Exposed Vocals Interviews B. West
The story of B. West begins on September 18th 1987 when he was introduced to the world not knowing that he would one day be considered a one-man show. B. West born Robert July Wescott III grew up working in the family owned mortuary where he learned discipline and responsibility. Since the age of 12, West learned the importance of upholding his responsibilities, and started setting goals for himself. Around this time he began writing poetry, which then transformed into lyrics that started his passion for music. At age 13, West started High School at Northeast Catholic where he met his partner in crime Giovanni Delgado formally known as G-Dash. The two of them began low budget recording, using a stereo with a built in microphone that allowed them to record on cassette tapes. After a year or so of low budget recording, West was determined to take his music to the next level and did so by purchasing a computer. During this time West took the initiative of purchasing recording programs, and other studio equipment because he didn’t want his music to have the same low budget quality. West began forming a group named Ghetto Intentions, which consisted of him, G-Dash, D-Trigga, and Genius. Aside the group West was still a independent artist striving for attention and exposure that he needed for his music. Around the age of 15-16 West started working with an array of music producers and engineers, which gave him an opportunity of getting more exposure for his music. While working with 30/30 Entertainment at the time West began performing and producing his own music. As he began to progress, West began working with Season Around Records, Street Dreams, 13 Entertainment, and a few other local Labels. Through the course of high school West released 4 albums, which he sold through out Northeast Catholic to keep his name and music alive. The third album he released was Entitled “Ghetto Intentions Volume 1” which was a follow up album for the previous Ghetto Intention mixtapes that were released. The forth album that he released was a true one-man show project for B. West. Teaching himself step by step, West recorded, wrote, produced, and mastered every song on the double disc album, which consisted of 30 tracks. West also participated in a TV production class his last 2 years of high school where he learned the basics of TV production and how everything worked. During his senior year West was at the top of his production class, not only did he run the high school’s news program but he also interviewed the athletes of the school and added it as a segment of the news. Once High School was finished in 2005, West now had his mind set on doing music and video production, not knowing that he would soon be making history. Still keeping Ghetto Intentions in mind, once everyone went there separate ways West created his own music label entitled “B. West Music”, which gave him the opportunity to scout for artist. While performing at a showcase West’s attention was caught by Quasim who had received a standing ovation for his performance of John Legend’s “Ordinary People.” After meeting Quasim West was anxious to collaborate with his new R&B artist not knowing that there duets would catch everyone’s attention. West attended Philadelphia Community College, where he majored in business, and took a few music classes to keep himself well rounded. On January 30, 2007 West released another album entitled “The Homecoming”, which was also produced by him with the help of G-Dash who professionally mixed and mastered the album. Once the cd was released West sold over 150 copies, $5.00 a piece to keep him motivated with his music. Later in the year West was introduced to H. Pain who was the head of a group named Heavy Artillery. After a few meetings and collaborations West was now initiated with Heavy Artillery, soon to be the president. While being a part of heavy Artillery West was able to spread his wings and expand his talents to the next level. After a months and months of performing with Heavy Artillery and filming performances, West began doing music videos. His first music video entitled “Rideyua” was a song by H. Pain, which was a success and a boost of confidence for B. West. After many plays and comments on his first video West kept the motivation going and released a second video entitled “Do My Own Thing”, which was a single off his latest project. The song featured H. Pain to clarify that even though B. West was initiated with Heavy Artillery, he was still going to do his