"Although I didn't write this song, it spoke to me in a way that made me feel as if it was my own story,” Brandon said. “I found myself playing it over and over again in my bedroom, remembering situations that I've been through.”
Check out the video for yourself below.
He’s probably right. But even with the apathy—or maybe it’s indifference—he might feel towards the clout, and all of the external factors that come with being a rapper in the modern era, when it comes to making music, that’s what Comethazine is all about.
Do you have any resolutions for 2019?
Nope. I’m gonna do everything the same—I’ve been doing shit good lately.
Like what?
Music. That’s all I do.
That’s it? Do you ever chill with your friends?
Yeah, but that’s all we do together, too.
Do you guys ever hit a wall while you’re working?
No. Everything we do is always better than what we did before. We go harder, always.
So, after you come out with something that does really well, like “Bands,” how do you judge if something’s better? By how many streams it gets? Or just your gut instinct?
It’s just the energy of the song. If I could drop songs like “Walk” every day, then shit, I would just keep doing that, but on a different beat.
If a song doesn’t have that kind of energy, do you just toss it out and start over?
All the time. I don’t finish the song unless it’s a hit. I mean, shit is only like a minute-forty seconds long, so I’m gonna put my all into that.
Do you know when something is going to be a hit?
Instantly. Well, I guess not, though, ‘cause I thought “Walk” was gonna be horrible.
Really?
Yeah. I don’t know why, I just thought all my other shit was better. “Bands,” too—I didn’t think that was gonna hit.
Where’s your favorite place that you’ve performed?
Bro, the shit in Texas where it was raining and we played at some college. The speakers were Bluetooth speakers—they barely worked. But the crowd was crazy—they sang all of my songs but had accents when they said everything. It was lit. But they had to weakest weed—I was ready to get the fuck up out of there.
You grew up in St. Louis. Do you have any siblings?
Yeah, I have a brother and sister. But they’re both old as fuck. [When I was a kid], I was always listening to music, then when I turned 17, and started doing it myself.
How old are you?
I'm 20. So, before then, I was just listening to music.
Who did you listen to?
Everybody. From Lil Wayne to Eminem, to anything that was popping at the time. If it was hot, I was listening to it.
Tell me about your come up—I feel like it happened so quickly.
It was hard work the whole time, so I didn’t really feel it like that, you feel me? Other people will see it in a different way than [I do]. I was working, so that was my focus—it wasn’t really a come up for me.
In that sense, do you feel like you’re never done?
Nah, I’m good. I’m done. The come up is done.
How are you adjusting to it? Do you like having a platform?
You feel a lot of shit. Now, I have to eye out my clothes before I go out—you feel like, ‘I gotta wear this, I gotta wear that,’ because if you don’t, your ass is gonna be on DJ Akademiks or somebody’s phone caught slipping. I’ll be like, ‘Damn, I can’t wear this, because I got a stain on it.’ But if I wasn’t famous, I’d be rocking that shit with holes. don’t give a fuck.
I guess if I was in that position I’d feel the same pressure.
Social media is becoming something else, too. I can’t use it like a regular person, you feel me? Someone posts something and will get 30 comments in a day. I’ll post something and get 150 comments in a second, with everybody sharing their opinion. But I can’t make another fucking account, because people will see my face. So, it’s just those kind of things I can’t do regularly no more. But it’s lit because I get to make art.
Is social media more of a positive or negative in your life right now?
That shit weak, bruh. It’s a lot of negative comments, but it’s a lot of love at the same time. People don’t think you see all the hate, so when I reply they’re like, ‘What?!’
Do you clap back at people a lot?
Hell yeah! They be like, ‘Bro, I was just kidding, I fuck with you!’ It’s funny, though. I love that shit.
What do you think people get wrong about you most often?
Everything. Everything that somebody thinks about me is probably wrong, you feel me? Just because they don’t know. Nobody knows. Only I do.
Is that frustrating for you?
Nah, ‘cause it’s a mystery, and that’s fire. I feel just like a monument, or a pyramid. Like no one else knows how the fuck it was built. I’m high, so that shit just came to my mind.
You just dropped your new mixtape, Bawskee 2. Tell me about it.
Every song is better than “Walk.” We got “Hippopotamus,” “Gusher Guts,” and more.
Is it just you on the album?
Yeah. I don’t need features—I never have.
What’s your favorite food?
Bonchon chicken.
What’s one trend you think should die out?
Air force 1’s, but just so no one else will wear them, and then it’ll only be me wearing them bitches.
‘Bawksee 2’ is out now.
As part of The Brooklyn Museum's David Bowie Is exhibition, which ran over the summer, the museum teamed up with ongoing pop-up series Music Video Night to bring in Rock for a tell-all. Director Dave Horowitz and Bastard Productions were there to film the event, giving us an intimate look at the photographer.
In the film, Rock shares some of his most classic images and videos, explaining his approach and creative vision; he also gives up some behind-the-scenes stories from the making of "Life on Mars?" and more.
"They were all produced for such minimal budgets," he says of all the video work he did with Bowie. "They really had no outlets in 1972 and 1973. But David and I wanted to make them, so we grabbed what monies we could and went ahead. And I’m glad we did!"
Us, too.
Watch Music Night Presents 'David Bowie Is' with Mick Rock, below.
Directed by Dave Horowitz; Produced by Bastard Productions.
Still from 'Life on Mars?' and David Bowie/Mick rock photo courtesy of Mick Rock. Brooklyn Museum event photos by Drew Botcherby.
