Q&A With Rising West Palm Beach, FL Underground Hip Hop Artist Broot McCoy
Congratulations on your latest Album release “Apocalypse Later”. We checked it out and we really enjoyed the fresh new sound & perspective on new Hip Hop coming out of West Palm Beach. What motivated you to create this style of music. And how did you come up with your MC name Broot McCoy?
Thank you, thank you! I sincerely appreciate you guys at UndergroundHipHopBlog for taking the time to sit and listen to my latest musical offering and I’m glad you dug it. The style I took towards this particular project was a bit different from my previous ones. I wanted something more modern, so I chose instrumentals with lo-fi, electronic, and low end bass influence to them. I went atypical to stray a bit further from the boom bap. I chose this approach because I felt it made the most sense to me and it took a few years to make it all happen but the end result/product was worth it. As far as my MC moniker Broot McCoy… Well I’m glad you asked. Broot is an old English phonetic spelling for the word “brute”. A brute is a synonym for “beast”. Beast from X-Men’s real name is Henry Phillip “Hank” McCoy. So Broot McCoy is a play off of his name. The name is also split into 2 parts. The Broot part is my crazy bar-after-bar rap mode side of me. The McCoy is the “real” story-telling intelligent calm side of me. It’s a yin-yang balance that allows me to go either way with a style on songs or albums. I am formerly known as Croosh and before that CruciaL Chaotic.
How is the underground sound out in West Palm Beach? From what I know, that is a huge club/HipHop scene that usually is Mainstream Commercial sound.
The underground scene in West Palm Beach is wild. There is so much talent out here that needs to be heard and there is such a wide array of styles. In Palm Beach County you have your dark grimy sounds from the likes of Ikabod Veins, Ghostmane, & Wifisfuneral. This other homie of mine Stepdadfla is bringing a modern twist of 2 Live Crew meets Beastie Boys style to his raps. Eric Biddines (1 half of Golden Rules alongside Paul White) has an easy listening coffee shop Outkast reminiscing steez he brings to the table. The label I’m with Respect The Vibe founded by Sean Buck AKA El Camino Black has a roster of talent bringing more spiritual monk type vibes. West Palm Beach is a true melting pot of gumbo filled with many different flavors. Palm Beach has such an influence on everything that comes out in music but the recognition is way overlooked. There’s nothing really too mainstream or club coming from here, more new and innovating sounds rather.
How are you dealing with this whole nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 Corona Virus? Has this affected your music career in any way?
Honestly, I’m dealing with it pretty well. I usually stay in a household with my 2 grandparents but to be on the safe side I’ve been living at this small car dealership for almost 3 months. My grandpa owns the dealership and I do secretarial work here part-time. Other than that, my security job has been shut down for quite some time and my unemployment checks are still pending so funds have been scarce. The virus has definitely affected my music. I haven’t been doing any shows and it’s difficult to make revenue off of streams. I’m trying to get some shirts and other merch done for the album to salvage what has already been lost. On a positive note though, I have been writing a lot more than usual and coming up with expansive ideas. I’m working with some producers on some new new. I’m excited as hell to put out new material later this year.
Who are your biggest underground influences?
I don’t even know what’s considered underground anymore honestly but some of my biggest Hip-Hop influences are The Doppelgangaz, R.A.P. Ferreira fka Milo, Blu, MF DOOM, Black Thought, Ghostface Killah, Saba, Freddie Gibbs, Mick Jenkins, Medhane, Earl Sweatshirt, Mach-Hommy, Your Old Droog, Young Thug, Ivan Ave, Nas. R&B wise I love Frank Ocean, Brent Faiyaz, Marvin Gaye, Blood Orange, Daniel Caesar just to name a few. As far as lately, I’ve been bumping all of the above alongside Flamingosis, Yung Bae, The Kount, Tom Misch and SiR. There are so many more influences but I’ll leave it at that.
You recently dropped a new EP “Apocalypse Later” across all streaming platforms! Please give us some background on that project!? Could you tell me the inspiration behind the project and artwork? That has to be one of the dopest covers we have seen in 2020.
I was originally planning on dropping the EP either at the end of last year or at the beginning of this year but I needed to make sure everything was aligned perfectly. The beats, the overall sound, the mixing and mastering (by Vince Peters), track order, etc. A couple of the instrumentals need to be revived because they were 3 years old or so. I made the project and wrote the lyrics based on how I perceived society to feel. Over the past few years I have seen so many people scared and fearful to take risks or giant leaps in their lives. No one wants to take the next step. The media propagates a lot of that fear, getting too comfortable propagates that fear, and so many other influences seem to do the same. It’s not the end of the world, it’s time to live in the now/present. Fuck fear! The album dropped ironically at a very fitting time. When it comes to the artwork, I like to work with different artists on different projects. I reached out to Martha Dawson (@tothemoogandback) for this EP. She is an Artist/DJ/Photographer from Australia. I came across her IG awhile back suggested by a mutual friend. I really dug the photos and artwork she posted. We talked for a year or so about music, travels, etc. and then when my project was closing in, I hit her up. I envisioned an hourglass with West Palm Beach in it, a firey red/yellow explosive Apocalypse Now inspired background. I needed some pyramids to subliminally shout out the illuminati and I let her go to town on it. I told her my vision and she executed it beyond my expectations. I had my younger sister Maddison Stevens help out with a few little additional edits, the tracklist/back cover, and a few other miniscule details on the cover. Usually I get close to finishing an album or once I get a concept for an album, I know what I want the cover to be/look like.
How does social media play a role on pushing Broot McCoy’s music?
Social Media plays a huge role on my music. I wouldn’t have social media if I wasn’t involved in this musical profession. I interact with fans, friends, family on social media and they help promote and get my music out there. Social Media has helped me build my brand and the brand around my name. My music wouldn’t be what it is without it.
What are a few different moves your making for 2020 when it comes to your music career?
I am releasing more EP’s and less full length projects. I’m working on an overly excessive amount of lo-fi stuff. I’m working on doing more videos and dropping more instrumentals. I want to plan on hopefully touring more in 2021.
Our most popular question….What is your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?
Underground Hip-Hop is me, it’s West Palm Beach, it’s what moves generations of people from the bottom up. Underground Hip-Hop helps the oppressed poetically spill the real. Underground Hip-Hop influences everyone and everything around us.
Where can our BLOG audience find your music and follow you on social media?
Google or Bing Broot McCoy, I’m everywhere. Social media wise, catch me on Twitter/IG @brootmccoy
Any Shout Outs?
My whole family, The Creator, Vince Peters of Sumo Audio Recording Studios, The whole Respect The Vibe movement, Martha Dawson, Maddison Stevens, TaReef KnockOut for the feature, Ward Wills (I love you fam!), Shepard Sounds, Don Fenix, Thor Kvisgaard (Love to the otherside!), 3 Headed Shark Genie Attack, everyone who was ever involved with Fuzzzy Nickels, b0nds, Tvpes, Loka/Wush, Wiardon, KiLamDaPro, Rust & Wax Record Shop, everyone that’s gang gang especially Last of the Brohicans, and all my Floridian peoples! Special shout out to you guys at UndergroundHipHopBlog, All Love Always!
