The Soundiary Mixtape by IKE ION
INTERVIEW 1. I think growing up as a biracial kid with a white mom, she was always trying to influence me with hip hop and rap but couldn’t help but share her love of artists like Billy Joel and Alanis Morrisette also. I remember falling in love with The Fugees and Missy Elliott while sitting in my car seat as a small child. These were my earliest influences but I never thought I would make music. I wanted to be an actor. So then came the musical theater world and when Moulin Rouge came out when I was 9, I was obsessed. I remember trying to understand the meaning of the song “Come What May” cuz I couldn’t understand why they weren’t saying “Come With Me”. So that began a love of lyrics and poetry that followed me all through high school eventually leading me to college identifying as an “English Major”. I was seriously writing poetry during the Summer of my first year before starting college right out of high school. Then “Look At Me Now” by Chris Brown Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes came out and I was so inspired by that beat I came up with my first freestyle.
2. What made me seriously start to get into music was when I was obsessively learning Nicki Minaj raps and getting so excited rapping them. Specifically the “Bottoms Up” verse and the “Blazin” verse. The way she flowed was so crazy and fun to say if you knew the verses I felt like a rapper yourself ! I decided instead of rapping along to other people’s songs I would try to come up with my own creative flows inspired by the music I love. So I became obsessed with music breaks and instrumental edm specifically dubstep, trapstep, and d+b.
3. I think I’m most inspired by love. Love stories and journeys of love overcoming evil. The struggles of the LGBTQ+ community mean everything to me. Also I believe I’m very cynical of the current state of the world because of the chaos that we all live in day to day and I like to speak on that. I have always identified as a political artist because my existence as a gay biracial songwriter and rapper is political in America and I exist to represent other people like me.
4. When I started rapping, I wanted to be the gay Tech N9ne. Growing up, I admired Bradley Nowell from Sublime, Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco...I loved metal bands like Iwrestledabearonce, Every Time I Die, and Protest The Hero...Fall Out Boy was my favorite band in high school.
5. If I wasn’t a musician (which in my opinion I’m still becoming) I would love to write films and direct. I am a student of Stanley Kubrick, Spike Lee, and Quentin Tarantino. I love cinema and I love creating mixtapes because they are like editing a film. Writing has always been important to me and I plan to write novels about ideas I can’t really express completely though music. I also love to cook and bake and being a pastry chef is something I would love to do also.
6. My suggestion for anyone deciding to make music is don’t make music that sounds like what you like. Try to find your own voice and let all your influences pour into your work. Don’t be ashamed of where you come from because that makes you who you are. Don’t try to be your idol. “Kill Your Idols” to become the best version of who YOU are.
7. My dream collaboration would be doing a song with Tech N9ne or Krizz Kaliko. I just love how eccentric and creative they both are. Doing a song with Mykki Blanco or Le1f would also be incredible but I still wanna make one with Kodak Ken !!!
8. Since around September 2020 I’ve been actually experiencing a heavy case of writers block and I truly believe it’s because of the pandemic and all of the trials everyone is facing trying to survive through this tough time in history. I had isolated myself and felt no inspiration at all. I think to get out of writers block means not forcing yourself to write. Try doing something else. Lately, the things inspiring me the most are knowing that life goes on and we never know the end of the story we just have to keep going and living as best we can. I been reconnecting with music and movies that used to make me very happy and reading new and old books that push me to think about the state of our political climate. I just wrote a melody and chorus 2 days ago so this might be the beginning of a new wave of inspiration.
9. Favorite artists of all time: Freddie Mercury, Tech N9ne, t.A.T.u., M.I.A., Morrissey, Flux Pavillion, Thelonius Monk, Charli XCX, Sophie, Sublime, Aaliyah, Terror Jr, Rolling Stones, Nicki Minaj, Fall Out Boy, Skindred, Chloe X Halle, Mindless Self Indulgence, Missy Elliott, The Fugees, Lady GaGa, Bob Marley, Marshmello, Iwrestledabearonce, Jim Morrison, Danity Kane, Rihanna, lots more than there’s space here to put down.
10. I used to describe Ike Ion as turn up music with a message. I like to make people think while creating cinematic soundscapes. In my mixtapes I craft an experience that takes sound bites from pop culture that have influenced me through my life. The music is rap music injected with adrenaline or aggressive pop music.
11. My creative process is weird. I used to hear beats that would inspire me or songs that I wanted the instrumental to. Now the lyrics come at random and have no rhyme or reason to them. Most of the time I’m playing puzzle with old and new lyrics to come up with the final song since I’ve been seriously writing for almost 10 years. All I need is a fresh notebook and the possibilities are endless.
