The Vercetti B Story & Interview

 

Edited by Silver GS

Growing up in the outskirts of Mobile Alabama in a small town called Wilmer, Vercetti B(born Blakely Josten Sullivan) was raised in a rural area with his single mother and 3 younger brothers, another brother and sister on his father's side in Birmingham Al. His mom is where his earliest exposure to hip-hop arrived with names such as Dr Dre, Ludacris, 2Pac, Eve, LL Cool J, and Mystikal among others were always playing in their home when gospel wasn't.At age 11 is when he fell in love with the art form however, due to kids on his school bus singing and listening to it. At age 14, he started to write raps regularly and by 17 gained a reputation in his high school, Mary G Montgomery, with his freestyles. 

It is there where he also discovered his love for performing when he entered the talent show his senior year.At age 18, he began recording under the name Revelation where he started releasing songs on YouTube and Facebook. Realizing that Revelation was a common name among many genres of music and entertainment, he changed his name to Vercetti B naming himself after the ruthless character Tommy Vercetti from the cult classic video game Grand Theft Auto Vice City, voiced by Ray Liotta.Inspiration behind the name was to match the charm and swagger, yet killer instinct and tenacity the character had. His ultimate goal is to create music to fit any mood and do for others what rappers he grew up loving did for him with inspiration and escapism from whatever situations the listener may have. His influences are 2Pac, Jay-Z, G-Unit, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, B.I.G, Nicki Minaj, DMX, and T.I.

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Interview

1. where are you from and how would you describe your city? 

I consider myself a Mobile rapper first and foremost. That's the metropolitan area I've always been closest to, it's where I spent all of my adult life hanging out at, and  I grew up listening to Mobile radio stations but being 100% real; I'm actually from right outside of Mobile in Mobile County in a place called Wilmer Alabama. It's a  smalltown no one would ever hear of. It's not very much to say other than it's small enough to where it seemed like everybody knows everybody.

Right by the Mississippi state line. I just remember growing up it was you were thirty minutes away from Mobile, you were 15 minutes away from Walmart, it was your good 5 minute drive away from a gas station. It was just really secluded from everybody else but everybody that was there l, it was a tight knit community. Everyone knew each other. How do I describe my city, shit thats a loaded question*laughs*.

I remember growing up as a teenager there was a lot of drug activity. A lot of stuff going on that you wouldn't want your children around, crystal meth was getting really big out there when I was coming up. Seeing what that shit did to people I grew up around was wild at the time and scared the shit outta me. But we did aight ya know? Like I said we were 30 minutes away from mobile so I remember my Mobile homies would say when they would visit, they would always say shit like if you ever on the run this the place you wanna go* laughs*. But it's what made me what I am ya know?

2. Who has been your greatest support throughout your journey as an artist?

 That's another loaded question because it truly takes a team and that could go to anybody really. My wife, she's always been completely supportive. I remember the 1st video I did it was with whatever smart phone I had at the time and she held that shit up with a  broken selfie stick to keep it steady and it was outside in the hot ass summer.

3. At what age did you know you wanted to be an artist and how did you get started in the 1st place? 

I knew I wanted to be an artist since I was a 11. I always loved music, which who doesn't *laughs* but as far as like knowing  I want to be a hip-hop artist and falling in love with the artform and all that kind of stuff happened around 11 years old.I grew up around hip-hop and my mom was huge in hip-hop music and whenever gospel wasn't playing, it was hip-hop but as far as wanting to be a rapper it was 11 years old when i fell in love with it was and it was whoever was on the radio. I mean I grew into having my favourites tho. 50 Cent was huge when i got into hip-hop so he became, you know the whole G-Unit movement became my shit but even past that, man Jay-Z was still kicking, he still kicking today but you know what I mean Outkast, Kanye just came out, Luda, Nelly, Tip, even Chngy at the time he was hot. 

Like everybody that was out I was just so enthralled with everything involved.I just ingested everything and I did my research on whoever was on the radio so 11 was when it happened and I was 14 when I started to write. I played with it a little bit before then but 14 years old was when I felt like I hit a stride. 14 years old is when like I started regularly and I felt like I was good and just kept at it. At first it was just 16 bars, then I learned to count bars by reading album booklets and I realised every bar was separated by slashes.Jay-Z American Gangster, that was the first time I learned how to count bars, reading the linear notes of that album so I started doing that 14, 15 years old. 

