Hey, could you tell me a few things about yourself?
Yep, my government name is Shane Miller and I‘m from a small city in Ontario, Canada called Chatham and got into hip-hop in late high school and been doing it pretty much ever since.
What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
Um, probably my writing and sense of rhythm I guess. Lyrically, I try to think outside of the box a bit and consciously seek out lines and rhyme schemes that have never been said before since so many rappers say stuff that’s been said million times before to a point you can predict what they say. And the flow to me is really important, no matter what beat you’re on, you have to marry your rhymes to the beat, or else it’s not listenable. So I can spit really complex rhymes, but make sure every syllable is mapped out well on the beat so that it’s at least somewhat rhythmic.
What does music mean to you?
A lot. I need to make music or I’d go insane honestly. It’s my outlet to get things out I wouldn’t say or do in normal conversation. So it’s a great release.
What could you tell me about your new album, ”The Overture”?
Probably some of my best work so far to be honest. It’s an album with a mix of lo-fi boombap and more modern hip-hop sounding production by producers like Matty Beats, A-trade, and LX. It’s definitely the rawest work I’ve done in terms of some of the content, some of it’s very personal and reflective of a dark period while I was writing/recording some of the tracks. It was written/recorded between May and August of last year.
Can you shortly describe each of the tracks that are on the album?
I can try. The Overture (Intro) is just a skills-flexing track to set the tone for the album. Never Know was the 4th and last single for the album and kind of shows the dark side to some sections of the album. Creepin’ is a track focused on some stuff I went through growing up at home and its impact. Pins & Needles, Peace, and Prozac both cover experiences I’ve had with anxiety and how I’ve tried to cope with it. Gotta Vent is a track kind of covering how I got into music and what’s it done for me, particularly for my self-esteem which wasn’t very high until I found this genre and discovered I had a talent for it. Runnin’ It was the first single and is just a hard-hitting skills-flexing track to a monstrous beat by Matty Beats. Apparitions is a story-telling track and one of the deeper cuts on the album, talking to two close people who have passed away who expected me to do great and me sort of contemplating that with where I was at in life the point I wrote it. Sarasota Freestyle is just a long freestyle rap to a MattyBeats track, I try to have a track like this on every project just to get my shit off for the people who really appreciate just straight bars. Dafive was the second single and is a collaboration with Australian artist MN Cappo, who’s a friend of mine. Earn It Up is the closer, ends the album on a positive note and features my younger brother, Alec (A-Milly).
What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?
Just the fact that you could be going through something or whatever and by merely writing something down or recording something, it can instantly change your mood and give you a boost. It’s given me that in spades. The feeling of creating something and having an idea and seeing it through then getting the response is unreal, honestly. It’s hard to explain unless you do it yourself I guess.
What are your plans for the future?
Just to keep dropping music as frequently as possible, doing more collabs, performances, etc. I’ve already started dabbling in what will likely become the follow-up to the album.
What important message would you like to share with our readers?
Just based on something I’ve been seeing recently just talking to some people I’ll say this: If you feel you have a passion and a talent for something, just go and do it and say fuck it, fuck what people say. I see too many people waste their talent or interests based on superficial bullshit that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme and it can be depressing to see, especially if the potential is there.
What do you feel is the best song that you have ever released and why?
Good question, hard to answer. Right now, I might say Apparitions because it was one of the most cathartic to make and I put a lot of thought into each verse and it might have some of my best writing. The second verse is one I wanted to do for a few years and just needed the right track to express it. So for now, I might say that one. Interested to hear what listeners would say though.
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