own thing regardless of what anyone thought. Months later West would have never thought that he would be getting 2 of his hit singles played in clubs while being an unsigned artist. Not many human beings are able to teach themselves how to work and operate recording programs, nor teach themselves how to produce beats, and music videos. B. West is a self-motivated person, who is not afraid to go after his dreams and goals and will do anything to achieve and accomplish them. West has already been offered 2 record deals but did not accept only because the contracts were no good. B. West has recently been offered 2 more record deals, one from Philly Swain who’s label is signed through Sony, & Tone Trump who’s label receives distribution through Koch records. B. West has so much going on. & so much talent to be shown to the world. B. West also has his music on sale to the world through online retailers such as iTunes, amazon.com, rhapsody.com, emusic.com, napster.com and anywhere else music is sold online, be sure to log on and purchase a copy. B. West just recently released his new album entitled: “B. West Music” on December 1, 2009 be sure to log onto a online music store and get a copy. Throughout his music career thus far B. West has performed at 69th Street Lounge, Tierra Columbiana, M&S Hall, The Free Library Talent Show, Grand Market Place’s Grand Opening, Heavy Artillery Showcase, Industry Tuesdays at Club Fluid and has had the privilege of performing on “Wild About Philly” television program, Hip Hop Gon Wild, Tacony Billiards, The Lost World, Atlanta, Georgia at the Apache Café, Smutt Shop Car/Bike Show, Philly We Back 1st Annual Concert, Couture Du Passe Fashion Show & more venues. B. West has also had the opportunity of meeting a industry figures such as Omillio Sparks of State Property, (EST) Robert Waller who is one of Beyonce’s songwriters, Larry Larr, LA Virgil, Peedi Crakk, Freeway, Tone Trump, Spantaneeus Xtasty who is a former adult film star who’s documentary is being filmed and produced by B. West. Continuing on Reed Dollaz, Joey Jihad, Philly Swain, Journalist, Sandman, Roscoe P Coldchain, B-Phlat who is a hilarious female comedian, Minage Trios & Fetish Fatale who are both adult film stars, and the list continues for industry persons that B. West has come in contact with. Most would call B. West a one man army because of his multi-talented skills, others would call B. West a business man who is a licensed funeral director, who helps the public at their time of loss. B. West isn’t your average person, nor rapper or businessman, he has passion for his work and that’s something that the majority of people in his field lack.
As time has progressed in 2010 B. West became a licensed funeral director as well as a entrepreneur with the music & funeral industry. Although B. West is still a unsigned artist he still profits from record sales on iTunes & other online stores the same as signed artist do. B. West is a determined individual, one who takes chances and risks all for the passion of it enjoying every moment of the grind. B. West’s grind has also allowed him to travel outside of Philadelphia to perform at shows & appear on radio stations in such states as Massachusetts, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Chicago, California & other states via online radio stations. B. West is also the cameraman & video editor for ShayStar.com. Linking with Shay Star also helped B. West’s career just a bit by allowing him to network with different celebrities that have been featured on shaystar.com such as Christopher Williams, Sunshine Anderson, H-Town, Case, Travis Porter, Lloyd, Cr DaShow, Adina Howard & the list goes on. As 2011 progressed one of B. West’s music videos “Football Is Back” which is a tribute to the Philadelphia Eagles was featured on Fox 29 Good Day Philadelphia. That alone is an accomplishment in itself, B. West has also been interviewed on 88.1 FM WPEB, 91.7 FM Batcave Radio, And an array of online radio stations throughout the country as well as Mysoundgrid.com a website created by Sandman who was formally signed with The Clipse & The Re-Up Gang. B. West Can now be added on Pandora Radio so make sure you add his channel now, search “B. West Radio” on Pandora now! B. West always has his hands in multiple pots waiting for them all to erupt with success & show the world that dreams can come true for anybody.
B. West’s music and video skills continue to advance, because of his passion & self-motivation, B. West will continue to progress no matter what.
