Today we had an exclusive chance to interview Big Lyrx:
ARN: How did you come up with a stage name?
Big Lyrx: My stage name stems from my nickname growing up “Lyrical”. Known for my raps and because I always did music. Growing up, there were a lot of different versions of my nickname out there… maybe spelled a little different or with added names to it. So to have a more unique name as a Rap artist, I changed it to BIG LYRX for its self explanation… I have BIG lyrics in my music. I also purposely misspelled “Lyrics” as “Lyrx” to stamp more uniqueness to the name.
ARN: Where are you from?
Big Lyrx: I’m from West Covina California, now residing in Ontario
California.
ARN: Who would you say inspired you the most, as an artist?
Big Lyrx: I have 5 rap artists and 1 rap group that have been my inspiration for working to be great at my craft and have given me the desire to want be well known for my craft in Hip Hop: Chuck D of Public Enemy, Xzibit, Brotha Lynch Hung, Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, and the group is Bone Thugs N Harmony. Each represent a separate specific skill set that I have admired so much to the point where I’ve implemented those skill sets into my own “artist artillery” to hopefully become a well rounded yet sharpened as an artist that can handle anything in this game. The Rap game. The most inspiring though would be Tupac Shakur. I found it most inspiring how Tupac had such a thuggish outer character with his look and how he would street talk but at the same time have this incredible intelligence and mindset, able to express it in songs while intertwining it with current authentic street topics and everyday “Thug Life” situations. All while making it flow so perfectly leaving you basically speechless with usually only one word to say: DAMN!
ARN: Do you remember the first rhyme you wrote?
Big Lyrx: Yes lol. The first rhyme I wrote was in high school when I first had the guts to enter a freestyle session, which is when a bunch of rappers get together and rap off the top of the head about whatever they can create at that very moment until another rapper continues the session by jumping in to rap next. Being my first time, to be ready, I wrote a 2 page rap about a bunch of stuff that was currently going on that most everyone there knew about or can relate to. I got mad props for that when it happen to the point where for the next few sessions the rappers in the circle would request me to recite the same rap over again. That’s also the moment I knew that I was a pretty good song writer.
ARN: Have you heard the theory that some musicians write their best music while they’re depressed or going through a bad time?
Big Lyrx: Umm, I’ve definitely heard of that before. Do I believe that? No, I don’t. Agreeing with that would be me saying, at the same time, that only real good music comes from depressing topics and or good music is best when about negative things. The reason some feel that way, is because authentic songs (which are songs about REAL stuff…in life, in current times, in past times, and or in current situations) are the songs that grab people most because they can relate to the song lyrics. They may even be going thru the same type of situation or even witness what that song is talking about on an everyday basis. Authentic songs are what help create an authentic fan base for a music artist. Now, when you’re writing an authentic song and at the same time your emotions are strongly involved…which can be when depressed, sad, angry, even happy, excited, motivated, driven for success…the format of how that song is written…the delivery of how that song is performed…allows all of your passion to be expressed strongly because it’s all coming straight from the heart.
When this is happening, you feel like you can’t stop writing because you have so much to say. So much to the point where, when you’re done, the song may end up being 10 minutes long and then you need to scale it down for time reasons. I believe that most people that would say that their best work is when they are depressed or going through bad times, is either because most of their other work may be more for fun, to fit a current fad, made mainly because the beat is hot…or…because some operate best when dwelling on negative because they don’t have anyone to talk to or someone to get things off their chest with so they keep it all inside. So when writing songs about those topics and during times like those, causes them to basically speak to themselves as if speaking to a totally different person. Which because now that there is that opportunity to get things off their chest or share their feelings (even though it’s only being written down), it all comes flooding out…and it’s all 100% real talk!
ARN: What’s the best advice you ever received?
Big Lyrx: I would say the best advice I have ever received was to “Just do you!” Be yourself. Don’t worry about what other people are doing, how other people look, or even how people most like to see other people act, talk, or look. Whatever you do, however you do it, is always the best way to be. It may not be for everyone or maybe even anyone, but you know for a fact that it is all YOU. If you’re not “doing you”, then you’re most likely following someone else. Whether being the decisions you make, the actions you take, or even the words you choose to speak. In the end, most will find out that following someone else instead of just “doing you”, results in ending up in a place you would rather not be or results in being a person that you do not want to be, and ultimately, you figure out it’s the type of person you never were from the start.
ARN: How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Big Lyrx: I would describe the music I create as being “passionate works of art”. Passionate because of the emotions and energy put into the songs expressed with lyrical vocabulary that articulates the description of what I’m speaking about, whether it be a story, a description of a feeling, or even a group of metaphors put together without a specific type of topic to focus on. This, along with the delivery of how I express my song lyrics, creates the work of art. Just as a painter does with the use of different color schemes in a picture or just as a film director chooses to use different camera shots with different angles in a movie.
ARN: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your music?
Big Lyrx: The best compliment about my music would have to be when people tell me they love the lyrics in my songs. When people tell me that, it lets me know they are actually listening to the words of my song. Not just for the beat or the hook. To me, that is the most flattering compliment because anyone can record a song. Especially a rap song. Some songs don’t even need to need to have words that rhyme because the beat may be the main focus or the hook. Putting time and effort into my songs by creating story lines using lyrical descriptions, highlighted with heavy metaphors to better “paint the picture”, make up my “masterpiece”. So when someone tells me they like or love the lyrics in my songs, it lets me know that they understand my “masterpiece”.
ARN: What’s your latest release?
Big Lyrx: My latest release is going to be my studio album that releases on November 30th 2020 entitled, Believe in Me. This is an album I strongly and meticulously worked on for 4 years, constantly adding and changing the songs to be included on the project. Even rerecording some of the songs multiple times until I felt it was exactly how I wanted the song to turn out. From the creation of each song, to the mixing and mastering of the entire album, nothing was just written, then recorded, then finished. I was constantly listening to each song separately and to the album entirely throughout, making sure it was truly ready to be released, truly what I wanted to represent me and my craft, and if it was truly able to be competitive with the best artists in the industry. I feel that this album over any of the music projects I have ever completed is the one album that will fully introduce me to the world, to Hip Hop, and to music in general, as a true Rap artist in the Hip Hop culture.
ARN: What do you want your legacy to be? How do you want to be remembered?
Big Lyrx: I want to be remembered for doing real music. Not just real Rap music. Real music in general attracts all music lovers, not just lovers of the specific genre of music that they like. I want my music to be eternal. That is why I strive to create timeless music. Music that’s played for years and years to come, stamping my legacy as a Hip Hop legend. That is my main goal. Working towards that is the main reason I work so hard on my craft, on my projects, and consistently work to stay competitive with the best artists in the industry. I don’t do this for just fun, or just to get girls or attention, or to be the “cool guy who is a rapper”. This is real business for me. This is my profession. I am a professional.
www.biglyrxmusic.com
www.youtube.com/biglyrx