Authentic Flow from Roy Midas — Artist Interviews #12
This installment of our Artist Interviews series brings us our first featured Hip Hop artist (why did that take so long?).
Roy Midas offers up raw, explicit thoughts and life experiences set to almost dissonant, jazzy melodies and chilled beats.
His delivery is laxed, yet on point — painting clear pictures of life in listener’s minds.
Sexual and dark yet serene, his music is thoughtful and his melodic influences eclectic.
https://soundcloud.com/roy-midas/treasure
In songs like “Treasure,” his voice builds dynamically to a tranquil, tragic end — asking for an out from a troubled life.
Other songs, such as “LOVE” express perception in a moment of love-stricken clarity. Real and uncensored.
https://soundcloud.com/roy-midas/love
Check out Roy’s awesome answers to our questions below and be sure to open an ear to some of his tracks on Soundcloud.
When did you first begin making music and what made you start?
I first began making music when I was sixteen. At the time I wasn’t taking it as seriously as I am now, but it helped me a lot.
This story used to always embarrass me but now that I’m 23 I can talk about it with less grief attached to it.
Near the end of my junior year I went to a party and began drinking. Before this I had only drank by myself; usually with a meal or before bed. But on this particular night I saw things that bothered me and allowed myself to manifest thoughts that brought my spirit down, so I began to drink heavily.
At one point (after losing my sense of taste) I began to drink gin straight out of the bottle, and that’s when I blacked out. The only thing I remember was seeing the girl that I liked at the time lit up like gold while the people around her swam in darkness.
The next day I was told that I had confessed my “undying” love to her in front of everyone at the party. At first I thought it was a joke and I laughed it off, but after third period I abruptly came to the realization that it was no joke and an embarrassing confession had indeed taken place.
I was depressed for several days, partly because I had to now avoid the girl I had feelings for, because of extreme embarrassment; and partly because the knowledge of my feelings for her had spread throughout the entire school.
My best friend suggested that I do something to ease my depression, so I tried writing a song and recording it. It was fun, I enjoyed it, and my close friends who heard the song found it entertaining.
I felt much better about myself and the entire situation afterwards. Since then the creation of music has been a permanent facet of my existence.
What is your creative process like?
My creative process is very methodical when it comes to the writing of my lyrics.
I construct one line at a time and I go over the entirety of what I have written as I add each line.
I try to imagine two things: 1. What my story/topic would sound like over the beat and 2. How I would feel if I were another person hearing this song.
I construct the lines carefully and try not to be redundant unless it’s absolutely necessary. I sit with my verses for days at a time. I rehearse them for the four walls until I feel as though I can get through each verse with ease.
When I record, I don’t like to over-analyze. I want the takes to be raw and off-the-cuff emotionally. I don’t want to try to force an emotion out of myself that’s not present within me at the moment of recording.
Once I publish a track there’s no going back and changing it; I believe that music is art and that art is a reflection of life, and everyone knows that in real life once you say something it cannot be unsaid.
If you could collaborate with any musician in the world, who would it be?
If I could collaborate with any artist, living or dead it would have to be Kanye West.
He was the first rapper that I ever heard that made me stop and actually listen to the words and not just the flow.
I listened to a lot of gospel music as an adolescent, but I would always have a Kanye song hidden somewhere on my iPod, MP3 player or my PSP.
When I first heard of him I thought he was just a rapper with amazing beats. Then I found out that he made the beats he was rapping on. Then I found out that he had made the beats for a lot of songs that I always thought were wavy. THEN I found out that this man left school to pursue his dream.
I was inspired every time I was told of a new piece of information about his life. He had the courage to make a rap song about Jesus when no one else in the industry was doing this, he had the strength to make an album about a terrible breakup, and he influenced millions of people to empower themselves. To work with Kanye West is one of my greatest dreams.
What advice would you give a fledgling rapper?
The advice I would have for a fledgling rapper would be contained in a few statements.
The first of which is: be honest. Believe in yourself even if no one else does.
PRACTICE every chance you get. And believe in something bigger than yourself.
What is your favorite song and why is it your favorite?
My favorite song changes constantly, but at the moment it’s “Christian Dior Denim Flow”.
The production is unparalleled, the artistry within each verse is beautiful and the topic verges on existential.
I feel like the central topic to any song is encapsulated within the chorus and this songs chorus makes me think: “I’ve got the world in my hands, the master plan, but I don’t why I keep calling, why I keep calling, all of these girls at my shows they loving me, but I don’t know why I keep calling, why I keep calling you”.
This chorus delineates the humanity of the artists by showing us that even though they have everything they could want, they must still fight through the wilderness that is the human condition. Love is something that can bring us to our knees if it chooses to, but that’s life.
