In a starkly lit Brooklyn basement, the year-old rapper answers questions softly, butβas on the micβhe gains momentum with each word. But no matter how excited he gets, he remains assured, in control. Innanet James: "Black" via SoundCloud.
He spends endless hours looking for beats on SoundCloud. This is just what he does now. Around third grade I wrote my first rapβand that shit was trash. But I kept working at it. I took breaks here and there then picked it up again when I turned Was there a particular record that made you want to rap?
It spoke to me. What sort of things would you do for fun as a teenager? Regular dumb teen shit. I got back to my house at 4 a.
I was working at DSW and going to art classes. I wore them joints out the store. I felt that shit. I want it to evoke emotion when you hear it. With silver hair tucked under a ballcap, chain wallet looping out of his shorts, and hiking boots over his white socks, Hall is gregarious and instantly approachable. Local indie rockers and rappers perform on a stage in the back of the windowless store, which feels worn and lived-in but less dusty than in years past.
Racks of recordsβorganized by handpainted, yellow-and-black signsβsit in black bins perched on cinder blocks atop a faded checkerboard floor. By mid-afternoon, the sought-after Record Store Day releases are picked over, but customers continue to pour in.
