GO is a new hip hop artist from Boston, MA. Bringing with him a familiar ‘homelike’ sound with a absolute moral and ethical stance within the lyrics of Believe In Me. The track speaks of the love that GO has retained for his parents, whom he loves dearly, and gives credit to for his amazing talent and honorable nature. As he stated in his Instagram status, which coincidentally is dedicated to his parents… ” They nourish you and provide for you to the best is their ability so that your safe, healthy, and loved. At some point you start having differences and start doing things that are not in their favor. Therefore they start getting worried and start losing trust because they really want the best for you. As your steps perceive you to be lost and heading in the wrong direction . but deep inside you know where you want to go, and that there are sacrifices that need to be made in order to get to that destination. Although they may not see it, and you grow resentment towards them, in the end all that emotion that builds up within you, is only because you try so hard to make them believe in you and support you…” In closing, Go dedicated this song to his parents. Citing that he ‘yearned’ for their support. How amazing is this? Truly amazing in these days and times. Not too often that you see such generosity to their parents among youth today. GO finished his status by giving shout outs to others that contributed to the Believe In Me soundtrack.
Believe In Me begins with a familiar ‘old school’ tune, however, clearly I was mistaken. A few seconds into the track, and upon further listening, I discovered that this track was definitely not old school. GO uses this rhythm in particular to distinguish the difference between, old school RnB and new modern era hip hop. However, he clearly has found a point where they both meet. As the music interlude has the style and feel of old school rhythm and blues and the new modern era of hip hop and rap and has cleverly, brought them together in Believe In Me. The sampling of old school soundtracks to bring out the feel of memory. Also as an appeal to his parents, the sampling is set on repeat as if to depart the appeal. As during this track, the artist has a desire for his parents to know and feel what he feels and to more importantly ‘believe in him’. Another issue that the youth today can relate to. Moreover, a desire to appeal to the ear of the general public, because we all have had this issue at some point with our parents and some give up hope on pursuing their dreams because of the lack of familial support. A repiticious situation indeed. However crude the situation, and whatever support is lacking this artist has the genuine character, talent and skill to get his point across. Moreover, to relate to the general masses. “Its frustrating when the support you want from the most important ain’t there… But you gotta live through it…” The intro to Believe In Me is a profound statement and is relevant as it pertains to this generation and the general direction that this track is intended. He goes on to share… “I know that its hard when your son isn’t who you wish he’d be…a grade ‘A’ student with a college degree…’ A direct appeal to his parents. The chorus are clear and precise. A haunting development of a situation that most promising artists and their parents go through. The desire for parents to want the best for their children is expressed, along with the direct desires for himself and what he wants. The desire to find away to work together and gain moral support from the subject. He has made it clear that he is pursuing an attainable goal, since the desires to please his parents and become what they want him to be, is unattainable at present. However, he has other skills that are attainable, and his musical expertise shows that he can attain his musical goal. Also the tremendous talent to become a great hip hop artist and performer. Keyboards are profound, and the background vocals are excellent. The lyrics are touching and emotional. Which gives the effect of a real-life
By Linda Dawkins
Exclusive Interview
EV: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
GO: I grew up in 2 states. for the most part the Boston area in MA, and throughout high school in Southwest Florida. I’ve been around the worst and been around the best growing up in Boston, MA and Southwest Florida. From an artist point of view that helps a lot because you can relate to a wide range of people through your own personal experiences. I’ve been simply writing since the age of 9 so the writing aspect of it came natural. But when I decided to turn my writing into music lyrics, it was at the age of 15 and what inspired me to do so was the vision that I assembled in my head of performing my music and big crowds just cheering and singing my music back. I really fell in love with that vision and haven’t let go of it ever since.
,
EV: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
GO: My name G.O. haha well it’s very simple, those are actually my initials but also stands for my alter ego of hopes to eventually being remembered as the “Greatest One.” Also I’m not really into complicated/funky names so knowing myself i went along with something easy to remember.
