Exposed Vocals Interviews Roland

20 Year old Hip-hop artist born in the city of Pittsburgh, raised in small town Clarion PA, and currently coming through your speakers.  The rest is in the music.

 

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

Roland: I grew up in a small town called clarion about an hour and a half away from where Pittsburgh where I was born.  I always listened to Hip-hop as kid, actually it was the only type of music I listened to.  Guess you could say I fell in love young, and started writing regularly when I was 14 or 15 years old.

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

Artist: Roland is my first name.  Its not a very common one and people seem to like my name so I figured I would just be myself.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

Artist: Up to this point, definitely.  I’m not making music for money, nor have I ever.  I just love doin it so for now I want as many people to hear me as possible.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Artist: You gotta invest your time and money at a high percentage.  You have to put a majority of your time perfecting whatever craft you got, and majority of your income toward promoting your music and making it the best quality possible.

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

Artist: I Usually just write about whatever’s on my heart at the time, or however the beat I’m listening to makes me feel.  My rhymes can get complex wordy at times, but I actually try not too think too much while I’m writing. I just gotta feel it.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

Artist: You can find me on soundcloud.com. Just search Roland_House.  I also have a website, Rolandhiphop.com  It should be up and running by the time this interview is shared so check it out.

 

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

Artist: I would set my family up so that they didn’t have to work or want for anything, and then I would put the rest back into my music.  I would have a better studio, big name features and producers on tracks, shows and lots of promotion.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

Artist: Really you just have to find the right people to get money to.  People that truly know how to expand a fan base.  You can always use social media, but living in a small area, twitter and facebook only go soo far.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Artist: I make beats all the time.  I’m working on something new every day.  I already have a few finished tracks just chillin right now, and more are on the way.  I’m liable to put out new music anytime really.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

Artist: I honestly have no idea.  Music is my life, so idk what “life” would be without it.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Artist: Sleep less.  Not enough hours in 12, or even 17-18 hour day it seems sometimes.  So when life’s obligations take me away from the music for a while, I get right back to it.  Can’t get tired, worn out or lazy.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

Artist:  They should look for Hip-hop to surprise the world when it’s heart starts to beat again.  Its been drowning in booze and bullshit for the past couple years man, and I think its time for Hip-hop to start making people feel good in the soul instead of numb.