Steady Leanin’ Interviews Perrion
Who are you? Where are you from? If you could describe your music in one phrase, what would it be?
I am Perrion, a 21 year old rap artist who makes great music. I am from Harlem, NYC. My music is great.
It looks like you’ve bounced between New York and Atlanta for the past couple years, you all settled now? Where are you living/where do you spend most of your time?
I moved to Atlanta for my senior year of high school and been traveling back and forth to NY because I can’t go a whole year without being in my hometown. I love it here too much. I am currently living with my manager Roo in his old room where I set up my studio and started working on music daily because it was really cold out in the winter and I didn’t have a job because I got fired after the summer. But the weather is getting nice now so I’m spending most of my current time skating around the city and chillin. It’s about god damn time I get a nice little break from making music.
With all the buzz surrounding your most recent tape, From Paris With Love, and the thousands of YouTube views you’ve been getting, is signing to a label worth it or even ideal? We’ve seen a couple people ask about you getting signed and dropped by Universal by the time you were 14, did that experience effect the way you view the major label process?Signing to Universal just opened my eyes at a young age and helped me realize that was all full of shit. I’m not trying to sign to any labels at the moment. I am building my own buzz and doing my own work that could be done with a label. I don’t need these people to do anything for me because I have a great team behind me. My two managers Roo and Liv are helping to get where I need to be and it’s working out better than I could’ve imagined it being before. I am very grateful for that. Any up and coming artist should never depend on a label to get them to where they think they should be. You can do everything on your own as long as you are willing to work. It just takes time, patience, and effort.
How did you and Myth Syzer link up for FPWL?
The homie Pol who works at Poyz&Pirlz clothing company reached out to me from seeing the “Don’t Stop” video on Hypetrak. He actually grabbed me and Myth at the same time to collab on this project because he has a good ear for music and thought it would be a wonderful collab. And indeed it is. I actually stayed with Myth when I went to Paris and he became like my brother. He compliments my style and flow so well that whatever we make together is going to be an instant banger. He is just as talented as I am in rapping when it comes to his production. He is AMAZING! I can’t thank Pol and Dabaaz enough for putting this tape together. It really helped me reach a higher point in my career.
What artists are you fucking with right now? Who would you like to work with by the end of 2012?
It’s funny because I know most of the up and coming artists that I fuck with. The whole A$AP Mob, my nigga SpaceGhost Purrp, The Illusion, Black Dave. I’ve worked with all of these dudes already whether its production for Rocky or getting my homie Ferg who I’ve known for a while on a couple of tracks. I’m also featured on his upcoming project he is working on so look out for that. I would def like to get on a track with Rocky though. I really want to work with Lil B. I don’t care what anyone says, Lil B is that nigga. Anyone who can entertain me and keep my laughing is super cool to me and he can actually spit at times. I also respect his grind.
In terms of style, what brands are you rocking these days? What do you recommend?
I’ve really been just rocking the free clothes that I get shipped to my house like every other week. I’m not really into fashion and I’m most certainly not a fucking hypebeast. I’ve always liked the shit Supreme made though so that’s like the only shit that I’d buy. But Mishka is also really cool and they’ve been hooking it up for quite some time. Poyz&Pirlz of course, thir clothes are really dope and the quality of their shit is really good and upscale. They are out of France and sponsored From Paris With Love, which is why that is the title of the album, also because Myth is from France. Pyknic is another cool brand that send me some cool clothes.
Who is your biggest influence in life and how have they influenced you?My biggest influence is my older brother Preview. He’s the one who got me into rapping. I’ve always been into rap because that’s all my pops would play in the house and whip when we traveled to places. My uncle Jamel actually rapped before and did a couple of high school shows that I was able to see when I was really young. And then my older bro picked it up and the rest was history. I was bought up on a lot of the dope 90s rap which was the best era in hip hop in my opinion. Like Biggie, Pac, Jay-Z, Wu tang, Mase, The LOX…. all that good shit is stuff that I say inspired me.
Do you listen to any other genres besides hip hop?
Of course. How’d you think I came up with Circuit Breaker. I listen to a lot of indy, chillwave, electro, rock… It’s always good to listen to other genres and not be brainwashed into hearing rap music all the time. I’d honestly lose my mind and not want to do this shit anymore. I actually used to play drums for a rock band but I quit because it got mad emo and I couldn’t deal with it anymore because that was not really my style. But I’d still play drums for a dope band. I miss playing drums.. good way to relieve tension.
Skateboarding seems to be a pretty big passion of yours, do you always make time to skate even when things get busy?
Well now I’m trying to get as much skating done as I can since the weather nice and before shit starts to get really hectic. I really do love skateboaring. I’ve been skating for like 8 or 9 years now and it has really changed my life for the better. I grew up in the hood you know, and all my friend I grew up with on the block when I was younger are all mostly gangbangin, in jail, or just recently got out. Who knows what the fuck I would’ve gotten into if I didn’t start skating. It’s also a good way to get away from things that bother me and it just puts me in a good mood. If it wasn’t for this shit I wouldn’t have met half the people I am really close to, especially my manager Roo, which is a story I’m not really going to get into right now… but yea. Skating is the shit!
Anything you got coming up you want people to know about?
Show in Cali I’m headlining in Santa Barbara is going to be stupid live, so if you’re in Cali you won’t want to miss out on that. Rocket Science is the next project I’m working on and will probably drop at the end of the summer. That shit will have beats produced by myself also because I know niggas missed my production since Le Bourgeon.. I make some fire ass beats. Myth is going to have some beats on there of course and Benson Graves… along with a bunch of other dope producers I fuck with.
Don’t forget to follow Perrion on Twitter and Tumblr! Thanks for choppin’ it up mane!
