The Ilajide Story & Interview
Interview
1.At what age did you know that you wanted to be an artist and how did you get started in the first place?
I knew at 18 I was gonna go ahead and pursue music full time. I wasn’t quite sure at first but my best friend adam told me that I had it and that I should pursue it , that’s how I got started. Clear Soul Forces was the group I created at that time.
2. Who has been your biggest support throughout your journey as an artist?
My biggest support? Was definitely my best friend Adam. I also feel like my longtime friend MaLia was also my biggest support through my journey. But I don’t have them in my lives anymore so it’s just me now. Rest in peace Adam 🙏🏾
3.How do you prepare mentally before each and every show?
Ohh this is a good one! Nowadays I rehearse pretty often, whether that’s ideas, freestyling, practice, new sets, breath control practice, endurance practice, so by the time I have a show booked I’m pretty excited I’m trying to figure out what to wear and also watching old show footage from like Morris Day and The The Time as well as Rick James to hype me up.
4. What song of yours has been the most personal to you and why?
A song of mine that’s been most personal to me is probably Boatload. It deals with the boatload of problems that I was dealing with at the time while highlighting my tendency to hide from my problems. As the hook goes “I be runnin runnin runnin runnin from my shit” I also dived into losing my best friend, depression, alcoholism and how I’m effected by these things around me plus a relationship issues that started to ensue.
5.what do you like most about the music making process and what discourages you the most?
What I enjoy most now is rising to the challenge to make the music that I want to hear without any outside influences of the world today. The feeling I get reciting what me and Def Dee call the “Jammys” is irreplaceable because I know I’m on to something super major.
What discourages me the most is how much you have to do just to get heard, seen, represented correctly, and even paid a fair wage. I think all artists feel similarly when we say we aren’t being compensated nearly enough to keep this thing going. But I’m stubborn and I believe this world needs this hip hop so I’m continuing the good fight.
6. Who are some of your biggest influences and why?
We’ll be here all day. Prince, for being a model musician. He plays every instrument and wrote songs for himself and others. He engineered, he worked 24/7, and he created a different genre for Morris Day and the Time versus the pop music he created for himself. The Triple Threat tour is one of the biggest inspirations I have as an artist right now. To produce three acts, put them on the charts, and then have them open for you on the tour when you wrote and produced all the songs? Yeah that’s pretty wild
7.what are some things you have learned throughout your music career that has been very beneficial to your career as an artist?
I’ve learned a lot and I believe the most beneficial thing is learning how to do things myself, from engineering, to shooting and editing, to making beats. Never stop learning!
8. As a Music Producer who has been a huge influence when it comes to your sound?
Well, let’s see we can start from James Brown, Rick James and Prince and go down to J Dilla, Erick Sermon, Dre, Quik, you know? I’ll be here all day !
9.Where do you see yourself in 5 years and what do you hope to accomplish?
In 5 years I see my institute to help independent artists taking shape, I know I’ll be musically successful I’m not scared to say I know I’ll be a household name by that point but I really want to bring this hip hop back on a major scale and i see myself being a large part of that comeback but moreso creating something for the community that has sustainability.
10. How do you want to be remembered at the end of your career?
As one of the greatest to ever do it. Production, mixing, mastering, writing, performing. One of those like whatever he touched it was gold. A career that spawns other careers.
11. What artists would you like to work with in the future and why?
I would love to work with Anderson Paak, Smino, Prof, Redman, Busta just to name a few. I believe all these artists have a similarity with my sound and I’ve also been heavily inspired by the last two artists.
12.What was the inspiration behind your song "Trippin?"
Reality raps! I flew out from Detroit to LA cause Def Dee ain’t believe I would do it just to bust some raps but he was sadly mistaken now wasn’t he !? I realized how many places I’ve been over the world through touring with Clear Soul Forces and I’ve never laid it out. I wanted to tell the story on how touring overseas ain’t as easy as you think, addressing problems with customs and getting merch across borders versus bringing back drip. I just got in the zone and started bussin ass.
13.What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue a career in music?
I would advise any artist looking to pursue music, is to understand the business. Get your publishing, learn how to run what you’re doing before you give away equity.
14. What has been one of the most toughest challenges throughout your career, and how did you overcome it?
The algorithm! And possibly making my own sound seperate from my group clear soul forces because I also made their sound too. Overcoming both of these took practice, trial and error. Seeing what worked and what didn’t. I literally put out albums I didn’t like, I’ve ran failed campaigns, I’ve lacked budgets, but I didn’t quit. So we here and it’s up! If you reading this HIP HOP BACK
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