Franky Hill
Pennsauken, NJ | Established. Jan 01, 2016
Music
Press
Connotation can be a deadly thing. Camden-born and Pennsauken-based rapper Franky Hill knows this well. While doing battle with his own demons, he came to realize that words like “escape” and “user” are keeping us from seeking lasting help and challenging ourselves to be better. Several conversations with God and one jam session later, the 24-year-old artist began crafting his upcoming album, USER.
A personal reckoning, USER is also an attempt to change the way we do battle with our darkness. “When I say ‘user,’ I want people to shift their connotation of the word,” Hill tells me over the phone. “With the passing of Mac [Miller] and going through stuff, I want people to look at the word ‘user’ differently. Instead of using these things that render temporary joy and escape, let’s use friends. Let’s use love, let’s use God. Most importantly, let’s use each other. We really need each other.”
After a dark 2016 and 2017, Hill tells me that he was done being selfish with his demons. Being an artist affords him the opportunity to communicate his struggles with the world, to help others, and he does not want to take that for granted. USER was made to heal him but also exists as a platform for listeners to confront themselves. Truth is terrifying, sure, but as Franky explains, it quickly becomes the easiest thing we do.
“When you start talking about your truths, truth is almost like liquor,” he says. “Once somebody take a shot of the truth, they just start spilling their truths. Like, ‘Dang! You dealin’ with something too? You look so strong.’ It’s so much easier being truthful. Everything is better when you’re honest.”
Honesty is not simply the theme of USER, it is the modus operandi of the record and Franky Hill’s life. The most precious thing to him now is his growth and his journey. “I take a lot of pride in the process,” he says. So long as he keeps pushing himself to grow, the rest will follow. - DJ Booth
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
New Jersey has bred a plethora of talent to date, but within recent years there has been signs of what is soon to be a resurgence of artists to bloom from the Garden State.
Embodying the heart of true MC, Jerome “Franky Hill” Carmichael is is here to prove that lyricism still matters in a sea of “mumble-rap.” At 24 years of age, Franky is influenced by artists by the likes of Jay Z and Lauryn Hill. Though he shys from being labeled a “conscious rapper,” Franky’s passion when rhyming has draw comparisons to Joey Bada$$, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole by critics.
Raised in Pennsauken, NJ, - a suburb less than 5 miles outside of Camden, Franky Hill began writing poetry at an early age, however he soon needed a better form of expression. In 2010, Franky’s mother, sister, and grandmother all passed due to cancer. During this same time Franky began losing other relatives and friends to violence in the streets. Only 16-years-old, Franky was forced to adjust to these devastating losses, becoming numb to tragedy in the process.
By senior year of High School, Franky Hill transitioned from poetry to recording music, often recording freestyles to class Hip-Hop instrumentals. In 2014, Franky shared his debut, 10-track mixtape, Blurred Lines via music collective, CommitteeMusic, steer-headed by good friend and producer Theo Robinson. The project also featured long-time friend Ant Clemons on a majority of tracks, who has since received songwriting credit from Kanye West, Teyana Taylor, and more.
Blurred Lines laid the blueprint for the music to come as it displayed Franky Hill’s raw lyrical prowess and ability to tell a story. Since then, Franky Hill has releases a handful of singles, including the Theo Robinson-produced “Full,” which received a music video.
Franky continues to embrace the flame within, using the fire to guide himself in his search for peace.
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