It was 5 years ago when many listeners first saw Connecticut rapper, OnCue arise on on many prominent music blogs. He had just released one of many tracks to go viral, “It Usually Goes,” and was currently in the process of being vaulted from musical obscurity to a constant feature on a surplus of music blogs featuring up and coming rappers in the Southern states. Known for his heavy hitting bars, and relentlessly honest lyrics that had easily won him the respect of a fast-growing fan base.
He quickly became known for being one of the few emcees who fearlessly talked about challenging real life situations that many of us could relate to – the most common subject being overcoming both situational and personal adversity. By the end of 2014 he’d released multiple celebrated projects, and recruited renowned producer Just Blaze for the majority of the production on his latest, Angry Young Man.
“When you want something bad enough, you’re going to find a way.” – OnCue
This isn’t to say that there weren’t obstacles along the way that we witnessed as well, and that we’ve subsequently heard about in his music. Angry Young Man (which was released in late September of 2014) came after a 3-year hiatus between projects. While it was a pivotal project for the emcee, it was also followed by another short period of musical silence until as of recently.
8 months ago (similar to 5 years ago) news arose online along with the release of new singles like “Time” and “Boy on the Come Up” which both toted a redefined sound. With whisperings of a new project on the near horizon we recently had a chance to catch up with OnCue this summer to talk about his upcoming EP, his growth as an artist, and how his journey thus far has perfectly prepared him for the next step in his career.
Q&A: OnCue
Interview conducted by Kira Hunston for HipHopCanada
OnCue: Hey boo, what’s going on?
HipHopCanada: It’s tough to get ahold of you! It’s like we’re too far North or something.
OnCue: I had to download Skype on my phone because my hard drive crashed on tour, so I’m actually waiting for a new hard drive to be shipped.
HipHopCanada: No way! That’s the worst timing. If I’m correct you recently got off a tour with Hendersin?
OnCue: Yea that just ended – I just got back in New York like 3 or 4 hours ago.
HipHopCanada: How was that experience?
OnCue: It was good. I’m kind of adjusting to the fact that I’m even capable of even headlining a tour, especially mid project-cycle. Usually when people go out to tour, especially artists of my size, they’ll usually tour after a project because all eyes are on them at that moment. So, it’s been cool. I consistently see new people coming to the shows. Lately I feel like I’m really starting to sharp up my live performance.
HipHopCanada: It’s crazy because we really watched you go through your own personal and musical growth over the last 5 years. How do things generally feel at this point in your career compared to two years ago when you released Angry Young Man?
OnCue: Shit, it will be almost 2 years – it’s about a year and a half now. With Angry Young Man – there was a lot of difficulties getting that project out. Even though it was finally coming out, I just knew at that point in my career that I was gone for so long. Relatively speaking, in internet terms and stuff like that, I was gone for three years and I was stepping back in and knew that it was going to be a climb back to gain the momentum that I had before I left. So this time around, (versus the AYM days) I consistently try to grow and learn every day and I feel like I’m just ready for it. I’m ready for all the things I worked towards. It may sound really weird coming from someone who’s been chasing one singular thing for 5 or 6 years now, but I have a lot of mental clarity right now and it’s amazing.
HipHopCanada: It feels like you’re coming into your own at this point and like you really know what you want to say this time around. Do you feel like you’ve settled a little into who you are as an artist now?
OnCue: Yea for sure. I think I’m kind of experimenting a little less at this point, and not overthinking anymore. I used to overthink so much that sometimes, most of the time, it would get in the way. For me, personally, after AYM I finally started believing in what I had at that very moment in time. The whole time, I’ve kind of been on this journey. I knew I was going to outwork everyone, and I knew I was going to eventually get better than my contemporaries because I wanted it more than the next man. But after making AYM, I think I finally sat back and thought “Holy Shit, I can’t believe I made this.” I think for the first time in my whole career I really impressed myself. When it comes to making the new stuff it just gives you this confidence that you can’t really get from twitter comments or likes or followers or co-signs.
HipHopCanada: That’s definitely come through recently in your music. “3am” had such a dope R&B feel to it. That’s been a new direction for you, can we expect to see more of that style from you?
OnCue: It kinda is and it kinda isn’t. It’s kind of always been there in doses. “Cigarettes and Perfume” is an extremely fan favourite – and it still goes off at the shows. I’ve been listening to more R&B in the past few years so it’s definitely infiltrated the music more than it used to. So yeah, you’ll definitely see more of that. The next record we’re putting out that’s not off Perfectly Tragically Flawed is kind of in the middle of “Boy On the Come Up” and “3am”. It’s more R&B than “Boy On the Come Up” but it’s not as late-night jam feel as “3am”. One of the first or second albums that I ever bought was Usher’s “My Way”, so I’ve always had that bug in me. I’m actually fucking around with the idea of putting out a whole R&B album.
