Exclusive Interview: 10 Shot Cadence
The Bay Area is a goldmine of talent across the board, and music is no exception. With pioneers such as E-40, Mac Dre, and Too $hort, upcoming artists have plenty of inspiration to get into the music industry. I recently talked to one of the artists from the area that is beginning to make a name for himself, 10 Shot Cadence.
ML3: When did you start making music?
10 Shot: I started writing music in the 6th grade. I used to just freestyle in homeroom with the bros, the ones that I still mess with to this day, and even rap with me now, shoutout to KD (KD The Poet). After doing that all through middle school, high school, and even now in college, I decided to start releasing music forreal, and dropped my first song last year, called "33 Grand".
ML3: Who’s in your top 10 hip-hop artists of all-time and why?
10 Shot: My top 10 are Drake, Lil' Wayne, Nas, Lil' Durk, Future, Meek Mill, YFN Lucci, Migos, A$AP Rocky, P Diddy. I chose Drake because of his all around style and how influential he is. He’s someone that I want to be like eventually in the music industry, being well known and having created so many lanes for himself and making waves through music. Lil' Wayne is simple, he’s one of the best rappers alive. I grew up listening to him, amongst all these other artists. Also, the crazy thing about Wayne is that he freestyles everything and it's straight gas. In my opinion, freestyles are always where the best lyrics come about. Nas changed my life with Illmatic. It’s timeless, and "The World Is Yours" makes me feel like I can do anything. Also, you always gotta have some of the old heads in your lineup.
Durk, Future, Meek, and Lucci are who I grew up listening to as well, and their sounds are just lovely to me, their flows, beats, everything. I really like the sound they create, so when I want beats produced, I relate to something of their type of sound, if it’s not a from scratch beat. Migos are on this list because of the wave that they created. They really created their own lane and a new way of doing things with adding adlibs into their music. The way that they utilize their adlibs makes it sound like its part of the verse, not even just an added piece. I also like their style, they carry themselves well and are very fashionable, which I love. I respect A$AP Rocky's mindset and vision. His creativity is unparalleled with the visuals he directs for himself. Alongside visuals, Rocky got me into jewelry a lot more. Seeing him with a solid gold grill made me go get myself iced up. Long. Live. A$AP is the first Rocky album that put me into the whole A$AP Mob. Diddy is just iconic and revolutionary. He's also so positive and puts his all towards everyone and everything when he works, and I really respect that.
ML3: If you could work with 5 people on a project, who would they be? (Producers and artists)
10 Shot:
5 Artists
Drake
Rex Life Rajj
IamSu!
Mozzy
Meek Mill
5 Producers
Tay Keith
Kanye West
Metro Boomin
Turbo
Dr. Dre
ML3: As an artist, who inspired you the most?
10 Shot: My biggest inspiration is Drake, due to the wide range of music that he’s created. He’s been in the game for so long now, and has made so many different hits and created lanes.
He has his own category of “in your feelings music”, but he bodies anything he does. Take Care and Nothing Was The Same could be considered "simp albums", but then he's been a major part of bangers such as "Sicko Mode" and "Look Alive". I wanna be able to create all sounds, with all types of artists, not just be categorized into one space.
ML3: Based on your inspiration, do you plan on following in that lane your way, or making your own lane in the industry?
10 Shot: I gotta go my own way. I eventually want my own label and to create my own legacy. I know it’s much harder, but I believe that I could do it. The only way I would sign with a label is if they still let me open up my own label underneath them and gave me distribution once my record deal ended with them.
ML3: As far as your inspiration for your album, was it just your girlfriend, or something more than her?
10 Shot: The inspiration for my album was mainly my girlfriend, because that's where most of my feelings began to come from, but not all of it. Overall, it's my experience with love, and learning what love is and what love isn’t.
ML3: How long did it take for you to record Luv Games?
10 Shot: I had songs that were in the "lovey dovey" category, so I decided to make my first album be Luv Games, which took about a month to fully record. I had a couple of songs done already, like "On You" and "La’jari" that I knew I wanted to do something with, but I wasn’t sure what yet. However, when Luv Games came together, I just made the remainder of the songs.
ML3: What is the studio experience like when you’re recording an album?
10 Shot: To be honest, I’ve never been into a real studio before. I either record in my room or someone else's personal home studio. I'm still recording around friends, I love the vibe and energy they give off to me, but I feel like a real studio will give me more energy to want to go in musically.
ML3: What’s your favorite track on Luv Games?
10 Shot: My two favorite tracks on the album are "Adventure Time" or "That’s Luv".
ML3: I seen you had a performance recently...what’s your favorite part of doing a live show?
10 Shot: The best thing about performing is seeing the crowd come to life to music I’ve created, hearing them actually chant the lyrics and enjoy the songs, turning up with me. It’s just a feeling you can only get while you’re on the stage, and once its over all you can do is reminisce.
ML3: Are there big things coming from 10 Shot in 2019?
10 Shot: I have lots of big things coming. I plan to start releasing more music and visuals, and my next project is on the way. I’m also going to start a YouTube channel to show more of what my life consists of aside from music.