EV: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
GO: Oh I think it’s great. It definitely has changed the music industry tremendously in ways we wouldn’t want but for the most part it’s given artist like me a chance to make a voice for ourselves.. I give my music out for free. At this time in music I feel that everyone should, that’s where the industry has headed so therefore why not follow? you just have to exploit the other avenues to bring in revenue as an artist.
EV: 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?
GO: Heart…Touch the heart of the audience/ the heart of your listener. If you really want to make an impact, thats what you want to attack.
EV: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
GO: oh yes definitely, honestly you act like nothing happen, don’t let it affect you and keep it moving, the more of a mistake you make it seem, the more noticeable it becomes.
EV: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
GO: I currently have not toured but I am looking to do so very soon upon my mix tape release which is planned to drop in the summer of 2015.
EV: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
GO: In my life, in other people’s lives, in life in general. all of my songs have been inspired by an event that really happened within my vicinity. My songwriting process is very erratic actually. I don’t have a daily writing schedule, it varies on the mood that I’m in, and the time the inspiration occurred. For example some type of event i saw inspired me to want to write a song but due to the current mood that I’m in at the time, I won’t write about that event/topic until my mood fit’s the emotion that coincides with the even/topic.
EV: Do you have a band website? Do you have a Facebook or Twitter? Do you use Bandcamp, Spotify, ExposedVocals or SoundCloud to share your music?
GO: yes, I share my music through soundcloud.com/gomusicofficial . My Twitter is @IamGO_ and my facebook page is facebook.com/gomusicofficial .
EV: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
GO: Idk actually, I don’t think I have one song in my Mp3 that I would consider embarrassing.
EV: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
GO: I’d invest that most of that money. and of course give some to my loved ones, travel, give some to charity, the whole 9.
EV: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
GO: I don’t have a studio, i go to a studio that my engineer has. I can tell you that He doesn’t have the most hi-tech gear but that doesn’t matter because he really knows how to use what he has to make your song radio ready.
EV: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
GO: I’ve been fortunate enough to have a couple friends in my circle that specialize in internet marketing & marketing in general, so they’ve been able to give me some pointers on how to promote my music and what ways are the most effective. The best way for me in general is the internet, I mean it’s like the universe, there’s no limit to it, you can reach billions of people at a high rate.
EV: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
GO: If I could perform anywhere it would have to be in NYC, the city of Hip-Hop with Jay-Z, J. Cole, Big L, Nas, Drake, Common, Tupac, & Biggie,
So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Yes, so I mentioned earlier before that I’ll be releasing my 2nd mix tape in the summer of 2015. The title of the mix tape is called “The Hope”. By then it’ll be three years since releasing my first one which is called “It’s Just Me” and you can find that on datpiff.com . I’m very excited for this one due to the overall hardwork and sacrifices I’ve made to make it undeniable.
EV: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
If I wasn’t making music, I’d already have graduated college with a girlfriend for sure. I love women so I know I would be more focused in having one.
EV: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
GO: Yes I do, lol the first album I bought believe it or not was from an artist by the name of J-Kwon. He had that smash-hit single called “Tipsy” I was like 12 when that came out and was my favorite song at the time. I was just excited and anxious to get home and blast it through the stereo.
EV: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
GO: Discipline. as simple as that, knowing my priorities and not getting easily distracted.
EV: What should fans look forward too for the rest of 2014 and beyond?
GO: Consistency. and I say that with a chip on my shoulder, why? Well because in the past 2 years and some change, I’ve been on the low just really focusing on understanding who I am as a person and being able to incorporate who I am into my brand and in my music. A lot of people think it’s just about making good music and honestly that’s not the case. Your brand has to reflect the content that is in your music. if your brand or your image does not, people will judge you negatively regardless of how good the music sounds. And being able to figure that out takes time because it’s all about embracing who you are and that’s not easy to do at first. So with that being said I haven’t really been focusing on the “putting music out” aspect of being an artist. But now I with me being able to feel comfortable in regards to my brand and my music, I owe my time to marketing myself and releasing material consistently and that’s what I’ll be doing moving forward so I can start building that fan base.
Social Media Links:
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/gomusicofficial
Twitter: www.twitter.com/IamGO_
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gomusicofficial
Instagram: www.instagram.com/IamGO_
