V.I.C. Interview Transcription
DJ Booth: What’s goin’ on everybody? It’s your boy “Z,” doin’ it real big, and joining me inside the DJ Booth is a new-school rapper from College Park, Georgia, who is encouraging the world to simply Get Silly. Please welcome V.I.C. - how you doin’?
V.I.C.: Yeah! What’s happening?
DJ Booth: Get Silly, man, is out of control. I’m out in Chicago, and everybody is listening to it here; I can only imagine how crazy it is down South. Are you aware of its nationwide takeover?
V.I.C.: Well, really, I don’t think I’m aware, ‘cause I sure don’t act like it, man. ‘Cause every day it’s real surprising, when I hear about how big it is and what it’s doing. I try and keep a level head.
DJ Booth: Stayin’ humble – that’s good. When you created the song, though, did you have an idea it would be such a big, trendy single?
V.I.C.: Actually, that was nowhere in my mind, bein’ big. If you think like that it’s pressure. I just have fun with it, and I know that whatever I do is gonna be hot, and people are gonna feel it. As you can see, Get Silly‘s a party song, it’s fun, and that’s basically me, that’s my personality.
DJ Booth: Let’s go through a little course in Get Silly 101. One, when you get silly the ladies are probably feelin’ you, but how can I get silly so that the ladies are feelin’ me? How do people actually roll with this and be successful?
V.I.C.: I say to each his own. I got superstar swag, you know? I don’t expect every other dude to have swag like mine. You gotta do what you do. Maybe you need to pimp your ride out, candy-paint it out, and then, yeah, you might get silly – they might hop on you. Some guys, they might have to hit the weight room; lose that gut, six-pack it out, you might have a chance to get silly, know what I’m sayin’? Find out what works best for you.
DJ Booth: Okay, so I need to do a little bit more experimentation?
V.I.C.: Yeah.
DJ Booth: Second question: what is the silliest thing that you’ve ever done, to this point in your life, that you regret doing?
V.I.C.: The silliest thing I’ve ever done…
DJ Booth: Mm-hm, that you regret doing.
V.I.C.: Um, let me see… I don’t think I’ve done anything that was silly that I regret doin’ so far. I can’t answer that question right now, man.
DJ Booth: Okay, so maybe I have to get back to you in five years, and you’ll have a better answer for me?
V.I.C.: Yeah, I might. [laughter]
DJ Booth: All right. Third question: is it silly for hip hop fans, who have long felt like the industry should go in only one direction, to say that, “ringtone rap,” which is what your single has been classified as, is quote unquote “ruining” the genre of hip hop? Is that silly?
V.I.C.: Nah, I don’t think that’s silly. I think the only thing silly about that is, whether they like it or not, rappers can still get money out here. I feel like people that have problems with it – you know, that’s why they call it “ringtone music” – is the people who can’t adapt to the changes. Nothing in life stays the same. The way things worked five years ago, ten years ago, is not the way things is working now, so if you don’t know how to change and adapt to life, then you’re gonna get left behind, with [those] funny-looking grills on your face, while the rest of us [are] gettin’ money – that’s how I see it.
DJ Booth: But so many artists in the past have released that [one hit], and then their careers have gone south. How do you escape the harsh reality, in this music business, that so many artists before you have suffered through, to make sure you are not a one-hit wonder?
V.I.C.: Well, first of all, I stay down, and I stay loyal to my craft. I don’t get lazy concerning my gift; you always have to exercise it. I’ve put in a lot of work to where I have a good reputation, of making big music, so I’ll never have a lack of it. Second of all, I feel like you have to stay humble, and never get big-headed. What goes up will come down, so if you are blessed with the opportunity to have success and be on top, then you be humble while you’re up there, so you don’t have a harsh fall. I don’t worry about ever fallin’. I know I’m here by destiny.
DJ Booth: Well, let’s roll off that answer. You were born in New York. Let’s say your parents had never moved to Atlanta when you were a child. If in fact it has always been your destiny to become a rapper, what would your music sound like had you stayed up north?
V.I.C.: I feel like my music would sound the way it does now. The way I created my whole sound and whatnot, I paid attention to what was goin’ on in the industry. And a lot of folks don’t do that. You can’t try to be a rapper, and make music for yourself, basically; you have to make music based on what’s poppin’, and what the people want to hear, and what they like. I know that I would never be a selfish rapper. I don’t make my music just for me and my homeboys to jam to it; I make my music for the world.
