Read the full interview on YoungCalifornia.com!
Stro is no stranger to the rap game, which is why his new home at Nas’ Mass Appeal is the perfect fit. Staying true to the core of what hip-hop was birthed on, the Brooklyn MC remains consistent in delivering meaningful lyrics over smoothed out beats. Looking back on his “He Fell Off” video from 2013, the 22-year-old is a walking testimony for anyone chasing a dream of doing what they love. Read more…
With each EP, each mixtape, each visual, Stro pulls from personal experiences and struggles, while creating a vibe and painting the landscape for listeners to enjoy. With the recent release of his critically-acclaimed Nice To Meet You Again EP, it’s crazy to think this is just an intro of what’s to come.
For those who don’t know, who is Stro?
Stro is an MC. A student of the culture that is born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and hopefully one day felt throughout the world.
Where do you fit in the realm of hip-hop and R&B?
I grew up on a lot of R&B, but my favorite genre, especially as a kid, was always hip-hop. I be rapping my ass off, but I listen to all R&B. You know what it is? R&B has better production. I’m not inspired by raps anymore. Now, I like beats. That’s what motivates me to write a dope rhyme, I have to go to R&B for that. I’m still about the bars but I don’t know, I’m in the middle somewhere. A little bit of both.
You’re from Brooklyn, how does that play into your life and career?
It’s beautiful because it’s the home of many legends. It’s just a very real, real place. That’s what translates into my music. I can’t really pretend and go outside of Brooklyn and be somebody that I’m not. Because I’m gonna be checked, motherfuckers are gonna know. They’ll pull your card. They’ll test you if they feel like you’re not about what you’re talking about. That’s real. The music has to be true to who I am. There will somebody in Brooklyn making a fucking… you ever seen those vlog shits from people that used to know Jay Z, but they hate him now ‘cause he blew up? They make little videos like “Jay fucking this and that.” Somebody gonna do that about me if my music don’t sound like what I’m really living.
How important is it to come to LA as an up and coming artist?
Very important. Just the vibe is necessary for you to even want to create. All the greats (like Bobby Brown), they’ll work on some of their albums in New York, but they had to come to Cali to either shoot the video, album covers, etc. It’s a different type of tempo out here. It’s more laid back. There’s more room to create. A lot of people out here dress in their own little way. In New York, you don’t really see too much of that outside of like Soho. Soho is the fashion area where people can express themselves freely through how they dress, but that’s it. Sometimes, you want to get out and think bigger in order to create.
At what point did you realize this music thing was forreal?
Shit man, I realized it was real when Kendrick Lamar sent me a DM on Twitter. ‘Cause I put a freestyle song out called “Steal & Rob.” I put out a visual for it on Youtube. At the time when he hit me, it was out for 3 days and had 5,000 views. I was promoting on my Twitter and I woke up early one morning, stressed the fuck out. My life, I was going through a lot of shit, and I just woke up to that shit. He said “very proud, don’t stop, we are watching.” Later in the day, he RTed it and followed me.
When was this?
This was 8 months ago, I forgot exactly when. Whenever I put the “Steal & Rob” out, it was 3 days after that date. That’s when it started. That shit was crazy ‘cause you know Kendrick rarely ever tweets. If you go to his profile for a long time, you’ll just see the last thing that he RTs. He’s really putting people on. That’s when I was like “okay, now I have it.” If Kendrick is telling me “don’t stop”… if you fail Kendrick, I mean that’s fucked up. All he asked you to do was not stop. It’s not that hard, so I can’t stop!
You just released your Nice 2 Meet You Again EP. How has the fan reception been?
Man, amazing. This one is hitting me in a different way, ‘cause people I actually grew up with are hearing this shit. It was never like that for me. I just wasn’t as serious as I am now. I didn’t have my own style, I was just rapping to rap. I didn’t really have direction, so they wasn’t paying the music too much attention. I’ll drop some shit and they’ll see me 6 months later like, “Yo when you gonna drop some shit?” It’s like “damn motherfucker, where was you this whole time I was promoting?”
But they don’t care. This was the first time like my fucking next door neighbor that I grew up with — my bro Omari that was my best friend when I was a kid living in East Flatbush — he was hitting me up like, “Yo, I heard this shit, that shit is amazing.” And now we catching up. So a body of work I put out is bringing back those relationships. The reception is divine, that’s all I can say.
Talk about the creative process and how long it took you.
It’s crazy because that one wasn’t even originally the body of work I was planning on dropping first. ‘Cause I got an album coming, that shit is dope. I got some shit. But when I signed with Mass Appeal, they brought up a good point like “yo, you just signed, let’s reel the people in a little bit and get their attention, and then hit them with the album.” That’s what this EP was. I really created it all within the last year mainly, so it’s very fresh material.
“Room” is such a vibe. Talk about creating a vibe in your records.
“Room” is a vibe because the nights that inspired it were a vibe. That’s what’s dope about the record to me, because those are real experiences I’ve had. People keep asking if that’s me in the high-pitched voice in the beginning. I’m like, “yeah that’s me.” I say “it’s more of a poem than it is song.” That’s really what I approached it as. It’s based off these experiences that I was blessed enough to have. I think people can relate to real things. Somebody may be listening to that record and feel the same way. A dude might have a girl that’s his friend, that he’s trying to… you know?
That’s love. Are you still with the girl you wrote about?
Yeah, it’s real life shit. That’s what music is, an expression. I gotta express myself. That was dope because now, the world will one day love a song that they know is about them. Every girl can feel that energy.
What is it you want fans to get from your story?