“THE SKY IS THE LIMIT, YOU CAN GO AS FAR AS YOU DESIRE, THE ONLY PERSON THAT CAN STOP YOU IS YOURSELF”
– B. WEST
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
I grew up in North Philadelphia as a young funeral director who wanted to become a rapper one day, but since both of my parents were licensed funeral directors, that owned a funeral home needless to say me wanting to pursue music was out of the question since they had built up a funeral to pass it down to me and my sisters one day, they were focused on us going to school and getting licensed for the business to carry it on. Regardless of their intentions, me being young and anxious i started writing poetry just playing around with words and making them rhyme until i heard some of my friends starting to rap. My friends would have little cyphers and id sit and watch them go back and forth and it intrigued me to the point that i told myself i could do this as well. I went home and started writing some lyrics of my own and started to memorize them so when the next cypher came about i could join in. Lets just say it was not my best work but it was a start for me, the more i kept writing the better i got at writing lyrics and telling stories, and then eventually was able to write full songs instead of just verses. I started recording on a radio with a microphone and a cassette tape deck that recorded everything, so i would play the music in the background really loud and then record my vocals on the radio and rewind the tape back to see what it sounded like. It was not the best but like i said it was a start for me, I eventually got a computer and found a recording studio application to record on and things lifted off from there. The better i got with my music made me really want to get involved with it, and here i am.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
My name is a variation of my actual name, in high school everybody called each other by their last name because it was much easier. My last name is Wescott, so everybody called me that and eventually they shortened it to West and my name took off from there. Im a husky guy so i started calling myself B. West which stood for “Big West” or “Bob West” since my first name is Robert, but to keep it simple i just called myself “B. West”. Now that I’m older I call myself “Mr. West” as an extension of “B. West” because i have matured over the years.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Music sharing for free is not the best option from my view point because i look at this as a business from all aspects, because as an artist you put your money up for studio time, beats, mixing, promotion etc and then to turn around not make any money from your investment is backwards to me. But! I also understand giving away freebies does have a greater reward at the end. If a fan of mine somehow gets my music for free i will not be upset because thats one more person listening to my music and can inspire another person to want to listen to my music which is a plus in my eyes. Yes i have some of my music online for free download, as well as Underground and Internet Radio Stations, and Pandora Radio which allows my fans to listen to my music for free whenever they want to by adding my “B. West Radio” channel to their Pandora Stations. Honestly if you are checking out my music via free download or purchasing it from iTunes or any other online music store i am grateful and thank you for your support, either way it is a win-win because my music has made it from my computer to your music player, and i am grateful for that.
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?
Of course! One thing i will say is to “Always Invest In Yourself” thats for sure, but you have to be smart about it because their is a lot of crooked people in this industry that will promise you a dream but do not have your best interest at heart. I have been there, trust me. I have worked with some crooked people that have did me dirty but yet and still i am still here progressing forward and learning from my mistakes so i know not to make them again. As far as getting shows, i started doing open mic events and from that i met other dope artists as well as other people who have put together their own showcases and have included me on the roster to perform, so you definitely have to get out there and get involved and invest in yourself, and make your name known the best way you can. Also don’t try to blend in with whatever style of rap or music is trending, be your own person, do your own thing and standout from the rest. Tell your story, speak about your grind and hustle and keep pushing for greatness.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
I have made some mistakes during performances a few times, either because i was nervous or i just couldn’t remember a few lines from the verse, but id stop and get it together and pick it back up when i can. The crown does not know you messed up because most of the time they don’t know your song word for word, so usually only you know you have messed up. Another thing i have learned to do is to have a performance track playing instead of just the instrumental, and you can either have your main vocals turned down a little lower or you can have the actual song playing but you have to be on your “A” game with your performance and be synced with your song so it doesn’t sound like your falling behind or getting ahead of your vocals if they are playing while you are performing, otherwise your performance will sound muffled. Being nervous before a performance is normal because we are humans, you have to look past that and stay focused so you are comfortable on that stage with the mic in your hands, rocking out with crowd.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Yes, besides performing all around Philly I have went on tour to other cities and states to perform such as, Atlanta, Ga / Manhattan, Ny / Reading, Pa / Boston, Ma / Passaic, Nj / Camden, Nj / Allentown, Pa / Roanoke, Ma. Their are always stories when traveling and doing shows and meeting new people, some of these shows are documented in my reality show episodes which can be viewed on my youtube channel (www.Youtube.com/BWESTMUSIC) as well as my website (www.MrWestTv.com). As far as anything that happened on tour i will save that for you to check out the footage on my youtube channel and reality show episodes.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
