Harlem’s own Young Truth gave us a chance to ask him a few questions. He describes what influenced him growing up in Harlem. He also talks about his upcoming album scheduled for an October release.
Peace Young Truth, we see you out there working. You’re from the legendary Harlem, New York City. How did growing up in Harlem influence you and what Harlem MC influenced you the most?
Growing up in Harlem was competitive. People always bragged about how they were better than the next person or how dope they was as a individual whether it be sports, fashion or music. I implement being a better MC in my lyrics because it’s a natural emotion I adopted being from Harlem.
My favorite Harlem MC is Cam’ron. I remember being a kid and making sure I was at Rucker every time Cam was going to be there.
I would say Cam influenced my skill the most.
We also see you’re a vegan and promote a healthy plant based lifestyle. Why did you make this choice and how has it changed your life?
My brother was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I had came across an article that stated a plant based diet can manage or even reverse diabetes. I told my brother I’d support him by going plant base with him. 3 months later the diabetes was gone.
That inspired me not to go back to my old way of eating. Being vegan change my life tremendously. My energy is pass the roof and spiritually I just feel like my highest self. I will keep it real. The American diet is poisoning. I feel detoxed!
What is your favorite verse ever and why?
Notorious – “Everyday Struggle†verse 1. That’s my favorite verse ever. “I know how it wake up fucked up/ Pockets broke as hell another rock to sellâ€. I related to that. I’ve been there! I resonate with thar verse. It feels good to know as a fan one of the greatest rapper been through it.
With the music industry’s constant evolution and trends, what makes you think you can cut through the noise and win in this climate?
I believe that there are people who can relate to me. There’s a market where people are waiting to hear something they can relate to. There’s a market where people want to hear real life situation and I believe I’ll win in that market because there aren’t many artists catering to those people.
What’s different about Young Truth and why should we care about you?
The difference is that I’m not to different from the ordinary person. In a weird way it attracts people. Almost in a sense like “man, you are like one of the homies from around the way.†The universal language is real. Real is something people respect. That’s why they should care because these days authenticity is scarce. You are more mindful of the animals you know are extinct.
If you could smash any celebrity chick in the world, who would it be
Haha! The famous chick I’d smash would be Ashanti. I had a crush on her forever! Do you see her now? She still bad. She seem like her vibe is dope too. I want her. [laughs]
Your new video ‘DTO’ is dope. Who shot it and what’s the story behind the song and video? I can hear some aggression in there.
Santos Visuals shot ‘DTO’. We had a story line at first. We were overthinking the visual. We switched up to all performance scenes and b-roll because we really wanted viewers to also connect with the song. We wanted the viewers to feel like the lyrics came from a real place. The aggression was there because the lyrics had to be believable. When I said “I’m that nia Fk if you ain’t know†the listener has to feel that.
A few weeks ago you and another New York City underground staple, Duce Da Privilege aka Duce Privi set fire to the indie scene with two dope battle records that started some conversation in the streets and online. What ignited the battle? Who won? What’s your relationship like today?
Shout out to Duce Privi. We are cool. I spoke to him two days ago. I felt like the underground lost sight of it’s competitive nature. Duce was posting for a week about how most artist are just rappers and he’s a MC.
For the sport I wanted to put his skills to the test. I honestly feel like I won. I feel like my diss track embodied what a diss track actually is. It had wity lines, jokes, references and metaphors. I feel like if we matched up the disses and judged by categories I’d win in all aspects.
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What Young Truth song or video would you advise a potential fan to check out if they really wanted to understand who Young Truth is?
Off rip I’d send potential fans to “Good Day in NYCâ€. I revealed so much about myself and where I’m from. Without a music video you can close your eyes, listen to that song and pictures will actually form in your subconscious. You should try it.
Whats the first rhyme you wrote? Do you remember any of it?
The first rhyme I wrote was mad wack. I remember some bars. It went “I call my gat Mighty Mouse ‘cause the bullet just speed/ call the tech icy ‘cause they bullets make ‘em freeze/ got two reasons to bang, to live and breathe/ got no reason to die so I’m a squeeze.†Mind you I didn’t even own any of these weapons I was rapping about. [laughs]
You seem to have a nice female fan base. What’s your relationship status like right now for the ladies who may be reading?
You know how Facebook got the ‘complicated’ option. I’m in that situation. [laughs] right now we separated but I don’t know if I’m done with her yet. I’m drawn to women who are ambitious like me. I don’t like when a woman doesn’t have a sense of direction.
If you had to give your style a name, what would you call it?
The name of the style of my sound is called ‘cloth talk’. It’s basically a mix of golden era hip-hop which is the cloth I’m cut from but I add a little of what inspired me from today’s music.
Do you have a project coming anytime soon? If so, why should the people take time out of their day to go check it out opposed to the countless other releases being dropped every hour. Why should the people support Young Truth?
I have a new project coming out in October. The title is ‘Real Language’. I totally blocked out what I hear on radio and felt the music would be a breath of fresh air for people. There are stories, songs about love and struggle. I’m going to trigger emotions. If you are someone who likes to feel connected to the art and artist, you are looking in the right place.
