Pink Siifu talks growing up in Cincinnati, getting his start as a poet, and bleeding on the track

Pink Siifu is part of a growing movement in rap music. There’s a sub-sect of artists making deeply personal, poetic, and abstract music over stripped down loops that aren’t necessarily adhering to traditional song structures or rules. It’s a fascinating wave with artists like Mach Hommy, Quelle Chris, Deem Spencer, Mike, and Earl Sweatshirt. Pink Siifu’s 2018 release Ensley a haunting record that will dig it’s way into the bottom of your soul because artists like him are willing open up and bleed on the track.

Highlights:

1:10- raised in the Queen City

7:20- Marching Band

16:50- Spiritual Music

19:18- Waiting for Music

25:30- A new generation of Hip-Hop

29:00- Finding your loops

32:50- YG at the Spliff

35:50-Poetry to verses

44:00- Music changing your life

Cautious Clay is Deep. He's an amazingly well rounded musician known for his poetic lyrics. A multi-instrumentalist, producer, and lyricist, he got his start taking flute lessons from YouTube phenomenon known for playing the flute while beatboxing. His deeply intuitive understanding of music led to Clay preferring to listen to notes, rather than reading them, to learn songs. He eventually went on to pick up the sax, the guitar, and become a formidable producer, even catching the eye of Billie Eilish early on. His 2018 banger “Cold War” got the ever-important Insecure placement, and 2019’s Table of Context was released to rave reviews followed by sold out shows. Tune in to hear us talk about being in the band, bridging the music gap, and rust belt.

HIGHLIGHTS:

2:40- Cleveland 

5:30- Parents and music

6:36- Outsider in Cleveland

8:50- Movies and Music

17:15- Raised on parents favorite music

19:50- Rust belt

24:50- Were you a band kid?

26:30- Stuck in the middle 

29:15- Our nations capital

32:19- Bridging the gap

41:00- Where to find me

Hook is a rapper phenom exploding out of Riverside, CA. Her recently released critically acclaimed debut tape “Bully” — entirely produced by underground pot-stirrer Nedarb Nagrom—is taking the underground by storm. Her ferocious style combined with his upbeat, sample-free 808 kits combine for the perfect soundtrack for a hot girl summer. She’s getting cosigns from your faves left and right, and has a bright career in front of her. But it turns out, as young as she is, she also has an extensive past with music behind her. Hear her talk about the girl group she formed with her sisters, growing up in the IE, and already working with rappers that inspired her to start rapping.

Highlights

4:14- First out the Riv

10:45- Coming up in Riverside

14:00- Law Academy

15:10- Year long detention

19:30- Growing up a performer 

26:00- Influential

27:40- On the Cusp of fashion

29:50- Releasing a hit clip

33:10- Staying in the game

36:59- Being more than a one-hit-wonder

40:25- Future plans 

Soccer Mommy is rad. With a sound rooted in 90s rock and an aesthetic rooted in 90s kitsch, Soccer Mommy embodies throwback radness. Her humble beginnings as a bedroom musician in Nashville were interrupted by the time she got to NYU for college and realized she had some big decisions to make. Music was pulling her away from school, and thankfully for us, she followed the calling from the rock gods. Hear us talk about being head of the class, recording music sans computers and growing up in Nashville.

Highlights:

1:45: Recording without a computer

4:05: Nashville

7:55: Top of the class

11:20: Starting young

16:00: Finding Influences

17:30: Obscure media

19:37: High school musical

27:35: Band camp

30:30: Valedictorian speech

35:20: Getting your first deal

29:49: Recording in New York

43:00: Response to Clean

Tommy Genesis is independent. She emerged from the underground rap scene, stayed true to her vision, and grew a devoted fanbase by doing things differently. She experimented with a multitude of music genres, including emo, noise, and punk, before creating her own: fetish rap. The term isn’t meant to signify the often overt sexual nature of her music, but to highlight how niche her sound is. Tommy is also a visual artist — having pursued post-secondary education in art and film — which is especially apparent in the music videos she often directs and edits herself. Tommy Genesis can’t be boxed into a singular category. She’s unabashedly unique, unapologetically herself, and unflinchingly independent.

