Eddy I. uploadED Interview

taken by Darnell Edwards (aka 5pm)

Why did you make this album?

Well, this album is very focused on Emotion. I've learned a lot about people growing up. Being so disconnected from everything because I didn't have much of a social life or any friends kinda helped me in a way. Helped me see everyone with an unbiased view and I saw lots of similarities in people that wouldn't normally be involved with one another. 

for example, a "cool kid" and a "nerd" wouldn't chill together cause their worlds and lives are so different, they feel like they wouldn't have anything in common. I saw happiness, pain, struggle, and everything else that a person growing up would have to see. From all sides.

What inspired the title 'uploadED'?

The title "UploadED" was more of a play on words than anything. I had struggled for a while with what I should title the album but it eventually came down to "what would make the most sense right now?"

So I kinda figured, EVERYONE is on the internet. EVERYONE knows what 'uploading' is. They do it every day. Every couple of minutes. So the meaning is just sharing information. Pieces of me. My emotions, my experiences, my mantras. Hence the "-ED" part. All in all, I wanted to make the whole sharing aspect easy for everyone to understand. 

If you could do remix to one song on the album and anyone as your guest feature, what song what it would be and who would you have on it?

oh hell yeah Coupe, easy. the feature is kinda hard to pick but i'm gonna go weird and say either Amine or Blackbear. I feel like they would kill it.

taken by Huy Nguyen 

Who helped make this album what it is? Writers, Producers, Muses, Support System, Etc
J. Glaze, Elaine Kristal, Tyrone Briggs, Remark, and Cossy. They really made this album shine, man. Super grateful for them. As far as direct inspirations, there's a HUGE list but I'm going to try and shorten it as much as possible: 

ONE. My mother. She's my best friend, and I mention her a couple of times in this album and will continue to do so for a long time lmao. She's my rock and she always keeps my head on straight whenever I'm about to drive myself crazy. 

TWO. My favorite uncle. He's the reason I am the man I am today and I truly believe I owe him. I wouldn't have ever considered touching a microphone, a video game controller, or anything I've been addicted to my whole life if not for his influence. 

THREE. Ducky. You'll hear about her on the album. She's the love of my life, and the story you'll hear when listening to UploadED is about a good portion of my experiences with her. She's helped me grow, and I thank her for everything she's done for me. I'll never forget it.

FOUR. Mi Tia Dora, may she rest in peace. She's such a beautiful soul that has always been there for me. Most definitely one of my sweetest family members. A weirdo like me, and always made me feel loved even when I was going through a lot of internal conflict. I dedicated this album to her life. I love you, Tia Dora.

I'll just leave it at four names for now, but the rest of you know I love you. I just don't wanna make this a TL;DR moment LOL

What is your favorite track? Why?

I have 2 favorite songs. Lost is my personal favorite and Coupe is my favorite song to listen to. Lost brings me to a point of realization. It talks about me dealing with loss, being vulerable, and wanting to be better. I feel like that song also just SOUNDS good, yknow? Message aside, I think just sonically, it's a good song which kinda captures exactly what I want to be able to do with my music. I want to be able to make songs that mean something, but at the same time you can repeat it. I hate listening to a song that has such a powerful meaning, but is only entertaining enough for ONE play. So yeah, Lost.

Coupe though, is just SO LIT lmfao. I've never had so much fun working on a song before Coupe. It's that self-confidence anthem I needed for myself. I made the song around the time I was freshly-single. I was rolling around in my first car, a 2000 Honda Civic EX. Yeah, a coupe haha. Girls were on me, I had a good time, shit was looking good. (excuse my language, I was doing so well.) I just wanted to capture the feel of a time when I loved myself the most, and was happy with who I was. As you can tell, it was pretty turnt.

When did you know you wanted to make music?

My family loves music. There wasn't a day we wouldn't have music blasting in the house. I used to have Biggie and Eminem playing off of my mom's old ipod, and my uncle would be making beats back when FL Studio was Fruity Loops. After hearing all the beats, I just wanted to rap to them. I was trash back then so let's just move on.

What is your goal as an artist?

TO BLOW UP AND THEN ACT LIKE I DON'T KNOW NOBODY HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

okay just kidding. 

I want to spread love, man. I wanna be that one kid from that one place people never heard of and make history. I want to change the world. I know these are all big vague things, but I want to do it all. Staten Island needs a new breath of life, and I truly believe I can make that happen. I just need help.

taken by Mike Shane

What is your dream now that you just accomplished this dream? 

I want to get my mom outta here. She wants to be closer to the rest of the family, so I want to take her wherever she wants to go, and I want to make sure she doesn't ever have to work again. Same thing with my uncle, and my whole family. 

I want to get all of my closest friends together and build a team. I don't want anyone I love to have to deal with a deadend job. I want us to live our dreams. I want us to be happy. So we ain't done until that happens. 

Have you ever been Stereotype'd? Tell us more

Hell yeah. My whole life. Being different. Being weird. It put me in a box, y'know? I wasn't popular, so naturally when I told people I wanted to grow up to be a rich and famous rapper, they'd write me off cause no one liked me enough to think it was possible. I was that outsider.

Have you ever broke a Stereotype someone had of you? Tell us about it

THE WORLD. I'm not stopping until I've reached everyone. The people WILL know about The Stat. The people WILL know about Team Salsa. They WILL know about Eddy I. As long as I'm still here on Earth, breathing. I will do everything I can in my power to show people what they've been missing this whole time.

What's next for Eddy I? 

My first album, UploadED is out now on all digital platforms. I worked for 5 years to put together a project that I'm truly proud of and I hope you all like it. This album means the world to me. I love you all, and I promise you the world is going to know about us. The Stat. Forever. #TeamSalsa