DENIRO FARRAR INTERVIEW

(image from IMPOSE magazine)

Deniro Farrar and I wound up talking about 24 hours after I sent his manager, Konstantin Kazmierski, an e-mail asking if they’d be interested with a feature. To be honest, I wasn’t even all that sure of what I’d ask one of my favorite artists out right now. But you really use have to listen to his music to know what to ask.

We talked about everything from past AKAs (like Sleepy) up to Denrio’s community service involvement. To me, Farrar is an artist whose subject-matter and interests align like none other. He wants to stay true to his experiences, to his city’s sound, and to his family. His measure of success isn’t how much he’ll personally gain, but how he’ll create opportunities for the people he cares about.

One other thing stood out to me: Farrar isn’t selling anything. Not only was one of his mixtapes set up to pay the producers (and not him), he isn’t pushing an idea. When I asked his about his fan base, he wasn’t sure what to say; he isn’t looking out to a set of fans wondering what they want to hear. Farrar has a voice and he wants to use it to say something that he thinks is true, and have people gravitate to HIS truth.

Read the conversation we had one night, while Farrar was on his way to visit his mother and little brother :

CG: Where’d you come up with the name “Deniro Farrar”?

DF: To be completely honest man, I don’t really know how I landed on “Deniro”. I went through bunch of names. The “Farrar”, though, is my real last name. I came to this guy that used to manage me, David Luddy, he was telling me to make sure that my name had “search engine optimization”, or whatever. And when you search “Deniro” so much other shit pops up that it didn’t make sense. And then one day, I was in the studio and he just put up “Farrar” on the end and released it like that. He just put it on. He kept using it for my work and it just stuck, so I was like “Fuck it!” So for “search engine optimization” purposes, we stayed with it since my shit was the only thing that popped up when you’d search for that name. I fucked with it and kept it. I’m not too sure, though, how I got the name Deniro. I was just goin through names and that’s what I landed on. I like money (DENIRO/DINERO), and I like how the word sounds, and it’s not too off from my real name (Dante) so it made sense.

CG: What were some of the other names?

DF: “The General”, also “Swag” was one of the names, um, yeah, they were some stupid names. I went through “Sleepy”, it was just a bunch of dumb shit, just to be honest.

CG: Wait, “Sleepy”?

DF: HaHa, yeah, I mean that wasn’t a name I came up with. I used to come to school high like every day, and people would be like “Damn, you look sleep, you always look sleepy.” And since I was always high and shit the name sort of stuck for a bit. I just ran with that since muthafuckahs already called me that.

CG: You ever put out any tapes or songs under those names?

DF: I never even recorded anything under those names man, I just wanted to rap. I was telling people that I was a rapper, even though I had never recorded any music.

CG: So you just had plans to be a rapper?

DF: Well I already knew that I had the talent, but I didn’t really know how to write music. I would just get high and freestyle. And all my homeboys would be like “Man that shit dope!” And I didn’t think that they were just gassin me up, I wasn’t rappin bullshit, I was puttin together real shit. I could just put it together really well. Shit, I knew that I had the talent, so I told people I was a rapper. I also went through a little bullshit phase where I would get high and just rap over my friend’s bullshit computer mic, you know? Nothin serious until I was Deniro.

CG: How long’ve you been doing this seriously?

DF: Honestly man, like 2 and a half years total. I wrote my first rhyme for my first mixtape about that long ago. My first song that I wrote was called “They Don’t Come”, and that was on “Feel This”. I remixed it and also put it on “DESTINY.altered” because the song was so meaningful to me. Man, my first tape didn’t really do any type of buzz because I wasn’t really familiar with blogs and the internet and that type of shit. So I was like, “FUCK THAT”, this was my first shit ever, someone gotta hear it.

CG: Why was it so meaningful?

DF: It was the first song I ever wrote, period, but also I felt like I could never remake that song, like I could never make a song like that ever again. I know it’s good, but I’ll never have another “They Don’t Come”, it was just too real.

