American hip-hop artist Buu E. Radley has returned with his new single, Round We Go, taken from his latest album, The Mockingbird. We asked him the BIG questions . . .
Speaking about Mockingbird, he says, "It sums up my journey from humble beginnings to now having a chance to get ahead financially."
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Buu E. discovered his love for hip-hop music at an early age and collaborated with Cyclops Herder on his debut album, Mustard Seed, and follow-up, Pre-Purgatory.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
Big Buu E. is always watching... My favourite season is Fall. I'm tryna get rid of all the haters and the bustas.
How would you describe your music?
It's a lot of things. I cover a wide range sonically and stylistically. I cover a broad range subject matter-wise as well. I touch on topics such as mental state, spirituality, money, relationships, dating, Black issues, and social commentary. I try to make music in a way where I capture many moments of life and relate to virtually any listener.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Part of me says not to share the artists who've inspired me because then it would make it easier for clones to try and reverse engineer and get closer to what I do. The other part says to big up my heroes and to give them their flowers. Let me give out flowers and a thank you to the artists who've come before me and contributed the most to my artistic development via studying their crafts and pulling various elements from them. Geto Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, DMX, Method Man, Juvenile, Mos Def, Rakim, Master P, Tupac, Ice Cube, and Prince.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
I just knew the first concert I ever attended was my aunt taking me and my cousin to see Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Marques Houston, and Ciara back when we were in middle school. My cousin, nor my aunt, remembers my aunt taking us, though. I even recall a conversation from that night. I'm not sure if it's Mandela Effect, but I definitely remember Auntie taking us and telling me to keep the ticket as a memory of my first show. The first show I attended as an adult was West Michigan Hip Hop Festival 2017 in Grand Rapids. I went there to see Method Man. He is one of my trump cards that I'll pull against anybody when debating MCs so I HAD to go. Seeing Scarface's performance prompted me to go through his and Geto Boys' catalogue. Face and Willie D would become among my biggest influences once I explored their catalogue after that night.
What was the first record you ever bought?
l've had possession of some CDs as a youngster, but that's not me having bought them. I was a teenager during the blowing up of YouTube and the mp3 and LimeWire era so I wasn't buying CDs back then. When I got grown and could finally afford a car, my first car had a CD player in it. For a period, I did get into buying CDs, and the first ones I remember buying were Prince's Prince, 1999, and Purple Rain. My next bundle I purchased was Guy by Guy, Bobby Brown’s Don't Be Cruel, and Al B. Sure’s In Effect Mode.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Apparently I'm about 17 years late to the party, but I was listening to a Spotify "Lyricism" algorithmic playlist, and Lupe Fiasco’s Paris, Tokyo was a song that came on. I've been hooked on that song for the past few days.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Quite a few come to mind, but three lyrics that are arguably closest to my heart and always in my mind are: "Industry rule number 4080, record company people are shady"- Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.
"Hip Hop went from selling crack to smoking it" - Mos Def.
"The ones that write your rhymes might as well hold your microphone"- MC Lyte.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Bobby Brown - Every Little Step or Outstanding by The Gap Band.
Where can people find your music/more information?
My music is on all of the music streaming platforms as well as Bandcamp for purchase. I also have a merch store. My website.
Alan Corr
