A STIMULUS Moment
From Omaha to Full Sail and Beyond
STIMULUS is a label owner and actively touring independent rapper. With family roots deeply entrenched in music, he has a respect for the craft proven further by his decision to seek out formal, industry-related education at Full Sail University. Recently, I had a chance to chop it up with the young wordsmith and the results were predictably dope.
Every hero has an origin story, tell me yours:
My father was a really talented musician that died when I was young. I think I was inspired by him to get into music of some kind; I tried a bunch of different instruments growing up, but nothing really clicked with me or caught my interest in a profound way until I found Rap around 12 years old. I was influenced heavily, early on at least, by Eminem, Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic” CD’s, 50 Cent, and 2Pac. I started making mixtapes with my homie in the basement at my mom's on a cheap laptop and a Walmart mic and passin’ 'em out at school. Eventually, I had a lot of people buying $5 mixtapes from me, and I just kept making more and more. I started to take it seriously as something I wanted to do in high school, and going to studios an hour and a half away to record and having music mixed/mastered right. My experience from going to this one studio, Sadson Music, every Saturday was key in my trajectory; I learned a lot about recording there, and the engineer I worked with plugged me in, in a lot of different ways that still help my career to this day.
You spoke on Em, Pac, and 50 as early influences, can you elaborate on which records/projects in particular? Tell me more about how they helped shape you stylistically:
The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show were two projects in particular that I would constantly study and try to mimic when I first started making music. I had a double album of Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and The Massacre by 50, and I would listen to those back to back. When it comes to 2Pac, All Eyez On Me is the most notable to me in how I connected with it and how it influenced my music.
Eminem definitely influenced the love I have for writing lyrics, and the different ways you can say them or put them together to make a bar work. 50’s music always had a smooth, bouncy sound, and that probably inspired some of the more slower-paced music I make.
Tell me about the Hip Hop scene in Omaha? Pros and Cons of the scene? How did the scene shape you? Who are the most prominent or even your favorite artists who emerged from that scene?
There's a lot of artist-to-artist animosity in the Omaha Hip Hop scene. Not a lot of people work together or coordinate. Though we have a lot of dope artists in our city, King ISO is probably the most prominent that came out of Omaha recently. He signed to Strange Music not too long ago.
What inspired you to attend Full Sail? Tell me what you focused on there. Tell me about the network you acquired there and if/how that translates to what you’re doing now:
The engineer I worked with at Sadson Music that I mentioned earlier, mentioned it to me and convinced me to go there to learn more about the engineering side of music and music production. I made a lot of connections and met a lot of talented people there that I actually have music in the works with now.
If I can be releasing music, videos, promoting online and on social media, and be out touring showing face, why not?
Does the fact that you actually have formal training and experience with regards to music make you roll your eyes at some of the fuck shit you see online? It has to, lol. I wanna hear more:
Absolutely, there's a lot of fuck shit online. I’ve mixing/mastering services offered for $5 and been like who the fuck is boutta mix that for $5?? You get what you pay for more often than not.
The 5 dollar mixdown sounds WILD; I need to hear that, hahah! I LOVE the fact that you actually show and prove by performing constantly. Tell me why touring matters so much to you despite everyone’s insistence that boots on the ground don’t matter as much anymore. Tell me about “King Of The City” and your focus/strategy there. How has it paid dividends?
It probably doesn’t matter as much as it once did, but I’ve seen the first-hand benefits of touring and doing shows by people recognizing me when I come back somewhere, and then downloading music and buying merch. It’s not as important as it once was, but it's like widening the net for potential new fans. If I can be releasing music, videos, promoting online and on social media, and be out touring showing face, why not?
That, sir, is the only right answer!! More in that vein, how does your stage show differ from your performance in the studio?
I try to make my stage show energetic and fun to engage with. I'm more reserved and focused in the studio trying to make sure the end product is as good as I can make it.
I can definitely relate there. As far as the music I’ve heard goes, “Dead2Me” is particularly fire. I want to hear more about what went into that. Background, whatever you feel comfortable sharing is fair play here.
Dead2Me was basically a song I made to get some weight off my chest and vent about a soured 3-year relationship. I was holding a lot of shit in for a year; it was a kind of closure for me.
The best kind of therapy. Always do this when I’m closing an interview…5 Desert Island Albums you can’t go without:
The Chronic: 2001
The Marshall Mathers LP
Love Story
Carter III
All Eyez on Me
People try to say Em doesn’t have a classic, but MMLP is definitely that. Might be on my desert list as well. This was dope as I knew it would be bro. Please tell the people where to find you, what you have coming up, and whatever else you want them to know:
You can find me on Instagram @StimulusOfficial
Twitter: @Real_Stimulus
Youtube: Look up E.T II Stimulus (Official Music Video)
Stimulusmusik.com for Tour dates
I’m your friendly neighborhood MC Bravado; many thanks for reading. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and/or your favorite place to grab music. Please remember to be kind to one another and that “Michael Jordan is the GOAT” is a fact and not an opinion.