CG: Was it based on something that really happened to you?

DF: Yeah man it was about my life. “They Don’t Come” is what Deniro Farrar is, I wasn’t no swag rapper, no type of trendy dude. That song is about real life, my real life. There were no lies, no fabrication. I never said anything I didn’t actually do. It was perfect, like I had the image in my head and it came out just right.

CG: About your sound, though, you’ve said that you’re going for that “Charlotte sound”, but what does that mean, what does that feel like, that “Charlotte sound”?

DF: Charlotte, man is like, we’re country, for one. We have our sound, way of talking, our own slang. Like take some cats I know in Atlanta. Their whole lingo is different, like they always use “Shawty” and whatnot. And I can’t really describe it, since if you’re from Charlotte, and you hear the way a person talks you know exactly where they’re from. We just got our Charlotte thing. The same way WALE had that DC sound, everybody from DC had that slang, and for us it’s the same thing. If you’re from Charlotte, you know what I mean.

CG: What songs have you used the lingo in?

DF: Man, it’s just in HOW I make my songs, it’s how I pronounce certain things. When NY people hear my sound, they know I’m not from around. I really can’t describe what it’s like. It’s hard to explain. But if you’re from around here, you know.

CG: So basically you put on for the people you put on for and they feel you? End of story.

DF: Most definitely. I know I’ve got THAT sound. Well like, look at J Cole for example : he’s from North Carolina, but he sounds like he more up North than anything. You know? People always say he put NC on, but I’m like “Nah, he put himself on.” We country down here, and J Cole just doesn’t do that at all.

CG: That happens all the time though, people (rappers) don’t necessarily sound like where they’re from.

DF: Yeah but that’s that gimmicky bullshit. You know? That’s gimmick bullshit. I’m not saying that I don’t respect those artists as people. I understand that that’s trendy nowadays, but I don’t respect that as an artist.

CG: So you’re a strong believer in the relationship between, like, say, geography, and what you rap about?

DF: Yeah man, I have morals. I’m a new school rapper with an old school worldview and values. Most of these new guys’ll do anything nowadays just to be heard. It’s like they’re havin an identity crisis out here. They’ll package the bullshit anyway they can just to sell. People aren’t looking for the substance anymore, just the gimmicks and I don’t like that man.

CG: So then what do you listen to, other than Adele?

DF: I fuck with a lot of shit. I fuck with Kendrick, Ab-Soul. I like BIG K.R.I.T., 2 Chainz. It really depends on what mood I’m in. Like I can listen to 2 Chainz since he’s got that ATL sound. I can respect that. I’m tryna see what the hype is around Trinidad Jame$, but I can’t really grasp it right now. I’ve been listening to him, but I just can’t feel him yet. I like to listen to things with substance. I listen to a lot of old school shit like Scarface, Geto Boyz, Tupac, BIG L, ODB, I like a lot of people.

CG: How does your taste as a fan show up in your music?

DF: It don’t. The people that I really like have substance. Look, I have to be in the mood to listen to 2 Chainz, I can’t just ride around and listen to him all day. I can, though, bump that Kendrick Lamar, that substantive music. I can even bump that “21” by Adele. I just need that good music, that substantive shit. That’s what comes out in my music: that old school shit that tells you a story.

CG: I always like how you Southern guys are good at telling stories. Any time you used a story to write a song?

DF: The WHOLE “DESTINY.altered” tape is. To be specific, okay, take the intro. I basically gave you the whole rundown of my life in two verses. The shit I said is shit that I stand on, beliefs I have. When I speak on church, I don’t fuck with church, so when I talk about it you know that I really believe what I’m sayin. I’m a believer, but I don’t fuck with church. When I put that on my outro and I talk about how I didn’t have matchin shoes and whatnot. That’s real man. Our lights were never on, my mom was on drugs real bad. I’d have to go and get dressed in the dark, and then get to the bus stop and realize that I had on two mismatched shoes. You know? That was my life. None of this is made up it’s all real. I’m really worried about my little brother who’s out here pushing packs and dealing drugs man. I’m on my way right now to go and see if he’s alright.

