Q&A With Pensacola, Florida Hip Hop Newcomer therapperbigchris
Yo what’s up therapperbigchris! Much respect to your debut EP release! Tell us how long have you been rapping?
Whats good UGHHB! My name is therapperbigchris and i’ve been rapping since I was 13 years old, however, I started to take rap more seriously about three years ago and I’m just now starting to see the results of that.
So my rap name was originally ‘Big Chris’ and ‘therapperbigchris’ part was my social media handle. About two years ago I decided to change it to ‘therapperbigchris’. I did this because the name ‘therapperbigchris’ is more of a spectacle. Which I think perfectly describes me and my style of music, a spectacle.
What is the earliest hip hop memory you can recall?
My earliest hip hop memory would be riding in the car with my family and the Lil Wayne song ‘Bedrock’ came on. I remember this specifically because this was really the first rap song i’ve ever heard and I fell in love with it instantly. Weezy’s wordplay and overall mic presence is what drew me into rap music.
Who’re some of your biggest musical influences?
My biggest musical influences are Lil Wayne, Biggie Smalls, Kanye West, Isaiah Rashad, and Freddie Mercury. Weezy and biggie just because of their mic presence and overall demeanor when it comes to hip hop and the rap game. Kanye West inspires me just from his overall talent, bro raps and produces like a GOD and I aspire to be like that. Isaiah’s music is so chill and vibey but at the same time he’s still spitting and telling you a story, and that’s really what i’m trying to do in my music too. Freddie Mercury, in my opinion, is the best live performer EVER. The way that he would hop on a stage and capture everybody’s attention was phenomenal to me. Not to mention his music alone was soo good. He blended rock and roll with opera ballads so perfectly that most people can’t even tell on the first listen. Overall, Freddie inspires me to be myself and to experiment with my music.
We have to ask, with all this social discourse and revolt, protesting and rioting, exposed police brutality toward blacks and BLM, how do you guys feel about this? We would love your perspective on the climate we are living in right now?
Umm, growing up in Florida and the south, racism and police brutality is really nothing new for us. In my opinion, I think its great that we now have a prominent activist group who is actively fighting and trying to make a change for the better every day! You can look at these riots and these violent protests both negatively and positively but at the end of the day, a riot is the language of the unheard and the disenfranchised. In pensacola specifically, we’ve had multiple peaceful protests where the mayor of the city and the police chief will actually come and talk and answer questions to the protesters and the BLM chapter that’s in Pensacola. In my opinion I think we need more of that. I think we need more of a dialogue between the city officials, cops, and the protesters. Cause all in all, we’re only protesting because we feel like we’re unheard and nothing is going to change.
You recently put out your debut EP “From Pensacola With Love“. What was the inspiration behind it?
Haha so um, people always tell me that you gotta rap about what you know, and I know the Pensacola area like the back of my hand. I’m also a firm believer in ‘you are a product of your environment’ so I feel like everything about me, you know my rap style, my demeanor, and even how I dress, is just from growing up and living in the Pensacola area. I also wanted to make a project that my whole city could get behind. In Pensacola we don’t really have a prominent rapper or rap scene, so I wanted to be the first ya know. I want to be a symbol of hope and you know a symbol that will inspire people to create and inspire people to not be afraid to be themselves and to put themselves out there. All in all, I wanna be my city’s hero/champion and I feel like i’m on the right path for that.
Your honest opinion, out of all the songs you have in your catalog, which is the one song you feel stands out the most!?
Out of all my songs I feel like Fly Away stands out the most. I wrote that song for a homie I had who was dealing with suicidal thoughts and tendencies. So in that song I’m really saying that all the things that set us back and bring us hardships, we can take those things and fly away from it and make something beautiful from an ugly situation. This was also the first song that blew up for me. After I dropped this song as a single, people started to notice me and notice what I was trying to do. It’s also just a feel good song too man, I can’t but help smile whenever that song comes on. It inspires people and helps people deal with whatever they’re going through right now. And I feel like music like that will always outshine the hard hitting bangers or the radio hit songs.
How are you coping with this whole Covid 19 situation? Has it delayed any new music production by any chance?
You know I’m dealing with this covid situation just like everybody else, we taking it one day at a time. Umm it has delayed my music in a bit because now we can’t do any live shows now. But in the meantime i’m just grinding and building up a catalog for myself so that when we’re all clear from the pandemic I have enough material to put on like three shows back-to-back-to-back ya know!
Is there anything you’re working on right now that we can expect soon?
YES! So right now i’m set to drop the deluxe edition of ‘From Pensacola With Love’ mid-September. And then after that I got some music videos and other shit in the works also. Umm, I’m also working on the sequel, FPWL2, right now. That’s not gonna drop anytime soon but i’m working on it right now so it’s gonna be a movie when that does drop. I feel like now is my chance and opportunity to make a name for myself and i’m not gonna let that slip through my fingers.
Our most popular questions! What is your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?
My definition of underground hip hop is anybody trying to express themselves and tell their story with rap music, but they don’t have the tools and the exposure that a major label would give you. More times than not, this is where the best rap music comes from. This is where you find the hungry and motivated artists who are fighting and clawing their way up to the top. This is what hip hop is all about.
Where can people find you on the web? Drop all the vital links.
You can find me on instagram @therapperbigchris you can find me on Youtube and Spotify as ‘therapperbigchris’ also. That’s the good thing about my name, its so unique and off the wall you can type it in anywhere and you’ll find my music.
THANK YOU SO MUCH UGHHB FOR PUTTING ME ON AND GIVING ME AN OPPURTUNITY TO LET PEOPLE KNOW JUST WHO I AM AND WHAT I”M DOING. WE’RE GONNA STAY GRINDING AND STAY PUTTING GOOD MUSIC OUT THERE SO STAY TUNED AND KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR YOUR BOY! THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF MY JOURNEY INTO THE RAP GAME.
