Twenty-year-old Hip/Hop, Rap and RnB artist SlimeTimeRich is here to show listeners his true level of creativity and versatility. SlimeTimeRich will be an artist that will come to surprise you. Recently releasing his debut album, 'Before I Elevate, Vol. 1,' SlimeTimeRich set out to properly showcase his divine artistry in the most flavourful way possible. Staying true to his level of passion and never giving up on releasing his truth, SlimeTimeRich has embedded various perspectives and energies into 'Before I Elevate, Vol. 1,' which are meant to be deconstructed by all listeners alike. SlimeTimeRich begins off his album with "Ascending" and really sets the vibe right with the track's production. SlimeTimeRich has always been great at knowing how to manifest a highly energetic performance that can still feel very underground. This goes for the majority of the tracks presented on this album. "Cool It" is the second track with a quicker tempo than "Ascending," which further sets the scene for a confident and hyped ambiance. The wordplay brings humor and a certain level of irony, which helped create a lighter atmosphere. The album's third track, "Off Strength," brought the energy down a bit, as SlimeTimeRich honed in on more of a low-key performance. The verses in "Off Strength" are amplified and have more of potency to them, and this primarily comes from the emphasis SlimeTimeRich gives each word. This is what also leads to the track feeling more intense compared to other tracks within the album.
"Airbnb" brings us to the album's fourth track, and SlimeTimeRich integrates a faint sense of electronic elements in order to create that robotic-sounding effect. He's staying creative in "Airbnb," bringing listeners a taste of something disparate from his typical sound. Following along the track's storyline, listeners can expect to receive that smooth adlib integration on SlimeTimeRich's part, which seemed to amplify the quality of "Airbnb." "BreakYouDown" sourced similar energy from "Airbnb" and ended up having even more chilled out laidback energy. You can tell that SlimeTimeRich used various components from the old-school Hip/Hop and Rap music scene, as his album focused on these reminiscent beats we were once heavily exposed to.
SlimeTimeRich switches things up with "Time Don't Stop," the albums sixth track. There's more buoyancy to this track, and the environment feels almost bubbly in a sense. SlimeTimeRich plays with the vocal outflow, creating a fun and light performance. "Head 2 Toe" has this similar lightness, keeping the theme simple and to the point. "Head 2 Toe" hones in on the truth of attraction, especially SlimeTimeRich's understanding of attraction. Listeners get to dive into the mind of SlimeTimeRich and venture through the storyline of lust. "On Camera" contrasted heavily from "Head 2 Toe", mainly due to the track bringing listeners back to that deeply distinguishable sound. "On Camera" is definitely a track that was inspired by artists such as Travis Scott, and the exploitation of autotune serves SlimeTimeRich well. Once listeners get to the following track, "In the Moment," they'll realize that the Travis Scott-inspired tone is kept consistent, and this remains semi-true for the rest of the tracks on 'Before I Elevate, Vol. 1.' "In the Moment" focuses on concepts directly related to the title of the track. SlimeTimeRich glides through the lighthearted energy to live and keeps it real with his intentions. There's more of a direct and personal feel to "Your Interlude", the album's ninth track. We get more of an intimate performance from SlimeTimeRich, and the ambiance feels influenced by artists such as Frank Ocean. We absolutely appreciate the versatility offered by SlimeTimeRich, and "Your Interlude" just goes to show his true resilience as an artist. "Your Interlude" had to be our favorite track from the record, and ultimately because we got to see a more enriching side of SlimeTimeRich. "In the City" has a similar vibe to "Your Interlude," but brings in more of contemporary production and intensified tone. "In the City" goes along the thought pattern of SlimeTimeRich, including realizations, and certain levels of growth. We're completely intrigued to know more about SlimeTimeRich just through "Your Interlude" and "In the City" alone.
We're nearing the end of SlimeTimeRich's latest record, and we find ourselves at "Another Night." This track is definitely influenced by artists such as Drake but bringing in a more personable style from SlimeTimeRich. Artistically, SlimeTimeRich knows what he's doing with the manipulation in "Another Night," and he brings up various flairs, both through the tracks meaning, as well as the spirited beat blended into it. "Before I Elevate Outro" brings us to the records final track, and listeners are given an extremely smooth lo-fi vibe, combined with the natural and relaxed energy of SlimeTimeRich. We feel won over by SlimeTimeRich with this track, and looking back at the album, "Before I Elevate Outro" is the perfect kind of track to end off all that was brought up and felt throughout this album. We're absolutely interested in the mind of SlimeTimeRich and all of the creatives he has to offer, and he's definitely the type of artist we'll have to keep tabs on.
What kind of motivation do you feel going into 'Before I Elevate, Vol. 1'? Would you say that you felt inspired and motivated across each track on the record?