CG: Speaking of your family, how supportive have they been of you and your music?

DF: Man, they’d kill somebody for me man. They’re so behind me. My music is their life. My mom knows how important it is to me… Man, my mom bumps my shit. Like, my mom don’t even have CDs in her car, she got MY SHIT.

CG: What’s been your biggest disappointment since you’re time in the music industry?

DF: Um… how these fuckin artist’s mixtapes be better than a fuckin album. Uh… how these artists is actually lames in real life. How they portray, or sound one way but they really another. They really some fuckin clowns. Shit like that is disappointing. But that’s the industry, man, so fake. It’s like a 9 to 5. Anyone can fill out the application and they’ll hire you. I can’t expect nothin more, I guess. I get disappointed at these whack ass albums man. Hold up for a second, man.

(FARRAR took a pause to cop a loosie here)

CG: So on the flip, what’s been the best so far?

DF: Meeting Kendrick Lamar, Nas, and doing shows, I’d say. Having my music heard when I travel. Meeting the whole TDE squad, cuz I’m a fan. The uniqueness is mind-blowing. He’s a humble dude, too. Meeting Nas was some of the best shit ever.

CG: What was it like meeting Nas?

DF: It was like watching Belly, cuz he’s like that in real life. He’s laid back, calm, cool, collected. He’s real wise. I had a conversation with him backstage in the green room since I had done one of his shows. I was the opening act. I went back there, bitches all over, and he was on his own, to his self, and I slid up on him. I expected him to brush me off, but we kicked it. We had a convo, just chillin. He was just chopping it up like a real dude. I have a lot of respect for him.

CG: Are you feeling successful these days then?

DF: I wouldn’t say that.

CG: So then what’s “success” to you?

DF: When my mom don’t have to go to work and she can quit these bullshit jobs. When my little brother can stop hustlin tryna find another way out. When I can put my girlfriend back through school. She’s a fourth grade school teacher, but once I can afford to pay for her master’s (since she pays out of pocket), I’ll feel successful, wait a second, sorry.

(FARRAR breaks to say hi to his mother, asking if she’s feeling okay)

CG: You’re around the way right now?

DF: Nah I’m at my mom’s tryna make sure she’s alright and my little brother too. I came here to see him and the nigga ain’t even home right now.

CG: Disappointing. Let’s get back to it I got us off track.

DF: It’s all good man.

CG: What opportunities or experiences have you had as a result of being a part of the rap game?

DF: It kept me out of a lot of shit. Normally I’d be doin some other shit right now. This keeps me grounded, kinda like havin a girlfriend. Before havin a girlfriend, I was all over the place. You know, before I was out here doin a lot of rippin and runnin, and I’m still doin that, cuz I ain’t rich off rap. I still gotta do what I gotta do. But now, I’m way farther from the streets then I would be. You know, now I have something else that I gotta put time on the road and in the studio.

CG: When you’re in the studio, what makes you wanna work over so many different types of beats and vibes?

DF: I get so many beats sent to me, but I really only use the ones that grab me. So production-wise, my tape might sound like it’s all over the place, but they’re all pieces of music that I can feel. Like I can close my eyes and I can feel that rap. If I can visualize it in my mind then I just grab the computer and do what I do.

CG: I wasn’t saying that you’re all over the place, really the question was more like: Why do you think you’re able to go over so many different types of sounds?

DF: Well, by staying true to what I do. Knowing what I want from music, where I think my music is going, pushing for that sound I want, I feel like it don’t matter what the beat is necessarily like. So as long as I don’t compromise who I am on a beat, and stay true to my mindset then it don’t really matter what I’m goin over.

