Hello Joseph, thank you for accepting our offer for an interview! We’re glad to have you with us today. Let us therefore start off this interview!
Could you please introduce yourself to our audience?
Hi! My name is Joseph Calderon aka the greatest rapper alive! Lol! Im 26 years old born in Allentown, Pennsylvania moved down to Orlando, Florida when I was 3 and a half years old and then again to West Palm Beach, Florida when I was 7 and have been there ever since. My mother is Slovak/Irish/Hungarian/Choctow Indian and my father is Puerto Rican. My first love was basket ball I wanted to become a basketball star, I was introduced to HipHop when I was in middle school around the age of 13 at these wreck parties, while focusing on basketball I also made HipHop music and would upload videos of my music that I would collaborate with others on YouTube. But I ended up having a basketball injury which shifted my focus to primarily music.
Have You ever heard about Slovakia? Any Slovak rappers?
Yes! After I got this question I decided to take a look at some of the Slovak rappers and I ended up finding Pil C, Kontrafakt, Gleb and Boy Wonder. So far my favorite is the Pil C. I also checked out the HipHop Festival you guys have and it looked hella lit! I would love to come and perform there for you guys one day!
How did you get to Hip Hop? Can you name some of your idols?
In middle school there were these wreck parties and there is the first time I really was introduced to hiphop. For me it was the golden age. Then in sophomore year in high school one day I was at lunch outside with some people and one of them said that they rap and I said I rap too, but I lied I didn’t know shit about rapping. He said aight you down to make a track, I said yea. He said I have a studio in my crib come through. Then I went super nervous cause it was a lie. It was embarrassing cause I wasn’t able to write and never been n the mic before. I had literally lied about being a rapper but he was cool and helped me, at that moment he never knew. Then he wrote the songs for me and I would rap them. I told him later about the lie but he was cool about it. Then I finally wrote my first song alone I can t remember the name of the song, but the first song we both did is still on YouTube till this day. I used to go by the name Lil’ Saint. Some of my idols are Drake and Logic when it comes to HipHop music. Nobody has really impacted me like they have.
According to you, to what extent your favorite rappers have influenced you?
Drake was the R&B part of the music, Logic was the flow and the lyricism and battle rap was the scheme and punch lines.
If you could name one rapper to have a feature song with, who would that be?
It would have to be Logic for sure!
How does the music industry work in the US? Can anyone become a star?
In the US you have to fake it to make it most artist are on a slave contracts here. Any one can be a star here if they sell themselves. The labels here make you famous faster but if you want to own your masters and your name its better to be an independent artist like how I am currently.
What’s your vision for the future?
To have an impact on the music industry and on people in general. To teach them to pay it forward. One day have an arena of people saying my lyrics to my songs back to me. Be able to provide to my family. And have my dreams come true.
How much of a grind are you putting in to make your dream come true?
Working 50 hours a week as a delivery driver and I do photography and videography on the side for extra money to support my music career.
Are you planning to release any albums in the near future, tracks?
I plan on putting out one more song before the end of the year. Putting out music once a month but I want to try to put out music once a week for 2021.
Bonus Questions:
How the song GTA/MK came about? What’s the point behind the shoe in the music video?
I was scrolling through beats it had & it had an old school vibe to it. The concept of the song was after I spoke to a person about manifesting and the third eye. In the video I wanted to use has many props as I could. The kicks is a reference to how I used to sell “kicks” aka sneakers. The song ended up being a reference to Grand Theft Auto video game and Mortal Kombat.
Boombap or Trap?
Boombap, because it gives me more of an influence and motivates me.
Would you ever consider doing Pop rap songs?
I would consider doing a Pop rap song because I like to be versatile.
Are you currently signed under a label or are you independent?
I am not signed to anyone but myself I am an Independent Rap/HipHop artist. I currently own my own record label. KZ RECORDS LLC named after my kids.
We’d like to thank Joseph Calderon for accepting our interview and for such delicate answers. We wish him all the best for the future and hopefully we’ll see him in Madison Square Garden one day!
