We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Frankie Rivera a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Frankie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

So i was 20 years old. I was in college, but my heart wasn’t there. All I thought about was music and what I could do with it. At this point I had been making music for about two years and put out some mixtapes but more than anything, I fell in love with the writing process of making music. The vulnerability in the lyrics, the rhythm in the cadences, the double entendres, everything. It was then that I knew that I wanted to do this and take it to another level.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My names Frankie. I’m a young hispanic from the eastside of the city. Like most, I deal with life on a day to day basis. I’m juggling dealing with responsibilities, adulthood, fatherhood, expectations, relationships, self growth and accountability. The only thing that differentiates myself from the average human being is my ability to songwriter and express myself through hip hop. I got into this when I was 18 but i’ve been listening to rap since I was born. My dad was 17 when i was born so a lot of the stuff he was listening to at a young age, I got to digest and listen to regularly. Master P, Street Military, Geto boys, UGK, Juvenile. The list goes on so yeah, rap has been a part of my life since I can remember. The thing that i’m most proud of are my bodies of work. Even my extremely early work is something i’m proud of. There’s growth during the periods of time and you can see it. I’m proud of my growth, for sure.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

For sure I do think some non-creatives won’t understand my music or perspective. I think even creatives could struggle to understand because there’s a level of maturity to it. Like I said before, there’s so many things I deal with and go through on the day to day that some people just can’t relate to and that’s okay. Eventually we all have to grow. Time doesn’t stop and life goes on. The goal is to create timeless music that people can go back to and relate to.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

When someone comes up to me and tells me that one of my songs got them through a rough patch or really helped them. It might not be a huge deal to a lot of people but like i said before, that’s why I do it. Also when people say they love the instrumentation or the overall song. It’s a task in itself to set a tone to a record and really have someone gravitate to what you’re making. Not only that but to specifically understand what you’re going for so when people tell me what they feel when they hear the song and it’s exactly what i was going for, that’s a great feeling.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/frankieraps
• Twitter: @frankieraps
• Youtube: coffeenraps