CG: Sounds like you’re saying that you’re focus is your lyrics, over, say, the tone of your work, or like, beat selection.

DF: True true. That’s definitely the focus. That’s it man.

CG: Like, the beat fits your mind, not the other way around.

DF: Yeah yeah.

CG: I heard that all the money you got from “DESTINY.altered” went to the producers. Is that true? If it is, why?

DF: I mean, we ain’t made no money off of “DESTINY.altered”. I’m not sure where the money went! I ain’t get none of that shit. I HOPE the producers got their hands on it because that was the original plan, but honestly, it was set up with a Paypal account that I never saw.

CG: Then the question changes to “Why would you only pay the producers and not yourself?”

DF: Well I was working with producers who I knew normally charged for beats, and for them to just give em away to me for free…I just wanted to show how appreciative I was for what they did for me.

CG: Which producer are you most successful with in terms of getting that sound you strive for?

DF: Ryan Hemsworth. That’s my dawg right there. And Lunice. And Kira, too, man. I’ll send you the track when we’re done. I just got done shooting a video for a song we did together. I’ve made some really good tracks with Kira.

CG: What about their sound(s) help your flow along?

DF: I don’t know man, the beats they make speak to me. They put me in that “hypnotizing beats” feeling. I can tell that they put a lot into the beat. The quality is just so crazy, I can feel it in the beat. We match up like that.

CG: Hemsworth did a remix of a Grimes song and put you on it. Did you know that that beat was made for a Grimes song/remix? What made you wanna be on a track that would also feature Grimes (sort of)?

DF: Originally I didn’t even know it was a Grimes remix, I was just attracted by the beat, and then my manager, Konstantin, told me that we were gonna wait on releasing it to let the original rock for itself. I recorded it days later, but we took time to release it. It was just a beautiful beat. I really like the original track, but I feel like I put on that street aspect on it.

CG: Do you feel like you have a guiding idea in your work? Like do you have an agenda or idea you want people to feel from your work?

DF: No not really, I mean I just want them to buy into the realness of my work.

CG: Who do you think is feeling that, like who do you think your fan base is?

DF: The real, um, the people that like real music. I can’t really even say, like that there’s a definite thing goin on. Like I can’t say that I have a “College” fan base or a “street” fan base, because at the end of the day, I get a lot of people that quote my rhymes on twitter, and when I look at their twitters and look at who they tweet/follow or whatever, I see that these aren’t usually street people. Like for the most part, it’s just people that’s into real music, for the most part.

CG: During the past two years, how do you think you’ve changed, both musically and personally?

DF: I’ve grown a lot musically. I feel like I’m gonna continue to grow. In the last two years, I’ve grown a lot in terms of how I put down the content on a record. And, just how I’ve been able to become a little more humble as a person, too. I’m growing as a man. My mindset was VERY shallow at one point in time, I just didn’t have a lot goin on in my mind. But this music has allowed me to think towards my future more than ever.

CG: How did music help you project yourself into the future?

DF: I didn’t really know where I was headed. I was just tryna hustle and survive, you know? I didn’t have a plan, I was all over the place. But now, my music’s got more direction, music is my direction now. I have a straight path that I’m gonna continue down.

CG: What made you decide to work with Shady, A.Moss, JJ Bass or any other non-producer artists?

DF: Well, just to clarify this : I worked a lot with JJ Bass and A.Moss who are two fuckin talented individual artists. We were basically the Black Flag record label’s artists. We cut a lot together. But I have a new manager now, Konstantin, and he’s broadened my horizon in terms of production and people that I’m fuckin with. That really enabled me to break out of the box, you know? He got me out and had me appeal more to everybody. I’m willing to cut a record, now, with someone on the other side of the fuckin states (Shady Blaze), and it worked out really really well.

CG: So your manager is the one that pushed you to open up?

DF: Right.

CG: So now that your horizon is wider, do you see yourself possibly getting into art that isn’t rap or musical?

