I Am Proud To Present You All With The Very First Installment Of The “Behind The Hustle” Blog. For This Month, We Have North Las Vegas Rapper , Producer, & Videographer FLVSHY. FLVSHY Has Been On A Consistent Run Since The 2010s & Has Managed To Solidify Himself As A Force To Be Reckoned With.
From The Time Of His Early Days With GOLDKLVN To Now Pushing Flashy Soundz , FLVSHY Has Released 4 Albums, “Gone For The Winter”, Yeezy & Supreme, GEM, & I’ll Get Over It. He Has Collaborated With The Likes Of Mick Jenkins, LUCKI, & ronsocold & Has Received Recognition From The Likes Of No Jumper.
FLVSHY Stopped By Behind The Hustle & Chopped It Up With Hustle With Me CEO Deon To Discuss His Upbringing, His Discography, & What’s Next For Flashy Soundz
JD: What’s Going On, FLVSHY?Glad To Have You Today. Along With Being The First Guest I Interview. How Everything Been?FLVSHY: Everything has been going well, fam. Just constantly tryna stay grinding and working. Appreciate you for having me, this is dope.
JD: I Feel That! & Always, My G. Since This Is Your First Time Here, I Wanna Start From The Beginning. With You Being A Las Vegas Native As Well, Describe What It Was Like For You Growing Up & What It’s Like In Vegas If You Were Talking To An Out Of Towner.
FLVSHY: Vegas is a crazy place, man. Though we receive a lot of hate from new residents or natives, I love this city to death. For me, I grew up right by Cheyenne HS for most of my younger years to young adult years. It was cool; still a lot of bullshit here and there but once i started making music out here, it opened up a bunch pf different opportunities .
JD: What Initially Got You Into Doing Music?
FLVSHY: Initially, my pops first showed me that I have an interest. Me and my brother used to go over to his house and he was always playing music telling us about what he likes in the songs and why. He used to have his keyboards around and never really minded when we used it. I was just playing things solely by ear or looking up videos on how to play certain things. From there, my pops showed us a folder of beats he was gonna submit to Adult Swim. After that, it was over and I now found what I wanted to do in this life.
JD: Oh Man, That’s Dope! Those That Grew Up In The City, Many Have Followed You Since Your GOLDKLVN Days. In My Eyes, Yall Movement Was Pretty Similar To Like A Wu-Tang Clan, Dipset, A$AP Mob, Etc. Tell Me How That Collective Came About.
FLVSHY: It most definitely reminded me of like Wu-Tang. I personally used to compare us to Young Money. It all started though with the CEO/Creator Eric Fuller "Northtown Eric". Also KJ Lolar "KJB TheGreat" and Chris Balitine "Chris Lvc" were the CEO's and creators as well with Eric. After that, it was the summer of 2013 when i received a DM on twitter from Eric saying he was putting together a label called Goldklvn and he wanted me to be a part of it. We knew of each other but not personally. I previously had just left another group I was in and this idea actually sounded gold. From there we, continued to build our label up, adding a few more artists and using our networking to start throwing shows and getting on the map in not only our music scene but on stages and venues as well.
JD: With Yall Doing So Much From Shooting Your Own Videos, Throwing Your Own Shows, Hosting Your Own Parties, Doing Your Merch, Etc. Was This Apart Of Yall Plan When Yall Initially Linked Up Or Was It More Something That Naturally Happened?
FLVSHY: Definitely had it in our sights from jump. We knew the names from the city we had, we knew we were talented, it was all just about putting in the work. We all shared the same vision that Eric initially proposed to us. We knew that we weren't gonna just be a movement, but we were a family and label. Naturally us being on the same page helped us evolve into something major.
JD: That’s Dope to Hear. You Could Definitely Sense The Unity & Could See The Natural Chemistry. What Do You Feel Was The Biggest Thing You Learned During Your GOLDKLVN Days That Helped You Grow Your Solo Brand? Also, What Would You Say Was The Best Moment Yall Had?
FLVSHY: Biggest things I learned from all that is 1. Teamwork makes the dream work and there is power in numbers. We all had each other's back through thick and thin and supported each others' shit like it's our own. 2. How things were ran now gave me a blueprint on how my own label should be ran. While also learning from the mistakes we made and now knowing how to move and how not to move. 3. and lastly I learned to never stop grinding and working. Even when it feels like they’re not watching, they are.
JD: One Project That Stands Out In Your Catalog Is “GEM” Due To It Be A Double Sided Album. What Do You Feel Inspired You To Go That Route? Nowadays, You Don’t Really See Artists Wanting To Do Double Albums Anymore.
FLVSHY: I really came to that conclusion based off 3 main things. First, I have two styles of music that I love making and I can't really decide between the two which is my favorite or which I want to make my main sounds. Normally on projects, I'll decide the main sound or mix the two together the best I can. That was the initial idea behind the two sided project. Second, I'm a gemini and that's the nature of our sign is "Twins" or being "Two faced or Split Personalities". Though I don't agree with the whole two faced thing, the spin of making a two sided project and naming it gem for that reason made perfect sense to me. Third, I still hold a lot of values in my music career from shit I saw growing up listening and watching music. For ex: Double Disc projects , Multiple outfits in music videos, and may even start incorporating skits in my projects. Those older values I feel like are the foundation of where music is today.