For song inspiration the beat has to talk to me and get me in that focused mood so i can be inspired and once that happens the lyrics just come to me and i start walking around the studio mumbling lyrics to myself and when i get them together I’m ready to lay down the verse at that moment because i don’t write my lyrics, i keep repeating them to myself and then record them so they are fresh and my flow is on point and it comes out the exact way i heard it in my head. For me I’ve learned that when i wrote a song to a beat when i come back to it weeks later i may not always remember how i flowed it to that beats because I’m always switching my flow up with each song or track i do, so to prevent that from happening i just do it fresh in the studio when the beat is playing and all the creative juices are flowing so i get it right even time.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Yes my website is: www.MrWestTv.com and my youtube channel is: www.YouTube.com/BWestMusic. My music is currently on Pandora Radio “B. West Radio” Please add it to your pandora stations, Thank You. My music is also currently on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, EMusic, Spotify, Datpiff, Google Play, and my website.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Artist: Those embarrassing songs from the beginning of my career will not be found anywhere on the internet, they are only on Cassette Tape and CD inside my music vault sorry Lol ! Lets just say i have come a long way from that, hahahaha !
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Given this opportunity i would purchase me a nice house for me and my family, with my own state of the art recording studio in it, open another funeral home, invest in some more stocks, buy into a Wawa or fast food franchise, Think about building my own record label from the ground up so i can give other dope artists like myself a chance to shine and do they thing, bank the rest of my half a million travel the world with my family and collect the profits from my investments.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
I have upgraded my studio programs a few times, i started with Cakewalk music studio, then switched to Adobe Audition Studio, then Garageband and now I’m working with Studio One which is a nice program. Ive also worked with Pro Tools, Cool Edit Pro and a few others but personally if I’m not making any profit from recording other artists why bother with buying and expensive program, especially when I’m able to get a good production sound with a less expensive program. Just being honest, as you see i have a business sense of thinking.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
I promote my music a lot of ways such as: Featuring on other artist’s songs or them featuring on mine and we both promote it, Posting on social media sites, making music videos for my fans to watch, doing interviews on radio stations as well as online sites, working with public relation groups, liking my “B. West” page on Facebook, Email blasts, having different Dj’s host my mixtapes and they promoting it to their fan base, i had my own “B. West” app for free download for the last 4 years for iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Androids which played my music for free as well as my music videos and showed when my upcoming shows were, but i had to switch companies so my new app is in the works.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
I would do a world tour with some of the artists that inspired me to make my music better such as: Notorious B.I.G, The Lox, Jay-Z, T.I, Ludacris, Swizz Beats, Kanye West, and Pharrell. If i had to pick an actual place to perform with these artists id pick The Grammys or a Super Bowl Halftime show or any major scale performance.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
I just released a album a few months ago entitled: “Music and Mortuary” and now I’m getting ready to release a mixtape called : “B. West: The Lost Tapes” and following that i will be releasing a album called “Mr. West, L.F.D” The L.F.D stands for Licensed Funeral Director, since i am a licensed funeral director and making music i thought that would make a good title, especially since the beginning i knew i wanted to do both, and through the grace of God i was able to achieve both.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
If i was not making music i would be a full time funeral director and a film director. I film and edit my own music videos now as well as for other artists so that would not change.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
The first album i bought was DMX “Its dark and hell is hot”. I was young and excited to be listening to it because i wasn’t supposed to be listening to that explicit content back then but it inspired me as well.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
It is hard to juggle being a funeral director, rap recording artist, film director, and now a family man, but i take it 1 step at a time trying to set goals for myself and achieve them one by one and moving on to the next one. Consistency is key i will say that, because the grind never stops!
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Fans should be on the lookout for my new mixtape entitled: “B. West: The Lost Tapes” and my album in 2017 called “Mr. West, L.F.D” I’m always working and trying to progress for greatness and leave a great legacy behind.
