MATRIXX.
The 18 year old rising star from the southside of Chicago isn't going anywhere anytime soon...
So Matrixx how are you affiliated with FNF?
Well, that’s a long story kind of, but I’ll try to make it short as possible. When I was 15 or 16 I heard “Failure” by Lupe, and around the same time I created a myspace. By being on Lu’s page listening to his music, I ran across Mixmastermegan and me and her got real cool. Through Megan I met Rob Bates, and we got cool, and I met bishop G and Shayla G and I got cool with them, and then I met Danny Milk and one man gang, and we were like the first Lupe Fiasco support team on myspace that I knew about. I know the “Femmes” came up around that time too. Bishop G is kind of like my big brother through music, I use to send my lyrics over to him and he would give me advice on what I should work on and different things like that. It’s crazy talking to them now and seeing how far we came since then, and we actually kick it in real life, but it all started on myspace. Shout out to Tom.
Where did your stage name come from?
Well it actually didn’t come from doing music, it came from sports. I played football from when I was 10 through high school, and one game when I was in 8th grade a spectator said “He’s so fast, he makes everyone else look slow, like they’re in the matrix.” So I went around telling people I’d put them in the matrix, and my friends just started calling me that and it’s stuck till now. I added the extra X because of my homies over at Abstraxx Clothing. I just thought the extra X looked really dope. I wish I had a more interesting story that than, but that’s it (laughs).
So how long have you been rapping?
I started taking rapping seriously when I was 10, so it’s going on 9 years.
What makes Chicago stand out from other places and how did it make you who you are today?
Chicago as a city does not have a set style of music. We accept every style of music here, so I think what we do is combine all the aspects we like from what we listen to and tweak them until they work for us as artists. What’s happening now, and is new, is that people are helping each other. People are blowing up and coming back and grabbing their homies, which I personally think is something that we lacked for a long time, but I’m happy to see that happening now. One more thing is the originality we have. Every single artist wants to stand out, so we work even harder on not being like the rest of the artists out already. That’s how you have people that listen to Common, Kanye, and Lupe, and then turn around and listen to The Cool Kids, Mano, and Mic Terror. But, all those types still represent what we do in the Chi. I personally appreciate Chicago more now that I’ve been outside Chicago, there are no words to really explain it, but HOME IS HOME.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
My life, my family, and my city. I have such a strong passion for not only making music but the art in forming a song. I love the feeling of finishing the last lyric of a new song, or hearing a new beat I fall in love with. But other than that, I draw inspiration from life in general, the good and bad. I’d say 85-90% of my music is taken from my life experience, the other 10% I leave to write about topics that might not affect me personally, but I still know about.
Who inspires you now that is currently in the rap game?
My fellow Chicago artists like Kanye, Common, Lupe, The Cool Kids, Mic Terror, Hollywood Holt, Mano, Gemstones, Bishop G, Naledge from Kidz in the Hall and many more as well. Outside of Chicago I like N.E.R.D., Blu, Pacific Division, Gym Class Heroes, Outkast, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Eminem, Big L, The Roots, but honestly I got so many people on my list in the game that I think are great artists, so that list is really way too long. But outside of hip hop you have Paramore, James Horner, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, and a lot more, but I don’t want to ramble.
So what makes YOU unique to the rap game today?
My age and my message make me unique. I’m here to let people in my age group and younger know that it’s cool to be yourself. It’s cool to listen to whatever type of music you like, it’s cool to dress how you like, it’s cool to express your thoughts in the form you’re comfortable using. I’m just here to break stereotypes and misconceptions on what not only black teenagers are, but what all teenagers are. Since I’m their peer, I think my words will have a bigger impact than someone older who is trying to lecture, because I’m really going through the same things they are. So that message with my age makes me unique, because I don’t see any other entertainers my age in the game that’s delivering that message. Plus I’m here to make dope music and nothing less.
What goals have you set for yourself?
My goals are high and low. All I really want is to make a living off my music, I just want to be financially stable enough to have a house, and a car, and a raise a family without having to work a 9-5 job. But, then I really want to see how far I can take my music, I want a Grammy and other awards and notoriety, but if I don’t get those things I won’t think less of my music because superstardom isn’t for everyone. But I set realistic goals, so as I come up in the game I’m sure my goals will start to change.
Do you have any last words you would like to leave us with?
As an up and coming artist the hardest thing to do is get people to pay attention to you, then after that it’s getting people to listen to you, those two things are very different. Then to take your career to the next level you need somebody “important” to co-sign you. I personally want to thank you guys for co-signing me, I definitely appreciate that. To everyone else, you will be seeing a lot more of me, so just get use to me because I’m definitely out here.
Do you have any shout-outs you'd like to give?
Renegades, The Story, Medina, Joe, Steel, Ski, Samantha, The City of Chicago, and thank you to everyone who supports me, its greatly appreciated because without any of you none of this is possible. PEACE IN FRESHNESS.
FOR MORE ON MATRIXX CHECK OUT HIS BLOG & MYSPACE :