Hear her talk about her self-titled debut album, becoming a Fenty Beauty ambassador, and working with one of her idols M.I.A.

Lee Fields’ career as a soul singer has spanned over 6 decades. It started with a talent show in Wilson, NC when he was 14, and has continued to this day. He’s been everything from a cover artist, to a one man band, a real estate manager, to a Billboard charting phenom, and now a living legend and road warrior with his band The Expressions.

Interviewing someone who’s lived so much life is easy, just set up the mics and let them tell their story. Lee had plenty of story to share. Tune in to hear him explain his start in North Carolina before moving to New York at age 17. He goes through every decade of his life with precision and detail, explaining how at times he lived somewhat of a duel life as a family man running a real estate business during the week, and a show stopping performer on the weekend.

After decades of releasing records, the last decade might even be the most fruitful for Mr. Fields legacy. He’s released 5 phenomenal albums over the last 10 years with The Expressions, showing amazing consistency, infinite charisma, and timeless soul. Their latest release, It Rains Love, puts the chops Lee’s developed over the years on full display and is a must listen for soul music lovers.

Highlights:

0:30: Being home from tour

1:50: Wanting to be an entertainer

6:40: Moving to NYC in the 70's

13:00 Performing for the celebs of NYC

14:34: Dress to impress

15:00: Love at first sight

21:00: Fatherhood in tragedy

25:50: Balancing family and tour

30:25: Remaining relevant in music

32:00: Bigger fish to fry

35:10: Recording in the fish shop

Leikeli47 is empowered. She’s taken control of her narrative by hiding her true identity. Now critics, fans, and observers are forced to judge her on the merit of music instead of physical appearance. Admittedly a shy person most of her life, concealing her identity has empowered her to be herself in the music.

47 is the rare all-in-one complete package modern musician. Not only is she an impeccable lyricist and song writer, but she displays a masterful delivery whether rapping or singing (“communicating” as she calls it), and she co-produces many of her songs. Even beyond that, she has a clearly defined visual aesthetic to match her music, making her one of the most well defined and captivating characters we’ve had the pleasure of working with.

 Her latest record, Acrylic, is the follow up to her previous Wash & Set and the second of a trilogy she’s dubbed the “beauty series.” Both albums are expansive in their scope, and concise in their clarity. They tackle a number of issues and topics with precision only a masterfully observant wordsmith could provide. Hear us talk about Pharrell watching her perform, finding the right sounds in the world to get the music out of her head, and people not even realizing she’s in the studio when the mask is off.

Highlights:

1:20: Why the mask?

2:18: Cultivating your sound

4:45: Growing up artistic

8:00: Moving to New York

9:30: What to do outside of music

11:48: Pharrell 

19:00: Concepts of Beauty

23:12: Discount Break

23:17: Atlantic melting pots

25:45: Influences beyond music

29:45: Coming up musically

34:40: Putting on the mask

37:50: Life as a studio rat

42:25: "Girl Blunt" on insecure

43:40: The face behind the mask

Maxo talks Lil Big Man, Def Jam giving him full creative control, and the power of timelessness



People always ask me how I find new music, and I can never really explain it. Finding Maxo was pure luck. A mere whisper in a Twitter thread amongst music journalists where someone said something along the lines of “Maxo’s new one is so good.” It was enough to barely pique my interest. Lil Big Man didn’t have a grand placement in the coveted “New Releases” section of your favorite streaming site, or any major playlist placements I’ve seen…it was just the modern version of word of mouth.



I pressed play on Lil Big Man, heard the floating lo-fi keys and gentle moaning vocal sample of “Time” and drifted back to a time of cheap headphones plugged into an old cassette deck, with the hiss of the tape warming my teenage soul. It felt like being running into an old friend, but realizing you’re both so much more grown up than when you last met. I love the tape, you can tell it’s recorded amongst friends, with an understanding and inherent comfort that lacks any pressure from outside forces pushing an agenda. Which made me all the more surprised to learn it was released by a major label.