JD: That’s A Solid Way Of Looking At That. It’s Pretty Much A Play Off Of The Two Sides. What About The Inspiration Behind Your Newest Project, “I’ll Get Over It”?
FLVSHY: The inspiration behind that was pretty much me explaining and expressing to people that as much as life seems like it's against you, or things going wrong, or just when you feel smothered by your issues and troubles, everything passes along with time. These issues are temporary and you'll get over it, easier said than done always, but that was the main inspiration, and then I tried to match that with the music, some songs can hit harder for other people. I was just putting out music people can grow to.
JD: Oh Yeah, I See What You Mean & You Did A Great Job On Executing That. Especially On Records Like “Bigger Picture.” Aside From Rapping, You Also Produce & Engineer Your Own Music Along With Doing Videography. Was This Something You Were Always Into Or Did You End Up Developing An Interest For It As Time Went By?
FLVSHY: I always was interested in producing and songwriting. Everything else kind of naturally happened when I realized I couldn't wait on anybody else to make my dreams happen. Paying for studio time, paying a videographer, waiting for songs to be mixed , waiting for videos to get finished. All of that scheduling is no longer on my time, and business is business nor would you be someone's only client. I've always understood that, but like I said, I had to make a choice that would benefit me and my time. Then from there, I just continued to learn everything I can about all the crafts I picked up.
JD: Man, You Are Not Lying There! I’m More Than Certain Every Artist Been Through That. How Would You Describe Your Songwriting Process? When Do You Decide When It’s Best To Make Your Own Beat Or When To Reach Out To Somebody?
FLVSHY: The way I write is ALWAYS beat first. I guess if I was in a different situation where I didn't have access to a beat that would change. But I always go off the beat first. As far as deciphering whether to use my beat or someone else's depends on the direction initially. Like, I plan to fully produce my next project, so I'm gonna have a folder of beats I made. But honestly, I got love for other beats and producers, some far more talented than me. I understand the producing game so I'll always reach out and support my fellow producers. They are the most taken for granted in this game. Most times if the vibe is right on another beat I'll buy it and still use it. When I’m making beats, if i love it enough, I'll use it, sometimes that can be conflicted but the vibes usually sort themselves out.
JD: How Would You Describe Your Style To Someone Who Hasn’t Heard Of FLVSHY Yet?
FLVSHY: Definitely would say it's unique and a fresh style. Mellow vibes, melodic beats, heavy bars. I try to make it a one stop shop and mix bars and wordplay , over mellow (sometimes lo fi) beats , and then also with the "Good" music vibes like oldies and r&b, chords and melodies and progressions. I try to mix it all together . If i had to describe to a listener in terms of artists i would tell them a mixture of Drake , Smino , & Pierre Bourne.
JD: I Can Definitely Agree On That. Especially On The Drake Part. Those Records Like “Pink Runtz” & “Ash Tray Pt.1” Have That Kind Of Vibe. Smooth Beats But Filled With Lyricism & Real Life Shit. What Do You Believe Is Your Why? What Is Your Motivation For Wanting To Be Successful?
FLVSHY: Of course being black men, odds are stacked against us from the jump. My number one focus is to beat all odds against me. That can be many different things but success is beating the odds and withstanding everything you endured and prevailed. Also anything I invest myself and time into, I know isn't for no reason, I’ll always put my best foot forward because if not then I'm setting myself up for disaster.
JD: What Is A Hustler To You?
FLVSHY: A hustler to me is someone who will get it by any means. Now, that doesn't mean just go out and be a crash dummy. But a hustler has a plan, knows what's at stake, and will go and get it by any means. There's always highs and lows with this shit, but a hustler is not the one making the excuses, a hustler is going to find ways to make things happen. It's necessarily 100% always about money, most of it is, but it also requires you to be aware of what's going on around you and being innovative.
JD: What Advice Would You Give Someone That’s Trying To Do The Same Thing You’re Doing?
FLVSHY: Never stop LEARNING. Learn, learn, learn. Information is 100% accessible at all times for just about anything you want to know or learn. The internet has made that possible for us, you can learn anything you want at the click of a button. That's always first. Lastly, stay focused, have the work ethic and believe in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, you can't expect anyone else to.
JD: Where Do You See The Flashy Soundz Brand In The Next 5-10 Years?
FLVSHY: I see FLASHYSOUNDz developing our artists, making them household names in the city, and shocking the world with what we have to offer. I see us having a headquarters where the media operations can be handled under one roof (merch , studio , videos, etc). I see us booking an American tour , and a Worldwide tour.
JD: Any Last Things Before We Wrap It Up?
FLVSHY: Love what you doing here, man. The whole Hustle With Me operation. You doing the damn thing. We see you and you got my support fully. Can't wait till we get some more work in . Thanks for having me! Stay blessed.
Much Appreciated, Fam!
You can check out FLVSHY’s music below along with following him on social media.
Twitter & IG: @flashysoundz