I recently reviewed Lärs’ Pronounced With Regret, a killer instalment in the rapper’s excellent discography. In the aftermath of this, he kindly let me shoot him some questions about his music, his other outlets, and his plans for the future. I think this one came out even better than usual.
1. First off I want to say how dope the new project is, been in heavy rotation. How would you say it compares to your past work? Seems to be getting a similarly positive reaction.
Thanks bruv, I think its one of my more polished projects fersure, brief yet cohesive, i usually dont get every intended song finished & mixed in time. I let out a lot of disparity/anger on this project though, which i try to stray from in my person.
2. How long have you been rapping for? Was there any specific artist that made you want to start making music?
I’ve been recording since i was 17 but I probably didnt take it seriously till I was 21. I was rappin with my best friend at the time, Fred, so if you see “(prod. mercury/until)” or “ft derf” thats him. I cant say anyone specifically made me WANT to rap, we just loved music and did it for fun back then.
3. Where are you from and what is the hip-hop scene like there? Are you able to work with other rappers and producers in person? I usually know this about the people I interview but I ain’t brushed up this time round, my bad.
Ok, kinda complicated. i was born in fayetteville, north carolina but raised mostly between there and tampa, virginia a lil as well. Bimbo was recorded with seth/suff & ledwan so there’s that. Theres also a few other local artist ill probably work with in the future, but tampa isnt exactly a hotbed for what im tryin to do
4. Who would you say your influences are? I remember you saying you hate people comparing you to Tyler, the Creator but I don’t really hear that much in your verse at all.
People that compare me to tyler just let me know they dont listen to what im sayin fr lol. I was influenced mostly by like the first wave of internet rappers. Charles Hamilton, Cudi, Blu, Asher Roth, Lupe, Doom, the Cool Kids, Pharrell, Kidz in the Hall, Joe Budden, Black Milk, Slum Village. As far as non rap shit Bad Brains blew my mind fr, like the way they maxed out technical skill/energy/ and the meaning in the lyrics let me know i had a ways to go.
5. You killed it on that BIMBO tape Suff put out a couple months back, do you guys have more stuff on the way? Single producer projects seem to work for you.
Me and Suff have a 2 song EP coming called “Ropeless Homantic” comin soon. i kinda fell into single producer projects outta necessity to be honest. It takes a certain kind of chemistry to really flesh out a body of work with one person though.
6. Speaking of BIMBO, that tape had crazy artwork and all of your material does too. Do you have a hand in that stuff?
I do 99% percent of my own art, if not its entirety I edit it in some facet. Ive commissioned other graphic artist’s work 3 times total i think but 2 out of the 3 I edited somewhat. Like “Pronounced with Regret” was a painting I made
7. I think it’s cool that all your discography is on Bandcamp, do you feel that it’s a better platform than Soundcloud in any sense?
I like the way you can present your complete discography on bandcamp, post videos, and selling merch. Those are the only areas. Bandcamp isnt really rapper friendly site in my opinion lol , but i digress. If Bandcamp can make a comparable app i think the gap between them is shortened greatly.
8. What are your other outlets besides music? I’d be down to hear you rap as much as possible for the foreseeable future but do you have anything else planned?
Im gettin back into painting, and plan on delving back into photography by the end of the year. I feel like i have to start producing and master video editing at some point. I’ll always make music though, even if im not rappin.
9. What else do you get up to in your spare time? Hopefully you got some good weather where you are.
Im a movie buff, like there arent too many flicks i havent seen. OD amounts of old playstation games, anime here n there. I live in florida so theres always a beach within 30 mins of me lol. Just started doin yoga again as well. oh, and drugs.
10. Finally, I wanna say big thanks for doing this interview and offer you the chance to add anything else.
NIggas on the way to court right now. Sometimes growth is hard to notice but never forget to appreciate how far you’ve come. Life ain’t a competition . Shoutout souless, prado, alpine, questionz, my senclairemag fam, the spurt mob , hundo, Fred, everyone that helped me grow tf up as an artist and a person. Perfection is an illusion, don’t be so hard on yourself. But don’t fret from the pressure, you’ll be better for it. One love , Q-tip voice* lol
Check out Lärs on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Follow him on Twitter at @cumonherjeans.
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