I "imagined" it via the song. So Grey takes on a similar format as in, I'm speaking to my "type of girl's" mother, something we've both agreed I probably never should do, in the midst of all this animosity of course. I've imagined how the conversation would go down, I created the mood, the tone, the weather, everything, I painted the picture vividly for me, 'cause after the song I decided I'll probably never speak to her about it, in that manner anyway. But yeah, it's a true story.
SOL:
You also sound like a perfectionist why would you let Grey have a heavily inspired Outkast Ms Jackson chorus? Its almost a word for word intepretation?
BYLWANSTA
* Kimosabe actually penned that chorus for the song. Originally, the concept existed for this song, the verses, everything, I just needed my brother to join me on this project and I figured since he's also in an interracial relationship it would be appropriate. So he interpreted the concept I gave him in his own way, Outkast's Ms Jackson is basically Andre 3Stacks apologizing to Erykah Badu's mom, which makes makes a lot of sense that he "sampled" that hook for this situation, I honestly thought it was brilliant, one of my favorite hooks on the EP, because it was well thought out, it was an obvious sample, it used an existing framework, but it was GENIUS because he related 3Stacks' situation to mine, where I'm essentially apologizing for not being the guy (shade) she imagined for her daughter. I think it was perfect.
SOL:
Did you drop out of school cause you really curse it out quite a few times on the EP?
BYLWANSTA
* laughs I didn't, fortunately, but it's the only thing standing between me and my musical freedom. Don't get me wrong, I really like graphic design, what sort of pisses me off is how corporate everything's suppose to end up. We're essentially being trained to be part of the corporate world. I don't have any issues with the corporate world, but as soon as you try take away what ability to use my heArt, then we may have a problem. Otherwise, I could never drop out, graphic design has taught me probably some of the most IMPORTANT lessons about being an artist (music), branding myself, living what I say, saying what I live, understanding myself, finding myself, the list goes on. I'm gonna stick around till I get to wear that gown and cap...both with NORMVL embroided on them.
SOL:
How did you hook up with Sipho The Gift on Stay At Home?
BYLWANSTA:
* The Gift actually inboxed me his mixtape, Coming Of Age, on SoundCloud, and I listened to it and loved it, so I hit him back on some "This is some really good stuff king!", he then said he'd checked out some of my stuff and he appreciated it as well, and said we should probably work on something in the future, I was down af. I ended up hitting him up for a collaboration towards the end of 2015 with an idea, nothing tangible, so while I was recording for Your Absolutely Right, I heard a Sipho The Gift verse on it, and immediately hit him up, and he sent it back, complete, and I was really happy.
SOL:
The track The Sigh made me wonder hows your relationship with your parents are they cool with your rapping?
BYLWANSTA
* My parents and I have such a, uhm, parent/kid relationship laughs. The stereotype parent/kid relationship, or at least I hope it's still the stereotype where, they're my parents, and I'm their son, I don't give them much of a hard time, I try be as useful as I can when I get home, I'm everyone's driver when I'm home laughs. About music? I sort of keep that life away from them. It's not so much a secret, but it's not a topic either. My father didn't like the idea back when Kimo and I were making music in the back room of my mother's home, and since Kimo went to Jozi to study (pursue music) my father picked up his patterns, and made sure I don't end up in Jozi, so he chose Durban, which, might I add is one the BEST DECISIONS EVER MADE FOR ME. I would have never been NORMVL, I would have never been the guy I am today if I hadn't ended up where I probably don't really have much family. Anyway, my mom's more chilled, she doesn't listen to our(my) stuff though, she knows she'll be disappointed unfortunately.
SOL:
Did MTV finally play your video on The Sigh you say they rejected one of your videos?
BYLWANSTA
*Unfortunately they didn't, but since I vented on The Sigh, I'm not mad anymore, platforms like those remind me of what bothers me about my studies, in order to succeed you have to put your heArt aside. I feel like me not "blowing up" as quickly as everyone else gave me a chance to work on myself, make myself attractive to brands and blogs/sites, just general self-tweaking.
SOL:
Whats the Gigi Lamayne story?
BYLWANSTA
* loads instrumental clears throat....there was this girl named Gigi!...I'm kidding, there isn't a Gigi Lamayne story, well, I don't think it's a story, but also I feel like everything I said about that on The Sigh is pretty explanatory.
SOL:
Why do you always beat yourself like the first character on The Routine? I see you have two personalities on that track one is pessimistic the other optimistic. In real life which character are you?
BYLWANSTA
* I feel like, personally, I'm probably the pessimist, since what actually happened on the song anyway. Since the gig, it's gotten a bit difficult trying to remember all the shows that actually went according to plan. For some annoying reason I'm never 100% satisfied, sure the audience feel I probably killed my set, but did I really? Was I focused? Did they sing along? Did they listen? Why did you do that thing there?...those are the kinds of questions that go through my head as soon as I walk off stage, it's really weird. It's actually something I should probably get checked out, because it always happens. I'm my harshest critique at times. I'm just never satisfied maybe I do exceptionally well but maybe not the way I planned, or probably imagine I planned, it's annoying. But it's something I developed when I got to Durban when everyone was a stranger and only I was sort of there for me,correcting me and propping myself up on the way. I don't have any of that with the release of this EP though hey, I genuinely love this EP, not as a daughter, but as music, I legit enjoy the music on it, credit goes to Champ for mixing and mastering and making it not cringeworthy to listen to, I love YAR before I am proud of it.
SOL:
Do you see yourself breaking out the "internet rapper" stigma?
BYLWANSTA
* Yeah, definitely with this project, I mean, I doubt you'd be asking me any of these questions if that's all I was. The internet has been incredibly good to me though, with regard to lessons and different avenues, so, the negativity that comes with the title "internet rapper" comes from the outside, but based on the number of times I've rocked a mic, I couldn't possibly just be an internet rapper.
BYW
SOL:
My last question based on "Something To Say" the last track on the EP. Is Lwansta a rapper mad at the system?
BYLWANSTA
* I think I am, I wouldn't describe myself as one though, personally. I feel like a lot of these titles I've been getting, like "angry" or "angriest rapper" probably won't have a positive outcome in the long run, they don't really benefit me in any sort of way, they just paint a not so friendly image of me when I'm generally a nice guy, legit, I'm probably "too nice" sometimes, I love a lot more things than I hate, but the difference is, I know what to do with my happiness, and that's to enjoy it, I don't think I have the time to sit and write songs when I'm at my happiest, I'm probably jumping off walls, it's my frustration and "anger" that I'd rather be alone and plotting. Thing is, my happiness and frustration go hand in hand in a sense that, being kind to people, being nice to them, and actually caring, that's cool, but when that gets overlooked or, not reciprocated, it's quite draining. I feel like, for every moment I'm angry about something, I was once really happy about it. But yeah, a lot of the time, fuck the system, it's not programmed for EVERYONE to win, unfortunately, but who says we should all operate under it? Anyway, Something To Say is one of my favorite songs on the EP, top 2, with Funny How, I produced both songs, so essentially, I never skipped a single step creating the songs.
Thanks king, this was a really cool interview.
If you havent heard it yet make sure you listen to Lwansta's tape over here.