INTERVIEW 1. I think growing up as a biracial kid with a white mom, she was always trying to influence me with hip hop and rap but couldn’t help but share her love of artists like Billy Joel and Alanis Morrisette also. I remember falling in love with The Fugees and Missy Elliott while sitting in my car seat as a small child. These were my earliest influences but I never thought I would make music. I wanted to be an actor. So then came the musical theater world and when Moulin Rouge came out when I was 9, I was obsessed. I remember trying to understand the meaning of the song “Come What May” cuz I couldn’t understand why they weren’t saying “Come With Me”. So that began a love of lyrics and poetry that followed me all through high school eventually leading me to college identifying as an “English Major”. I was seriously writing poetry during the Summer of my first year before starting college right out of high school. Then “Look At Me Now” by Chris Brown Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes came out and I was so inspired by that beat I came up with my first freestyle.
2. What made me seriously start to get into music was when I was obsessively learning Nicki Minaj raps and getting so excited rapping them. Specifically the “Bottoms Up” verse and the “Blazin” verse. The way she flowed was so crazy and fun to say if you knew the verses I felt like a rapper yourself ! I decided instead of rapping along to other people’s songs I would try to come up with my own creative flows inspired by the music I love. So I became obsessed with music breaks and instrumental edm specifically dubstep, trapstep, and d+b.
3. I think I’m most inspired by love. Love stories and journeys of love overcoming evil. The struggles of the LGBTQ+ community mean everything to me. Also I believe I’m very cynical of the current state of the world because of the chaos that we all live in day to day and I like to speak on that. I have always identified as a political artist because my existence as a gay biracial songwriter and rapper is political in America and I exist to represent other people like me.
4. When I started rapping, I wanted to be the gay Tech N9ne. Growing up, I admired Bradley Nowell from Sublime, Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco...I loved metal bands like Iwrestledabearonce, Every Time I Die, and Protest The Hero...Fall Out Boy was my favorite band in high school.
5. If I wasn’t a musician (which in my opinion I’m still becoming) I would love to write films and direct. I am a student of Stanley Kubrick, Spike Lee, and Quentin Tarantino. I love cinema and I love creating mixtapes because they are like editing a film. Writing has always been important to me and I plan to write novels about ideas I can’t really express completely though music. I also love to cook and bake and being a pastry chef is something I would love to do also.
6. My suggestion for anyone deciding to make music is don’t make music that sounds like what you like. Try to find your own voice and let all your influences pour into your work. Don’t be ashamed of where you come from because that makes you who you are. Don’t try to be your idol. “Kill Your Idols” to become the best version of who YOU are.
7. My dream collaboration would be doing a song with Tech N9ne or Krizz Kaliko. I just love how eccentric and creative they both are. Doing a song with Mykki Blanco or Le1f would also be incredible but I still wanna make one with Kodak Ken !!!
8. Since around September 2020 I’ve been actually experiencing a heavy case of writers block and I truly believe it’s because of the pandemic and all of the trials everyone is facing trying to survive through this tough time in history. I had isolated myself and felt no inspiration at all. I think to get out of writers block means not forcing yourself to write. Try doing something else. Lately, the things inspiring me the most are knowing that life goes on and we never know the end of the story we just have to keep going and living as best we can. I been reconnecting with music and movies that used to make me very happy and reading new and old books that push me to think about the state of our political climate. I just wrote a melody and chorus 2 days ago so this might be the beginning of a new wave of inspiration.
9. Favorite artists of all time: Freddie Mercury, Tech N9ne, t.A.T.u., M.I.A., Morrissey, Flux Pavillion, Thelonius Monk, Charli XCX, Sophie, Sublime, Aaliyah, Terror Jr, Rolling Stones, Nicki Minaj, Fall Out Boy, Skindred, Chloe X Halle, Mindless Self Indulgence, Missy Elliott, The Fugees, Lady GaGa, Bob Marley, Marshmello, Iwrestledabearonce, Jim Morrison, Danity Kane, Rihanna, lots more than there’s space here to put down.
10. I used to describe Ike Ion as turn up music with a message. I like to make people think while creating cinematic soundscapes. In my mixtapes I craft an experience that takes sound bites from pop culture that have influenced me through my life. The music is rap music injected with adrenaline or aggressive pop music.
11. My creative process is weird. I used to hear beats that would inspire me or songs that I wanted the instrumental to. Now the lyrics come at random and have no rhyme or reason to them. Most of the time I’m playing puzzle with old and new lyrics to come up with the final song since I’ve been seriously writing for almost 10 years. All I need is a fresh notebook and the possibilities are endless.
Comments
Post a Comment