SHY.COMFY.DENSE.

Q1. What was going through your mind when you wrote “Straydog”?

A1. Can’t really answer this question, because I get so lost in the writing that I often forget the roots of the creative process. All I can tell you is that it really just started from a freestyle perspective, just writing down whatever came through my mind and at a certain moment I understood that this “skeleton” can develop into a bigger idea.

Q2. The lyrics sound like a fight between two sides of yourself. Do you see it more as anger or as survival?
A2. Interesting perspective, I believe it’s a mixture of both, sometimes I found myself being really fed up with the way I am, how I act and react to my surroundings but as long as I look back at my yesterday version with a little embarrassment, you know? Cringing a little, that is progress in my eyes, and I try to be grateful everyday for what I have and just being alive in general.

Q3. When you describe yourself as a “stray dog,” what does that image mean to you personally?
A3. It’s the fact that there will be many moments in everyone’s life where we may feel like we are doing everything right and yet the feeling of loneliness and abandonment will prevail amongst each other. That encapsulates the “stray dog” image and feeling in the song. I define myself as a “stray dog” because that feeling felt like a dark cloud over my head for a long time, it comes back every once in a while, but not as strong as it used to.

Q4. There’s a lot of movement in the lyrics, running, shaking, breaking. Was that meant to reflect anxiety or determination?
A4. It definitely reflects my determination but you can’t have determination without a drop of anxiety/fear. You may be afraid of doing things, but if you accept that you are afraid of doing something and you do it anyway to the best of your capacity, that’s where you proceed in life in my opinion.

Q5. How much of “Straydog” comes from real experiences versus metaphorical ones?
A5. It’s really from real experiences, many times I have been left out in many ways, many times I felt like I wasn’t enough, many times I felt like nothing will ever change in that aspect and the sensation that you are stuck in a maze was overwhelming to say the least. I am a lucky person because I always wanted to create things and use my imagination and that helped me to understand myself a little better.

Q6. When you wrote about friends, foes, and betrayal, were you thinking about personal relationships or the music scene in general?
A6. Friends mostly, I won’t be the hero to my own story, everyone will lose a friend at a certain point, that’s just life, I lost most of my friends because there have been many instances where I’ve been selfish and sloppy when it came to maintaining bonds, I have been really focused on music that I have lost not just friends but also myself, I think that is the real betrayal, losing yourself. I can’t tell that I have a lot of experience in the music scene yet but I have heard many stories when it came to my favorite artists.

Q7. Your lyrics show a lot of self-awareness, even when you seem to mock yourself. Do you use humor as a form of honesty?
A7. Even though my musical approach may be a little more aggressive and serious, I try to the best of my abilities to not take myself too seriously. My name is a jab at myself after all. I don’t find myself a funny person but when it happens to make somebody chuckle or just make them smile, it’s a moment of pride to me.

Q8. “Main character syndrome” is a sharp phrase. Were you reflecting on your own ego or on society’s obsession with self-image?
A8. It’s honestly really strange seeing so many people doing anything to have the attention of others. Most of the times the ones who chase the adulation don’t have to offer anything of value and many talented and smart people go overlooked because we tend to promote mediocrity to feel better about ourselves instead of pushing values that can inspire people to do great things.

Q9. You talk about chaos, but there’s also beauty in your imagery. Do you find beauty in darkness?
A9. I believe that beauty and darkness can from all sorts of places. You can have a great day and still feel empty, you can have a bad day and keep it pushing. It’s a privilege to be able to create something that people can relate to and finding out that you are not as alone as you may think.

Q10. The song feels like it’s constantly in motion. Did the rhythm of the words come naturally, or did you shape it to match the beat?
A10. I like to start with the drums usually, and the way I learned about the technicalities of rap, you really got the understand the rhythm in order for the right words to come out. In this case it felt like a rodeo and in my humble opinion, I believe I have done a decent job.

Q11. Do you see “Straydog” as a personal confession or as something universal that others can relate to?
A11. Both to be honest, we tend to think our life is different from others’ when in actuality we are pretty similar. I am pretty sure I am not the only one who may have felt lost and abandoned in their life. I know there might be people who’ve listened to my track and gone through far worse than I have and they keep moving forward.
Strangely, these feelings that feel very individual are pretty universal and often it’s the pain that brings people together.

Q12. When you write lines that sound almost like self-conflict, do you feel relief after finishing them?
A12. It depends, sometimes yes, I feel relief, but more often than not I am really confused about my headspace at that time. I write a lot and when I go back to a song I made a while ago I am asking myself: “What was I on?”

Q13. If “Straydog” had a visual world, what would it look like?
A13. I think that we live in it, engulfed in our egoes, scared to admit we are alone and act too cool to connect with each other. If it was any different I don’t think that “STRAYDOG” would’ve existed.

Q14. Has writing about your inner battles helped you understand them better, or does it just give them a voice?
A14. A little yes, I see my songs as different moments of reflection of my own life and it’s comforting to know that there are a lot of people out there who go through similar things and music helped them as much as it helped me and I want to give back to the art of music by helping people help themselves.

Q15. If you could speak to the “stray dog” version of yourself today, what would you say to him?
A15. Just keep moving forward even when it seems it’s not worth it. Nobody will move on for you. But you will be proud of yourself one day.