Premo Opana is a 25 year old Hip Hop artist and songwriter born in Greenville, NC and raised in Farmville NC. He considers himself as..
“The Hood Poet.”
Premo was inspired to do music when he started listening to 50 Cent, Juelz Santana, DMX, and Jadakiss. Through music he feels he expresses himself the most. I decided to ask him about his influences and he told me his brother influences him the most because of the way he counts on Premo and looks up to him. His brother is in school, has a 3.5 GPA and is playing basketball. He likes the fact that his brother is not a follower.
“My brother is a good genuine solid person. Everything he is doing now I wanted to be doing with my life.”
When I asked Premo what sets him apart from everyone else he told me just being “The Hood Poet.” He looks at tracks as being poems.
Bars and Facts is the most recent project. Right now his focus is on pushing Bars and Facts. His follow up project will be called More Bars and More Facts.
Premo prefers to do things old school and write by hand while most write down things in their phone. Writing is his first love. In his music he chooses to talk about pain, struggle, love, and betrayal.
Premo and I discussed the Carolina music scene and what was one thing the Carolina market could improve in his opinion and he said ..
“The Carolina market could improve by embracing each other, respecting each others craft, and improving originality by sound.”
For the rest of 2017 Premo’s goal is progress.
“Progress means everything to me even if that means connecting with another artists out of state and someone is showing him the way”
“..as long as you are making progress you are on your way.”
Chuuch is a Hip Hop/Gospel rapper from Brookyln, Ny. He was born and raised in New York. I observed Chuuch at a recent artist showcase. His set seemed to have a deeper meaning. I met up with him to find out more about him. Chuuch likes getting a message out and putting a light on just how dirty he was, but he likes to focus on how God changed his life and how much further he can go. The emotional rush of music is what made him get involved with music in the first place. When I asked him what influences him the most he said..
“..Tragedy. Seeing people in a mindset where there is no hope. I do this for the hopeless because I needed it most when I was homeless.” “God is funny sometimes. You can be in a fire and not even realize you are not being burned.”
When it comes to other artists Chuuch feels like his passion for it all is what sets him apart. He has performed all across the United States and feels his best place he performed was on the street in Philly in front of the Black and Nobel. The Black and Nobel is an independently owned store that has books, DVD’s, art and events related to African American culture. He says the response was great, cars stopped and people pulled out their phones to record him. To his knowledge he is the first Gospel rap artist to do this.
“There is a roar inside of me that is undeniable.”
He will be dropping an EP soon called All Heart and will continue to push Gospel rap.
I decided to ask Chuuch what is one thing the Carolina market could improve he said
“The Carolina market could improve their drive and artists should push past the limits they were taught. There should be more people coming together.”
His goal for the rest of 2017 is to touch as many lives as possible while being able to complete his youth conference and his tours. His Hell’s Most Hated tour is still being booked for Atlanta, Dallas, Oklahoma, Philly, New Jersey, New York, and he says North Carolina is a possibility.
If it wasn’t for God and music Chuuch feels he would be gang banging or dead. He gave a strong shout out to Gwood of Greenville, NC who has been an intricate part of his success besides God. One thing Chuuch wants you to know is..
“For God I live for God I die..and I love my babies!”
Ivy Monae drops her first visual of 2017 with a very empowering joint that screams women’s independence. Watch her rise this year and show you what she is capable of. Keep your eye on this one!
Bleach is a Hip Hop artist and songwriter who is 28 years old. He grew up in Murfreesboro, NC. Bleach got his name from being the only white kid around. He is basically driven by being from nothing and is trying to make a better way and open up doors for others. He has a project out called Hear Me Out 2. Currently he is working on his next project “Lil Larry” that is in a way dedicated to his father. You can take a look at his video for Nightmares above from Hear Me Out 2. Bleach is inspired by his own energy and started doing music and recording in 9th grade. For the rest of 2017 his goal is to make more money in general and have a bigger buzz with music. He wants to move forward and move on from where he is now. He has a passion for music and that drives him to touch people with his music.
Shawn Papi is 27 years old from Kelford, NC (Bertie county). He is a Hip Hop artist with a few songs out and has a mixtape coming out next month. He got his name from being inspired by MOB principles. His mixtape No Patience will have rap, trap songs, and trap soul. A video with Monroe is coming soon called SLIDE. Check out his video featured above for “They Know” and below is his track called “Basic” featuring Nino Fadil. His main goal for 2017 is to have everybody know who he is and hear his music. He says he has been involved with music for so long and doesn’t feel right if he isn’t doing it. Shawn Papi wants you to know that everything he has he worked for and he got himself.
Monroe is 26 years old from Raleigh, NC. He is a Hip Hop artist that does Hip Hop and experiments with different sounds. Right now he has two projects out under the name Monroe because he was formerly known as Whiz Kid. His projects are available on most digital retailers. (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Soundcloud, Deezer, and Google Play Music)
Player 1 is Monroe’s first project and was released in 2015 around Thanksgiving. His second project Player 2 came out December 2016. He has a video out called “Ways” feat. Bleach. The video concept came from playing video games. The story line includes a scene from Mortal Kombat and Monroe was Scorpion and Bleach was Subzero. Monroe considers himself a gamer and plays everyday unless sick or out of town.
Monroe wants to help redefine the sound for North Carolina because “For the last 10-15 years there hasn’t been a real consistent sound put out from North Carolina.”
Bleach, Shawn Papi, and Monroe have a joint project coming soon. The group name is to be determined as well. Be on the lookout for them and their journey.
MCFAT WAS HERE 