Honestly, I think it's God-given, with Corona forcing everyone to settle down and really focus on themselves and their closest people around them. After my parents, it's just me because I'm an only child so it's always been me and my creativity that races through my mind when I'm alone in my room. In addition to extra free time to think and focus due to the pandemic, I was more motivated to continue to reach my full potential, when I believe something is going to work It BUGS ME till I make it happen. I dream about it, wake up and think about it. It was set in my mind that after my first EP GoodVibesOnly I could elevate artistically into something amazing. So with God, my own self-drive, and belief in myself I decided to get inside the studio and make these records. GoodVibesOnly (my first ep) was a real slow weekend mixed with a deeper Travis Scott sound. It was very unpolished but if you listened you can tell the potential that was screaming waiting to be let out. The moment I knew I had something special was when I made the intro to my album “ Ascending “ it was amazing and sonically sounded like everything I ever wanted to make. Travis Scott is my IDOL so to pay homage I had a beat change in the intro just like he did with stargazing. I sent it to my A1 people and they couldn't believe how much better I became...I couldn't believe it either. It seems like after that session every single song I made kept getting better and better, for example, Cool it, Time didn't stop with the amazing rapper FF, and many other hits I would knock out in just a few hours.
Your album definitely saw an array of influence from various well-known artists. Can you touch on some of the artists that have inspired you to create music such as that presented in 'Before I Elevate, Vol. 1'?
I love this question every time I get asked this because I love my favorite artist. Travis Scott to me is a genius, with the way he purposely works harder and harder to elevate and push the boundaries of music. He introduced me so much more in music that I didn't even think was possible. He layers his music and blends it so well it makes you feel like you're in another world just off his music. It's SO MUCH you can do in the studio with different sounds and effects only if you tap into that next level of creativity, I challenged myself to go further than what I made at that moment at all times. I see in Columbus and locally, artists are going off of waves and not off creativity. I confidently stood out and made it my goal to set the new standard of underground music. I tested the boundaries of local music, I wanted this album to sound so professional if it came on randomly people would believe I already made it to stardom. My question is Why can't you sound out of this world and still be underground? Why can't you drop a studio album and you're still underground? Trav made masterpieces with his albums like a rodeo, and astroworld so that inspired me to make a great body of work. NOW DRAKE that's my guy forever, I studied him so much just to understand how he ran the game for Ten years. Versatility is something that was VERY difficult to do but ultimately what I accomplished in this album. Drake can hop on ANY beat and damn near destroy it like he been rapping like that for years, I mean he even pushes himself to do different accents which are crazy. I pushed myself so I went from a very high temp song called “Time Don't Stop” then a full 180 with “ in the city “ which sounds like something that can be on drake's “Nothing was the same”. I strive to be very different but able to tap into the waves of music in my own way...just like drake does. Drake inspired me lyrically, flow wise, and even vocally. I challenged myself to make every song different on this album and even made the whole second half of the album my own version of R&B so the album can be balanced out perfectly. Making music that I want to make and not making it based on what I think people want to hear.
Across the album, which track would you say felt most private and personal to you? Contrastingly, which track do you feel the most lively and driven?
The song that felt so private and personal was my interlude titled “ Your Interlude”. Every interlude on any of my projects will be very personal and transparent, interludes are a break in the album that transitions you into the rest of the body of work but if you think about it when there is an amazing interlude 9/10 the album is amazing. It was personal on this album because I was through that situation of a woman calling me telling me once again I broke her heart. So to capture her pain mixed with my apology is what my goal was. I let my vulnerability come out in the booth, let the beat loop then saw where my emotions would take me. The track that had the most energy was “ Time Don't Stop” with the artist FF, that is one of my best friends so we were in the studio just dancing to the beat and then we alternated going in the booth and we matched each other's energy. We love each other's success, so it's actually fun to make music with him because we want to see each other win.
Now that your debut album has finally released, do you have any future plans to perform 'Before I Elevate, Vol. 1' on a virtual live show?
I attend Central State University and HBCU in Xenia Ohio and I have plenty of connections there so I think a virtual Art performance show could be in the works honestly on IG live or anything. Central is an amazing school for showcasing your talent because as a whole we are a family and very supportive. So a show will be in the works so stay tuned!!!
What are your plans with your music for the rest of the year?
So 2020 has been a wild year for everyone, I'm just trying to make sweet lemonade out of bitter lemons. This album is doing very well so I will continue to promote it and make it reach the success that I know it can reach. Music never stops and my potential isn't all the way tapped into yet, so building my creativity and sound is something I will forever focus on. It's motivating to know people actually love your music, it makes you feel like you have to keep going for them. I have recently started a music group called Slime FFriends ( two FFs on purpose ) that features the soulful singer Jaynatalie, Rapper FF, and of course myself. We will be releasing an album this year with a single dropping soon. To stay updated on everything follow @slimeffriends & @slimetimerich on Instagram. I'm honestly excited about the future and everything it holds. I will be in the big leagues by next year. Thank you so much for this interview!