#RookieOfAtlanta Interview w/ @FCS_Chill

1. Where are you from?

 - I’m from Atlanta.

2.  When did you fall in love with rap?

- I fell in love with rap in about 2001. I just remember listening to 50 cent back then with my big brother and big sister. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be hearing that kind of music at that age. My parents would often ask me, “Where you hear that music boy?” and I’d always respond, “In Footlocker.” It dawned on me in 2004 when I got my first MP3 player that I truly loved rap. I didn’t know how to download music, so I saved recordings of all the hip hop radio stations. All the music was clean but it was a start.

3. How did you start rapping? 


- On my upcoming mixtape, “The Renaissance”, I have this interlude where I go “I started rappin’ at 13, was flowing like Wayne was but that wasn’t working.” That basically sums up how I started rapping. My seventh and eighth grade years are when I was bumpin’ nothing but Weezy. Everyday you’d find me and my homie Cole singing some Wayne song word for word and getting kicked out of class because of it, but it was worth it. I remember typing raps into my slide phone trying to sound just like Wayne. I wouldn’t use his words, but I used his flow and attempted to use wordplay as often as he did. He’s the reason I put so much emphasis on creativity in my lyrics today. I then realized that rapping about what Wayne rapped about and how he rapped didn’t fit me so then I attempted to find my own flow.

4.  How old were you when you really started taking music seriously?

- I was 16 when I put out my first “song”. That’s when I started taking it serious. I recorded a freestyle called “Dieumoda”, which is also my IG name. It’s French for fashion lord and is pronounced [Dew-Moe Da]. I recorded on this app called RapToBeats. They had a lot of beats on there and it allowed you to rap over whatever beat and upload it straight to Sound Cloud. At the time, nobody took me serious when it came to rapping but this made people pay attention.

5. Are you the only person in your family that is musically inclined?

- No, my mother has dabbled in music in her early years.

6. Were you always interested in music?

- Coming up, my mom and I would go to see just about every movie. My pops worked long hours so it was usually just she and I during the week. The catch was, I asked my mom to buy every soundtrack for all the movies I really liked. While all the kids were just focusing on characters, I paid attention to the music that helped make the movie great. I still have memories of my mom and I singing every song off of all the soundtracks from movies I grew up on.

7. Where did you first start seriously rapping at? 


- A studio in Atlanta.

8. What was the first song you wrote? 


- “Gatsby” was the first full-length track I wrote. Chris Leslie A.K.A. Enzo hit me up one day and was like, “Yo! I got this ill beat for you, I want you on it.” Back then (early senior year), Quanie, Kanai, Zack, and myself would all post up each morning in the cafeteria and rap. Zack recorded the videos and posted them on YouTube. I posted the link on my Instagram and started building a small buzz for myself. To be honest, I thought the beat would be decent. I told him to send it over. When I heard it, I immediately knew it was a good fit for me. However, I didn’t have a studio, nor had I ever written a song. I hit up my cousin because I knew he had a studio, but I knew the type of music that I wanted to make wouldn’t peak his interest. He gave me a shot one-day and said that we would go to the studio that weekend. I was hype. I told myself that play time was over and that I was about to change the game. My confidence was through the roof, however, I didn’t have anything to record. Friday rolled around and I was playing the beat over and over. “Pappadeaux lunches, you sitting at the Zaxby’s. Ask ya hoe I’m the Gatsby. Ask ya hoe I’m the Gatsby. Trained to go I’m the Gatsby. Spit bullets, don’t worry ‘bout the gats, b.” popped into my head as I listened. I wrote it down. I had the hook, but for the verses I didn’t know what I’d use. I remember some weeks ago, I freestyled all day. I came up with this crazy verse but I had no beat for it. I decided to use that for the second verse of Gatsby. For the first verse, I was still contemplating. I got to the studio and realized I had one verse for a two-verse song and I was about to start recording. I told my cousin to give me 5 minutes to prepare myself and that was all I needed. I wrote the first verse in about 4 minutes and used the last minute to run through it. It took me one take to record Gatsby and it’s up to 2,688 plays to date. Bless up.

