Photo: Press
The latest artist to make us feel inadequate about our achievements, Raury is an 18 year old that has seemingly turned the hip hop world inside out.
The Atlanta-based teen has built up a loyal following remarkably fast, due in no small part to his emergence as the whole package, having a defined visual identity and signature sound on lock from the get-go. Debut single 'God's Whisper' was a call to arms for the rebels and dreamers, embracing a broad range of styles to craft something overwhelmingly fresh and forward thinking, a trait that carried through to The Indigo Child Project, a mixtape that firmly established him as a future force to be reckoned with in the hip-hop world.
The day before a sold out debut show in London, we sat down with Raury in Shoreditch's Ace Hotel to discuss his ascent, the prowess of Phil Collins and how Oprah Winfrey inspired him.
Gigwise: Does it feel like success has happened quickly for you? Or instead do you see it as long overdue?
Raury: I feel like it happened very quickly: six months ago I was in a class having to raise my hand to go piss, and now I could fly to China if I wanted to! [laughs] Things have moved forward very fast, and that's also forced me to adapt and grow up fast. I've had to start taking better care of myself so I take vitamins now and quit smoking as I can't afford to get sick. I call my Mom and regularly check it with her as well, but it's just crazy how much i've grown up in the last six months just to meet up with this expectation.
How does your mother feel about your success? As obviously she played a huge role in The Indigo Child Project...
She's very happy but obviously she's worried about me taking care of myself, just like your Mom. It's kinda funny because people ask me how the relationship is with my mother a lot, but the thing is what people heard on the mixtape was just a heated argument, and after that we went to Applebees! It wasn't anything serious.
How long were you cultivating Indigo Child before you decided to unleash it into the world?
I met my manager when I was 15, and since then we've been growing. I was originally meant to drop the project when I was 16, but I just felt it wasn't ready, so we started over about three more times over three years to get it right. It wasn't only so I could grow, but the Love Renaissance team was growing as well, so it took time to get everything accomplished both musically and as a brand. We've been learning about branding, marketing and working out what we want to make happen.
You seem to be one of the few young artists at the moment that have every aspect of your career figured out. Are there any artists that have inspired you to work in this way?
I look beyond other artists in that respect. As far as my brand goes I want that to be an entity of positivity to influence the world, but at the same time I want to be who I am, which is an 18 year old kid raising hell. I guess I want to be both a rebel and a hero. In terms of influences i'd say Oprah and Ellen Degeneres have played a big part, along with the book Where The Wild Things Are and Michael Jackson's entire existence.
You learned how to play guitar after hearing 'Hey There Delilah' by The Plain White T's. Are there any other unexpected songs that have inspired you?
Phil Collins 'In The Air Tonight': that song alone is just incredible. There's an honesty there that I want to put in my music. I know i'm not perfect, and I never want to portray myself as an image of perfection in any way, as that's just a facade. If I just keep putting my fears and doubts onto a track the music is gonna be honest, and that was a domino effect which led to me putting my mom onto the mixtape I guess.
What's the strangest fan encounter you've had so far?
It's kinda scary, people have said stuff like "I'd take a bullet for him." Which is crazy. Sometimes it's best not to be too open, which is hard because I'm an open person, but you can end up having some weird conversation with people on Twitter. A lot of people don't understand that you don't have time to reply to every single person. That sucks, because I want to speak to everyone but it's just not possible.
Do you feel a need to influence people more now you have an army of people on your side?
I see your point, but I think it could be too early for that. I understand I have an influence to a certain degree, but I don't want to overexpress just yet, as i've seen how certain careers have turned out so now I just want to focus on the music.
You recently played to a 20,000 strong crowd supporting Outkast: how the hell was that?
It was amazing my man, after that show there's now nothing i'm afraid of! I have no reason to be nervous anymore. I felt very honoured to do it. When things happen like that, it pushed me to work harder. Two hour practices became eight hour practices, and it's making me strive to become the best artist I can possibly be.
Do you see any trends in hip hop at the moment that need to change?
What needs to change is how much coverage publications give certain things. Somewhere there's 100 people talking about "poppin' molly" and elsewhere there's 100 people rapping about Jesus. The trends and what people think is cool is what's pushed the most, and that need to stop. All these people basically need to start talking the truth about who they are. If I don't have something nice to say, then I don't say it at all. Not all these rappers have killed people, not everyone pops molly and if that's your story, that's fine but if not, don't glorify it. I feel it's the wrong people sitting in chairs posting things and glorifying things that aren't relevant to life and making life better. Tracks like Kendrick Lamar's 'i' is the direction things need to be going.
What records would you say were most important to you growing up?
Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', Michael Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal', Kid Cudi's entire Man On The Moon album inspired me to chase my dreams as well.
You met Cudi recently right?
It was amazing, we were texting for a while and then he came to hang out which was awesome. I had no expectation, as I didn't want to let myself down, but what I got was great.
There's a lot of similarities between you and him I think, particularly the precision you put into your live shows. Are there any elements you aim to bring to your performances that are perhaps lacking in hip hop at the moment?
Better instrumentation, better interaction with the crowd, particularly as the familiarity grows. I just want to do crazy shit without scaring any new fans away.
Where are you at with new material at the moment?
Yeah you could say an album is done, but everything is planned out for the next year, it's all about vision really.
Have you read what critics have said about the project?
Here and there, but you've just gotta underand that some people won't feel it and others will love it. It's a progressive record, and with that I think it's best to just avoid a lot of criticism or praise. What do you think about artists reading their own reviews?
It is a double-edged sword but I think I would advise an artist not to take reviews too seriously...
No offense to you or other writers, but the thing that gets me as well is that they're not artists. A lot of people don't know about the process behind it - they can say what they want but they're not in that world. I try not to get mad or worked up about anything though. And I do respect everyone's opinions.
You have collaborated with The Neighbourhood and SBTRKT. Did they prompt you to look at your work in a different way?
SBTRKT definitely taught me how to respect production and how to take things to another level past just lyrics and instrumentation, becoming the cherry on top with collaborations and working together to produce the best possible outcome.
In that vein, how would you ultimately like to be remembered?
I already know. I know why I do music and and why I'm here. I want to be remembered for making music that made people's lives better, and encourage people to chase their dreams. I basically want to inspire people and change the world through that, doing things from the inside out artistically rather than just donating money.
Hear more from Raury on indigochildproject.com