Started recording at 18, there was a group that I kicked it with they didn't go to my school they were from Mobile but they knew me because I went to the same school as my homeboy PD and he was in said group. Shoutout to P shoutout to Rip. Still close with both of those cats.They really got me into doing recording so I was 18 and start recording And then I put stuff out on Facebook, posted on YouTube but didn't  get like super super serious like I should have till probably a few years ago as far as like actually putting stuff out commercially and stuff like that. It's been a real independent thing as of right now and trying to get a bigger support group and trying to build so I'm in a real big building phase right now but it's been a long journey it's been a good ten year journey. I feel like the best is yet to come,  I feel like I'm just getting started.

4. In your opinion who is the most influential and successful artist in your genre and why ?

I swear I feel like a lot of these questions are so loaded and I'm so bad at pending shit down to one person(laughs) that's another multiple person answer, you could say when you could say Wayne, you could Jay, you know, there's so many rappers that have influenced a whole generation. It's kinda hard you know? You could say Future now, Drake, Migos. You wanna name rappers that have influenced people even like outside the music you could say Master P, you could say Puffy, you wanna look at the entrepreneur side.There's so many people that have given a lot in influencing and that inspired so many people it's hard for me to pick one person. I know it's like I'm giving safe answers here but I don't know how else to word it. Different people mean a lot to different listeners.

5. Who would you like to work with in the future? 

That's a dream list. I could go all day on that on that. We can go for back as far as people that influenced and I can name legends that I listened to coming up.. Tip, as I mentioned 50 earlier, Jay  Nas, Em. or you go to the people that are making noise now, you know, not that some people that I mentioned aint making noise now but the younger generation. I love Da Baby, NLE Choppa, Cordae, Joyner Lucas, love Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo. I love alotta artists here in Mobile that's killing it that I haven't had the pleasure to work with in a shout out to Yung bleu, shout out to Flo Milli HoneyKomb, No Cap, Bianca Clarke. Alotta artists out here just doing they thing.I could I could go for pages talking about everybody I'dlike to work with. 

6. How do you separate yourself from other artists?

That's a good question. I'm sure a lot of artists do this, but you can only do it the way you do it , no one else can do you better than you but I like to think that I leave a piece of me in every record even if it's like leaving auto biographical lines, sneaking them in every song or every other song, talking my life, people around me, my feelings, putting my heart in it trying to have lyrical integrity in everything as well. I used to suffer bad with wanting the song to be so lyrical that I think I sacrificed the flow.I will say that I grew out of that and the sound and feel of the song means much more and I let the track breath more these days. these days but I still like the bars to be technically sound.

7. How do you stay motivated and continue your music as an artist? 

Honestly the way I stay motivated is just a fear of a failing at it really. I mean, as artists we do not do this to, I'm sure  some people do it as a hobby,  but the money you put into it because  you know any dream isn't cheap at the end of the day, you don't put that much time and effort and money and you do all this to not have a payoff later. You don't do this to not be able to take care of people that hold you down while you're trying to make it so it's really just wanting to improve yourself but also prove to other people you can. That's a big portion of it and I got kids too so(laughs) that's enough motivation right there for anything but that's really it. man is no secret to in what think of most.

8.What aspect of the music making process excites you the most and what aspect discourages you the most?

 Excellent question. What excites me the most, there's nothing like hearing a beat and being so excited, like you can hear a hot beat and not be excited you could just be like "oh yeah that's a good bear, I don't know what I'll do with it" but when you hear a beat and automatically know, you might not know the lyrics, but you know where you gonna go and you can't wait to attempt to put your paint on a canvas there is nothing more exciting than that aside from having people hear and go crazy over when you put it on wax. Sometimes when you write you don't know if it's gonna come out the way you hear it in your head but when it does or, sometimes, comes out better that's a high for sure. That is an awesome high right there.

