What’s Good Everyone! It’s Ryan and we are back with another interview! Today, we speak with Wuzee & Samil. Wuzee is the rapper and Samil provides the production on their work! They recently released a project titled Where Thoguhts Go To Die. They have a strong love for Hip Hop and it was awesome to get to know them better!
They are both two very talented individuals and have a very honest raw creative approach to making music! I asked them some questions and included their latest project below! Check out Wuzee Raps.
- Where are you from and what was it like grow up there?
Wuzee: I’m from Grand Rapids MI. I grew up on the S.E side it was chill I had a fun childhood. Grand Rapids isn’t super big so iv been all over the city I grew up poor but enjoyed myself.
Samil: I was born in Paterson, NJ but my parents moved to Michigan before I was 2. Around the age of 4-5 we moved to Cleveland where I spent most of my life. I moved back to Michigan around 2005 and have lived here since. Growing up in Cleveland during the 90’s was tough. The public school system was shit, but there were teachers who gave a shit and were instrumental in who I am now. My parents divorced when I was really young so it was just my mom, my brother and myself for a little while until we had more and more family moving to Cleveland from Dominican Republic and New York. I grew up with a lot of cousins, and I miss the time I spent with them.
2. What music did you hear growing up?
Wuzee: Growing up my mom was a big prince fan so I grey up listening to that along with shit like Annette Baker Adam and the Ants is another group that sticks out in my memories. My grandmother put me on oldies like Sam Cooke The Platters Nina Simone. As I got older I started getting into hip hop consciously around 11.
Samil: Growing up we listened to a lot of music my mom was into, Spanish language music from merengue, bachata, salsa to classic ballads, soul, etc., As I got older I got really heavy into jazz, bossa nova, rap, r&b.
3. What got you into Hip Hop?
Wuzee: Honestly I’m not sure I kinda was always into writing and I always had a connection with music so it kinda just happened along with older cousins encouraging me to rap and schooling me on shit weather they were just joking or not I kept at it. But 100% Dead Prez let’s get free and MFDOOMS Madvilan changed my life and then changed how I looked at rhyming.
Samil: I really immersed myself deeper into hip hop around middle school around ’96-97, I was all about Wu-Tang and No Limit, that’s all I listened to all year. I had a friend in my 9th grade music class who actually produced with his big brother in a studio and he would show me his process. I think he used a Roland keyboard workstation that used those floppy disks, at that time, that really lit a spark in me to produce rap music. When our music teacher found out what he could do and knew that I could play the piano he actually switched up his lesson plan and as a class he decided we were going to make a song from scratch for the marking period. He put some students in groups to write, and my friend and I were tasked with composing the song and creating the melody. That was one of the first times I ever thought, wow this is cool I think I can do this. But as far as making hip hop a career and doing it professionally, I really started taking it seriously around 2015-2016. Even though I used to make beats here and there, it was always just for fun, for myself, but I never thought I could just start doing it like I do now.
4. What would you dream collaboration be? Artists, producers, video directors etc etc…
Wuzee: Every one is pretty much dead lol. But I’d love to work with Roc Marciano Earl Sweatshirt Madlib Alchemist Boldy James cats on that frequency.
Samil: That’s a tough one, I look up to several artists I would love to work with, but if I had to pick one (or two) Earl Sweatshirt and Ghostface Killah.
5. Tell us about your latest project ‘Where Thoughts Go To Die’
Wuzee: Its in my opinion my best album and it was super easy to make samil did his thing on the beats I did my part on the rhymes the features came through proper and it worked. We kinda got back on our cult shit.
Samil: I like to let the art speak for itself and let individuals find their own layers of meaning within the art. I will say that compared to other projects, including the last one, this one is more feature heavy.
6. What else do you have planned for 2021?
Wuzee: You can expect physicals merch shows and more videos. I have a few projects mostly recorded “Struggle Face” produced by Darko the super “Bulletproof Carties” produced by Bronze Nazareth and two untitled projects with the homies Tvpes and Dusty Fingerz it’s going to be a busy year.
Samil: I have a couple more collaborative albums in the works with a few rappers. Fortune Cookies for Breakfast with MIC Book. Five Piece & A Biscuit (tentatively titled) an EP with A1, featuring Willie the Kid on a track. I also have a beat tape dropping before summer ends.
7. What are your favorite Hip Hop albums?
Wuzee: Top five hip hop albums in no order. “Aquemini” ( Outkast) “Madvilan” ( MFDOOM/Madlib) “Let’s get free” (Dead Prez) “Undone” (The Roots) and “6 feet deep” (GraveDiggaz) just of top.
Samil: Liquid Swords, Illmatic, 36 Chambers, Mm…Food, It Was Written, It’s Dark & Hell Is Hot, Iron Man, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx….more “recent” albums include, Some Rap Songs, Food & Liquor, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, I know there’s more but it’s hard to just pick out a selection.
8. If you could work with any current mainstream Hip Hop artist/producer who would it be?
Wuzee: Tyler, The Creator.
Samil: Earl Sweatshirt.
9. Biggest lesson life has taught you?
Wuzee: It can’t rain all the time.
Samil: Trust your intuition/gut, it’s usually right.
10. Anything you want the world to know…
Wuzee: Just know we out for the gusto and we going to keep it raw. WuzeeRaps.com
Samil: I appreciate every listener and follower and take nothing for granted. At the end of the day none of this matters, do what makes you happy, follow your gut, don’t judge yourself too harshly and don’t second guess yourself so much.
