What’s going on Xica Simone, please introduce yourself.
My name is Xica (pronounced Sheeka)

Tell us about life growing up in your city.
I was born in Milwaukee Wisconsin and raised in Rockford Illinois. I am the baby of my family so I always felt like the only child. My sister and brother are 12 and 13 years older than me. I started singing in church and never stopped.

How did Music become your passion?
My older sister was a singer too! Unfortunately she was murdered in Rockford in 2008. She would always push me to sing anywhere at any time. Seeing her sing at her high-school graduation is what made me say “I wanna be on stage singing” because the crowd went crazy when she finished.

Tell us one or two of your musical influences.
I love neo soul and r&b music. A lot of my influences are old school like Anita Baker, Sade, Gap band, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu and Mary J Blidge.

What’s the most recent single you released & where is it available?
My most recent singles are “Roc Wit Me” and “Session” these songs are available on all music platforms.

What are you doing to make sure that you stay engaged with your fans?
I call people supporters not fans but I try to stay active as I can and do live performances so I can actually be in person with people. I respond quickly to messages and I’m always open to collaborations.

Which of your songs mean the most to you and why?
I wrote a song called “tribute” in honor of my sister, dad and grandmother who have all passed away. Writing this song helped me with my grieving so it’s emotional but it was something I needed to get off my chest.

What is your creative process when making new music?
When I’m creating or writing it must be a zen type vibe and I have to really feel the music. My lyrics aren’t just word play, they are my feelings, emotions or true experiences.

Outside of music what else can we catch you doing?
Outside of music I’m an actress as well. I’ve done several plays, small commercials and videos. I am a mother and a wife before anything else. I also host different shows or events when given the opportunity.

What’s next for you?
What’s next for me is booking more events to get my music out more. I have some shows coming up in the summer that I’ll be doing. Follow my social media for more updates.

Where can we follow you on social media?
I am mostly on Facebook but I am also on tiktok, Instagram, reverbnation and YouTube.

Anybody you want to shout out?
I want to shout out my friend and advisor singer Tina Renee. She is my rider and she always makes sure I’m on point with my brand. I also want to shout out to my loving husband who is always there protecting and supporting my every move. He is my rock.

What’s going on Big Guapo, please introduce yourself.

My name is Big Guapo. I’m 24 years old and I am a rapper/producer from Beloit Wisconsin.

Tell us about life growing up in your city.
Growing up in Beloit was a little hard for our family I was raised by a single mother who worked 2 sometimes 3 jobs with two other siblings and lived 4 or 5 houses down from the corner of Randall and porter which wasn’t a bad place to live at first but eventually got worse over the years with drugs and gun violence.

How did Music become your passion?

Music became my passion when I was young my older brother used to freestyle with all his friends in our room and eventually I joined in when I was about 13 or 14 years old after that I would write poems to my mom for Mother’s Day and sometimes to some girls I dated in high school and everyone said that I was good so It became something fun to do like a hobby.

Tell us one or two of your musical influences.

Two artists that influenced me the most growing up were project pat and Young Dolph

What’s the most recent single you released & where is it available?

I just dropped Hot Sauce Chronicles last month it’s available on all platforms Spotify/YouTube/ and Apple Music

What is your creative process?

My process when it comes to making a new song is just to go in the Studio and speak my mind whatever I got going on at the time I put it in my music and just have fun with it

Outside of music what else can we catch you doing?

You can catch me at the trampoline park or something with my kids when I’m not with them I like to go to the gun range

What’s next for you?

I’m going to be dropping a collaboration album with my homie Crispy Chris soon. The project will be called Stepper Brothers all production will be done by me so keep an eye out for that.

Where can we follow you on social media?

@bigguap0608

Anybody want to shout out?

S/o to IL Boi for reaching out to me to perform at his birthday bash and s/o my brother Crispy Chris my cameraman.

Please describe any unique characteristics of your company or its products and services that you feel would be newsworthy? 

My rap style is a unique sound in the Atlanta melodic scene and drill scene. I really talk about real life scenarios that’s happening to me and those around me or what I see majority of my lyrics is not cap I feel like that’s what make me stand out more

Who is your target audience? 

People that can relate that’s incarcerated or over came they form of struggle or currently going thru In other words I write a lot of pain music on uptempo beats

What separates you from your competition 

I don’t cap in my rap. I really have been through it all.

What motivated you to build your own brand?

