An Interview With: Yogii B
The Melodic Harlem Rapper is Distinguishing Himself from his Cohort.
Through his melodic rapping and pain-fuelled lyrics, it might be hard to group Yogii B with his peers in the New York drill scene. Yet it is this same contrast which distinguishes the Harlem artist from his cohort. Motivated by the desire to succeed with the people around him, and instilled with both values and lessons from his New York upbringing, Yogii B seemingly has all the tools to stamp his authority on the scene he’s breaking into.
But Yogii B is not doing this alone. Together with NottiWorldRecords, he is involved in a culture of selflessness and loyalty. Whether it’s collaborating with DD Osama and HoodStarDotty on ‘Hard Life’, or spilling his pain on the On the Radar Freestyle, the Harlem rapper is reaping the rewards of his upbringing in the New York scene.
We spoke with Yogii B about what the culture means to him, achieving success with his brothers and growing up in Harlem.
901: What is your name and what do you do?
Yogii B: It’s Yogii B. Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, anywhere. Yogii__b the Instagram, too. I’m a rapper from New York just doing my best to put on for the culture, you know? I speak my truth on beats to reach a wider audience, in hope to inspire those listening on the other side.
You spoke about the ‘culture’ in your answer. What does that mean to you?
I mean everything is made up of different cultures. You’ve got people who just want to work with the music. You’ve got people who actually prefer to be on a 9-to-5 basis. You’ve got people who are rich but still want to work in an office instead of being on the beach. In society, and especially where I was growing up, the culture is made up of all these individual people and their individual stories. It seems like everybody is trying to be too similar nowadays, with the music and the social media. I think for me the culture doesn’t celebrate similarity but it celebrates differences. After all, it’s these differences which make the city unique. Everybody has a story.
What was your experience growing up in the city, and more specifically, growing up in Harlem?
I learned a lot because I was young and I was always riding around with the older crew. I was seeing things I wasn’t supposed to see, but those things, like, you learned a lot from those things. I never would have seen those things. I would have been a victim of a lot of things. You know what I’m saying?
What sort of things?
Robbery, shootings, that sort of activity. It’s not really safe around these sides. But through my experiences here growing up, I seen the lot. How it was done. Who they did it to. Who could do it. How the police responded. I think my experiences growing up in Harlem was exactly that. It forced me to grow up. It’s a form of character development and I wouldn’t really change any of it. It provided me with all the perspectives and beliefs I hold today, and it’s those same ideas which form the basis of my music and those ideas which I draw upon.
What do you want to achieve with your music?
I want to put my people on.
See everyone around you succeed?
Yeah, that’s the goal. That’s the main goal. Especially when you’re outside growing up in the hood. The main goal is for everybody to win. You want to see everybody in nice houses, $5 million houses, living it up. I think we all deserve this. But it’s not just about seeing my brothers in lavish houses, but also thinking about my brothers who are locked up and need bailing out. Everybody needs to eat. It’s not enough that I’m able to make it out alone, or only a few are able to come up with me. That wouldn’t feel right.
Do you think that sort of selflessness was instilled in you due to the environment you grew up in?
100%. There’s a sense of community even down to the street life itself. There’s not really individuals or leaders who are above the rest. It makes sense. Say if one person goes to jail who’s been running his crew, and all he did was teach them how to listen to him. What happens when he goes to jail? They don’t know how to do anything but listen to him now. He can’t speak to them through the phone with the cops listening. Where we come from you have to work as a team. Nobody comes above anybody.
Everybody eats?
Exactly. Everybody eats.
What are you looking forward to?
I’m just taking every day as it comes. You’ve got to enjoy to love the hustle. We’re working. We’re travelling. We’re downtown right now shooting a music video and we just got back from London a few days ago. We’re doing a lot, man, way more than we were doing last year. Stay tuned.