Maxo is quick to smile and easy to talk to. A cool air of leadership and accountability follow him with every large stride of his tall lanky frame. He’s centered himself as the star player on a team of friends he’s had for years. He was able to continue working with the producers he started with even after signing to Def Jam, and rightly so as they’ve clearly learned to make a certain type of timeless magic together. Hear us discuss that timelessness, his signing, growing up in Southern California, and starting to rap a mere 3 years ago.

Highlights:

2:30: Being the middle child

5:10: Growing up in West LA

11:50: Developing your own taste

13:50: Pomona culture shock

16:20: Being a social butterfly

19:06: Starting to rap

20:40: What not to do on stage

23:15: Making music with your brother

31:32: Music around the house

33:00: Whatre you about

39:04: Smile

41:30: Navigating the industry

51:45: Hobbies

Omar Apollo is fresh. Beyond being a fresh face in the pop scene — and a heartthrob to boot — he’s taken a fresh approach at creating music. Perhaps it’s humility or self-deprecation when he claims he didn’t have any natural aptitude for music, but his passion to learn created an absolute phenom. He devoured YouTube tutorials to learn guitar, take singing lessons, and pick up production tips. Like many a young artist, his journey into pop stardom started by accident. The first song he released ended up on one of the biggest Spotify playlists. But the accident repeated itself and didn’t seem so accidental by the time he released his second song.

Now a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer, Omar’s fingerprints are all over every record he’s put out. He’s recently found comfort amongst peers in the burgeoning Chicano indie-pop scene. It’s full of like-minded utilitarian musicians, like Cuco and Inner Wave, who not only share the experience of navigating new found success in the industry, but the experience of growing up first generation Mexican-Americans.

Omar’s latest EP, Friends, is a wonderful glimpse into his artistic range and youthful pop presence. His voice is angelic, his writing is relatable, and his beats are danceable. Hear us talk about learning vibrato on YouTube to impress his dad, falling asleep with his guitar as a child, the fresh Chicano indie pop scene and more on “You Feel Me?” Remember to subscribe, and listen to the end for discount codes!

Highlights:

1:10: Hidden EPs

3:10: Teaching yourself music through YouTube

5:30: Pawn Shop shenanigans

7:28: How to get perfect vibrato

11:20: Guitar Center Heartthrob

13:30: Showing off a first song

14:23: Getting to Indiana

17:26: Super Taco

22:20: Growing up in Indiana

23:45: Taking Ballet

27:50: Pressure in music

33:30: Growing up unvalidated

38:34: I love Chicago

41:50: Putting together Stereo

44:45: Meeting similar artists

Travis Thompson has had a busy couple years. The emerging rapper was on tour with with another Seattle rapper, Macklemore, when I met him in 2017. It was his first time on the road and he’d recently quit his job. The tour led to a collaboration, the collaboration led him to appearing on The Tonight Show.

The video we shot upon meeting organically sky rocketed into the millions of views, as did nearly every music video he released after. He released an album that led to a headlining tour, and somehow garnered a cult following in Mexico City without speaking Spanish. Needless to say the labels came knocking.

2018 was a year of press runs, label meetings, battling loneliness, writing rap songs, signing to a major, and planning a career. Now with his first major label EP, Runaways, recently released, Travis is poised to become another name in the long list of heavy hitters from a city with a quietly storied lineage in rap history.

Hear us talk about his busy year, seeing himself on TV, signing his major deal, and more on You Feel Me? And be sure to subscribe and check out skullcandy.com for more music content!

Highlights:

2:06: Runaways EP

2:36: Getting noticed

4:45: Being on The Tonight Show

11:44: Writing with meaning

14:40: Working on Films

18:05: YNW Melly

18:45: DIY Production

24:40: Being on Sway

31:29: Meeting with labels

37:19: Being home

40:09: Tour Plans

44:40: Meeting other rappers