We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful TRICITO. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with TRICITO below.
Hi TRICITO, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
My favorite Hip-Hop/Rap song of all time is OutKast ‘So Fresh, So Clean’. From the way the beat comes in with its funky groove mixed in with the harmonic hook, it just makes me feel good; happy in a sense. The lyrics are what got me hooked but it wasn’t just the way I thought Big Boi and Andre 3000 were lyrical magicians for what they said, but also how they said it. I got this feeling another time with Kanye West once he released his second album, ‘Late Registration’. There was a particular song called ‘Gone’ on the album and he had a line where he says “Said she want diamonds I took her to Ruby Tuesday’s” and my mind was blown. I laughed so hard but was amazed at the same time and that is when I wanted to learn how to rap. I wanted to give people that same type of feeling I had once I heard that bar.. how can I make great music but make you want to laugh as well? That’s how I started learning the craft. Adding Lupe Fiasco’s ‘The Cool’ (second album), that helped me not only want to bring wittiness, but also story telling and making a listener live in the moment. I wanted to you to really see and visualize my words the way I saw images from what Lupe and Kanye were talking about. Lil’ Wayne later taught me about punchlines through his mixtape series ‘Drought 3’. I am still learning to this day through myself as well as listening to other artists (new and old). I try to become a sponge and soak up many different viewpoints to make a Hip-Hop song. I think that was the beauty of learning the craft; finding ways to make your light shine differently in a room of different hues.
TRICITO, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I always loved music. I actually started writing my own verses and songs around 2009, but it wasn’t until 2011 where I actually made my first mixtape in high school with my friends. We were seniors and back then we made what people call now ‘jacking for beats’ (basically rapping over industry beats already out at the time and making our own songs). That same year later on my music group (we called ourselves Militia at the time) went to separate colleges but still I continued to record and make songs in my dorm room with a help of a few friends who believed in my potential. I made my first three solo mixtapes in 2012 and from there on I never looked back. 2014 I came out with a full length mixtape called ‘The Hunger & Thirst 2’ and that was the moment I knew I had something special if I just continued to grow. I think what I am most proud of, was the faith in myself. I dropped out of school and told my parents I wanted to make music, but I also knew if I quit school I would have to give my all to music. I am still learning more and more about my craft to this day. I think I want my fans to know I have never given up even when I didn’t see big outcomes. Sometimes the dream was enough to keep me going when the days were darkest and didn’t know how to get a fan. I want people to know there is a light out there as long you don’t succumb to darkness.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal making music has changed. Starting out, the goal and plan was never abut money, nor fame since I knew that automatically would come if I put the hard work in. The goal was always to show people I could rap. I always wanted to be a basketball player and had NBA dreams unfortunately God had other plans for me. So this was my way to still show off my talents. I wanted to prove to the top tier musicians there’s a new sheriff in town who means business. I just wanted approval from the ones who are solidified in history for their musical accomplishments. My goal has changed over the course of my life and now it’s to inspire. I want people to look at me and see that they can do anything they set their minds too if they work hard and believe in your dreams. I want people to see that anything is possible if you show up and prove you have something to say because we all do. The way those artists made me feel as a young man (Kanye, Lupe, Wayne, OutKast) I want someone to feel that way about my craft. If I do my best I will be placed in history as one of the best.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I think the most rewarding part is seeing the finished product or having it in your hands ready to present to the world. For me personally, after I finish a product I get stuck into my head sometimes wondering, how can I beat what I just did if I feel I gave 100%? The answer is always, well we need to try to go towards 110%. I know this sounds crazy, but I stress myself all the time when I make new music. I am my biggest critic, so once I get finalized product it’s like a breath of fresh air. It’s always fun to see/hear your creativity doing things a new way. It’s almost therapeutic to see what you can do to a beat or instrumental; here you are with nothing but a beat or harmony and you have to add and layer to it to fill in the empty space. Once you have something beautiful those moments of fear and doubt no longer exist. You are literally creating nothing from something and that’s the reward to me. Finding new ways to challenge myself and get a point across always fulfills me.
Contact Info:
- Website: tricito.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: @godfavoritemusician
- Twitter: @TRICITO
- Youtube: youtube.com/tricitotv
Image Credits
All Photo Credit: Kelsey ‘OG’ Martin