The love I had for music my whole life: 50 cent, Lil Baby, Chief Keef, all the R&B and early 2,000s and late 90s music. I also loved the YMCMB era.

Where do you see yourself/your company 5 years from now?

Still rapping, perfecting my craft and at a superstar level.

How would you want the readers to benefit from learning about you? 

By paying attention to what I do and how I talk so they won’t make the same mistakes that I have made in the past. I’m from Queens NY, Springfield to be exact but I’m putting on for Allentown Pennsylvania.

Thank you for taking the time to chat with me. Tell me about yourself and how it contributed to
your love of music?

My stage name is Scorch, I’m from Harlem, New York. A very famous and influential borough with a very multicultural environment. Coming up my father had a world famous group named The Charts. I can remember as a little kid watching my fathers group practice in the living room of our 3 bedroom apartment for hours on end. This gave me a strong sense of music. Being able to hear and appreciate every aspect of the beat.

Hip Hop has changed a lot. How have you managed to evolve with it and all of the changes
taking place in the industry?

I have managed to stay current with the times by staying hip. Staying in tune with what’s going on in modern times without attempting to infringe on other styles of different artists. You can remain relevant without imitating others.

Who are your biggest supporters behind the Scorch brand?

My biggest supporters behind my brand is without a doubt my immediate family. For the longest time it’s just been me and my sisters Venise, Aisha, Shatekqua and Aja. They have been very influential in my musical journey by supporting me any and every way possible. Along with my manager Cutter and the fans of course I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if it wasn’t for them.

Are you from a musical or artistic family?

Yes, my mother used to do backup singing for different groups in the 50’s. My father had a hit song called Desire around the same time. Through their love of music they connected and a star was born.

How do you describe your music?

My music can be described as limitless and limitless. I like to keep them guessing, what I mean by that is I always want to come with something different, new and vibrant. To the point even though you are expecting something crafty and exciting I’ll still have you saying to yourself I didn’t see that coming.

Do you write most of your music yourself?

I write all of my own music myself. I come from an era where it was a must for your pen game to hold weight. If you are an artist you must be a creator of your own material.

How do you balance the music and your other obligations- school, family, etc?

I have learned through the years to find a medium when it comes to all of my obligations in life. I have 3 kids Jade, London, and Lordon. So I must keep some kind of balance. The weekdays is grind time. I have the kids in the morning waking them up to get them ready for school. Then I head out to grind. In the course of my day I might have a host of meetings or a studio session or a photo shoot. From the moment I wake up to the time I go to sleep it’s grind time. The weekends are mainly reserved for down time. Sunday is family time, and I wine down, then do it all over again.

What’s your favorite song and why?

I wrote a song named “Eternal Remembrance 1944”. It’s a song about my mother who passed away November 13, 1996. I was with her when it happened. The song is filled with real emotion and a message that’s real and heartfelt. Whenever I play the song I can feel my mother’s presence and remember all the wonderful times we had.

Has social media contributed to how you release your music?

Yes, social media definitely contributed to how my music is released. You have so many different platforms available to actually release music on. You can literally structure a campaign on multiple platforms and gain maximum exposure. It’s way different from back in the day where everything was more done from street promotion.

You seem very grounded in the music process now. Do you feel it is getting easier to make
music and videos for you? Or is it still a difficult process?

I would say it’s an adventure when doing videos. When you come up with exciting and innovative ways of doing things It never truly feels like work. It’s more like what can I do to make this more exciting or how can I bring this vision to my audience? How do I truly want my message received? It’s not a difficult process but when putting passion into your craft it’s never supposed to be easy.

What can your fans look forward to seeing next from the Lyrical Genius Scorch?

My fans can expect new projects being it music or videos and different roles in movies. Community service events. Be on the lookout for “Going Up” being released in February 2023. Follow me on instagram @therealscorch and check out my website www.scorchnation.com to stay tuned and don’t forget to join the #TanCalienteChallenge on TikTok and if your on IG and do a dance to my song send me a message or tag me to let me know so I can post and share you on Instagram and Facebook. Thank you for taking the time out to interview me and much love and appreciation to all the DJ’s and fans who love and support my music.

What’s going on Whitley D, Please introduce yourself.
Shit. Adulting. I’m Whitley D. by the way. Gritty Ent.’s First Lady.

Tell us about life growing up in your city.
Grew up between North Chicago and Gurnee, and went to Gurnee schools because they were better for me.

