Valholla

We caught wind of the production of The Pyrvmids a little over a year ago and since then, he’s constantly released quality music; both with artists and also through his own projects. This interview took place at the end of 2014.

VH: For anyone who may not be familiar with your work, describe it.

I pride myself on making people music, I don’t focus on structure or music law too much. Everything is ultra textured and sort of a mashup of ideas I have at the moment. I like clashing sounds and textures to create something people haven’t heard ever on first listen. I don’t have a signature sound just yet, I don’t think I want one ever.

VH: How did you get your start? Do you remember your first beat?

I got my first start at home when I came back after dropping out of college. My first beat was an awful sample I did of a Marvin Gaye song with a Hov verse on it. I made my mom listen to it and Im so happy she didn’t shoot me down because I kept going. I never intended on this becoming a career it was just fun to make hiphop beats and have people rap on them. I started off just posting my instrumentals on YouTube. I had one beat (and Adele Sample) that is right now almost at 100,000 plays. That was my first reassuring spark. From there two rappers from the DMV area found me (JSmooth & D.O.E.) and a group from NJ found me (Los Paris) I fully produced projects for them and started foundation for the work I did back home with my childhood friend Terry (Terry2Dope), he’s responsible for me getting out here and taking it seriously, without his push and his raps I wouldn’t be here.

VH: You mentioned working with bricksquad and 1017’s production team. What was that like.

That was a short period of time but in those months I learned so much outside of just beat making. I learned street promotion, etiquette in this game. Intangibles that I still use today. Good camp of people, they took me in as a youngester and trusted me so I just kept my eyes open, mouth shut and paid attention.

VH: How did you link up with ArtKlub?

Going back to Terry, he linked me with The Artklub. Ive never had a collective of rappers to work with. I looked at it like this is my Roc-a-fella startup. The talent was and still is amazing. I just came to their house one day (The Klubhouse) and played beats. They liked them, and thats where it was 2 years ago and still today. Thats a group I consider to be like my family.

VH: When did you start experimenting with samples?

Day one. All of the music I loved growing up had samples in it. I wanted to be like Kanye when I first started. I remade Spaceship and all. I think sampling is my gift from God. Not too many people can execute it and I have a skill to execute and push the sampling culture for producers after me. My mentor B!NK is one of the best sample based producers ever in hiphop and I go to him a lot for advice and even to ask how he did certain things so I can do them my own way. I know that in itself is special to have.

VH: You’ve handled production for many projects. Can you name them all? Which one is your favorite?

Im going from the earliest to the latest…

DOENation – D.OE.
Super Dope Illuminati Music – Terry2Dope (lol)
Whiteboys & Marleys – Whiteboy Mac, and Terry2Dope
The Clinton Era – Terry2Dope
SuperTunes From the Amazon – Phresh James
K.Y.R.O. (Kill Young, Rest Old) – The Pyrvmids
CHEERS – Ransooo, Prez P, & Phresh James
Materialistic Bullshit – Terry2Dope
BlackAmericanDream (BAD) – The Pyrvmids
Burgundy EP – Rell Burgundy
Here For The View (Unreleased) – The Pyrvmids
T2D LP – Terry2Dope
The Second Coming – Motive (Executive Produced)
The Fall – The Pyrvmids
The Agenda – Ransooo Rockchild (Executive Produced)

A lot for 2 years.

VH: What do you think is missing with production in the industry today?

Simply put its just love for the craft, and attention to detail. We’ve been backed into a corner as a industry (hiphop) to just focus on sales and not inspiring people and delivering a message. Its good to see J.Cole put out an album he took his time and love to make. Everything isn’t meant for the club. Lifestyle music is necessary. The music you can play at anytime of the day anywhere. I want artist to be more than entertainers and to be artists again.

VH: You ended up touring in 2014, what cities did you travel to and how was it?

I came off of DJ’ing a short tour in California called the Burnin’ Mad Tour, headlined by Yung Simmie, Robb Banks, and Pouya. Touring itself is tiring and different from just doing shows locally. You have to be on point and ready to execute. I had fun and I learned a lot. A lot of drugs, a lot of sleep, a lot of energy. I go back on tour next year hopefully hitting more of the east coast and Mid-west.

VH: What do you plan on doing in 2015 to challenge yourself?

Work on more of the business aspect of things. I got frustrated recently because I looked at my catalog and then thought about the money I made from my hard work and I was highly disappointed in myself. A lot with being edgy and creative I still have to remember that this is an entertainment business and I have to make myself, my brand, and my art profitable. That’s my #1 goal for 2015, along with pushing my personal creative boundaries.

VH: Who are you inspired by? / What producer did you grow up looking up to?

I’m always inspired by Kanye West. He’s the best artist of my generation. I’ve been drawing inspiration from things other than music lately like artwork. The artist that most inspire me now are Takashi Murakami, Keith Haring, Unkle Luc. Architects like I.M. Pei, Tom Wright. Any and everything inspires me right now. Producers, I’ll go with Metro Boomin, Zaytoven, No I.D, Rick Rubin, Detail.

VH: What’s a few of your goals (music wise)?

Perform at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Headline a major festival. This is a hard question because Im going to say I want to do everything. I literally want to do everything those two are just goals I think about everyday.

VH: What are you working on right now?

Im working on a new project with Prez P, a new Terry2Dope mixtape, and my first official album. Im in a strange mode right now. Im working musically but Im growing mentally and spiritually at the same time. I just turned 23, I feel an urgency to get things done and not just do them, execute them to perfection with a purpose. I don’t want anyone or anything to stand in between me and delivering the album I want to deliver to the people.

VH: Name some artists you would like to work with?

Beyonce, Jay Electronica, Azealia Banks, Wiz Khalifa, Nipsey Hussle, Dom Kennedy, Florence & The Machine, & Daft Punk.

VH: Anything you want the general public to know?

I want people to know that I’m for them 10,000% of the time. I don’t want to cheat them out of anything, just give them moments, memories, and art that they can live and function with. I’m open to anything. I got caught up a lot in the past years with giving out too much of my personal life without having purpose for why I was giving so much. Ive gone through my trails and hit rock bottom, suffering from depression. Ive given light to the dark for so long, Im ready to feed and inspire the ones that want the light and positivity in life. Im here for those people that need me. I can care less about friends. Im on a solid mission to make sure I do everything I can in my lifetime to give back as much love as God has given me. We’re all on this journey together.

Follow The Pyrvmids on Twitter: @ThePyrvmids