9. What type of beats of do you like to rap over?

- I like melodic beats, and anything that I feel has soul. I like these kinds of beats specifically because I can showcase my flow. It gives me the ability to really break down whatever point I’m trying to get across.

10. What type of artist are you? 


- I’m a lyricist, storyteller, revolutionist, realist, pioneer, ladies man, fashion and sneaker enthusiast, and Christian from Atlanta who wants to change hip hop and then the world. I hope that answers the question.

11. Where did you get your name from?

- At Southwest DeKalb Highschool when I was in the ninth grade, I was known for being laid back and staying fly. Girls would call me “dude wit the fresh kicks”. I was known for having a different pair of retros or nikes on everyday. That name didn’t stick for me but it was cool. I didn’t say much because I didn’t know anyone. This clique, First Class, was really the first group of people I spoke to. I still remember feeling like the man because I was the only freshman in First Class. I made friends through FC; it was like a brotherhood. My homeboy Kyle gave me the name “Chill” because I was always calm and relaxed. My teachers said I was too nonchalant. My parents said I didn’t care about anything. Chill fit me to a tee. I just added the Will.

12. What producers fit your sound?

- Coloneius V, Enzo, and Luke. These are my homeboys. They cook up many of the beats I rap to. They know what fits me. V and Enzo produced much of my tape. But I’m open to other potential opportunities.

13. Do you like writing?

- I write 24/7. I love doing it. I write when I’m under turmoil, when I’m going through something good, when I buy a new pair of Jordans, when I’m thinking about a girl, when I’m thinking about the world. I write all the time man.

14. What is FCS? 


- “I'm First Class till that dirt pass over my body.”

15.  What is the name of your upcoming project and why did you name it that?

- My upcoming project is entitled “The Renaissance”. The term Renaissance is defined as the cultural rebirth that occurred in Europe from roughly the fourteenth through the middle of the seventeenth centuries, based on the rediscovery of the literature of Greece and Rome. I have high hopes that my tape will spearhead a cultural rebirth in Atlanta. I pray that the game changes because of this. I’m bringing real music back to the city. We haven’t seen lyricism since OutKast. The Renaissance coming soon.

16. How long does it take you to record?

- When I record it can span anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours. It all depends on my mindset and my satisfaction of the first take.

17. What do you want your legacy to be?

- I want my legacy to be that I stayed true to who I was when I first started rapping, and that I changed a life. If I turn just one person into a believer with my first project, then I’m satisfied. On a more grandiose scale, I really want to pave a lane for all the young lyricists. Nowadays when you rap with substance your voice falls faint, my goal is to change that.

18. Is what you’re doing now going to benefit you 10 years from now?

- Yes, it will benefit my lineage as well. What I’m doing now will lay the foundation for a meaningful and productive future. I am currently pursuing a higher education as well as perfecting a clothing brand alongside my close friends. As a result, these endeavors will guide me toward subsidies that follow hard work.

19. What experiences in life have made you who you are today?

- Growing up my pops taught me how to write. Throughout the learning process, I had a few mishaps. Anytime I wrote and it was sloppy or a t wasn’t crossed correctly he’d literally ball it up, throw it away, and make me start over. That alone taught me not to settle for anything until its done to the best of my ability. My relationship with him and watching him from then until now has helped me become who I am today. I try to incorporate values from his life and my mom’s life into mine. I’m blessed to have both parents in my home.

20. When everything is said and done what do you want GOD to say to you?

- I want God to say that He’s proud of me and that He appreciates me for standing up for Him all the times people told me He didn’t exist.

21. Who are you?

- I’m an avid creative with hopes to enlighten my generation. A young philanthropist, more of an evangelist. 1 love.