Wayde. is an artist and rapper based in Brisbane, Australia. We recently reviewed his single Checkpoint and later caught an interview with him to find out more about his music, his creative drive, and his plans for the future. Here’s how it went.
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Thanks for your time today, and congrats on the new release. How often do you release new music, and do you put out everything you write?
I usually put out something new on my Soundcloud every month, unless I’m stocking up for a project.
What came first when writing Checkpoint – melody, a particular bar? How do you usually go about starting something new?
Usually I just sit with the beat until I catch a vibe, that could take five minutes or two days depending how I feel. Once I came up with the first line the flow just came.
How did you come to work with HARVEY and are there more collaborations on the way?
After hearing Midas.Gold’s $$$ I really wanted to work with the man. I got some beats off his traktrain back in January & since then we’ve been cooking up. So yeah definetely more HARVEY & Wayde. heat coming soon.
The track has a lot of motivational elements to it, hopefully driving listeners to work hard and go for the things they want in life. Who inspires you musically and in your personal life to stay creative and to push for your dreams?
Overall I’m driven by the love for the art. Musically I really love listening to female artists like Erykah Badu, Beyoncè, Mariah etc. You can feel their passion in their music for real. Nothing makes you wanna hustle like Jay Z’s discography though.
How important is live music to you and will you be touring in the near future – if so, how far afield do you plan to travel?
I think every ‘rapper’ should have a solid live element to them that’s different from just listening to the mp3. I’m still learning for sure, my first show was in June & I have a couple more before the end of the year. My team Fluent Music plan to hit Asia in the future to spread the drip on a global scale.
What are your thoughts on the music industry right now?
Right now is the digital era so to get poppin’ you just gotta put out quality on a consistent basis for the people. It’s literally so simple. I record with a $90 mic that plugs straight into my mac then I mix & master the joint, whip up some artwork then its ready to be uploaded.
What’s the bigger picture for you? What do you hope for over the next few years?
I wanna give Australia a better name when it’s mentioned in Hip-Hop worldwide & feed my family doing what I love.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
New project coming before the end of 2017.
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Find & follow Wayde. on Facebook & Soundcloud. Check out Fluent Music Gang on Facebook.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY-r_A89YUM
