Read how Kid Vishis approaches his rhyme game as he continues to sharpen his talents inside and outside of the gym. He may be the brother Royce da 5’9″, but Vishis is carving his own niche and making a name for himself.
This is your official debut. Why did it take as long as it did for your first album to come to fruition?
I was pretty much in training, you could say. Some of the first times people heard me on record may have been joints with Royce, so people assumed I had been doing it for a minute. I didn’t even write too many raps, at first, before I started doing more official, recorded songs. I was just looking at it from a verse-to-verse basis and trying to go up against what the best guys were putting out. Or, I was trying to destroy everybody on the record since I like to vent a lot on records. For example, you know how some people have a bad day and they go to the gym to lift weights and workout to relieve stress. That’s how I approached rapping. After that, I started making the transition to creating more complete records.
With this album, you’re approaching it from a graduated perspective, so to speak?
Keep in mind: This is just the beginning of me crafting cohesive songs, not just a collection of verses strewn together. I’m still mastering the process and continuing to develop and better myself. It’s just me getting in the studio, catching a vibe, and reaching out to those people who I already had a connection with. Some people close to me thought it was a good idea for me to do an album. With that said, the overall goal is to make the best possible product.
How would you describe the overall feel and flow of the album?
I wanted it to still be the Kid Vishis that you heard before and I’ll still give you that. I want to keep those people happy while having fun and diversifying the sound as well. Also, I’m not trying to put limits on myself and confine myself to other people’s expectations. Hip Hop, in my opinion, is at a point where lyrics aren’t even popular like that right now. Lyrics are still at the forefront of what I do, but I’m not solely focused on trying to shake the world with every bar of every song either. As I mentioned before, it’s about making complete songs and complete albums, keeping the big picture in mind. It’s about being consistent. I’ve got another album that I could put out now with new material in addition to the current project Timing Is Everything. If you over-think the creative process or try to make everything perfect, it would take forever for a project to be completed.
Speaking of consistency, it seems like you keep the number of producers to a select few. Was this a goal of yours to develop an overall fluid sound?
Yeah. I mean, I’ve worked with these guys before on my previous mixtapes and I felt like I had a little bit of chemistry with them already. It made sense because these guys looked out for me and didn’t charge me anything; they all wanted to be a part of it. I went into this album not knowing what the hell I was going to do or what it was going to sound like. Once I reconnected with Chase Moore, I was only recording to his beats, something like four tracks. Nemisis sent over a couple and Nick Zervos sent over some, too. Once I did those joints, Mr. Porter heard what I was doing and he laced me with a couple of beats. He sent over two and they were ill. Both songs ended up on the project.
Many MCs from Detroit unashamedly profess a strong loyalty to their city when they’re on the mic, almost like a Midwestern version of Brooklyn. There’s a certain territorial pride that comes from this. With you being from Detroit, how much does this factor into your creative process?
I’m inspired because we’ve got some really talented MCs from Detroit, some real OGs that laid down the groundwork. You’ve got Royce, Em, Elzhi (who is super-underrated, one of the best rappers out there), Obie (Trice), Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, and Marvwon amongst others. I want to be brought up in that same sentence as these guys. When some of the guys younger than me who are coming up are asked that same question, I plan on being in their Top 5 or Top 10.
Personally, I have a great sense of pride being from Detroit and for the people who came before me. I’d be lying if I said there was a lot of unity here. We have a history of disunity, kind of like a dog-eat-dog kind of city. You’ve got to put up or shut up, and people don’t want you to talk about it, they want you to be about it. The MCs that I previously mentioned will give you a great sense of pride to be a rapper, as well as Trick Trick, Juan from the Street Lords, and Proof. These guys really walk that walk. They don’t just talk about unity and people coming together, they did it! Seeing what these guys did and to not have a great sense of pride would kind of make me a f–ked up person. It wouldn’t be me staying true to that strong tradition and the path that was built.
Who else influenced you along the way?
At the beginning, it was Royce. I mean, he was all that I would listen to when he was really starting to bang out music. Then, he started working with Em, and when I heard this guy, everybody that I played him for was like “Who is this? He is dope!?” I told these cats that he was White and they couldn’t believe it. There were a lot of people hating on Em when he first came out and before he got hot. Eventually, his talent left them no choice but to give it up. I always knew that Em was a killer. Because when he and Royce got on a track, it was always up in the air as to who ripped it best. I thought Royce couldn’t be touched until I heard Em. They had a connection that was fun and they had that rewind factor. That right there was motivation to start rapping.
There’s also the real etched in stone guys: Jay Z, Biggie, Nas, Big L, Pun, and Jadakiss is in that list, too. These guys are undeniable. Those MCs are the guys who inspired me, laid down a blueprint, so to speak, and that’s why you can understand why I was so focused on each verse when I started. They are impeccable verse for verse.
For those who don’t know, Royce is your brother and you mentioned that he influenced you. Can you expound on that ever-present familial bond?
Of course, Royce has been and continues to be a big influence on me. I’m sure people are asking themselves, “Ok, I’ve heard your brother, but what’s the deal with you?” I mean, I don’t mind the questions, but I am myself, my own artist at the end of the day. My focus is my career although he’s had an undeniable influence on me.
My brother and I have different stories to tell, however. Let me explain it like this: Royce is the older brother and I’m the middle child. How he views things and I view them are going to be different. I have two brothers younger than me and our vantage points and general views are going to be different, in a relative kind of way. Because of this difference in perspective, I’m able to tell my story and it’s going to naturally sound different from Royce’s.
The questions will begin to be answered when they listen to the album. Being in the studio and having that relentless, no mercy attitude style on the mic is definite similarity between us. I mean, he’s a polished artist because he’s been doing it longer than me. I’m still steadily training to compete with the best out there. My life experiences are contributing to me becoming a more complete artist.
Training is a recurrent theme in your overall regimen. Boxing, specifically, appears to be a big part of your life. How did this come about?
We’ve been into boxing since we were young. My uncle was a professional fighter, and he would come by the house and be the superstar. This just kind of rubbed off on us and we become big fans of the sport. From there, we started training and learning to fight. It became a passion. The family connection was strong here, too, since my father would help train my uncle a lot.
I was always intrigued by people using what they have on their body to defend themselves –to be a weapon or a force as opposed to using a weapon. It’s not about being the aggressor but more about using self-defense as a means of survival. Otherwise, you could get destroyed going up against someone who knows what they’re doing. Like UFC and mixed martial arts (MMA), I’ve always been interested in the science behind it. Personally speaking, I’m in the gym training four times a week. I’m a very boring person (laughs). I’m on a mission: the studio, the gym and home. I spend a lot of time thinking and remaining in the element of being a true MC, as opposed to involving myself in things that would take me out of the mode. Boxing is very peaceful for me.
Boxing and Hip Hop are similar in some aspects. The casual boxing fan wants to see a knockout, but the true fan understands the science to it. They understand the fighter who knows how to properly use the jab and go to the body when they should. Putting all of those elements together is a talent, like Floyd Mayweather. In Hip Hop, the art of MCing is not just about every verse being that knockout punch either. There is a method to putting together the elements that makes a complete song, a complete project -a process to piecing together the verses, the beats, and the passion that goes way beyond having a few hot bars. It’s about going the distance.
Timing Is Everything Buy-Links:
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I would like to thank Kid Vishis and Matt Conaway for making this article a reality. Many blessings to you and your respective endeavors.
GOD BLESS
