Flawless Real Talk

In today’s interview of the day, I caught up with up and coming Rhode Island based hip-hop artist Flawless RealTalk. For those of you who don’t know who flawless is check out his website http://www.flawlessri.com and do your research. After touring the country with several major acts (including Strange Music’s CEO, Tech 9ne), Flawless is releasing his debut album. The album is titled “FlawlessRIDOTCOM,” and it is due out this Sunday, July 28th, 2013. Recently I got to do an interview with Flawless and we discussed several things including life on the road and the inspiration behind his brand new album. Read on below to see what he had to say.

HH: What was the inspiration behind the name “Flawless RealTalk?”
F: Well it started off as just "Flawless". At the time there was another artist using the same name, so to avoid confusion I started saying aka Real Talk. People kept constantly telling me how "real" my music was. Eventually they started calling me Flawless Real Talk and I just dropped the aka and ran with it.

HH: What has it been like trying to chase a dream being from Rhode Island?
F: Oh man, HARD! Especially the way I did it. Creating my own label and finding investors, opposed to getting a "major deal". I didn’t want to wait for a "deal,” so I made my own and created my brand from scratch. We still have a long way to go, but if I look back we've come so far.

HH: How has your experience on the road and in the industry affected the way that you go about your music?
F: My experiences are priceless. I can ALMOST say I've been through it all. It has all changed me. I’ve matured ALOT. I think it also changed the way I grind more than my music. I've learned how important consistency is.

HH: What has life been like since your last tour?
F: It’s been a roller coaster ride. My personal life and career don’t get along. Balancing family and a career that never stops is almost impossible. It gets lonely out there when I’m on the road for months at a time. You really just have to be strong enough to deal with the pressures from home while being out on the road. Soon as I get off tour, I head straight home to be with my family and reflect on whats next.

HH: Do you think it’s good for an artist to show versatility? Or do you think that artist should just stay in their lane and find their own sound?
F: I think versatility is a main factor in an ARTIST. A lot of people confuse an artist with a rapper. No disrespect, but a rapper is one-dimensional. An artist, like myself, takes pride in being able to do ANYTHING we feel. Take a look at “Celebration”, “Take me Away”, and “the Call.” They’re 3 totally different tracks that 3 totally different people are going to LOVE. Or they might love them all but the versatility is allowing me to hit different markets.

HH: If you could create a fantasy track and work with anybody in the world, who would it be? Who would produce it?
F: I’m from RI. We grew up on NY music. Hov (Jay-Z) is the G.O.A.T. to me, so it would def be a joint with him. Of course I would have Dr. Dre produce it and since we are fantasizing, the tracks gonna be so sick Eminem is gonna throw a verse on it haha. SICK!

HH: Your song “Take Me Away” has received a lot of attention, what was the inspiration behind that?
F: “Take Me Away” was a story that I made up. I'm always trying to push the envelope and do something different. While I was creating the story, the emotion was pouring out of the music. That’s when I realized how powerful the song was going to be. It affected so many young women in a positive way. I couldn’t tell you how many e-mails I received.

HH: Are you going to be performing at A3C this year?
F: I am trying my best to get on these big festivals. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the opportunity to perform at the A3C festival this year. However, we are going to LA to shoot A "Team Back Pack" cypher for the "Rock the Bells" promo, which we will be apart of this year as representatives for team Back Pack.

HH: What can fans expect from this new project?
F: Man. This is my first official album and I must say I'm very proud of it. I don't know if I'm saying this because it’s so fresh, but I feel like it’s my best work yet. The album is just so solid. Every song has a meaning and purpose and I feel like I’ve grown so much. I usually let the music speak so I can't wait to see what people say about it.

HH: Why the name “FlawlessRIDotCom?” What’s the meaning behind that name?
F: Umm, its really about breaking the standards. I’m not a fan of formats, so why not make the website the album title? Who has a website as an album title? Who does that? It's also a marketing scheme that only my Google analytics and I would understand haha. July28th!!

HH: Will we see a “Pressure 5” on this up and coming album?
F: The pressure series is all based on feeling like much of my other music. I can never just say "hey, I’m going to do a pressure 5 today." The production is important as well. Basically I have to be going through some shit and come across the perfect beat. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it because it’s so unpredictable and always so powerful. Pressure songs are my therapy.

HH: What’s next for you after this album?
F: That’s a good question. I never know what's next. That’s the beautiful part of this "Rhode to Success". I might hit another crossroad. I might catch a flat. We never really know. The album is going to generate some touring of course, but what’s really next? I guess we all have to wait and see, Just stay tuned.

Thank you man, God bless you. - Hip Hop Herald

Rock The Bells and Guerilla Union link with TeamBackPack for their latest cypher series. In this cypher, rappers Cobe Obeah, Demrick, and Flawless drop some heavy bars on a beat produced by Chase Moore. Let it rock above. - Vibe.Com

One of indie’s most beloved labels, Funk Volume, has wrapped up the 6th edition of their Don’t Fu[n]k Up Our Beats contest, where users are given a beat and let loose their hardest verses in a YouTube video. This project is a blast to watch every year, with thousands of submissions coming in from all over the world, you never know what type of talent is being slept on until an opportunity like this arises for them to get on a global platform. In it, we see emcees of all sorts, from fast-spitters to the love-Jones type.

Atlanta/Rhode Island based emcee, Flawless Real Talk took home the grand prize with his track Let’s See, which covered his journey through said contest and how he ultimately planned to leave the rest in the dust while he took gold. Shizzy VI came in second with his track I’ll Body You, and third went to Pedro Bizz Juanjulio with Run It Back, closing it out.

I was real impressed by all three of these guys, as I should be after getting the recommendations from Funk Volume. You have to figure, with the insane number of entries this contest gets, to stand out proves something major, be on the lookout for these guys as the rise up the ladder. This is only an introduction. Great wordplay and video presence from all, which go hand and hand this day and age. Checkout the winner above, and the runner-up’s below! - The Source

Flawless Real Talk releases the 5th installment to his well known "Pressure" series of off his "Ri Invasion" mixtape. (Video) - HipHopDx staff