DF: Um, man, I would love to get into acting. I feel like that’s a good road. I could see myself doin that. I wanna do a lot for my community, for people in need. I see myself getting into that. This last thanksgiving I was out helping feed the homeless. I’ve been doing that actually for the last three years man (before the rap game), so I’d do that. I’m really into giving back. Even though I don’t have much to give back right now, I feel like time is more valuable than money, and if I can offer my time and my assistance, and it changes their life as well as mine, I could definitely see myself getting into that in the future.

CG: Last real big question working with andre3000?

DF: What? I didn’t do a track with Andre3000, I wish I did!

CG: You sure? Where’d I see that? What am I thinkin of then? Maybe someone just did a remix, lemme look for a second.

DF: Maybe man, but if I HAD done a track with Andre3000, I wouldn’t be goin to do what I’m goin to do right now…

CG: Wait, I got it, it was allegedly you, Andre, and “Joel Verdad”.

DF: OOOOOOOO! Joel Verdad, that’s my little cousin man, and he took an Andre3000 SAMPLE. Man, you up on your shit, you on point, that’s like some Nardwuar shit man! Don’t nobody know about that shit. But nah, I didn’t do that WITH Andre.

CG: Yeah see I don’t know Andre’s music enough to know that that was a sample, my bad.

CG: Anything we missed?

DF: Nah man, most of everything is in the music, man. I’m an open book though, so people know about all the things I’ve done. Some I’m proud of, some I’m ashamed of. But I continue to evolve as a person and a rapper. The more I evolve, the more my rhymes will too.

***BONUS QUESTIONS FROM LATER THAT WEEK***

CG: When we talked the other day, what’d you mean by “substance”?

DF: Just like, well, what I mean by it, is just that they’re missing storyline, concept, not talkin about shit that actually matters. Most of this shit I hear isn’t really talkin about anything. Basically, it’s all about how rich everybody is, like how it’s all about cars, gold, and all that other shit. Really, that’s shit that doesn’t matter. What I want is people to talkin about what’s goin down around them, what’s happening on a day to day basis.

CG : So since you’re different from that in a lot of ways, do you see yourself as being a part of a movement?

DF: Yeah, I would say. I’m part of the movement of the people who’re bringing substance back to rap. Like Kendrick Lamar and those guys. They don’t really talk about a lot of the shit these other guys are talkin about. It isn’t the same old bullshit that they just keep knocking out. You also got KRIT, there’s a lot of people, you know, a lot of people have substance from time to time, but they don’t make a big deal out of it. I just named a few. There must be others out there that I just don’t listen to.

CG: So it isn’t a certain content, it’s just the idea of talking about something that’s true.

DF: Right, right.

CG: Last one is about the loneliness in your work, and some of the images that accompany your work, like in “KILL YOUR IDOLS” (video soon). Basically, I’m just wondering why you think there’s such an important focus on that.

DF: That’s just what it is. I don’t got a lot of people behind me and shit like that, it’s really just me and my manager. I don’t wanna give off the impression that I got some kind of million man march behind me. That’s not the case, we’re just doing what we do.

CG: How do you see that “self-reliance” theme, that’s a large part of rap, fit into the larger picture?

DF: Well that’s life, that’s just how it is. A lot of times, you just don’t have a lot of people behind you. A lot of times you only have yourself. So I feel like you have to be you own biggest believer in whatever you do. With my situation, I don’t feel like I have some big thing. I feel like we’re alone with this shit. I want people to know that I don’t need a lot of muthafukas around me. I can really get out here and grind on my own and make it happen.

REMEMBER to keep your eyes peeled for Deniro’s upcoming (unnamed) project coming out December 21st with Blue Sky Black Death (BSBD)


 -CUTT GODD (HERONALD REAGAN) FORMERLY KNOWN AS : FRANKLIN WEATHERFIELD AKA DENZEL SPLASHINGTON AKA PATOIS VUITTON AKA CHUCKDEGAULLE