Meet the new King of New York hip hop...from all the way out of Philly. Let's toast BharmaBull!

BhramaBull is a rapper and producer out of Philadelphia, now residing in New York. In a twenty year career, he has become the epitome of the ‘underground’ musician – always keeping ‘it’ real and always en point. We caught up with him recently to discuss his journey and hopes for the future…

How are you?

I’m good just tired, working every day, regular stuff going on.

What was it like growing up in Philly and who were your first musical heroes/influences?

Had a lot of influences you know, my dad worked in a record label and he will bring me home Promo CD’s of things that he was working on and also I have my cousin that will bring me. We will go out to get records from the store you know. Basically you know, Camp Lo biggie 2Pac, Tribe Called Quest. You know those producers. I didn’t know who was producing the records at the time, I honestly didn’t know what how to even produce you know. Listening to the songs, I didn’t know. I thought it was a sample. I figured it out. I knew I grew up with drum machines and sound effect things, but you know I was DJ Premier, Pete Rock, J Dilla, Mad Lib MF Doom, Swiss Beats.

How did you first get involved in the hip hop music scene?

Well, I started in Hiphop with DJing. DJ here and there. Did a couple of battles at DJ parties. I was a music person for my family and things like that, and that’s what really got me involved into digging for RECORDS and then I started to dig into the how producers make beats and what equipment they used. I got an MPC 2000 XL that I learned through hard work, and slaving over the machine, not reading the book. Just trying to figure out things myself.

What role do you think Philadelphia specifically plays in shaping electronic music culture?

I mean you gotta go back to sunrise and the things that were made out of Philadelphia out of Philly international. Gamble and Huff were great producers and I think they were on the cutting edge of a lot of the sounds that were used in electronic music. And, as you notice that music coming out of Philly and International or the cleaner sounds like MFSB…the horns, the keyboards the sounds coming from the label was just little bit cleaner than everything else and I feel like those instruments help to shape the electronic sound. That was so good about Records and digging, and looking into the past that you can see where things originated from you can see what keyboards they use. You could hear those sounds in the music that you know Daft Punk pull from George Duke and different punk bands. It really stretched the creativity of them cutting certain parts, using those breaks. Sampling evolved and kind of built electronic music.

What first attracted you to DJing and then producing hip hop specifically?

Just the culture of what was to come and where Hiphop could’ve evolved to. You know where R&B had come from and Hip Hop pulling from and paying homage to the people before them. If you listen to enough records, you can start to dissect the wave and what the producers were thinking and how they manipulate RECORDS by using the knowledge they had of the electronics; the cuts, the breaks and the progression of each song. I just really wanted to be involved in the culture, maybe by my upbringing, maybe by my father being a drummer, maybe by the CDs that were in the house, maybe by the songs that were on the radio and the equipment that I could get to try to make my own path. I was obsessed with hip-hop and what it stood for at that time in my life. I’d never heard anything about those artists before and that made me curious and want to be a part of the community

Where’d the name come from?

My name comes from a football player and I used to burn stuff off of Lime Wire and send it to my MPC and cut it and during my time of trying to figure out how to get wave files into my MPC. I needed a name and I cut it out of a old NFL films record. He was a running back that couldn’t be stopped. Every team needs a guy like that and I cut it out and put it on a pad on the MPC. It just sounded so bold and strong and I was with my friend and he said just ‘run with it’. He told me ‘you got the same quality like that’. I didn’t get it emoji’d, I just held it down and used the sound of the name, but changed the spelling. So I was just like. fuck it. let’s run it.

How has the hip hop scene in Philly evolved over the years?

I mean, I don’t live there now I live in Los Angeles, but from the outside looking in, I think Philly has made its mark with certain artists and certain styles of rapping. There’s a guy named OT that is really killing the game right now and he has a different type of style, but you can hear the Philly slang in there. You know Meek Millz has a different sort of battle, fast wrap kind of style, but that’s not it you know, there’s a artist named Dappa that has a different type of sound that it’s really evolving and changing from what I’m hearing. But it’s still Fly and represents the roots of Philadelphia from the state properties and the different artists that made their way through the city in their own way .

Are there any memorable gigs or events that stand out to you from your time as a DJ that stick with you now?

Yeah, I had done a couple battles at the guitar center battles. I didn’t win you know, it was more about me conquering that as a DJ because I put together a set with multiple records and I put together a full set of putting quotes in, putting breaks in and getting the records together. I’m really putting together like a three minute set, but that was really fun. Also I did a couple beat battles in New York where I came in second place. There was another Standard Battle where I came in second place. I never really took the crown on any of these battles, but that really fuelled me to where I am now because as bad as I wanted to win, I want to win at this forever and me being able to produce every single day or look for records every single day is winning. Sometimes it’s not about winning that event, sometimes it’s about the motivation that sparks inside of you from losing and I really took that person to myself because all I’m competing with is myself and putting out the best product from me as BhramaBull  is better than anything else that I can imagine.

What impact do you hope your music has on your listeners? What’s the message in there?

I honestly just want them to know that I got skills and I’ve been influenced by greats and this guy is here to stay. I want them to feel like they have to dig into the past of what I’ve done to try to see where I’m at now and figure out like ‘yo’. This guy is not an overnight success. He still doing it. He went from putting on shows to DJ, to promotion, to Videos and he can just pop up and just knows how to make beats. He’s been working on this for a long ass time and he finally got his bearings and he’s gonna be here to stay.

