A Chat With Vinny Virgo!
Sammi caught up with Vinny Virgo!
It was a bleek & rainy Tuesday afternoon, I made my way to Kings Cross to meet Vinny Virgo at Drake & Morgan for a cheeky beverage and chilled interview.
Vinny told me a bit about himself;
“I started making music when I was about 18, I was in a [Hip Hop] group back home in Florida. Some of the older guys were doing it and I was kind of just watching, but I really wanted to do it, it was cool and they were in high school, rappin at parties and stuff, I would just beatbox for them and then one day we were outside chilling and smoking, I started rappin and my friends were like ‘YO. You can do this!’
They brought me into their group and taught me how to structure songs and then I went solo at 22.
the past 7 years have been really career driven for me.”
Sammi: What was the first track you ever wrote, do you remember it?
Vinny: It was called ‘Life Sucks’ it was just about real life, emotional, it was about my parents divorcing and just how life isn’t always how you want it to be, it can be better, but we are always going to have those ‘uh’ moments.
Sammi: As you were growing up was it mostly Hip-Hop that you listened too?
Vinny: erm, no, my older brother listened to a lot of Southern Rap like Master P, my mum would listen to gospel and my dad would listen to funk. I grew up with a lot of different sounds.
Sammi: Would you say that those elements are now a product of your style and sound?
Vinny: Yes! literally, like all rolled into one.
We spoke a bit about the influence of older siblings and our music tastes – it was clear that Vinny Virgo was heavily influenced by Southern Rap because of his older brother, always having the latest CD’s and knowing what to listen too, whereas I am the eldest sibling in my family and I can 100 percent say I have influenced my sister’s taste in music LOL.
Sammi: Is there something you’ve experienced working in the music industry that you wouldn’t have experienced anywhere else?
Vinny: It’s been more learning what I’m capable of, learning about the business side of being an artist. The music is one thing, but then there’s all this other stuff you have to learn, like EPK’s, logo’s and branding.
Sammi: Ok, so have you been learning more about being an independent DIY type artist?
Vinny: Yeah, you have your hit and miss with labels and services but then you can see how you can kind of do those things in your own way.
Sammi: What’s one thing that you’ve learnt this year and makes you proud of yourself?
Vinny: How to record myself. Not having to have an engineer. That was always one of the hardest things for me like I didn’t know how to run Pro Tools or mix the session. It can be very discouraging to artist’s but I learnt and I recently got my own studio and it feels really good.
Sammi: Looking at your press kit it tells me that you’ve opened up for artists such as ASAP Rocky, Joe Budden and Tory Lanez. Was there any advice you took from them?
Vinny: I did open up for them and it was a while ago now, I met them but the only one I sat down with, spoke to and really vibed with was Tory Lanez. Him and his people invited me back to their cabins, far out in the woods and I remember I had my biggest song out at the time and I played it to him. Tory Lanez said he liked it, but he also said ‘I wanna feel your heart in it, you gotta put your heart in everything’ – I’ll never forget him saying that because at first I was a bit like ‘what? Ive put my heart in this song’ but then the more you make music, the more I understood what he meant and it’s something I always think about when making songs.
STREAM HERE – VINNY VIRGO – KNOW YOURSELF
Sammi: So what have you been getting up to whilst in London?
Vinny: I had a show in Brighton, and another show in Kentish Town so they were the main reasons I came over here. But I’ve managed to do some running around, collaborating with a bunch of artist’s and studio sessions, a bit of networking and reconnecting with people I met last time I was here.
Sammi: Who is your favourite person to make music with?
Vinny: That’s a hard question, I make music with a lot of people, some people might get mad at me lol I recently met someone in London, he’s a producer and does some work in sound design for movies and commercials, his studio energy is so on point and the studio is equipped with all instruments, you can add all the sounds in right there and you don’t have to think about doing it later or wonder what it might’ve sounded like.
As an artist thats my favourite place to be without limitation and you don’t lose a moment with the song.
Sammi: So what are your other interest’s and passions outside of music?
Vinny: Yeah, I like writing film, I’ve been working on tv shows and scripts. I do a bit of fashion designing, nothing major or crazy high end, just streetwear, I have a brand and I like making stuff for that. I enjoy building stuff out of wood, gardening and anything creative and hands on pretty much. Disrupt is the branded name of my project thats going to drop.
We wrapped up the interview, Vinny had a pint and then I was nearly sick off the shot of White Rum the bartenders gave us but it was all good, no better time for a drink than christmas ay?
Have a listen to Vinny Virgo using the link above and Follow him on instagram here.
Post by: Sammi Swinton
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