Q&A With Rising Underground Hip Hop Artist Ayse Chryst
Yo my man Ayse Chryst!! Much respect on your absolutely epic underground Hip Hop album “Salvaysetion”. One of our main contributors BOOM ranked it 8/10!!! This album really fits well with our website!! Please tell us a bit about yourself? What part of Chicago are you from? How long have you been an artist? How did you get your Emcee name?
Peace ! Much respect on the review. I really appreciate heads like UGHHBLOG showing love to the underground and keeping real Hip Hop culture alive.
I grew up in Rogers Park on the north side of Chicago and also lived in Evanston and Oak Lawn on the south side.
I’ve been making music almost 10 years now since I was 17. My boy gave me the nickname Ace around that time so I went with that for a while and over time I changed the spelling to Ayse then added the Chryst later on.
Please let us know when was your first time making music? Do you remember where/when ?
My homies would always spit cyphers and write/ record tracks so I decided I’m gunna get in on this !! They showed me the ropes and I took it from there. My friend Chris had a home studio we would record at and if the money was there we would book a session at a local studio called Boo Coo.
Chicago!!!! Please give us your point of view regarding all the propaganda that revolves around your city, when it comes to the violence that the media constantly shoves down everyone’s throats. Is it true what they say about it!
Unfortunately there’s definitely a lot of truth behind the gang related violence in Chicago. I lost one of my best friends Magnul “Mag Millz” Milly to that shit. I remember being in 6th grade and learning about gang signs, colors, tags and which areas to avoid walking home from school. Some good news recently though: this 4th of July there were supposedly no violent murders for the first time in several years.
Please breakdown the creative process of the new album “Salvaysetion”.
I wrote a lot of ‘Salvaysetion’ while I was living in New York City. I had the honor of meeting some real Hip Hop greats including Lewis Parker, Shabaam Sahdeeq, J Love and Lil Dap from Group Home. Seeing how they work influenced me a lot. Connecting with Lord Gamma was huge I think his beats are awesome so I had the sound I wanted with his production. I kept writing then was able to recorded it all in 2017 and release it this year.
How important is making music to you!? Is this a field of work you are taking 100% of your time on!? Seems to me that being a part-time Hip Hop artist can only take you so far!
I’m so grateful for Hip Hop cause it gives people like me a voice. I’m passionate about making music and contributing to this community we all enjoy being apart of. It’s true that to be successful in Hip Hop you need to put 110% effort into it. I do the best I can but I’m not eating off of this ! Haha ! I’ll continue to release projects, build my catalog and hopefully grow a bigger audience.
How often do you perform LIVE!? have you ever been on tour?
Never been on tour and I haven’t performed live in a while either. Booking shows takes marketing and networking skills and honestly that’s not my strong suit. That’s an aspect of this I need to put more focus into….. But hand me a mic and point me to the stage I’ll perform for 5 people or 500!
Please tell us about your mission statement regarding your music and movement. What do you want fans to walk away with after listening to your projects? Also, please describe your sound in the simplest way possible?
Since I started writing lyrics I wanted to convey positive ideas that humans have the ability to change the world. Not in a corny way or preachy way. Now more than ever I don’t feel like I’m yelling into a vacuum. It seems like human consciousness is evolving and we are taking steps in the right direction even though political and social tensions are still prevalent.
Simply: I want my music to be hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and dope as hell.
Anything special for Summer 2018!!??
Finishing up a collab album with my boy Manu Wisdom who is a very talented Emcee. Release date TBD !
Now this is our most popular question, what is your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?
UGHH is the value of real skill, lyricism, dope beats, knowledge and respect for the culture. Underground Hip Hop is that rugged raw shit !
Where can fans find your music? Drop all links!!
Twitter / IG: @aysenschristo
itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/salvaysetion/1343678832
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1ifOr1aw0Dbws5zHnwlwOp
Bandcamp: https://aysechryst.bandcamp.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/fliptheace
Any Shout Outs??
Shout out to Manu Wisdom, Apreme and Bronze Swordsman with Invincible Temple. Soundscape Studios, Signal 6 Studios, Odie McVerity, Z Man, Raffi, Ivan, San Don, Keefe Black, Buddha B! Peace!