What do you think sets hip hop apart from other electronic music genres?

I think they work hand-in-hand, electronic just uses different sounds. Electronic music is just a little different. It’s for a different crowd, different temples. I hear a lot of electronic music that can fit. If you listen to Lil Uzi Vert, you know that his sound is evolving into sort of like electronic Jersey club type of sound and it sounds great. So I think they’re starting to mesh. I think Hiphop wants to dance a little more. I think electronic and hip-hop are starting to complement each other and merge because if you look up Jersey Club, Jersey is very close to Philly and Baltimore Club music it always kind of electronic in the feeling the temples the kicks on the one you know it they working together.

How do you stay inspired and innovative in your music production?

I must’ve tried everything to stay motivated. Sometimes I dig, sometimes I listen to other music, sometimes I listen to old music. Sometimes I meditate and sometimes I try to make a beat in 10 minutes and sometimes I try to make a beat in five minutes and sometimes I act like an artist is looking over my shoulder and waiting for me to finish. Sometimes I look on the Internet and at old videos of how to break down things simplistically and sometimes I go to an old Beat and bring it back to my new Drums. Maybe I’ll take the drum and put a new sample over it or just take the sample out and rework it. So many things just to try to stay motivated and sometimes you just need a break. Sometimes I play with my dog. Sometimes I won’t even listen to music for two or three days and just enjoy the silence. Just thinking of sound sometimes motivates me and sometimes I’ll just watch a movie from the past and see what gives people the feelings. It’s the hardest question because  I try so many different ways and it’s different every time.

Have you collaborated with any other artists or musicians in your career?

I have previously in my career collaborated and it goes pretty well. I just feel like right now I’m still learning and still getting everything together with my Sound. I just basically started like a year ago of putting things together myself and getting the sound to where it wants to be, but I’m looking forward to future collaborations. Big shout to Charlie Beatz, he’s a great Producer. I’m looking to collaborate with him very soon. Got something in the works.

Is Spotify killing music or is it a necessary evil that we have to work with?

I mean for you have to have both sides of the coin to be able to have a successful coin flip you know and I just think it’s just everyone has a phone and that’s on their phone so why would you not put your stuff on there? But they’re ripping you off so you wanna sell yourself individually which I just think you need to be everywhere. You know, we don’t make the rules and we did not develop the platforms, but we did sell things in the hand and we did put things in stores, so just adjust to what’s out there and just have fun with it and try to get your sound to as many people as possible.

How do you market your music – it ain’t cheap these days?

Definitely ain’t cheap but I do a lot of advertisements. I do a lot of internal advertising with DSP’s. I also try to take movie clips and old-school clips from things that work with my sound and put my music over it or cut movies up that sync with my music. I’m trying to build my own aesthetic of how to, be myself with marketing as well so I use little techniques on TikTok and Twitter. I try to do as much as I can myself because I can’t pay promoters. You know I do an email blast that goes to DJ’s and that’s really the bulk of my promotion. Trying to get my Music to DJ’s because they are the key to getting your music out and getting fan awareness more than any advertising and more than any shows as a producer.

Who makes your videos?

There is a editor named AMV 90 and he does most of my movie edits for a lot of my videos and there’s an editor named Dome Visions that does the editing on some of the old-school videos that my music goes on top of. A very talented team of creatives that help me out with every release. Also there is AC Charles who does my anime videos and Nick Lanz that helps me out with anime videos as well.

What advice would you give to aspiring DJs and producers?

Really how to deal with consistency and distractions. Don’t let anything get in your way and be consistently learning every day. Be yourself and do not copy others. Try to make your own sound and take some type of inspiration even if it’s just making beats. Even if it’s just drum beats. It’s just whatever it is try to make it yours and know that if it does happen tomorrow great, if it does happen five years from now great great, if it does happen 20 years from now great, just know that there is no endpoint unless you make it and that’s quitting.

How do you see the future of hip hop music evolving?

I love the way it’s going now and it’s gonna evolve to touch every aspect of every type of sound and all blended in with Hiphop. I think Hiphop is gonna go and leak into every sound there possibly is either through sampling or collaboration, but Hiphop is going to be infused in every sound in the music spectrum very shortly and I’m excited to see it.

What’s the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career and how did you work through them?

The biggest problem I was faced with was the knowledge to make hot beats and what it took to distribute and to promote your own stuff with no money. I think I figured it out because consistency is the most important thing and following up with DJs and fans and being able to continue is a blessing. Not having the right equipment at the start was really a challenge, but we fought through and we’re here now and there’s still challenges in front of me.

How do you approach DJ sets versus producing music in the studio?

Well, it’s just about preparation. It’s just about making sure your stuff is tight. Making sure you prepare for both settings. It’s pretty easy when you’re prepared you know and then it makes the jitters go away and it makes everything. Just a smooth transition to have fun and hitting your goals.

What’s in the pipeline for BhramaBull?

 Got a lot of stuff have a lot of about three albums with different artists Money First , CKooliente , Rim, reek sosama ,Michael Christmas a lot of singles on the way like Monday night and 3way slim , instrumental tape a lot more videos.