Bub Styles: «In Brooklyn there’s a huge competition, but it’s a beautiful thing»

LISTEN THE INTERVIEW:

Thanks Bub Styles for letting us ask you a few questions. In the last couple of years, you have been showing off as one of the new names in New York’s crackling underground Rap scene … When and how did you start kicking your own rhymes?

BUB STYLES: “Yo Italian magazine, thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. I am from Brooklyn N.Y. born and raised. Bub Styles is my name. “King of the city” is what they call me.
I grew up all around Hip-Hop, you know what I mean?

So, I mean, me kicking my own rhymes was, kinda like, meant to happen. I used to chill around with this group of producers and rappers and they were doing their shit…I was not really rhyming at the time and doing anything besides being around…And then one day I wrote some shit and I was like “Yo, let me really get into it”, you know what I mean?

So, yeah, that’s how I started. One day I just recorded some shit and next thing, you know, that shit was kinda like bubbling on the internet and I was like “I love this sh*t, do not let me fucki*g stop!”.
So since then It has just been bubbling ever since.”

And when did you start taking the music business seriously? Who or what pushed and motivated you the most?

BUB STYLES: “I’d say, I started like ten years ago rhyming, but I would say taking the business side seriously, I kinda started putting out my own music out around like 2016-2017. And you know from there it was kinda on and off. I kinda put out a couple projects early and I saw what was going on, but then like 2-3 years ago, maybe since 2018-2019, I really have just pushed this sh*t to another new level.

I would say the motivation comes from everything and having a very powerful voice and using this sh*t is fucki*g important to me, you know what I mean?”

You are from Brooklyn, New York, a place where you can breathe the Hip Hop culture at every corner … From your point of view, what was it like growing up in BK? And what is it like trying to emerge as an MC in a neighborhood where there is fierce competition and such heavy names in its history?

BUB STYLES: “Yeah, I’m from Brooklyn, there’s definitely Hip Hop at every fucking corner, that’s a fact. I was born and raised in a kind of mixed area, you know what I mean? There was the hood right there, there was the boutiques right there and all that shit…

So I have some very diverse upbringings.You know, there’s a lot of different cultures all around me, a lot of nationalities and everything else you can kinda hear in my music as far as they’re things I decide to put forward etc…”

What is it like doing it here? I think it’s the best place in the fucking world where you can really rap. Honestly, yeah, there’s a ton of fucking competition, I know stupid rappers from New York. You know, growing up here or for me especially being in the scene it’s like…, yes you’re right , there’s a huge competition…but it’s a beautiful thing, man, it’s a very very very rich scene, a very rich culture, especially in Hip-Hop, so I am just fucking happy to be a part of it, honestly..

The last project you recently published is “Land of Silk and Money”: what is the concept behind this title? How were the collaborations with UFO Fev or B.A Badd and with producers like Camouflage Monk born?

BUB STYLES: “Yeah, this last project “Land Of Silk and Money”. The concept behind the title is a fucki*g dummy play on words, bro..you know what I mean? That’s basically all that I chalk it up too, but “land of silk and honey” is usually what they refer to in Jerusalem, but “Land of Silk and Money” was just a twist up, you know what I mean?

 

Because I’m from a jewish background. I’ve never been to Israel, though. I wanna really go out there but, yes, I was really just kind of taking a twist on “land of silk and honey” and “Land of Silk and Money”. That’s where we are at: We all about silky moves, we all about making the fucki*g paper. You feel me?”

About the collabs: UFO Fev, I’ve known him for a very long time, actually. From some sh*t called “A Team Backpack: A World Emcee”. Me and him had a cypher together, I believe in 2017, and since then we just kept in touch and shit, you know? We both bubbled-bubbled and we fucking gotta going in. This is already the 2nd joint I dropped with him. He is super nice. I fux with him. Heavy.

B.A. Badd? Me and him, actually, met thru a mixtape that put out Crush A Lot
Podcast, they put me and him on the same song. I’ve seen his name, but I wasn’t really tapped in with him until then and from then I was like “damn, this dude is nice, and he was like “damn, you nice” , so I was like “word, we need some fucki*g work”.
So this was the first time we worked together. We have other sh*t on the cut too, but this the first sh*t we dropped together. He is disgusting. I fux with him, heavy.

Camoflauge Monk was straight internet sh*t, u know what I am saying? I hit him up like “bro, I am a fan of your beats, check my sh*t out”. He hit me back like “yo, this sh*t is stupid, let get to it”. We went fucki*g crazy. I got a lot more sh*t coming through with all those different types of producers, y’all definitely heard of.

You often collaborate with ARXV: who is he and what is your relationship?

BUB STYLES: “Yeah, I do often collaborate with AR “fifteen”. It’s ARXV but you pronounce it “AR-15”. Sh*t, he has been one of my closest friends for like 10-15 years now. He’s the dopest rapper I know, keepin’ it real. He is my fucki*g favourite rapper and It’s an honor to work with him.

He puts out music as his own pace, but everything he puts out is a fucki*g gem. That’s me and him that created FleeMrkt. That’s a duo that we have: F-L-E-E M-R-K-T . We got all out and we’ve got all out more in the works. So look out for that. Dude’s disgusting.

What are your most important projects so far and why?

