Artist Interview: Embrace Me by Rapper Big Will – Los Angeles, CA

Rapper Big Will AKA Willie Of Wilshire is an upcoming MC hailing from Downtown Los Angeles California. He has been rhyming and writing music since a young age and is currently working on his upcoming Album deep within the Space Camp laboratories of Area 51. Born from Guatemalan and El Salvadorean immigrant parents and raised in Downtown LA, he developed a love and passion for Hip Hop music as a way to express his creativity which has grown into his life calling. Always working toward improving his craft, you can find him with a pen and a pad at hand deep in practice researching new rhyming technologies.
Yo, Will has flow and lyrics check it out and the interview.
Why did you select this song as your current single?
I selected “Embrace Me” as my current single because it symbolizes me coming out of the place where I grew up and making the decision to do music regardless of what people will think about me. As such I’m asking people to embrace me for who I am, and whether they embrace me or not, I will continue to do music because I do it for myself.
How does this single relate to the rest of the Album, EP or Mix-tape?
Embrace Me relates to the rest of the Mixtape as it is the culmination of the whole body of work. The Mixtape is called Practice, and it relates to me practicing my rhyming skills over different beats as a way to improve my skills before it’s Showtime and I drop my album. I am rhyming over beats I normally wouldn’t and as such I am studying how other rappers would handle that beat and in the process making myself better and more versatile as an artist. With Embrace Me I am I am putting my newly sharpened skills to use in making an original track and stating Practice time is over and I am ready to begin showing the world who I am. I plan to follow up Practice with Showtime were I show more original tracks, and then Grammy were I come back home and win the title. Embrace Me is the introduction to my journey.
What was the writing process for the song?
The writing process for this song began at Eddie Ruxspin’s home studio. He was like, “Yo I got this beat I made for you!” as he proceeded to play the beat. I took a hit or two from a bomb to let my mind relax and unwind as I listened. Then I started mumbling patterns to myself that would fit the beat. I took out my notebook and pen and started scribbling down rhymes until I had all three verses. Eddie came up with the hook and then once I felt my rhymes were polished enough I got in the booth and recorded the track. We then booked a recording session at a bigger studio and redid the track and invited a friend to come in and play the drums live which we recorded and felt made the track even better.
What does this song’s lyric mean to you?
The songs lyrics mean a lot to me. Right from the get-go I state ‘I am coming out the hood with my arms wide open, heart full of pain and my eyes so soaking” which is me telling the world this is were I come from, I been thru a lot, and I am going to show you exactly who I am with no masks. I am going to show you my deepest truths, fears, stories, and all aspects of my life and who I am as a person. I will keep it honest and let you know me on a personal level who I am thru my lyrics. I have lines in the second verse were I say “think you know me you don’t know bro, do I do it for the hoes hell no, do I really do it for the dough or clothes? Naw man I do it for my soul let’s go”. Again I am telling people to Embrace Me for me, not who you think I may be but to really listen to what I tell you and why I do what I do. The chorus sums up the whole song, in the end all I want is for people to recognize me and the struggle I had to go thru in order to get to were I am, which I feel a lot of fans that grew up in the same environment as me can relate too.
What would it be like to see you in person performing this song?
Man my shows are off the chain. I look dope performing this live, from the way I move, to the way I release my volley of rhymes. I really give all my energy when I perform this song. The beat just knocks and throws the crowd into a frenzy. You see everybody bobbing their heads and throwing up their hands as I rhyme and jump all over stage. You can really feel my passion and love for music when I perform this track. If you ever see a flyer were I am coming to your city you gotta do yourself and your friends a favor, grab them all up and come see me perform. You’ll thank me later haha.
Could your fans summarize who you are as an artist by this song?
Yes fans can definitely summarize who I am as an artist by listening to this song. They learn were and how I grew up, why I do music, and why I never gave up regardless of all the odds stacked against me.
Is there a video planned and or completed and if so, what was the idea behind the video?
Yeah we have a video for this track on youtube. Just type in my name Rapper Big Will and you can see all the videos I got. We shot this video in the LA River between East LA and Downtown LA were I grew up. By watching it you get a sense of where I am coming from which I feel is a great introduction to understanding who I am as a person and as an artist. The video has a very dope, and clean feel to it that fans will enjoy watching. It really brings the song to life.
What is your motivation behind your music?
My motivation to my music stems from a lot of different aspects. Growing up poor this is a way for me to be heard and express my beliefs, creativity and feelings to the world. Every day that I wake up I am motivated to do music because I have a story to tell, I am motivated to make it out the hood, to buy my mom a home, to be able to support myself and my family financially. Some people play sports, sell dope, act, get degrees, or have other talents they can utilize, but to me this is my key to a better life. I have to show the world and myself that If I set a goal and work day and night with every ounce of strength and energy in my being I can make my dreams and goals possible regardless of the adversity that I have to face along every step of the way. I only have this life to live and we are all here for a short time. I asked myself would I rather sit in a cubicle clocking in and out and hate my life, or go after what I really want to do. That is my ultimate motivation for why I do music, because simply in the end, I love it. I couldn’t quit if I wanted to.

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