Normally when you are reading these articles, it’s important to keep in mind, our interviews are generally conducted via email or messenger. But for Talika’s interview we had him come into HQ we’re we conducted it live and in person, as a new format to include on Youtube. We won’t be doing this for everyone, only when the stars line up.
After taking some free shots from Jagermiester I started the interview with…
Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you do.
”My name is Talika. I am a Native American HipHop artist based out of Arizona. Originally born in Glendale. Moved up to Flagstaff. Was raised in Flag then moved back to Chandler. And it feels good to be back man!”
Who influenced you growing up?
“Growing up I had a heavy metal father, man. My dad was like. Metal show after Metal show after Metal show. And he worked a lot. But what influenced me? Probably Jonathan Davis from Korn. I love Jonathan Davis. I was a huge drummer growing up so I would say Vinnie Paul,
Ray Luzier from Korn, Lars Ulrich from Metallica were my biggest influencers. So i’m going to say that I’m not a rapper. I’m an artist altogether.”
What’s it like having a metal head for a dad?
“I love my father, man. Hardest working robotic alcoholic that i’ve ever known in my life. He could party all night and go to work like an hour later. My dad did a lot of things for us, he sacrificed a lot for us and I’m glad he came back to us when we needed him the most. So thank you pop. Love you always and forever.”
When and where did your journey as a musician start?
“Honestly, I’m not even gonna front. So I used to be like a little nerd back in my day. I used to be in Rock Band competitions for like drums n shit. I got 2nd place 3 times in 3 major competitions. Never made it 1st, but that’s what really peaked my interest. I wanted to prove myself against everybody in the whole crowd of 500 people. Even if it was just plastic drums n shit, It made me feel so alive.”
When did the genre change happen and who contributed to you becoming a rapper?
“Before I graduated high school in like 2010. I’ve listened to 90’s rap a lot, but in 2010 I was introduced to rappers like Logic, I started hearing a lot of Kendrick, J Cole. My sister had a new car, and she would listen to J Cole in it and shit. Speakers weren’t good, you know, but we would bump it as loud as we could. That, and I started listening to more like mainstream new school HipHop instead of Ice Cube N shit, Bone Thugs. So that really sparked everything up. The beats were different. I love beats man. As a drummer I respect a lot of the beats because if it weren’t for those drums man, let me tell you. If you don’t got good drums in your music bro, you’re not going to make it in this industry. So appreciate your producers man.
Tell us about the full length album that just dropped. The Only Stain In The Spotless Room
“Yes. Just dropped my 3rd album, It’s called The Only Stain In The Spotless Room, and honestly, I would not be here bro. If it wasn’t for my homies, D Carter. D Carter you pushed me through a lot of shit bro, and I appreciate that, Cameron came down from Chicago and started making music with us just two years ago bro. Funny how time passes in a blink of an eye. But this 3rd album, I wrote it in the span of January 2020, to April 2021. And it just talks about everything that I went through. And it goes in order. Break up, depression, your going through some shit, alcoholism, you numbing your things, and you hiding things inside you that you cant release, so you release it out of music type shit. Its hard for me to talk to people, Brett. It really is you know. And I feel like sometimes its hard for people to listen, because they are going through their own shit man. I like relating to people, and I like it when people come up to me and tell me my music helped them through shit or that. But this 3rd album here, I put a lot of time and work into. I produced, mixed and mastered 16 of the 17 tracks that are on this album. And D Carter mixed, mastered, and produced one of the tracks, All Around. Which is also for the music video we just dropped.
Whats the best platform for people to stream your music?
“Right now? Spotify man. If you like Dark Alternative Rap or if you like harder beats and lyrics that are not only from your conscious but also from your heart. Then you should check me out.
Do you have any new songs dropping this year?
There will be 3 more music videos coming off this album, then i’m going to start dropping some more singles and music for y’all. Me and Cameron are actually planning a project. A dual project called Swap Meet. And its gonna be me, Cameron, D Carter, and a couple other artists that are producers that also rap. So hit me up if you wanna be a part of that.
What are the pros and cons of your local music scene?
“Man… I noticed not a lot of people support each other. But one day we’ll get there. I dont see anything negative. But I feel like if we could all just come together and support each other. Dude. We could take this to another level. Not just one of us but all of us. Not only that but people that are really putting their life into this shit. People drop like fucking everything just to fuckin make it dude. I praise you mfs out there. But a lot of us gotta work, but my other time goes to music and stuff. You know everything costs money bro. And you know what, this culture we got here is beautiful.
If you could go on tour with anyone in the world. Who would be on the bill with you?
“It would be a cross genre tour forsure. Lets do Korn, Metallica forsure, JID. I love JID bro thats probably my favorite rapper. JID if you ever see this, your my favorite rapper bro. Rest in peace Mac Miller. Mac Miller would be really dope. I would love to have a couple AZ artists with me. Definitely my homie D Carter. Fuckine aye, Rezcoast Grizz. That would be fucking amazing bro. Deftones. I love Deftones man. Shoutout homie BankMills. There are a lot of crazy artists out here it would be dope to have at least half of them be AZ artists. Then a couple of these mainstream artists. There are a lot of amazing artists out here and they are sleeping on every single one of us. One day they wont haha.
You can watch the full interview on Youtube
or www.cloutuculture.com
