Welcome to BuzzMusic Rocky Morningside! We're so excited to have you with us. how would you describe your upbringing? what really motivated you to begin rapping?
My upbringing was rough. Parents had me young. My mother was 15, my father was 18. They hadn't figured out who they were as individuals because they were kids. They got married because it was the "right thing to do at the time." They divorced when I was 3. Shortly after my Dad remarried. We lived in a single wide trailer where I shared a small room with two brothers. I was the step kid.. The black sheep! My Dad and stepmom partied a lot.
There was a party almost every night of my entire childhood. People of all walks of life were at our place constantly. It was nothing to see a businessman pull up in a brand new Porsche then the next night 4 or 5 Bandidos on Harley's. Behind that shitty single wide trailer was a bodyshop where my dad worked on cars. I spent a lot of time in that shop. From the moment the school bus dropped me off till it was dark I was working from as early as 8 years old. My father worked the hell out of me and I fucking hated it. I hated working as a kid, I hated that trailer, I hated being there, I hated feeling alone, being poor, ratty ass hand me down clothes, and most of all I hated not knowing what side of the bed my step mother was going to wake up on. Some days she was kind but most of my childhood spent with her was mentally or physically abusive. One night after a long evening of drinking and playing cards with their friends she beat me pretty bad. I had blood coming out of my ear, nose, and my eye ended up swelling shut. I ran to the neighbors house to call my Mom whom I hadn't lived with since 3 years old and barely had a relationship with. She picked me up and took me to her house where I ended up living for 3 years with her and her new husband. I was 11 years old at the time all of that happened. So I moved from the country back to the city and the middle school that I attended had guitar class. I chose guitar as elective because music soothing to my otherwise stressful child mind. I also had this idea that if I could get famous no one could ever hurt me again. I would be untouchable! Things were better at home with my Mom but school was tough. I didn't fit in, and the pressure to be in a gang was really intense at that time. I found myself in a lot of fights. I ended up boxing for 3 years after getting jumped by a group of guys and became a pretty skilled fighter. Fighting help me gain the confidence to go after what I wanted no matter how ambitious. Ultimately all of that led me to where I am today and as crazy as it sounds I wouldn't change a thing because it made me sharp and hard.
Knowing you have this radical lyrical style. Who would you consider some of your music influences and inspirations for your sound and why?
My sound comes from from truly deep within. I wrote down my emotions from as early as I can remember because I didn't have anyone to talk to about serious things. I would write in riddles and from the prospective of made up of others to mask my thoughts in fear of getting in trouble. I got good at it early on. I won 3rd place in the 3rd grade for a children's story I wrote called "The Millionaire Mouse." I had an obsession with being rich because we were poor. I think my radical style probably comes from that and living in a melting pot of cultural diversity and being surrounded by so many people of different walks of life. Despite the tough times growing up everywhere I went music was playing. ALWAYS! My Grandmother listened to gospel, Elvis and country music, My Father listened to what is now commonly known as classic rock, soul, rhythm and blues, and even outlaw country. My Mom loved groove, funk, pop, disco, and what is now commonly known as 80's soft rock or love songs. Each of them were somewhat influenced by the other and so on. I was amazed by Michael Jackson, Ice T, NWA, Houdini, Motley Crue, Metallica, Pantera, Megadeath, The Doors, Waylon Jennings, Easy E, Dr Dre, 2 Pac, Type O Negative. So many others. Nothing was foreign to me. My stepmom worked at a record store before my younger years got dark and she use to bring home new music a lot. I got to really explore different types of music early on. I suppose in some subconscious compiling of all of that "my sound" is the after effect of my surroundings as a kid so perhaps my musical influences are those I mentioned and a whole lot more.
Your single "Bones" has a strong lyrical presence to it. What pushed you to write this single?
I think there is a lot that we as a society don't know. I think the larger embodiment of the world believes what they are taught to believe from the moment they are born. We aren't taught to ask larger and more complicated questions and why? The fear of ridicule? People have trouble thinking outside of what they are programmed to think from birth. A lot of what we are taught as adolescences is vague and riddled with gaps so for me that was unacceptable. I would ask the preacher, scholar, he or she proclaiming to be a teacher, deeper questions that they couldn't answer. After recycling those questions over a period of time I realized these fuckers don't know either!
