Analog Dive, what inspired the name? What does it mean?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
A long-ass time ago I was in a group with Kelii Behasa\/Deathstyle Media. It was a rapper\/beat producer duo with him being the beat-producer and me being the rapper. Our group was called Fineprint at the time and we were about to drop our debut record (this must\u2019ve been around 2009 or so) and realized that there was another group out in Canada with the same name making some noise. We literally had the entire project finished, mixed, and mastered when we found this out and decided to change our name. We had a list of names and chose Analog Dive because it sounded cool. There is some meaning behind it; Analog technology is raw and authentic \u2014 what you see is what you get, and that\u2019s what I want people to hear when they listen to my music, I want them to dive into that, but really it just sounded cool. Anyways, fast forward a few years later and Kelii respectfully decided to step away from music (we\u2019re still friends to this day) and I was considering a name change myself. After putting some thought into it, I decided to just keep the name and run with it as a solo artist. Long story long, that\u2019s what inspired the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSo tell us a little bit on how and when you got into music? Who or what inspired your hustle?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
I got into music when I was 12 years old. The first record I ever bought was Conspiracy Of One by The Offspring. The second record I ever bought was Eminem\u2019s Marshall Mathers Lp, and that\u2019s where I was like \u201doooooh shiiiiiiet.” I didn\u2019t really get into rapping right away, though. It was a homie of mine, Kit (Christopher Cazimero) who got me into freestyling a few months after. Growing up on the Big Island of Hawaii, there wasn\u2019t really anyone rapping at the time, so my dumbass would go up to random kids and try to battle rap them \u2014 this was before 8 Mile<\/em> came out too. That slowly turned into me figuring out how to plug a microphone into a boombox and starting to record mixtapes on blank cassettes, which later turned into getting recording software, and then it was all downhill from there. I actually got a lot of the money to buy recording gear from selling bootleg CDs in High School. I made a killing off Get Rich Or Die Trying<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you. I don\u2019t know, I guess eclectic would probably sum it up. I just never wanted to sound like anyone else and I\u2019m still figuring out my style\/sound. I just never want to shift away from being myself and having fun. I never considered making music hard work or a hustle. The day it\u2019s no longer fun, I\u2019ll stop doing it. I think when I got into listening to Atmosphere, Sage Francis, Aesop Rock, and all, that really pivoted the way I wanted to rap, so I\u2019d say they were some of my main influences from my earlier years. I think the last of that style you\u2019ll hear was on my Stand Firm<\/em> LP. I\u2019ve been shifting to a more mature sound as of lately where I\u2019d say some of the influence comes from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Black Pumas, and Anderson Paak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think I enjoy making beats more, although after putting out two instrumental albums, I\u2019m starting to love rapping a little more. What I love more than both is mixing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I never really thought of that before, but I guess it did, but that also goes hand in hand with what I was going through during each period of my life. Right now in Vegas, I feel like I\u2019ve developed most as an artist, but that might also be because of where I\u2019m at in life. I got shit dialed in better with how I spend my time day to day, strengthening my mind through meditation, taking care of my body with exercise and drinking less, shit like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Put Aloha On It,” “Bitter Sweet LA,” “A\u2019a,” and “Blood In The Water.” I produced all of them and not only are they very personal songs, I tried to make them entertaining and relatable. Except for “A\u2019a” \u2014 that one is just fun. It\u2019s just a very good representation of where I\u2019m planning on going with my music<\/p>\n\n\n\n I started my career in the live entertainment industry and as a promoter, which later led to where I am now, handling sales\/booking for venues in Los Angeles (I work remotely). When I first got into this line of work, it took so much away from making music. I still worked at Starbucks when I started as a promoter, so I was getting about 3 \u2013 5 hours of sleep everyday. Then when I got hired to book events at venues, I was very green and spent hours trying to get the hang of it all because I didn\u2019t want to get fired. By the time I got the hang of it, I put my music on the back burner for years, so I thought, “Well, I already left the game this long, might as well come back with a bang and return with a few tricks up my sleeve.” So I learned a little bit of music theory, bought a guitar, and started making beats. Now I got that in the tool shed\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n G Yamazawa, Nana, Mick Jenkins, Dan Auerbach, Eric Burton, Zach De La Rocha<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have an EP called Talk Pidgin to Me<\/em> which will likely drop in July ( I just need to mix and master it). While I\u2019m wrapping that up I\u2019m working on a group project with my braddah High Dali from Oahu. We\u2019re still working on a group name, so if y’all have any suggestions, I\u2019m all ears. High Dali plays guitar, sings, and raps, so that project is going to be heavily influenced by Soul, Blues, Rock, and RnB. I\u2019m most excited about that project\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analog Dive has a story most independent artists can relate to, with more to experience and share in his pursuit of spreading his music and message to as many people within his spectrum. His relentlessness will soon allow him to put his stamp on Hip-Hop along with representation of the Hawaiian islands into the Hip-Hop culture. We’re stoked to see what’s next for Analog Dive as more music and live shows are on the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019ve definitely developed a unique sound in your production and rap style. How would you describe it? Was there any particular artist(s) that influenced it?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou went heavy on the production side of things when you put out your instrumentals project, The Tiki Suit Series. Which do you prefer in the music creation process, the writing and rapping or the production?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
From Hawaii\u2019s Big Island, to LA, to now Las Vegas, did your music change or evolve to each city? Between each city, where did you develop the most as an artist?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
For those who are just discovering you and your music, which tracks would you recommend they listen to first to set a great first impression of you and your music?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019ve been in music for a minute; what has been the biggest challenge thus far and how did you overcome it? How do you stay motivated and inspired to stay in the game?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Dream collab. Go.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ve really jumped all in on the music and spent a lot of time in the studio as of late. What can we expect coming from Analog Dive in the near future?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n