Thanks for taking some time to be interviewed for Clout Culture Magazine. Can you please introduce your self to our readers and tell us briefly what you do?
Thanks for having me. My name is Bakri. I’m a trap metal artist from deep South Texas. Basically the only trap metal artist existing In the border town city of Brownsville TX. I started playing guitar and bass in death metal bands as a kid and slowly expanding throughout the years playing reggae, Ska punk, black metal, hardcore, tech death, death core bands etc. Until i got sick of the lack of progression started my solo project Bakri 11. I used all my energy to become a self sufficient artist which work ranged from recording and mixing my tracks to shooting and editing my own videos. throughout the years i have been refining my talents and slowly building a name in the Texas area.
When exactly did your journey start and who pushed you / inspired you to peruse music as a kid? Who gets bragging rights for getting you started?
Hm that’s a hard one. Alot of things inspire me. Movies, bands, entrepreneurs, or stories of people coming from nothing but passionately making there way to the top. I honestly can’t recall what initially got me started but some of the child hood artists I loved were Blink 182, ac/dc, slayer, Metallica, megadeth, cannibal corpse, 50 cent, emeniem, Ludacris, there are way to many inspirations to name. I’m a person with all types of tastes and has no limits to what I may enjoy and get inspired by. You’d be surprised on what music I like.
As corny as it sounds anything that touched my heart.
When did you start rapping and transitioning over to Trap Metal? And who influenced that move?
When I first started there’s was absolutely no direction. I was playing in a cover band at the time for money and I honestly just got fed up with the lack of progression and lack of appreciation. I felt I was put in the back ground when I had much more to offer than Just be the bass player. So I quit and made my own project called bakri. Which initially wasn’t supposed to be rap or trap metal. I didn’t even know trapmetal existed at the time. It was a project for me to do whatever I want whenever I want and it slowly turned into what it is today by slowly adapting my metal background to the mix.
What was the pivotal moment that you knew this was the move for you? When did it go from a project to a career?
It’s just something I love to do. I wanted to make my passions my income. I always try to find ways to make that a reality. Once I started seeing I can make money and things were progressing by Receiving bigger and better opportunities I just felt it in my blood this is what Im gonna do. i would Strait up get this blood rush of energy and chills. Im now basically obsessed with making music, filming and content creation. It’s all I do now.
Tell me about the video production and filming. Who are some of your favorite artists that you have made visuals for?
I got into editing videos cuz I wanted to have full control over my own art. I never started Intentionally to shoot other people’s videos it was more for me to create content such as short films or my own music videos. As I got better I started using that as another source of income which was cool because it landed me other opportunities I probably wouldn’t have made by just being an artist.
Some of the videos I enjoyed shooting for was Big Los, Chevy 9v6, Prolifek, getdamemo, and my own stuff.
What advice do you have for a young videographer who is starting out in film? Got any pro tips?
Smoke crack and fuck bitches. If cracked isn’t available go to heroinEnterJoseph. Nah I’m kidding
I’d say get good equipment and find your way to creating good filming by being honest with yourself and your work. Compare it to bigger film makers and ask your self am I satisfied with the product? And if you’re not there yet do your research and practice your way into accomplishing that look or edit style. As you progress on that path you’ll find out what gear to buy such as gimbals, sliders, lights, cameras, editing programs, lenses etc.. I’m no we’re near where I wanna be as for video making and there’s alot more I need to learn and grow from as any other content creator should feel.
Solid advice!!!! If you could go on tour with anybody in the world, who would you choose to be on the bill with you? What is Bakri’s dream tour?
I’d say a trap metal/ metal tour would be dope. City morgue, ghostmane, zenith passage, behemoth, the faceless, spider gang, gizmo, Nascar aloe, kublai khan, obviously that’s alot of artists. So more so a festival would be cool with all my favorite artists and bands and why not throw in some other genres in that bitch so it won’t be over saturated with heavy music. Some punk, some Ska. Idgaf let’s just have fun and live life raging to good music.
I miss ska shows. Best energy in the world. If we collab I’m sending you a ska / Trap Metal banger. What can we expect from Bakri next year? More videos? An album?
I can play Ska riffs and bass lines so if u need help!
As for next year expect tons of videos I have about 4 unreleased videos as we speak and several more in the works. I’m getting older every day I wanna push out as much as content as I can. I’ll also be releasing some softer stuff for fun. Maybe a soft ep? Who knows. Other than that I plan to tour Texas all next year to saturate myself in the Texas scene so the following years I can expand around the u.s.
I also got a few cool features coming out such as a collab with south side hoodlum from San antonio TX, Cameronazi, Nycl Kai, and a few others. Also expect our live performances to be in full effect with a band. 
Hell yea! We will be watching! What’s your local music scene like? What are the pros? What are the cons and we’re is there room for improvement?
Our local scene for this specific genre is dead. We come from a Mexican/ Hispanic dominate city we’re Spanish music and hood rap takes most of the scene. But we do have a decent punk scene and metal scene. As for my rap music I find my self playing shows with people completely opposite of my genre but some how still found a way to gain respect for what I’m doing. And im grateful for that cuz I’m the oddball in the scene. I guess that makes me more unique. I love my city but we are one of the poorest in the u.s. so it’d hard to see big events happen down here. My goal is to go out and reach these bigger opportunities outside my city but I think as we inspire more young people to do music and take professionalism to a whole new level people surrounding will follow and adapt to it. And I think that’s already slowly happening. I would love to see a large venue built out here and a scene for underground music such as trap metal, metal, punk, hard-core etc. So we have a good location to bring tons of people out aswell as bring major acts of the genre. And honestly I would love to see the whole music scene as a whole to come together. Imagine a show were it’s just “the place to be” not limiting artists by genre or group. So Mixed genre shows would be a must as well.
I’m starting the south Texas trap metal scene down here so let’s see how it goes throughout the years.
Where do you see your self in 5 years. And what is your end game? Where do you wanna end up?
If I’m not smoking crack living under A bridge which would be my first choice. I’d would like to just keep working hard and see where life takes me i have so many plans for the future but who knows what life will throw at me next. All I know whatever I do or wherever I’m at ima be successful at it. Music and film are a passion of mine since I was young so starting with that ima take it as far as I can. I don’t see myself stopping this life style at any point I look for longevity in my art even as I get old maybe I can’t scream and jump around but I can make film and still make music just playing live would be a bit more conservative. In time I’ll add to my goals in life as I go on. Whatever makes me content and fulfilled is what matters to me and as corny as it sounds being a good person and an outlet for people to let go of their pain and anxieties. Fuck everything else.
As we wrap this up, what else do you want our readers to know? And thank you for your time!
If yall haven’t heard of me check me out I appreciate your ears and time to get to know me a bit. Stay up, stay positive, work hard for the things your desire and go and get them. don’t let life drag you down. New music coming all next year including collabs with NYCL Kai, Cameronazi, Southside Hoodlum and more. Expect a-lot coming from me this year. Much love!