It's because they're programmed just like I was growing up. Like I still am to a degree. Like you are! It boils down to control and obedience. Complex subjects such as these encompasses a portion of my creative prospective. Its a part of me so when answering the question of "what pushed me to write Bones" I'd have to say it just came to me naturally because I'm interested in these types of things. The challenge of challenging what we are so vigorously taught.
What would you consider one of the most challenging aspects of creating "Bones" and why? how did you overcome this?
Probably the subject matter itself. Taking topics of such depth then paraphrasing those ideas into just under three minutes. Making light of an otherwise scary and depressing concept by flipping the contextual darkness with the hook "the eye in the sky is watchin', if it watchin' it gone see some ass droppin'." I guess that could be considered a challenge. So many lyrics crammed tight into complex verses could be a bit much for someone looking to grove or chill but that hook brings you back out of the dark and makes you wanna shake your ass or bang your head. It's a deep record but the concept came to me pretty fast. I wrote the lyrics within or around 30 minutes.
Deciding if its good enough for people to hear is what always takes me the longest. I get that inital surge of excitement while writing something that I think is cool because its fresh but the repetitive process of recording and proofing can sometimes suck the excitement right out it. By the time its ready for fans I'm feeling like scrapping it. I fully complete songs all the time and go so far as to film the visual with full production, team, actors, and all but when we get to the finish line I'll shelve it. I put in the vault with the many other misfits. If you hear my work its because I like it, its sentimental to me, or people in my circle like it, and sometimes its strategy. I have a song coming out in October called "Dracula." (short for Dracula Shit) I like it, my people like it, and for obvious reasons its a strategical release.
Were there any specific arrangements you were going for when you constructed "Bones"? Do you mind detailing this for us?
No plan or specific idea for any musical arrangement was thought or considered. My "beat geek" Focuz and me just dimmed the lights to near darkness, flipped on the lasers and went after a vibe. Usually how that works is he gets to banging drums or keys with various voices then I hear that one tone and frantically stop him or ask him to go back to something I heard 2 or 3 instruments before. We find that pocket and dive in together. I have years of experience writing with various types of song writers and musicians as does he so we're both rounded but together creatively, we are explosive and not afraid to take music anywhere. Sometimes he contributes more, sometimes I do but we've written so many songs that we don't keep up that that shit anymore. We're like a 2 man band but but lyrics are always very personal to me and inherently I'm a poet so I'm selfish with that part of it. While Bones didn't start off with an initial concept or thought out arrangement ultimately it became both by doing what we always do, dive in and feel it out.
How do you plan on elevating your next song from "Bones"? What can we expect next from you Rocky Morningside?
It's already elevated!! You just have to follow me and wait to see how I plan to do that but I assure you, I'm just getting warmed up and the sequel to Bones is called "Take Your Planet' and trust me when I say it is gonna be a bad mother fucker! Another level EPIC! Nobody has ever done it like I'm about to do it on this one. Just follow me and see kitties...
After "Take Your Planet" you can expect a lot from me. I've got hundreds of songs stacked up. Many recorded and scheduled to release into the new year. I'm getting ready to schedule another block of time to record well over a dozen more. I write every day and never plan to stop. Everybody does it differently but my formula is to release singles into oblivion until I decide to do something different. Perhaps some full albums once my name gets out there a little more. I'm an independent artist so that means I can do what I want, whenever I want, and what I enjoy doing is keeping it fresh! Keeping it exciting and unpredictable. Much like an intimate relationship, to make it last you gotta be spontaneous, out of the box, and sometimes even a little risky. I want my fans to take chances with me. Don't expect Rocky to be a certain way because Post Malone is. Post Malone has his playground. Rocky plays where he wants. We don't have to keep up with the Jones's or the Kardashians, we can be the Jones's or whoever the fuck we wanna be. I'm not scared to take a chance on a wild song or concept because guess what, the next one won't be anything like the one before but if we're in this relationship together and if I can trust you to stick with me then you can always trust that I will do everything within my physical and mental power to give you the best art I can possibly give. That's love and passion wrapped in one. What more can you ask for? If you're with me I love you! If you're not, add me to one of your playlists and lets ride together! If you don't like me after a while, dump me and find another.
Check out "Bones" here!
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