DJ Booth: Everyone knows that the majority of sales and success, over the past few years at least, have come from artists who hail from the South. Are you sayin’ that nothing is really poppin’ up north that you could follow and be successful?
V.I.C.: I’m not sayin’ that, ‘cause I don’t know everything that’s poppin’ up north, but I know for a fact that the South got it now. You turn on your TV, and the majority of videos you see, you gonna see the South. And you gotta be smart, you gotta play the game where the movement is. You can’t do what you wanna do; you gotta follow the game, ‘cause the game ain’t gonna change for you; you gotta change for the game.
DJ Booth: You’re absolutely right about that. V.I.C., a press release about your musical versatility said that you were able to offer, “danceable party jams as easily as you can deliver introspective, poetic parables,” and I am quoting directly. Give me an example of an introspective, poetic parable that listeners will be able to hear on your debut album?
V.I.C.: Well, I feel like it’s like this: “Softly, like if I play piano in the dark/ that’s Outkast/ I’m an outcast… [listen to the interview audio to hear V.I.C.’s full freestyle]”
DJ Booth: Well, I’ll tell you what: I was not expecting a freestyle or a verse from one of your songs. In all honesty, you showed me a side of you I didn’t know existed, so thank you for that.
V.I.C.: It’s all good, man.
DJ Booth: When you are not in the booth rapping, I read that you are also a world-class barber – am I correct?
V.I.C.: Right, right. [laughter]
DJ Booth: What brings more pressure, crafting a catchy hook, or perfecting that fade?
V.I.C.: For me, the fade.
DJ Booth: Why is that?
V.I.C.: Because, man, fading is like a serious art – like, how they get that hair to blend right. Personally, hooks come in two minutes for me; I have never had a problem with a hook. But a fade, man, I might be fading your hair for about an hour, forty-five minutes, to get it right, ‘cause I’m such a perfectionist like that.
DJ Booth: Well, that’s good, because people don’t have to walk around with hooks, but they certainly do have to walk around with a haircut. I’m sure all your customers appreciate that greatly.
V.I.C.: Right!
DJ Booth: We already talked mentioned it: the new album, it’s entitled Beast, is set to drop on August the 19th off Young Mogul/Collipark/Warner. Tell everyone why, when it is available, they need to cop eight copies.
V.I.C.: Well, I’m gonna tell you like this, man: I’m gonna have the greatest album of the year, that’s first and foremost. I’m tellin’ you straight up. I was that guy, like, “Come on, this dude really got signed? Man, he ain’t sayin’ nothing,” and now that I’m blessed with my opportunity and I got my turn, I can be the answer to all those statements that I was makin’. My album is phenomenal. There’s something on there for everybody; I’m touchin’ my hood folks, I’m touchin’ my dudes that like gangsta rap, I’m touchin’ my females, I’m touchin’ my people that don’t even like secular music, that just like spiritual music, gospel music – [there’s] something on there for everybody. V.I.C. is a true artist for real, and from one to sixteen, I promise you that you can ride my album all the way out.
DJ Booth: Well, it certainly sounds like you have a lot of versatility and you’re not lacking in the confidence department, so I wish you nothing but the best of luck, V.I.C. Give everyone a website or a MySpace page so they can find out more about what you got goin’ on.
V.I.C.: Okay. It’s your boy V.I.C. You can holla at me on my MySpace, it’s myspace.com/superstarvic, or getsilly.com. We got this Get Silly contest goin’ on right now where you can post up how you get silly. You can have a chance to win a lot of great things. So far we gave out Wiis, PS3s, flat-screen TVs, all kinds of stuff.
DJ Booth: Before you said, “Wiis,” the game, I thought you said, “weed.”
V.I.C.: [laughter] I know! That’s why I say, “Wii, the game,” everybody thinks I was sayin’, “weed!” They’re like, “What?! Weed?!”
DJ Booth: [laughter] Again, the best of luck to you in all your endeavors, and your album drop later this year, my man.
V.I.C.: I appreciate it, man.
Member Reviews and Ratings
Leave your Comment on V.I.C. Interview
Total Comments: 2
Submit a Comment
You must be logged in to post comments. Please log in below.
Email this page to a friend
