While people look to Atlanta and Chicago for the next wave of Hip Hop leaders, there’s a lot of strong talent coming out of North Carolina. One group that has been steady on my radar is Forever FC. Their sound goes beyond the borders of Charlotte and it’s only a matter of time before their presence does, too. One of their members recently released a new mixtape, City Of Gods. Overall the slow tempos sync up with his deliberate rhymes and could be the perfect theme music to your own meditation sessions. We had the opportunity to ask the emcee about his priorities as an artist, spirituality in Hip Hop, and more. Stream the project above and read the interview below.

And you can get your own Forever FC merch HERE.

How did you come up with the title of City of Gods?

The tittle came about soon after I dropped my first tape. I had just watched he Brazilian movie “city of god” the main character in the movie just connected with me so well. Plus it goes more to the city of Charlotte. We feel as if the music scene here is so elevated and yet the industry hasn’t caught on yet. Lute came out in 2012 with West 1996 and there wasn’t really a strong Charlotte Hip Hop culture then. Now we have artists like Deniro and Well$ coming through with us showing that this city is not a typical Southern sound and we all have a high level of musicality, lyricism, and sheer talent. I think saying “next up” is too typical but when the All Seeing Eye swings towards the Queen City, people are going to catch on to what is happening here…and know we are Gods (ha!).

Why did you choose to have Lute spit that intro on the tape? Was there a story behind that?

I wanted Lute on the intro because within Forever FC we always try and highlight each other’s skills. If you listen to SchylerChaise’s Banking on a Dream he has Ry start off his first song. I didn’t know exactly what Lute was going to say, but we have this strange way of working where we just put 100% trust in what one another does. So when I called him 3 days before the tape came out and he gave me that, I wasn’t surprised. His spoken word sums up so much of the tape and how we all as a collective think. Those are free gems!

You rap about a pretty grim lifestyle on the corner with your boys. Since you’ve started rapping, how has your life changed or stayed the same? Do you see it changing or staying the same in the future? How?

When I started rapping I was 9 and living on the Westside which in Charlotte is an older and lower income side of the city. You will hear Lute, Schyler and me refer to that area of town a lot in our music because we all grew up there and it had a huge impact on our perspective. Ry is from New York so you will hear that from him. When my father passed I had to hustle a bit more and then when I graduated high school I was on my own and at one point was basically homeless crashing on various relatives couches. My life is different now because I live in a house where I have my own room adjacent to our studio so instead of having to roll out and be in the streets all day, I get to wake up and make music. I still have family and friends that are in those types of situations and on corners fighting the same struggle I was fighting a few years ago so I still see that and can tell their stories in my music.

In terms of the future, as artists we adapt sonically because music moves at a such a fast pace we never know what our sound is going to be like like 6 months from now. I think who I am will stay the same. I know I will continue to dive deeper into my craft. I hope that the main changes will be the ability to travel and see places I have never seen but even with that, I’ll forever give my true self in my music and only the honest me. That’s all I really know how to be.

What’s more important to you: releasing your stress through you raps or helping a fan get through a tough time?

I try to teeter on doing both. Cause I started rapping to release stress but when random people walk up to you in subway and tell you they truly felt the word you said in one of your songs you learn that your talking to the masses so you choose your words wisely. We all feel as if rap is so influential right now so we do try to be responsible in our messages without losing the connections that people have based on where they are in their lives. Right now we are on the rise but we aren’t rolling in Bentley’s yet, but we aren’t starving and robbing to eat either. When you listen to the project “Remy Lebeaux” is a very personal song about the stresses I have had regarding my family and the death of my father who was my best friend. On “Just Zoning” it was more about me not being stressed and how life is much more chill now. With “Bad Mood” and “Darkness” they were more targeted towards the listener and giving them something to connect to… everyone gets trapped in a bad mood sometimes. With “Grindin” I wanted to talk about some knowledge and how others are putting it out there.

You mention how mad rappers reference their 3rd eyes/Illuminati/pyramids. But your tape is titled City of Gods. How do you see that theme differing from these rappers’ spiritualities or philosophies?

No shade to any one, it’s great that every one is enlighten now. I love it. However, within this house we all take knowledge and spirituality seriously. Most of the people in the circle have gravitated to us on an energy cycle and people who aren’t real have dropped off. I listen to all the other music and I can tell those that are elevated and those who are just spittin words that they have heard and may not actually understand. It seems to be the newest fad in rap, but knowledge has been shared since back to the God Rakim, the Wu, and even queens like Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. I just feel like people should know what they are referring to before chanting that they are Illuminati or their 3rd eye is open. Even if the Illuminati is real, they wouldn’t lets us in anyway! I don’t think the Illuminati people’s are feeling us wearing Chucks and Jordan’s. That’s why I don’t think we are welcomed to Illuminati meetings. I don’t even believe Jay Z is Illuminati. Gold chains and Vodka are not Illuminati staples in my book of “How To Be In The Illuminiati for Dummies.”

What was that Japanese sample in the last track?

I want to say the Naruto vs. Pain fight. You have fact check me with the homie brio ankh (@brio_ankh). One thing we all try to do is add depth to our tracks. I do most of the engineering and I like to add different sounds, so I love it when other producers do the same. Brio knows I love the Anime so that may have played into it. If you listen to “Warning,” the only track with all four of us (Forever FC collective members) on it, I added all sorts of background effects to map with the lyrics. I look to create complete songs, where each time someone listens they pick up something new, either a message from the lyrics or a different perspective on the theme or in this case, good lookin on catching that… not everyone notices it.

I’ve noticed a lot of growth in rhymes and storytelling from this tape, compared to the one before it. Is there something that you can attribute this growth to? Hard work? A turning point in your life?

Thank you, I appreciate that. To start, as a collective we have all progressed from back when we first came together, and we work together in our studio, the Dojo, everyday. I couldn’t just sit around to watch Lute and SchylerChaise grow and get better and not carry my own weight. I started making beats just to be able to have the music I want available. The second is truly hard work. I read an interview with the homie Joey Fatts. He was saying how this music business is about your hustle. He was homeless hustling his craft. I would be out my mind to live in a room adjacent from a few thousands of dollars worth of studio equipment, the blessing to not have to have a 9-5, and not take full advantage of it. Our manager, Miss Amy has supported us so that we can all have making music be our job. She has created BuGoudi House and FC Music Group as entities to provide us with a means of staying independent. We record in our own studio. All our videos have been produced by FreshPres and Scott Lazes who are a part of the family. We are now at a point where all our tracks are produced in house. When you have the time and energy to focus on being great, you can’t waste the opportunity.

Bryan Hahn (@notupstate)