By Whitney Richardson
As February comes to a close, its time to introduce our artist for this month to the world. This time around, we focused on who our audience thought deserved the spotlight the most and you guys introduced us to him, AlmightyHeezy. And yes, we definitely agree with your choice.
The Experience: Where are you from?
AlmightyHeezy: I’m Nigerian. I was born in DC but I grew up in the Lanham, Bowie area.
TE: When did you first start rapping?
AH: In 5th grade, I and a friend did a remix to “The Motto” for an MSA Pep Rally and while performing he froze and forgot his verse so I had to take the mic and finish it for him. Even before then I would always be writing verses trying to learn how to rap because we used to have rap groups come to church for events and I thought it was dope. I even first started recording with an iPhone earphone and taped a paper over it for a pop filter in my dad’s office.
With this in mind, AlmightyHeezy’s budding career doesn’t come as a surprise. He’s been around music since day one and has held a drive to become a rapper since he was little. He holds a level of confidence in himself and his music that only someone with a well-set plan could muster. His determination and focus are what led him to where he is now, and he’s not far from breaking the glass ceiling.
TE: How did you come up with the stage name “AlmightHeezy”?
AH: Couple years ago everybody had their squad groups and some were named off real artists. For example, there was a squad called “Guwop” based off Gucci, so I and my friends made our group almighty from chief keef, in the chat everybody’s name was Almighty with their nickname at the end. This girl gave me the nickname Heezy when we met each other in a group chat and found out both our names started with H’s so that’s what we called each other and I stuck with it.
TE: Do you feel your family has influenced your taste in music?
AH: Yeah, in a way. My brother is a producer in California he produced the beat for Nike Boots by Wale and has come up and worked with numerous big-name artist over the years and he’s really one of the people I look up to and he motivates me to do what I do and basically coaches me about the music industry so I don’t make the same mistakes he did as a young producer coming up in the game. I wanna be able to relieve my mom of financial stress so I do this for her because she’s been through so much like losing my father to cancer but she stays strong for all of us so it’s only right that she deserves the best. Even losing my father took a big toll on my life because that was the first close death I experienced, so yeah, everything with my family and my life, in general, has made what my music is today.
TE: When did you start taking your music seriously and knew you wanted to make it a career?
AH: I started taking music seriously around freshman year in high school, a lot of people I started making music with from middle school don’t make music now and I just held on to it and kept pushing getting better by the project song after song.
His solid support system from his family surely gives him an advantage that most up-and-coming artists may not receive. But who Heezy is an individual and an artist is completely organic and molded by himself. He takes his work seriously, and his passion for quality and consistency is all found in his songs. None of them are throwaways and some are even produced by him. The advice from brother over the years seems to be paying off. AlmightyHeezy essentially runs a miniature label for himself: he’s his own manager, producer, and publisher, another aspect of the game that many can relate to. Heezy is the boss regarding his career. He pushes his own music and doesn’t wait for anyone to do it for him. His music is available on iTunes, the big step for any independent artists wanting to turn their musical talent into a lifelong career.
TE: How did you find your sound and style? Your flow is distinct and refreshing, what was the process of finding who you are as an artist?
AH: It took a long process to get the sound I have today. I used to get critiqued for sounding like my bro “BetSheWillz” for a time period because he was another influence on me when I first started using auto-tune but he would just get on me about it. And it got me to the point where I branched out completely to find my sound and style that people can identify with ease when they hear me on a track. Now that I produce I can literally make the song in my head as I create the beat and it’s easy because I know the sound that I want.
AH: It took a long process to get the sound I have today. I used to get critiqued for sounding like my bro “BetSheWillz” for a time period because he was another influence on me when I first started using auto-tune but he would just get on me about it. And it got me to the point where I branched out completely to find my sound and style that people can identify with ease when they hear me on a track. Now that I produce I can literally make the song in my head as I create the beat and it’s easy because I know the sound that I want.
TE: A lot of people say that the DMV has a hard time showing each other love when it comes to the rap game. What’s your experience regarding that statement?
AH: It’s true, even till this day I still find it hard to find support from my own friends, and other artists in the area are too stuck up to work together. I also feel like artists that come up from the DMV aren’t doing enough to put people on in the area. There are people that really got talent and are working hard out here but just don’t get the attention they need because the DMV music scene is a clout thing and a lot of people only flock to what they see everybody else listening to. I’m going to change that when I get up if nobody else wants to. I’ll be more focused on bringing people up then actually putting music out after a while, I already got plans for my brothers I make music with and I plan to bring others along with me.
TE: You’ve produced some of your own released music, how did you start producing?
AH: I picked up producing a couple years ago, but never took it as serious as I do now. I lost a close friend last year, December, and it really motivated me to take it seriously, so I made a beat and did a song with him on the cover. After that, I knew I could do it full fledge. Then, I produced the beat for slime and from there I took off.
AlmightyHeezy is a soon-to-be star in his own right. The potential he sees for our area and its sound is inspiring, to say the least. He’s an artist with integrity and a great head on his shoulders. His humility and promise to help the community, in the long run, are admirable. It’s obvious that he truly cares about the love and support he receives from his music and not simply the fame that comes with it. We’ve seen greedy and egotistical artists before, and we all know how they usually turn out. Thankfully, Heezy doesn’t seem to be that type.
TE: What are your top 3 favorite artists, of any genre?
AH: Lil Uzi Vert is my favorite artist right now. Drake is another one, he’s a legend he knows how to keep his name relevant. Quavo got the smoothest voice and can lay any hook flawlessly and is crazy versatile.
TE: Your song “Too Late” takes a different approach musically from the rest of your Numb EP, as an RnB song. Will we see more of this in the future?
AH: My brother actually produced that one. Summer is coming around so the rap side is going to be coming out of me. Numb was an r&b project more so for the female crowd and I dropped it right before it started getting warm outside so it’ll carry on to the next season plus I made some upbeat songs that could be also translated to summer tracks as well. You’ll definitely hear more of that style down the line. Right now I’m sitting on multiple projects just waiting for the right time to drop them.
TE: Where do you want to be with your career in the next 5 years?
AH: In 5 years I want to be established to the point where I can put my friends on and help people who are in the position that I’m in now and give them the platform they need to show people what they really got. I want to be able to buy my mom whatever she wants and let her enjoy the rest of her life, make sure my siblings are good and just take care of all my loved ones.
AH: In 5 years I want to be established to the point where I can put my friends on and help people who are in the position that I’m in now and give them the platform they need to show people what they really got. I want to be able to buy my mom whatever she wants and let her enjoy the rest of her life, make sure my siblings are good and just take care of all my loved ones.
TE: What message do you want to send out to your listeners?
AH: I got at least 2 projects that I’m dropping before the year ends. Keep believing in me all the way. I got a lot of music on the way, coming sooner than you know so just keep cheering me on and supporting me for better for worse.
We’ll definitely be on the lookout!
The Experience: Any shoutouts or extra comments you’d like me to mention?
AlmightyHeezy: Shoutout to Shifiano, BetSheWillz, Skinny, Lord Mikey, RapKenji, Lean, & Rapsvmm it’s a lot more but this is my music family and we’re gonna make a lot of noise this year so watch out for us!
AlmightyHeezy Links
Youtube: www.youtube.com/oCZQ00C0DC0
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/heezalmighty
The Experience Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/experiencecoll
Instagram: https://instagram.com/experience_coll
