Dillon Johnson aka yungsasukewiththeblade (yung sasuke with the blade) is a 20 year old rapper/songwriter from the St. Louis area. Since an early age, Johnson has used music to cope with hurdles in his life and emotions. At the age of 17, he began music with the goal of showing people that they arent alone. Sometimes just having a favorite artist that releases music that you vibe with can help you over life’s constant challenges. He was inspired by great deal of diverse artists including, Frank Sinatra, Otis Redding, Etta James, Elvis Presley, and more modern music like Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G, Drake, Partynextdoor, Chance The Rapper, A$AP Rocky, XXXTENTACION, And many more. It is this passion for diverse music that propels him to create diverse music himself, which he hopes to highlight on a three song playlist that will soon be complete with the upcoming releases of the final two songs. The playlist is titled “wash.rinse.repeat”, and each of the songs show a different side to just who yungsasukewiththeblade is. “wash” is the song link included below, while the other two songs “rinse” and “repeat” are coming next week.

Yungsasukewiththeblade – [Music Review] wash(Prod.Ank3Beatz)

It’s an intense sounding track that takes inspiration from the heart of dark and current hip-hop, musically speaking. Throughout the track the flow varies, keeping things moving, interesting, and showcasing a variety of abilities in terms of the vocal performance and lyricism. The concept is pretty memorable due to it’s unusual nature and the repetition of that hook line, particularly towards the end. The beat is brilliantly produced, perfectly encapsulating the mood and letting everything stand where it should – the riff featured in the intro sets a dark and intriguing scene and lays the right sort of ground for the upcoming, whispered vocals to run out along.

As the thickness of the dubstep-like distortion hits, the vocal performance intensifies, there are numerous effects and samples that are thrown in and pulled out of the mix intermittently, and all of this adds well to the effect. The rising intensity is the most notable element, the passion or at least the confidence and volume of the leading voice seems to multiply as things move along. Those final few moments imprint that hook in your mind and also draw your focus once again to the intricate details of the music – those samples and effects that add a slightly industrial, even retro wash room sort of feel, cleverly – it’s all been effectively executed and polished to give listeners the full on effect of heavy hip-hop.

You can turn it up to full volume and lose yourself in the mood and the sound of the beat and the performer. The lyrics are primarily made up of one liners, the first verse focuses on this wash theme, whether metaphor or otherwise, then the follow up comes out at full speed and there’s a whole new level of wordplay on display.

By Rebecca Cullen

Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: 

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

 I’m yungsasukewiththeblade, I was raised in the St. Louis Area, and I started making music for people like me. People who feel numb, alone, or like they just don’t fit in. I never want my fans to feel the way I used to when I was dealing with my depression and stuff, so I make music to help people.

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?

Invest in yourself. Buy good equipment for your craft. Put money down on promotion to be heard. Most of all, just be you. I tried for so long to fit into these boxes. Like “I have to make this kind of music or that kind of music.” Ever since I started making what I want to make instead of what I felt like I had to make, I have been happier and more successful.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

 Of Course. Everyone does. You just have to rehearse to minimize the chance of it happening, and when it does, brush it off and recover.

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

 Not yet, but my Team and I have some plans.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

 Yes, soon I will be investing in a better microphone, better sound proofing, and better speakers.  Currently, I use the AT2020 Mic, a Scarlet Solo audio interface, and Logic Pro X.

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

 I find repost channels on soundcloud that post my genre, as well as put money down for some campaigns. I also contact cool music blogs like Exposed Vocals to see if they would listen to my music, review it, or just post it.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

 For artists I would say XXXTentacion, Ugly God, Partynextdoor, Chance The Rapper, Frank Ocean, The Flatbush Zombies, A$AP Mob, 2Chaniz, Roy Woods, MGK, Kendrick Lamar, or The Weeknd. As for where, you know I have to say St. Louis.

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

I have two songs to release to finish my playlist, “wash.rinse.repeat.” Afterwards I have a ton of singles to drop and I am working on some features for artists in my area.

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

Wasting time

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?

 I definitely feel like I am on the rise with my latest release, so I would say expect merchandise, more music, and tour dates.

Exposed Vocals: Any Shout-outs?

 Shout out to O$F my team for working with me and believing in me. Shout out to my brother Cae for being my biggest support and fan, Shout out Dougless Inu for being a huge inspiration to me, shout out to my sister Mackie Male’le, JNunn, Savannah Gallant and Austin Johnson for the beautiful artwork you  guys do, and shout out to all of my current fans, and potential fans. I love all of you, every single one of you for supporting, sharing, linking, and commenting. Last but not least, Shout out to Exposed Vocals for doing this interview and being one of the chillest, most open minded music blogs online.