YNS Talley Talks Working With CakeBoy Bally, "FREENUDY21", Upcoming EP: "DEKELVIN", And More
Emerging artist YNS Talley has been able to put up thousands of streams on SoundCloud and has a lot left to prove. After speaking with Talley, it is clear that he has a lot of new music and music videos on the way. Although he has been able to accomplish a lot so far, he still is motivated to keep working and to keep putting out more high-quality music. YNS Talley is someone with a lot in the vault and has a new EP, "DEKELVIN" dropping 3/27/20, so make sure to keep an eye out for that.
Where are you from? What was your upbringing like? Who were you listening to growing up? And what's the music scene like in your area?
I'm from East Atlanta, the music scene from East Atlanta is very dope. We have a lot of artists that are very successful and influential artists in the rap game. Me coming up in East Atlanta was cool. I learned a lot of life lessons. As a child, I was into playing basketball. All I wanted to do was play basketball and eventually go to the NBA. The music we listened to coming up was TI, Jeezy, & Lil Wayne. What influenced me was my father, Ralph Jackson Jr. He passed away back in 2013 due to clogged arteries.
What made you want to first get into creating music? How long have you been making music? What was going through your head when you put out your first song? And who did you look up to when you were first starting?
What made me want to rap was when my father had gotten a studio back in 2007 on Simpson rd in the ABC Plaza. I have been making music for ten years plus. When I first started making music, I looked up to Tupac, OutKast, and TI.
A lot of people want to be a rapper but are too scared to put themselves out there? Did you ever have a fear of putting yourself out there? If so, can you run us through how you overcame that fear?
I never had a fear of putting myself out there as an artist. I knew I was unique at a young age because I had the ability to freestyle at a young age. Now at times, I had a doubt but never feared what people thought. The reason I had doubts at times is that I see a lot of favoritism going on in today's industry. But I learned that I have to make my lane and master what I do best, which is making good music.
According to SoundCloud, you have been putting out music for four years. Your style and quality of your songs have skyrocketed since then, getting better with every new song you put out. What has changed in you as an artist since then?
What has changed about me since then is that I have been going through a lot more real-life situations, so I try to keep it real and make people relate to me by laying my real-life situations down on the track. Also, with time everything gets better if you stay consistent. And I have been staying consistent with dropping music. I have been dropping new content every year.
Let's talk about your most release, "FREENUDY21" feat. MOAM, (prod. CakeBoy Bally), which you put out a year ago. CakeBoy Bally is one of my favorite and most talented producers in the game right now, how did you connect with him on this song? And can you run us through that session?
I connected with CakeBoy through a mutual friend. His homeboy loves my music, so he recommended CakeBoy and I to work together. So we linked, and the chemistry was there. I have a lot of unreleased music with CakeBoy. He will be on my next album, "Priceless 3". But that session was a powerful session I made "FreeNudy21" and "Toe Tag" that same night. My brother Moam and I were in a zone; I think we were off the Henny that session, and my cousin YNS MARK and MOAM were smoking up a storm. But basically, CakeBoy and I were going through the beats, and when heard that "FreeNudy21" beat, I had to get on it. So I went into the booth, and I had a lot on my mind. That's when Nudy and 21 Savage had got locked up. Those are the bro's, I hate to see my bro's go through something like that. So I went to the booth and did "FreeNudy21" in one take.
Another one of my favorite songs of yours is "X" (prod. Mario), also released around a year ago. How did that song come together? What's the story behind the song? And can you run us through that studio session?
I made the song "X because I was mad as hell at my ex-girlfriend. She pissed me off. I called my brother slum and vented to him. After that, I booked the studio with my engineer Vitillaz, and we went from there. That session was cool, and I did "X" in like two takes. I can't remember anything about that session except I was really mad.
It's been about a year since you released new music, and you are dropping a new EP: "DEKELVIN" 3/27/20. Any reason behind why you have been holding music? What can we expect from this EP?
I haven't been holding music. I have just been working on promoting my latest album "Cap or Gown". I've recorded for my next projects but at the same time shooting videos and doing promo. I am doing all of this out of my pocket. I don't have a budget behind me. I am my budget, I am the CEO. So until the big god blesses me with a better situation, I'm going to continue drop music at speed I can afford. But my EP "Dekelvin" means a lot to me. This EP is dedicated to my uncle Dekelvin. He passed away back in 2005 due to a car accident. He was 14 years old when he passed. May he continue to rest in peace. His name will forever live on through me. What you can expect from this EP is versatility. All the songs are potentially single ready.
What's your next move as an artist?
My next move as an artist is to continue to go hard and land a major distribution deal. I want to sign my label Young N Striving Records with a major label as an partnership. I also would like to sign artists to my label. Also, I want to start my own distribution company. But my next move as an artist is to land a big feature with big artists.
What's one thing you've learned so far as an artist that you wish you knew when you first started?
One thing that I learned is how to distribute my music and promote the right way. If I knew how to distribute my music and promo it the way I know how to do it now, I'd be much further along in my career. But you go through things to learn for the better.
What can we expect next from YNS Talley? New albums, singles, or features coming up that we should be aware of?
What you guys can expect from me is more great music and videos. More content, and I'm working on a big feature as we speak for "Priceless 3". You guys will start seeing me doing more blogs and more interviews with much bigger platforms.