1) Tell us a little about yourself and your background.
Born and raised in Jersey, I lived in SC for two years as a kid but the Jersey Shore is my stomping grounds. I have been releasing mixtapes since 2002 and I have been releasing solo projects since 2013.
2) Who were some of your musical influences coming up?
Coming up I loved Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Kool G Rap, Jay-Z, Nas, Biggie, Wu Tang all the obvious Golden Era greats (pun intended).
3) How would you describe yourself as an artist? Has your style changed much over the years?
I would say its versatile but definitely high intensity punchline flow, diverse lyrical content, but lately i have been trying to test the waters with more melodies and harmonic vibes.
4) What’s your process like for making music? Do you have a set routine or does it vary track by track?
Usually making a track I can just write to the beat after I know what the topic and direction is, finding the flow is easy and once i have the first line its a snowball effect but its the first line thats tough. Sometimes it depends on the track that’ll determine my process but its usually simple
5) Can you run me through the making of your latest project? Where were the studio vibes like?
This last project was easy because it began with me just having fun on old hiphop beats i always liked. But once my friend passed away a little over a year ago and i decided to dedicate it to him, i then began to make certain tracks to cater to the vibe i was going for. So I reached out and got certain features that made sense with the theme!
6) What sort of independent hip-hop promotion and marketing are you doing to differentiate yourself from other artists?
To be honest this is the most I have done to date other than college/internet radio and social media I am reaching out to DJs so thats also why I am adding new styles to my catalogue.
7) What are you thoughts on the current state of hip-hop music today?
I love it, i feel its something out there for everyone and there are avenues to get to them and navigate easily so its great to me
8) What music are you listening to these days? Anyone in hip-hop really blowing your mind?
Lately I have only been focused on my team, Luminous, Fokus, and Base Bronson
9) If you could work with any artist you wanted, what would be your dream collaboration?
I would have to say Jay-Z.
10) What has been the best moment in your music career so far?
The greatest moment? Too many but if I had to name a time I’d have to say when I performed at Juneteenth in Little Rock back in 06′ in front of 15k people and held it down, that feeling let me know “I can do this”
11) So what’s next for you?
Next is the EP, “FONTAINE”, hoping to drop late this summer and much more music from me and the guys I named! You can reach all my social media at: @PinkFontaine.