What’s the origin behind your name?
The First name is Whitley. The “D” is my middle Initial, Darnisha. My last name is non-optional for various reasons.

How did music become a passion for you?
I’ve been singing since I was 4, and my mom kept me in both vocal lessons and choir for both school and church.

How would you describe your style of music?
I do R&B/Soul.

What’s the most recent single or project that you released?
I will be releasing my first project sometime in the middle or end of next year w/ our family producer Dinasty.

Throughout your journey in music, what’s the biggest obstacle that you had to overcome?
My biggest obstacle in music that I’ve overcome was singing in my college’s concert choir. I couldn’t stand a lot of them, and they couldn’t stand me either. Lol!

Besides Music what other business ventures are you pursuing?
I want to venture off into communications work that’s geared towards music and entertainment. However, I do enjoy working w/ special needs youths and adults. I’ve been doing that since 2017.

What piece of advice could you offer to any new upcoming artists?
Stay humble, and fuck your haters. They are there for a reason.

What’s next for you musically?
My project w/ Producer Dinasty. Also, continuously sing for the College of Lake County Gospel Choir.

Where can we keep up with you online?
Instagram: whit_whit0106 Snapchat: whitleydb

And a shout outs?
Shot out to IlBoi and Dinasty for making this all possible for me! I wanna thank the Lord for the musical accomplishments that I’ve made thus far as well!

What’s going on? Please introduce yourself.

What’s going on? I’m The Ville

Tell us about life growing up in your city.

I was born and raised in Freeport, IL just like both of my parents. My father being a pastor, I was raised in the church. I started in music by playing the drums for my church. Even though I didn’t care for singing as a child, that is where I found my gift.

What’s the origin behind your name?

My name, The Ville, had much meaning behind it. When I first got into music my name was The Village Child of Freeport. As you can tell, it was pretty long, so shortly after I started using the acronym TVCOF for simplicity purposes. After a while, I decided to cut it short and now go by the name The Ville, short for a Village. I am proud of my roots and will always represent my city.

How did music become a passion for you?

Truthfully, music has only recently become a passion of mine. While I grew up in the church choir, I wasn’t always glad to be there, especially when I had to sing. But in the more recent years, I lost my niece and since have found music to be my outlet, a way to express myself. I feel as though I keep a piece of my niece alive with my voice.

How would you describe your style of music?

Honestly, describing my style of music is probably one of the more challenging questions to answer. I do not conform and I find myself venturing into different styles all the time. While I work most on R&B and rap styles of the hip hop culture, I recently stepped into reggaetón and more.

What’s the most recent single or project that you released?

I have so many songs in my vault! With quite an idea for releasing more music in the year 2023. But as far as the most recently released project, it is the music video to my fans long awaited R&B favorite, Touchin’ You. The video was shot in Puerto Rico this past spring and watching the video on YouTube is the only way to hear the track for the time being.

Throughout your journey in music, what’s the biggest obstacle that you had to overcome?

I have learned a lot in just this past year. One of the many obstacles that I would consider to be a lesson learned is that not everyone who is in your Face is a fan. Sometimes it’s hard to tell because as an influencer, I want to inspire all. But I’ve learned the hard way so early in my career that not all companies are good companies. I just know to stay focused and God will show me what is truly for me and who might be against me.

Besides Music what other business ventures are you pursuing?

Those who know me know quite well, and those getting to know me, I have a great passion for my community, especially the children. They are our future! I have been active in involving my community and I have aspirations of bring fun and safe activities to my community for the children. I also have a few new merch ideas in the works with hopes of some new drops coming in early 2023.

What piece of advice could you offer to any new upcoming artists?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, stay true to yourself. Be uniquely you. It can be challenging to remain your authentic self in this industry, but that is truly the only way. No one is looking for the next 6lack or J Cole. Sure they can be inspirational, but you are who you are and you can’t be someone else, nor should you want to be.

What’s next for you musically?

Oh man, next year is going to be a big year for me. I have really grown a lot through 2022, but I am nowhere near down! You’ll have to stay tuned for upcoming release and performance dates!

Where can we keep up with you online?

I am on all platforms. For my music, just got to your favorite streaming platform, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, you name it. Type in The Ville! As far as keeping up with me, Facebook at The Ville and Instagram at _TheOfficialVille. You can also visit my website at www.theofficialville.net for all Ville related news and merch!

And any shout outs?

shout out to the ones that love, support & rocking with me! Without them i wouldn’t be great artist i am today, shout out to them.

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