From Calgary, AB, Canada, FAYD (Forget All Your Doubts) is bringing a revolutionary sound to the hip-hop industry. His raspy vocals make him stand out but his skilled lyricism and flow re what he's known for. Formally known as Notebook, Fayd is back from hiatus and fresh off the release of his latest project “Music > All Vol.1”.
“Fake Smile” is a dope track featured on the EP and we’re living for it. It has a classic hip-hop feel to it with the hypnotizing piano and upbeat melody. FAYD spits effortless bars about real life and human struggle. He talks about the pressures that society puts on people to live a straight edge life. Playing the safe route isn’t for everyone, FAYD spreads the message that pursuing what’s important to you is the most meaningful thing in life. For FAYD, that’s music and he’s definitely killing it. “Fake Smile” highlights vulnerabilities that we all share and FAYD knows how to create tracks that fans can relate to. “Everyday of my life I’ve been told the same sh*t, don’t live on the edge, or you might slip, but everyday’s so basic, never want to face it” is a lyric that perfectly describes the theme of the track. FAYD’s main motto is “Music >All” and he’s here to spread that message. Off to an explosive launch after hiatus, we can’t wait to see what FAYD delivers next!
Check out “Fake Smile” here and read more below in our interview with FAYD!
Hi FAYD! When and why did you change your stage name from Notebook?
-Well, around 2016 i had started making friends in highschool which is something i didn’t have a lot of growing up. Making friends was a big thing for me at the time. I was so focused on partying with my homies and living in the moment that I kind of just stopped writing, recording and performing. That was when I stopped going by Notebook and decided to pursue a “normal” lifestyle. In 2017 I dropped out of highschool, moved out of my parents house and started working full time. Little did i know working a warehouse job and living a “normal life” wasn’t the life for me. At the end of 2018 I was partying with some homies and after intentionally trying to overdose on cocaine and MDMA (locked in my bedroom) and being successful. The next day I had a clear head and realised that doing music as a career is one of the only things in the world that make me feel genuinely happy. So I started writing and recording and in early 2019 and I decided I would now go by FAYD (Forget all your doubts). I got the name FAYD during my hiatus when i was trying to come up with a graffiti tag.
How does this track “Fake Smile” compare to one of your earliest tracks? How have you improved?
-In my own personal opinion I have grown exceedingly in the presentation and structure of my lyrics overall, and my flow is much more consistent and timed better. Before (as Notebook) when i wrote songs a lot of the time I would end up saying the same thing but in different words (being repetitive) throughout the verses. Now in songs such as “Fake Smile” i have much more structure as the verse progress’ the story throughout the song. As I have grown as a person and as an artist I have come to realize a lot of these flaws in my music and constantly work to fix them to further perfect my art form.
What do you do to feed your passion for writing verses everyday?
The main thing that feeds my passion for writing is the bullshit and daily struggles life throws at me. As I write mainly about my life and situations I have been in, I am often in the mindset of; if something bad happens in life all i can do is learn from it and better prepare myself for the future. That being said i feel that all my best songs are drawn from the shittiest situations in my life. Such as “Fake Smile” was originally written after a bad day at work when a college came over and took out of his shift to tell me how bad he thought my music was.
What challenges have you faced in the music industry? How have you overcome these challenges?
-The biggest challenge that I face as an artist in the industry would have to be the constant negativity you hear from people, so many people in the industry are helpful and positive. However hearing negative remarks from someone in the industry, you look up to or even some one you work with in the industry can definitely affect me and my music in a big way. It sounds hella cheesy but the only thing there is to do in these situations is simply just to stay positive and forget all your doubts.
What do you want the listeners to take away from “Fake Smile”?
-The message that I would hope that listeners take away from “Fake Smile” simply put is that no matter what your passion is; pursue it over all! In “Fake Smile” I make it relatively obvious that i am sick of working a normal 9-5 job and want to pursue music full time. Whatever makes you happy in life/your own personal happiness should be your number one priority. And sometimes even that means risking it all including you job to make your dream come true.
If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would you choose and why?
-This is an extremely hard question as i have a wide variety of artists i would absolutely love to collaborate with. However i think that i would have to choose Logic as my message of Forget All Your Doubts coincides with Logic's overall message. I also have a great respect for him and believe that if i was ever to do a collaboration with him the final project would be outstanding.
Keep up with FAYD on his socials!
Instagram: www.instagram.com/faydedhiphop
Facebook: www.facebook.com/faydedhiphop