A little over a week ago, Chicago emcee Nick Astro dropped #Super16, his debut project, which was put together a bit differently. Instead of having the typical features, Nick Astro named each collaborator as a co-star. #Super16 shows the continued change in hip hop, as Nick Astro dropped his project independently.
Lyrics matter again in hip hop and Nick Astro continues the trend of stepping the bars up in an incredible fashion. There are several facets of hip hop in Chicago and Nick Astro represents the lyrical side of their game. His lyrical depth is displayed on his new mixtape, #Super16.
Nick Astro is buzzing right now, especially after the #Super16 release. Since his project is still rather fresh and Nick Astro is a budding star, Hip Hop Vibe reached out to him for an exclusive interview. In this chat, Nick Astro discussed his #Super16 mixtape, how he even got into rap, hip hop on the Chicago scene, and more.
Read the entire interview below:
What inspired the #Super16 title and why did you choose this for your debut mixtape? Okay. #Super16 came from three songs I wrote that did not have any hooks. So, each song was really just long verses, so I decided to do a whole project like that and I called it #Super16. That is how the concept originally started and it evolved into another concept, I attend Columbia Chicago for film and I have done film over the past few years, as I work with the Super 16 camera.
Another thing that spoke out was that you listed your collaborators as co-stars, would you consider #Super16 to be a cinema? I wouldn’t say that, I realized that Kendrick Lamar called his project, good kid, m.A.A.d. city, a short film. His project was put together more like a film soundtrack over the course of twelve records. Mine, on the other hand, are short stories contained within themselves, so no, this is no short film.
Was putting together this project any different from how you imagined it to be when you first started? Well, okay. I can tell you a really really huge secret, the first time I told anyone this. But, I started #Super16 with just a concept and I began promoting it without any tracks being done. My concept was me doing regular rapping and dropping tracks, like I did when I was in a group. But, when I went solo and checked out the Chicago hip hop scene and how they have online media and performances, so I reached out to my rapper friends and used my resources to put it all together.
While I was working, I was putting the project and networking to get better resources. When the promotion began, as far as Twitter and word-of-mouth, there was nothing even put together. I used that to get on the scene and meet some new people and then my plan worked because I met a good recording engineer, some good producers, and rappers who all worked with me on a tape I was promoting that was not even done.
A lot of people go through the childhood phase where they want to rap, but what made you pursue it seriously? I think it. I want to say because I see myself doing other things, such as going to school to be a social worker, but that stuff didn’t fit. Being a rapper did and I started at a young age, the fact that I was good at it made me want to take it more seriously.
Who were some of the people that inspired you to take a stab at the impossible and what type of impact, both positively and negatively did they have on you? First, I have to say Eminem definitely started it all, almost. Eminem, just his storytelling ability is what motivated me. We all, whether we listen to him or not, know about his relationship with his mother. I don’t think Em had any negative impacts on me. Definitely Kanye West, moreso because he is from Chicago and watching him blow up was more intimate. Being raised in a Christian home, when “Jesus Walks” was released and that song had a big impact, but I told my mother back then – little did I know – that Kanye West was a Christian rapper making it big in a secular world. Later, we all learned about Kanye, but him being able to talk about Christian values while being mainstream was good for me.
Once you got into the game, were you surprised at how the internet has opened this lane up for so many people? No, not at all, actually. The internet is a beautiful thing, it is one of those greatest inventions of all time, if not the number one. Just like Jay-Z says in that Magna Carta commercial, it allows the smallest person to have a voice. In my situation, there are a lot of artists who are not up to par, but they have money behind them and a label, but they are not as good as some of those who go without. So, for those who go without, the internet allows for that artist to have their lane, working as their small budget. You can record a song and upload the video, and it could go viral and then the support comes, so the internet is my best friend at this point.
There is a lot going on with the Chicago hip hop scene from the Drill music to the lyrical guys like yourself, how do you feel about the diversity of the Chicago hip hop scene? It’s… I grew up in Chicago in the South suburbs and I have felt the diversity was always in Chicago and now the people are starting to realize it and the city is getting recognized for it. We were always diverse, but how the Drill and lyrical scene go, I end up going back and forth, because some of my friends do Drill and others are lyrical. Chicago being so diverse helps my artistry, an example is my “I’m Broke” single, which is Drill-inspired. Had it not been for the Drill influence, that song probably would not have come out the way it did.
Who are some Chicago emcees that you wouldn’t mind working with in the future? Wow. I wouldn’t mind working with Add 2, he is a Chicago emcee on the rise. He is pretty dope.
What type of impact do you think you are having on the Chicago hip hop scene? Impact, wow. I would say moreso futuristic. I don’t know if I am having now, but I know what I want and that is to bring a different perspective. That is so typical to say and easy to do, because we are all different. No VMA is the same, but I want my music to make people think, that is the number one thing I want to get across in my music. I want people to question their perspective on the world, I want them to consider an alternative perspective that they never thought they could acquire.
Can you leave us with your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so fans can follow you? Everything is uniform. Nick Astro on all social networks.