 But that's the most exciting part. The most challenging at least as of this moment and I touched on this earlier, the hardest aspect in this part is just making sure it gets out, grinding, putting it out, doing promo. It's like I've done this long enough where I have full faith in myself as an artist and as a creator. The thing now is just stepping up my promo game.I see fellow artists they be killin it getting they shit out there. And they inspire me when I see that so just trying to do that. Trying to just pop. Wanna  just make sure it's heard by the right people,  make sure it is hitting farther and wider and making sure when it is heard, its felt and making sure that people do feel it and I do believe, enough people hear my shit, they will feel it. I got full faith in that.

9. What was your inspiration behind the latest single "The Mood"?

 The Mood, I remember when I wrote that. It was one of the times I mentioned earlier where you hear the beat the 1st time and you get excited. I knew immediately where I was gonna go. The Mood is simply Motivational. Its a song about feeling yourself. Believing in yourself. "Aint nobody gon fuck with me. Nobody stopping this. I feel bad for whoever wants to fuck with this. You will get ran over". That's what it is. It's the type of record that matches confidence .it's a it's a record that that promotes ambition, promotes self confidence.

Its a record I'm truly proud of. Its a different feeling from "Near Me" which is my previous single that I'm still pushing really heavy and that one is more about seeking seclusion. I feel like everybody has felt that way before where you just wanna be left alone just wanna be ducked off. In my opinion because I am an extroverted person, I wasn't always extroverted ,I became an extroverted person in my early twenties and I feel that even the most extroverted person wants to be alone sometimes. I might be wrong maybe that's just me but sometimes you just have  a mood where "I don't want nobody near me. Get the fuck away, all this fuckery, all this corny shit, leave me alone" like so that's really where my headspace was on that.Those are the 2 records that I'm plugging right now there will be more.

10. If you could describe your fans in one word, what would it be and why?

I feel like I'm just now getting to know my fans. My fans just now getting to know me so hopefully if they're asked to describe me they'll be able to do that very easily but as far as right now I got more fans now than I've ever had and I hope I'm blessed enough to where that trajectory grows even more intensely but as of right now it's been all love. I've been humbled by the love I've been given and I can't wait to make more. I can't wait to meet more. I can't wait because the the interactions with them so far have been so wonderful man. Shits been tight. People been going out they way to tell me that they fuck with me. Been a dope experience so far so I really don't know how to describe them other than dope (laughs)

11.What advice would you give to upcoming bands who are trying to pursue their dreams? 

Being completely honest I don't think I'm a person to ask advice yet cause I'm still still tryna make it for real know what I'm saying? Only I could say is get your shit out there. If you are serious about doing it, don't talk about doing it. Like what I did for a long time I just put my shit on social media this let it ride. Promote the shit like your life depends on it. Understand that it's not going to be easy. Understand that Maybe if that one song you thought was gonna overnight become a success doesn't happen doesn't mean it's a flop. That doesn't mean your next one's gonna be a flop. Keep pushing it. Have a short memory with your failures, try to make a long impression with your art and if you if you really serious about it, be serious about it don't bullshit because it's time. Time goes by really fast. I wish I was this serious as I am now as I was when I was 19 years old.

12. Where do you see yourself in five years?

I wanna be humble about this and I don't want to come off anyway but I feel like this is an industry where confidence is key and if you don't feel like you have what it takes to tip the scale, to be in the number one spot in this game then Ion feel like this game is for you, so Bluntly I feel in 5 years I should be in a spot where I'm known throughout the entire hip-hop landscape and respected by and large by all my peers and hey maybe I'm in for a rude awakening or maybe I'm right on the money. Only time will tell. We'll see in 5 years but that's the goal.

13.What albums, latest releases, or singles are available to your fans and where can they be found? 

I hit on this earlier, there is "Near Me" it is available on every platform if you haven't checked it out yet please check it out you gon like it so please check that out. The other one is "The Mood" I dropped shortly after, there's another one that's bubbling now that I'll be dropping soon but both of them are available wherever you wherever you ingest music, It should be there whether it be Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon, it's available everywhere please check it out you aint gon be disappointed 

Vercetti B-The mood (Official music video)

Vercetti B-Near me (Official Music video)

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