I want fans to understand that it’s cool to think for yourself and be an individual. You can all just be who you are. You don’t gotta follow and be so monolithic. We don’t have to all think the same and that’s what the world is becoming right now. This shit is just wack. It’s coming back, that’s why I like the events like ComplexCon, ‘cause you see a little bit of everything. I like to see that our generation is taking this shit and we are thinking more like individuals, but I think it’s about getting the world on that same page. Because otherwise, we are keeping entertaining clowns like Trump. Trump to me is petty. I don’t care about him like a lot of motherfuckers. We shouldn’t be focused on that. There’s bigger things to focus on. We just all gotta get our mind right and be who we are. Get on one page and be in peace. I sound like Jaden Smith just now, I said “live in peace.” Shout out to Jaden.
Was music always #1 for you?
Absolutely. I’ve listened to music since I was a kid. That shit is tight for me. That’s why I fuck with my moms, ‘cause she played music around me all the time. She’s not even a rap fan like that. I think people hear my shit and watch my story, and because I have been at it for so long, they might assume that my mom raised me to be a rapper. It’s like nah, my mom listened to R&B and James Ingram, and all types of weird shit. I ain’t get into James Ingram yet, but the R&B she listened to was tight. That was Faith Evans, Michael Jackson, all that shit.
Talk about signing to Mass Appeal and your journey with them.
Basically, I was going around playing music for different people I fuck with, like close friends and shit. Just getting everybody’s ear and playing my EP for them before it came out. I didn’t have a manager at the time, so I’m independent. Just building up the fan base, dropping a visual here and there, and getting everybody’s opinion. Played it for the fam, the homie Negus in Brooklyn, and he fucked with it. He was like, “Yo, I’m gonna pass this onto a friend I know and see what he can do.” A guy named Ali, which I met through Negus, he was like, “Yo, I can’t do the management shit, but I could pass your shit around and see what I can do for you.”
Gave my name into Peter at Mass Appeal, who is the big dawg at Mass Appeal. Peter and Nas run the whole shit. Me and Peter started building and what’s funny is with Mass Appeal, I was always in their office for some shit. ‘Cause in their office out there in New York, they do a lot of events like album releases. That’s another artist out there, Ezri.
I just interviewed Ezri yesterday!
That’s the bro. I was at his album release. I was always in the office and shit just catching a vibe, so I played music in the office at different points. Nas’ brother Jungle was always there showing love, so just catching that vibe with the team and then having a few meetings. We decided it would be a good look, a good move for me to move over there. I love what they are doing over there, it’s so authentic. It’s just good music. A lot of labels are going for the gimmicky, attention-seeking artists. Mass Appeal on their shit.
What are some goals yourself as an artist at this point of your career?
Domination. Dominating the game and just providing the freshest shit out.
What did you do with your first advance?
I think I rented an apartment in Brooklyn. Shoulda bought a house but you know, prices out there are fucking crazy. I just started paying rent with that. [laughs]
How important is social media for your career?
Very important. Social media is dope. It’s just direct to the consumer, communication and shit. That shit is very important. You get to show people what you wanna show them.
What’s a normal day in the life? Walk us through.
It depends. Some days be boring and shit, but every day is divine. Every day I wake up and you how some people say “life’s a bitch”? Right now, I’m feeling like life’s a woman. Every day feels good.
I literally heard that in Nas’ voice. “life’s a bitch.”
He’s working through me. [laughs]
3 things you need in the studio?
Engineer, notepad, and wifi.
Do you write your lyrics down?
Yeah, I just started writing in my notebook. A lot of Nice 2 Meet You Again, I wrote in my notebook. But I’m weird ‘cause I write in my head sometimes too. I got whole projects that I didn’t write on paper. When I feel like doing that, I’ll do it. But sometimes I write it down, sometimes I use my iPhone.
It trips me out when I hear rappers just go in the booth and freestyle everything.
Yeah, I can’t do that. I take time with it ‘cause that will translate through the music. With the EP, I took my time writing it, so you can hear that as a listener and play it over and over again. It feels like you took your time. I don’t like rushing.
What’s the best encounter you had with a fan?
Man, it’s usually kids. I fuck with kids heavy, that’s literally the future. If kids fuck with you, they fuck with you. I see little kids in the street who remind me of myself when I was 8. A little dude 8 years old, his pants sagging, hair nappy, but his whole shit match. He’s just in the middle of the street trying to feel grown. I walked past him and he reached out. He showed me his fist. I was like, “this is Brooklyn, it’s a late night, I don’t know you little nigga. I don’t know what the fuck you gonna try to do.” But then I thought about it, I was like “nah, that’s the future. I gotta embrace it. I’m not gonna break his heart.” So I went back, gave him a pound, and he looked at me like “alright.” [head nods] I was like “if i’m good with him, I’m good forever.” Shit like that is fire.
Who’s the most played artist on your phone?
Probably me, I ain’t gonna lie. I have been listening to the Nice To Meet You Again shit a lot, I need to stop. Because I’m 3 projects deep right now. I got this, I got the album, then I got a project with Statik Selektah. I’m working on a debut with him. Besides me, it’s a lot of older shit. Let me tell you the actual artist though, I know who it is. These days… fuck. I am gonna say Hit-Boy and Dom Kennedy, Courtesy Of Half-A-Mil. That album is so inspiring to me. That shit is fire. I bumped that on the way here, today actually.
Dream collab?
Definitely me and Hov, that’s my favorite MC right now. I already know people gonna come with that bullshit. I know some people are joking, some people are not, but I’m not thinking that deep. Brooklyn is my home, so I relate to Hov a little closer. But we all know without the forefathers like Nas, Jay, Big, Pac… come on.
Anything else you want to let us know?
Check out Nice To Meet You Again out now on all streaming platforms. Look out for new music man. I’m definitely gonna be touring soon, so look out for those dates. ‘Cause I haven’t really toured yet, at least not in the US. I’ma definitely do that this year.
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