Q&A With Rising Harlem, NY Hip Hop Artist SpideR-$tyleZ (WI-FI)

Hey SpideR-$tyleZ! Much respect on your new album. We appreciate solid music, especially form true up and coming MC’s. Please tell me how long have you been rapping? Where are you from? To end the confusion, what do you go by, WI-FI or Spider Styles? I have plenty of BLOG experience and confusing like this really get me…LOL

Much appreciated,
I started rapping in High School but that was mostly just to pass the time and raise a few eye brows. I didn’t really have much to say until the influence of underground rap in about 2003/2004. I still bumped mainstream kats like Juelz Santana, Kanye West, Fabulous, and Jadakiss but it was the introduction to artists like Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Murs, and Jedi Mind Tricks that really made things interesting as far as perspective goes.

I’m from Harlem, the top of New York.
My fam had a spot right across the street from the entrance to Central Park North back when all the white folk got off the train at 96th street and crack was spreading like wildfire. I later moved further uptown where I would spend the rest of my upbringing in west Harlem not far from where Cam’ron is from.

Yeah sorry about the confusion with the name,
Aye the kool thing is that there is no wrong answer to that question.. Lol, nah It’s WI-FI but I’ve gone by SpideR-$tyle(Z) for so long that I decided not to change any of the links just yet or anything. WI-FI stands for: what if, for instance because I am an out of the box thinker. But both names are related in a sense because WI-FI connects to the web and SpideR works the web. I’ll leave it at that for now but I’m the kind of artist that will eventually put out projects under many different names in the future including my original so apologies in advance.

Your style and rhyme scheme is super raw and different! How do you describe you sound? How long did it take for you to find your sound?

Thank you,
I describe my sound as 1990now. My music has an old school feel without sounding outdated because I pull from the oldest of the old and the newest of the new. Truthfully I don’t think I found my sound until about 2013/2014 but I was onto something in 2009 when I released album zero, “SpideR-$tyle.”

Working with Anno Domini Nation must have been, for you, a huge accomplishment!!! As far as your taste in beats, tell us how you ended up working with them?

Most definitely was,
I found Anno Domini on soundclick where I used to record myself and stream songs just for the hell of it in the early 2000’s. I reached out to him about collaborating/cross marketing back then but my music was a little too unpolished for his taste at the time. However, to my surprise he kept me in mind for when he started his artist development program and the rest is history in the making.

Please breakdown the creative process of your latest album “Legend of the Soul Gems”.

Initially I had given up on trivial matters such as making a name for myself in hip hop. I don’t know why these ideas come to me and insist that I write them down but they can be very persistent. The basis of most verses were written in a sporadic nature without a beat in mind. Eventually I began to feel passionate about what I was doing again and scoured through countless beats until I found compatibility in them. Some lyrics had to be chopped up and choruses were written later on with exception to a few of the songs that I wrote a day or so in advance to a studio session. All in all I’m not sure if I wrote this album or it wrote itself through the whispers of angels but I’m grateful to be a vessel of light either way.

What are you looking forward to for 2017? Anything you going to be doing differently compared to past years?

I’m looking forward to the filming of my first music video and establishishing some sort of visual presents this year. Far as what I’d like to differently, I always put so much pressure on myself when I create a song, this year I’m out to have more fun with it. I Also I plan on collaborating with some other artist for a change.

Any pressuring situations before you decided to push your album? Did everything work out according to plan?

I had some financial troubles in the beginning of this year that prevented me from mastering the album and releasing it when I wanted to but luckily my good friend Frank Olson volunteered to lend a hand and handle the mastering or I might still be in deep waters. God laughs at our plans. Thanks again Frank!

Any new projects coming out!?

This album is a prequel to what I’m now referring to as “The Soul Gem Saga.” The saga will be composed of several different EP’s in which I dance around comparisons between the Marvel Infinity Stones and each chakra in the human body. No set release date on the first edition but I’m thinking this summer.

Rappers nowadays think by throwing up a few videos up on social media and pushing quick projects, they can blow up overnight! Give us your view on how over saturated the market is right now with so many MC’s/Producers but not too many with quality music.

It’s rough because the ones with the least amount of talent have the boldest promotional techniques so by the time a decent artist reaches a potential fan the door is already padlocked and the windows are boarded up. On top of that, artists aren’t very supportive of each other and the average person tends to stick to what they know so opportunity is lacking. All in all though, I’m glad there are more people aimed at self-expression but it’s also frustrating being amongst the madness in the storm of the sea of dreams.

I wouldn’t want everybody to be an art or literature major, but the world would be poorer – figuratively, anyway – if we were all coding software or running companies. We also want musicians to awaken our souls, writers to lead us into fictional lands, and philosophers to help us exercise our minds and engage the world.
– Nicholas Kristof

How often do you perform LIVE? Any shows lined up in the near future?

Performing is actually one of my strong suits but I haven’t really been performing much as of lately with exception to the occasional open mic session when the urge strikes. It’s very likely that I set up a showcase for the release to the first edition of “The Soul Gem Saga” this summer.

Where do you see yourself in 5yrs time?

I see myself doing something similar to what you are doing now. If I’m blessed enough to excel further at this and develop a solid fan base then I will use my prowess to help up and coming artists break through barricades. The start or evolution of a label, radio station, podcast, blog site or some other sort of underground artist community all seem very probable.

Here it is! Our most popular question! What is your definition of “underground hip hop”?

To me an underground artist is one who sticks to their guns, metaphorically speaking. They are not swayed by the populace or demands of a label. An underground artist whether well-known or well-kept secret is an embodiment of authenticity. They are just as good as mainstream artists but somehow remain accessible to the people.

In that sense, being an underground hip hop artist is like being in the CBA. For some it’s enough to be doing what they love to be doing and make a decent living off of it while others dream of making an NBA debut or taking their talents overseas to be better appreciated. One thing for sure is that underground doesn’t mean mediocrity. They might be unpopular or underrated, but definitely not under qualified.

Where can people find you on the web? Drop all the vital links.

Spiderstylez.bandcamp.com
HTTPS://www.Soundcloud.com/spiderstylez
HTTPS://www.Facebook.com/spiderstylez
HTTPS://www.Instagram.com/spider_stylez
Spiderstylez@gmail.com

Lastly, any shout outs?

First off, all glory to the most high.. But I’d also like to thank all the conscious rappers before me that were courageous enough be different and stand strong at a time when it probably seemed impossible to break through. Shot out to everyone who has supported over the years whether coming out to a show or merely clicking on a link from home. Thank you to the rare people brave enough to be the first to like, comment on, or share a post. Shot out to Equinox Ent, GMF, Schoolz Out, Aviator Klub, Really Right Productions, District 13, Rhino Cmz, Isis Aja, Willie Green Music, Carvo Music, Steve Stush, and of course Anno Domini Nation..