By Matthew Bridge
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
Hip hop knows no actual location, it resides inside the people who love the genre and want to contribute to it. In fact, this is how it found Futuristic, who is one of the biggest artists coming out of Arizona. Residing in the center of the desert, he has a chance to establish the hip hop scene.
Futuristic is well-aware of what he brings to the table, but this isn’t what he is focused on giving. Instead, Futuristic is simply focused on giving Traveling Local to the world and this is what he did today. But, a few days before he released the project, Futuristic gave Hip Hop Vibe a great conversation.
Giving Hip Hop Vibe a few minutes of his time, Futuristic discussed the new album, Traveling Local. Telling the people what to expect, Futuristic expressed excitement in some of the upcoming projects he was involved in. He also gave us a sneak peek into what he has coming up next.
Read the entire interview below:
Today is a big day for you, as you just dropped Traveling Local, how are you feeling today? Well, the preorder is out now, but the actual release date is not until the 9th.
What should fans expect from the Traveling Local project? They should honestly expect a little bit of everything. This one is deep, more personal, as it details what I’ve gone through over the past year and a half. Something like a biography of my past year and a half.
One of the guests on your new album is Emilio Rojas, how did that come together? Me and Emilio linked up after we both did Dizzy Wright’s Golden Age tour. But, we did a song before and my homie Bootleg Kev linked us up then. So, we have been in the mix with each other for a while. His new project is out as well.
Being an artist from Arizona, you come from a small market, because of that do you feel an added pressure to succeed? I don’t know, it’s kind of weird. A lot of people get caught up in putting Arizona on the map, but I wasn’t actually born here, I came later. But, I do this because I want to make music, but as I rise, I see it, so I do want to bring more light to the scene here.
What are some of the advantages of coming from such a small place, as opposed to Los Angeles or New York? I guess you could say you look bigger with everyone around you. But, there are many disadvantages because there weren’t any connections. The only rappers to come before me were guys like Willy Northpole and Juice, who were signed to Ludacris and Game, respectively. But, I wouldn’t really say there are any advantages outside of looking like that dude in your city.
Many don’t realize it, but Arizona has a big and rising hip hop scene, will you be collaborating more with other artists on your local scene? I’m sure I will definitely link up, but there are only Kyle Collins and a few others from the local scene that I really like. There is a lot of hate out here, as everybody wants to be that first person to break through, but I will definitely continue to work with the cats who are in my circle from out here.
Now that Traveling Local is out, what are some other things you have in store for your fans? I just dropped the Raw Paper cypher with KR, Berner, Curren$y, and I have another cypher dropping and the HipHopDX freestyle coming soon. But, I will be hitting the road soon too, with my new tour.
What would you say has been your secret to success thus far? I would say just working hard and never letting things get me down. There were times where I got let down a little, but I stayed focused and kept doing what I needed to do. I never took no for an answer.
Can you let the people know where they can find you on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Everything is @OnlyFuturistic. Facebook is /Futuristic.
Follow Matthew Bridge on Twitter @DGFXLA.