BUB STYLES: “I would say all my 2 projects with Ace Fayce. The first one is “Long Nights, Cold Winters” that I dropped in 2017. That’s when I really got the ball rollin’, we got a couple of notable features on it too. Yea that’s when we really got the ball rollin’. That was so fucki*g important and it kinda opened my name up to the internet…so that was fucki*g fire.!”

“The other one probably would be “Very Sucio, Muy Picante” and it is also produced entirely by Ace Fayce. I think that really solidified my sh*t. I had a lot of notable features on that as well. It was really really fucki*g dope music and that’s really, as I said, what broke me out into the scene. It actually dropped in 2020, but it had a lot of singles dropping from 2019 up until then, which kinda really bubbled. So I would say both project, I am very fucki*g proud of having made shit like that. They’re really dope, top notch rap music fo’real”.

We are witnessing a return of a general public’s (or at least a solid niche of it) appreciation of the classic New York rap style. How is this perceived in Brooklyn’ streets? What’s your point of view as an insider to this scene?

BUB STYLES: “Yeah, Yeah. Like I said, being in that scene is a beautiful beautiful fucki*g thing. It’s really really dope to see this sh*t happening, because I have been making music like this for a very long time. It’s always been my favourite type of music. It’s some grimey New York fucki*g rap music and seeing this sh*t blow up in the past couple years has been beautiful.

You know, I’d be lying if I’d say that Griselda did not have something to do with. I feel like Griselda…I mean I wouldn’t say that, but obviously everybody knows that Griselda didn’t invented this type of music, but I really think they brought it to the forefront and in a lot of ways they made this sh*t fucki*g cool again to the general public. You know what I mean? So I really appreciate them for that and being inside this scene is a beautiful thing.

I can’t wait to see this (underground rap scene) grow and see where it becomes. That been said I also feel like I am larger than fucki*g life. I feel like my reach, what I do, my music and my sense of humor and my fucki*g abilities are beyond anything one scene can fucki*g hold. I am really excited about growing as an artist and I think that’s really dope.

With whom do you have a closer bond among the emcees of this wave?

BUB STYLES: “I mean ARXV definitely is the one that I do the most music with. Few other people: Dot.Demo, he’s a really really dope emcee from the Bronx, me and him have a ton of music together and he’s also one of my favourite rappers.  Like I said UFO Fev is super dope and somebody that I love to work with. My boy Chubs. Chubby God from Long Island, another fucki*g guy I have a lot of music coming out with him, so stay tuned for that.

Fucki*g Nem$ gave me the early layup, that was a beautiful thing. Gorilla Nem$ has a big following in the scene, so him doing a song with me early, it was kinda through a mutual friend and that really helped me solidify my spot. I got a lot of other sh*t coming up. I got sh*t with Spit Gemz coming up…

I got some new sh*t with Gorilla Nem$ comin’ up…I got some sh*t with Crimeapple,
with Madhattan, with Asun Eastwood from Toronto…

Who are your greatest inspirations from the past? And who are your favorite rappers of the moment?

BUB STYLES: “Big L, Wu-Tang (Ghostface in particular), Big Pun, he was always one of my favourite rappers of all time, Biggie obviously, from Brooklyn, that’s a no fucki*g brainer, Hov of course…

My favourite rappers of the moment? Sh*t, Freddie Gibbs is one of my favourite rappers right now, Griselda like I mentioned. Uhm, I also love the drill sh*t. I fucki*g love Pop Smoke and Fivio Foreign and Sheff G, Sleepy Hallow. I love all that sh*t.

I love Don Q, fucki*g G-Herbo…There’s so many nowadays. That’s a beautiful thing. Action Bronson of course, he’s fucki*g incredible. There’s so many I have not mentioned right now, but yeah all those people…”

We are a magazine deeply focused on graffiti writing culture … What is your relationship with the New York graffiti scene? Do you have any connections? What can you tell us about the graffiti scene in Brooklyn?

BUB STYLES : “I never wrote graffiti, because I can’t draw for sh*t. I can’t write sh*t.
But I got a lot of graffiti connections in the New York scene: From NBT to Smart Crew..so many crews… shoutout Uno, shoutout fucki*g Kidder, rest in peace Zexor…

All types of graffiti connections..A lot of sh*t I can’t talk about, but I lot of sh*t I can… It’s a beautiful thing…My boy Bell…. It’s a very ingrained part of our society, obviously, and to be in the midst of it it’s a beautiful thing…I don’t know sh*t about it, but to be around of it is such a beautiful thing”.

Can you anticipate something about your next projects? What should we expect?

BUB STYLES: “A whole lotta projects coming out…My next one is called “Bubdeeni: Escape Artist” produced all by Farmabeats from UK. He’s super super disgusting, love his sh*t. Yeah, that’s gonna hit the streets super heavy.

I’ve got another project with Ace Fayce coming out soon enough that we put some final touches on that. I actually have a project of drill and trap music that I am about to put out…sh*t is super fucki*g fire… Me and ARVXV got FLEE MRKT coming out real real soon… That’s fuck*g fire fire..can’t wait to put this sh*out…All different types of flavours on that.

Too much sh*t to name..All of exciting sh*t… Me and Michealangelo, a cat out of Massachusetts, we are putting out a project together.. Yeah ma, too much sh*t in the fucki*g works. I am really excited to see where all this takes me.

Thanks so much for having me! Real sh*t! Shoutout to my boy, Jerry Graham, shoutout to y’all..I can’t wait to let y’all hear my new sh*t!!!”