brandUn Deshay Interview

Coming from the city of great musicians such as Common, Fallout Boy, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Alkaline Trio, Nat "King" Cole - could go on forever - comes progressive hip-hop artist BrandUn Deshay. We have been following x chatting with this cat for the last year and 1/2, and watching his progression as an artist is simply amazing. We had the chance to catch up with Deshay while he is between a busy tour schedule - who was once dubbed "the next big thing out of the Chi since Lupe x Kanye." I'm telling you world...dude is truth.

TTV: Yoo, Mr. DeShay, thanks again for taking the time out and letting us catch up with you.

BrandUn DeShay: "Whaddown Phillip. Its def mutual."

TTV: So for those who don't know, where are you from - and how has your geographic location influenced your musical aspirations.

BrandUn Deshay: "Im from the westside Chi. Home of Lupe Fiasco, but I can't say it influenced my music at all. I'm really too stubborn for that haha."

TTV: When we first heard a track from you a little over a year ago, it was in an editorial review of Vol. 1! - For the Money that quoted something like "BrandUn DeShay - the next best thing out of the Chi since Ye' x Lupe." No pressure or anything haha, but how does that make you feel?

BrandUn Deshay: "That’s incred. I love both of those artists, and I feel I'm more than capable of holdin' down the title."

TTV: How would you describe your sound?

BrandUn Deshay: "Its me, its Hip-Hop, its Indie Rock, its Classic Rock, its Jazz, its Electronic, its Video Game. I could go on forever.."

TTV: How did music come about for you?

BrandUn Deshay: "It jus kinda bit me really. I wasn't into music til '07 really. I jus wanted a normal life. Rich, but norma haha. God really set this path for me and it was too temptin' to turn down."

TTV: Who are your influences in the music world?

BrandUn Deshay: "Anything great, any genre, any art-form, anything that catches my heart. Nature. television. my friends, emotions, whatever."

TTV: Now for those who are up on you, you are very versatile when it comes to your sound - The Grizzly Bear track x Livin' Life are a daily jam over here - what plays a part in your growth as a progressive artist?

BrandUn Deshay: "I watch what the greats are doin' and study the blueprint, then adjust to my own taste. I mean, Christians follow Christ, Musicians follow Music. Whoever is doin' it right. Also, stayin' in touch with the pure me. Stayin' child-like as far as imagination and possibilities go."
TTV: With Hip-Hop progressing more and more by the day, I think it's safe to say that most artists and fans don't define music in genres as much anymore due to the well-roundedness artists bring to the table now-days. What do you think of that, and where do you hope to see the collection of genres in the music community in the future.

BrandUn Deshay: "I agree. Theres def. an Indie Hip-Hop genre, a Rock Hop genre, what have you. Its grown', but we’ll always have labels/comparisons. I jus wanna see more variety in the mainstream someday cuz its not fair how people are getting short changed from great music cuz its not “radio-friendly.” Mark my words, satellite radio WILL be the future. Underground won't exist anymore because of it."

TTV: Top 10 MC's x Producers

BrandUn Deshay: "right now: Lil B, Kanye, Lupe, Lex Luger, Rick Ross, brandUn DeShay, J Cole, Drake, Boi1da, Surf Club, Diggy Simmons and that’s more than 10 lol"

TTV: We caught the recent Lupe Fiasco - I'm Beamin' remix you produced - beyond dope - do you only produce beats for your work, or are you infiltrating the game as a producer as well?

BrandUn Deshay: "I produce for myself, of course. Most of my songs I did the beat for. More than anything tho, I wanna come in as a producer jus cuz thats what got me HERE, what made me fall in love wit bein' an artist."

TTV: You always seem to have some dope collabs - Dom Kennedy, TiRon, Casey Veggies, Charles Hamilton x QuEsT to name a few, - who can we expect to see on the next drop?

BrandUn Deshay: "Jus Rockie Fresh and Snoop Dogg’s DJ BatteCat cuz im doin' projects wit them both. I'm really kinda fallin' back, working' on an iTunes release, and jus becoming a better producer for now. Doin' shows and all that too. I did enough music as a rapper for now."

TTV: On "Volume: Three! To Get Ready!" it is more then obvious you put in overtime on the album, and seems like you are verbally letting the world know that you are the truth, especially to those who may consider you as an underdog. What was your mindset going into the studio, expectations for the album prior to it dropping, and overall attitude towards all the praise and dope feedback from this album?

BrandUn Deshay: "I jus wanted to create a polished, all-around great project cuz I KNEW I wasn't going to be doin' another one for a long time. I loved the final product. It was exactly what I wanted as far as direction goes. The feedback has been great, and I love how its one of those long lasting projects. Imma be able to sit on this for awhile and still gain listeners."

TTV: When can we expect another drop? And what can we expect from it?

BrandUn Deshay: "Im doin' a project wit Rockie Fresh out in the Chii, my home, his home. Comin' in October likely and that’s it really. Like I said, imma be laying' low on the rap tip for a bit. Jus doin' shows and playin' missionary."

TTV: Any upcoming tours on the list?

BrandUn Deshay: "Nothin' official but NY, DC, Toronto, and ATL are on the radar for this year."

TTV: Any shout outs x artists, producers x MC's we should have on our radar?

BrandUn Deshay: "Shout out to Rockie Fresh, we goon' REALLY fxck up the game wit our project. Shout out to my manager Dom and my mentor Chris Cuben for pointin' me in the right direction, and the TTV Crew. I promise things are bout to be BIGGER from here on out. God is great."

Interview by Phillip H.

PH
Stay True

Visit BrandUn Deshay at:


brandUn Deshay on Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube x Bandcamp.

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