Do you remember the first beat you rapped over?

[laughs] No. It was definitely like an instrumental from somebody else, it wasn’t an original beat. It was probably a girl rapper. I don’t know, maybe The Jump Off by Lil Kim? Let’s go with that, that’s a cute answer.

I read that when you were in high school, you starting off rapping over instrumentals from YouTube. Have you had this style from the start or did that develop later?

I think my style definitely changed, and I’m becoming more comfortable with myself as far as what my own cadence is. I’ve never been afraid to try new things with my flow and delivery. It depends on my mood, depends on how old I am. Where the hell I am in my life.

You got into rap, both performing and listening, later in life, correct? What were you into before that?

Rap was always around; I’m black, so you can’t avoid it. I would normally listen to a lot of disco and house music and neo-soul music, which I still listen to today. I was listening to Erykah Badu before I walked in here. I’m not really turning up listening to trap music on the day-to-day. It depends on when you catch me.

How’d you get started rapping?

The LOLs on Facebook, I don’t know. The boredom. It was just like a creative outlet, that’s why I wanted to do it. It wasn’t anything I set out to do, I just did it and somebody told me I should go record in a studio.

What brought about your beat selection? It’s obviously still hip-hop but is much more upbeat and dance-influenced. Is that the New Jersey influence?

Jersey Club is definitely something that’s common, but I’m not really from that part of Jersey. That sound is more popular in Newark and East Orange, but I’m closer to New York. It influences me but that’s not what I’m going for; I just do that because I’m gay and I go to clubs and that’s what people listen to. When you go to a typical gay club they’re not really listening to a lot of hip-hop, they’re listening to a lot of dance music.

Do you find more camaraderie in the hip-hop or dance scene? How would you classify yourself?

I find camaraderie in my money. Whoever accepts me, I love you. It’s a case-by-case scenario, really depends on the person not the genre.

Looking through your tapes, I noticed that you don’t feature a ton of other emcees but will release a lot of remixes by other producers. Is either decision intentional?

I work with a lot of DJs, so they wanna flip shit – I might work with Shiftee, who’s a really big DJ, or I might work with someone from Soundcloud who just wants vocal stems to play with, which I always like. I don’t have a lot of features because not a lot of people like the beats that I do. It may sound good in a club but they can’t keep up with it. It depends on the situation, sometimes you meet people at a club or at an event or sometimes it’s just an online situation, like some producers I will never meet.

How’d you initially link up with Mishka?

I’m not signed to the label or anything, I just have a connect there and anytime I want to do something I get to do it. I’m kind of a spoiled brat in that sense. They’ve always held me down since I started making music.

During interviews, do you find that your music and your sexual orientation are inseparable?

No, because I do talk about that in my music, so I don’t get offended when people bring it up. What I do get offended is when they don’t ask about the music at all, it’s not like I’m talking to Out magazine or something.

Do you consider queer rap a genre?

No – rap is rap, is rap is rap. As far as Le1f, Zebra Katz, we all run in the same circles. I don’t know if we have an understanding or anything, but there’s a mutual respect and we’re all friends in a sense.

Are you involved in the art for your albums at all?

I’m involved in everything, which is why I’m crazy and always sleeping. I do the videos, I shoot the cover, I edit everything.

Do you have specific ideas about what you want a listener or viewer to take from your art?

I just do what I want to do and want people to consume it however they want to consume it. I put it out there and keep moving.

Would you consider yourself an East Coast rapper? What do you think is the current state of New York rap?

I’m an East Coast rapper through-and-through. I think the group dynamic is back – people like A$AP Rocky and A$AP Mob are kind of bringing back the group dynamic which was kind of missing since like G-Unit and The Diplomats. We even have people like Flatbush Zombies and B.I.C., which I think is a good thing and a bad thing, but I do like that people are working together more.

Are there any collaborations that you’d like to see within that scene or are people in too many different lanes?

My thing with collaborations is that it has to be organic and has to be cool, like it can’t just be an apple with an apple so let’s make apple juice. It’s who I vibe with.

I saw that you graduated with a degree in fashion studies. Would you like to pursue that at some point?

If I get some money, if I ball out, maybe. The only thing I’m designing right now is my 25th birthday outfit, and that’s it.

Are you planning a big show or anything around that?

I don’t know, I plan on getting really cute though. That’s my mission: look really cute.

Do you do much international touring? I was wondering what sort of crowds you draw out there.

I was touring when I was in college, that’s why my senior year I was like this shit sucks. Not to say that college sucks, but I was done. So yeah, I was touring Australia and not taking midterms. I feel like in some places I’ve cultivated a fanbase that was larger than I thought it would be, like in London. I think I’m liked everywhere I go, though; I’m a pretty likable guy.