SPOTLIGHT: SUN-N.Y EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
SUN N.Y Interview
The Boy Hollywood
CHAMP MAGAZINE
CHAMP: What’s good with you? What are you up to at the current moment homie?
SUN N.Y: At the current moment, I just got back in Atlanta from California. I went to L.A and San Diego. I was doing an interview with Erin at CheckMate Internet Radio- shout out to them! Now I’m getting ready to go back to New York City. I’m workin’ baby!
CHAMP: You’re considered a breath of fresh air for hip-hop what is it about you, and what are you bringing back different from the class of ’08 that is featured in XXL. They all felt they were the breath of fresh air for hip-hip. What is the difference between you and the class of ’08?
SUN N.Y: Shout out to Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, and the rest of them cats. I mean you know I definitely know that every new artist is a breath of fresh air. Instead of being a fresh air to the game, a lot of people have polluted it and right now the game has changed with blogs and videos and stuff. I see that they were all on the same sort of path. I’m in a class of my own. When it comes to the music they bring and my music comes from the heart. I’m an 80’s baby so. This is an era where there are a lot of wack rappers. The people are forcing me to be like that.
CHAMP: Of course you won the 106 and Park Freestyle competition 7 times in a row. Looking at Freestyle Friday now how do you feeling about the credibility of winning one now compared to if you won one five six years ago?
SUN N.Y: I’m from New York so somebody like JD will respect that. There will never be another 106 and Park champion like me. It ain’t the same. I mean do you see the people on 106? It’s corny. Shout out to Free & AJ. It doesn’t have the same vibe that it had. Not because of the people, but the element that it had just isn’t there anymore. Like everything has it’s time right.
CHAMP: Are you still apart of Virgin Records?
SUN N.Y: Nah, I’m not at Virgin anymore.
CHAMP: How’s life after DEF?
SUN N.Y: That’s a good way to put it. Dying is kinda quiet. If it was like life after death, I’ve definitely been resurrected with a new company and new music. Life after DEF is good. You learn a lot going through life. I lost a lot dealing with So So Def and JD.
CHAMP: There’s no love loss since the departure of So So Def right?
SUN N.Y: There’s no love loss between JD and me. It’s all good. They gave me the first step into music and opened a door. Freestyling is different than making actual music. That was a genuine signature.
CHAMP: You dropped the debut album “Overnight Celebrity”. What was the meaning behind the album title?
SUN N.Y: That was a past thing. It took a cat from Rochester, New York down in Atlanta and I wasn’t even there for a year yet and I jumped in the industry. I already felt like I was a celebrity at home, everyone knew where I came from. I never intended to be a celebrity all over the world but the music was hot.
CHAMP: Like you said before you hail from Rochester, New York. It’s a quiet city when it comes to Hip Hop. How hard is it to be heard in Rochester on a larger scale?
SUN N.Y: It was really hard to be heard in Rochester. Rochester wasn’t really supporting local artist. Then I went on 106 and Park, I did a couple of interviews on how my city doesn’t really support the artists back home. I never did any of my music there. I popped in the A. My city was more of an inspiration for me to go out there and do my thing and now it’s beautiful to see that they’re actually doing something for local artists. But they’re still not doing much, because there are still politics with the stations there. I am a product of Atlanta because I came here and I did it overnight.
CHAMP: You also dropped the video for “Soul of a Hustler”. What was the influence behind that video?
SUN N.Y: My parents inspired me to be prepared for what’s on this earth. That was before 106 and everything. It was a song that came from the heart and I wanted that to be my first video. It was a story of who I am.
CHAMP: What’s Brave Yankee all about?
SUN N.Y: It’s another word for run away slaves that returned to the south in a whole. You don’t have to be dead or black or from a specific area of the earth you just have to want it. Want for yourself and for your brother.
CHAMP: You were out in the ATL. Are you there right now or are you back in NY?
SUN N.Y: I’m in the A right now and I’m in NY as well. Shout out to all my west coast people. What you have to realize is this could be your life or you can do this for fun. We’re trying to formulate our own company and own business. We’re doing what we’re doing. First we have to get rid of the wack shit and then we can get out there. I refuse to let it get damaged.
CHAMP: How do they accept the NY flow in Atlanta?
SUN N.Y: New York is accepted everywhere, especially in the South. If you’re talking about politics and stuff now that’s a different story and whether or not they play certain things is a whole different thing. Shout out to Cocaine Music because their music is like a drug.
CHAMP: Now you seem to be in tune with politics as well. What are your thoughts and views on people who think Barack is going to change America overnight?
SUN N.Y: America is America and Obama is just another person. America been having these problems. He has nothing to do with it. He’s just another person trying to do something, same way with the music. It’s a good thing to have him and all that, but at the end of the day America is America. He can only do so much.
CHAMP: What else do we have on the come up for ’09? Do you have new projects in the works this year?
SUN N.Y: We’re about to set up the studio and get an album out this summer. Go to www.braveyankee.com or go to www.myspace.com/braveyankeemusic. Shout outs to all the Hip Hop sites. Just Google my name! We’re gonna have some Brave Yankey albums. We’re just working man. Everyday takes a bit of time.