HipHopCanada: I saw that tweet! I thought that was the best idea you’ve ever had.
OnCue: Yeah, I mean I could do it. The people that fuck with me, fuck with that side of me too but I like to do it in doses. I want to be known as a musician, and as a rapper first. I want to make sure that people really understand what I’m really about.
HipHopCanada: How do you feel that your music has evolved over these last few years, especially since the last album? What happened during those last two years that has brought you to this point?
OnCue: The drum sounds started to get a little less weird. If you’re dating back to Can’t Wait to AYM, the drum sounds were always extremely unique – which is awesome. I might get too technical for a second but I had this conversation with a long-time collaborator of mine, CJ Luzi, who produced a majority of Can’t Wait and a couple of records on AYM He was like “Hey, how do you feel about using these 808 kits, that were so out of the time at the time.” In the past, while making AYM, I was straying away from them because I kind of wanted to set myself apart from all of that. Over the last couple of years, and when I started to actually choose beats, I realized from a purely sonic standpoint that 808s and the snares in those kits have a lot of lows and highs. In AYM there was a lot of mids in the drums which made me kind of have to fight with the drums. The drums were taking up space. But when we start looking at music today, I’ve been able to experiment with flows, cadences, and tones with my vocals. It started to open up a whole new world.
HipHopCanada: Damn, you know this stuff in and out. A lot of artists get up there and they don’t really know what they’re doing. You’ve been creating music for so long, what are some things that have helped you maintain your focus?
OnCue: I’ve wanted this since I was 10. I want this with every bone in my body, and I know that this it’s kind of hard to explain, but when you want something bad enough, you’re going to find a way. All that time I was gone when I wasn’t releasing music I was still in the studio every day. It wasn’t like I ever took time off. I haven’t been on a vacation since I was 18 years old. I love it (music). I consume it on a daily basis. I love making it, and to be completely frank with you I can’t see myself doing anything else in this life. I’ve known this since I was a little kid.
HipHopCanada: When I first heard, “It Usually Goes” I always felt that you rapped from a really authentic and honest place. You’ve always been really unapologetic about who you are. What kind of other reactions have you gotten from your fan base?
OnCue: We just got off the short tour and people know all the words to “Boy On the Come Up” and that shit came out a couple months ago. I took a close childhood friend on this tour, she did merchandise on it, and even she was shocked. She didn’t know what to expect when it came to the newer stuff. I’m just kind of moving in such a fast pace now. I was in the studio until 4 am the night before we left for Philly. I didn’t even really stop and think about the concept that everybody in the crowd would be singing it. It’s cool.
HipHopCanada: At this point in your career what are some of your goals for the future and how have they evolved as your career has?
OnCue: I don’t think my main goal has changed. I want to be one of the biggest artists in the world, unabashedly and without forfeiting anything. I want to have a number one record and be on the radio, do it the right way and not take shortcuts. To me, (and I tell this to the people I work with) I’m scared as fuck of mediocrity. I want to make great art. I’m hands-on with the videos and hands-on with the art. Eventually I want to start a creative/directing type of firm. When I’m old as fuck I want to help give other artists and other creatives ideas to help expand on their creativity. I’ve been a graphic designer since I was 15 as well, so art is me, in every aspect.
HipHopCanada: You’ve got this really dope, omnipresent perspective that you bring to your bars. What’s your writing process like? Do you go into a writing session knowing what you want to say?
OnCue: The truth is, it always changes but most of the time when it comes to full bodies of work. Perfectly Tragically Flawed is an EP, and it’s 6 tracks long. I kind of want to know my mission statement before I start a project, whether it be 12 songs or 6. There’s one singular, over-arching feeling on Perfectly Tragically Flawed. To be honest I just wanted to show the world it’s okay to accept your flaws. A lot of this is in response to me disappearing, and the bullshit, and just realizing it’s okay to fall down. It’s about taking pride in the fact that if you’re willing to, you can get back up. For full bodies of work, I like to have that mission statement because it helps me guide it and sound cohesive. But with songs in particular, I find inspiration everywhere. I just got off tour so I’m vegging today, and watching Orange is the New Black. But if I’m paying attention – whether it be to a tv show, a film, or a book – I’m always kind of working.
HipHopCanada: There’s some lyrics on “Time” when you rap, “Reminding myself, Why the Fuck’d you move out here, didn’t you have some big-ass point to prove out here?” I feel like a lot of people can relate to that struggle of the desire to succeed and self-doubt. What does that song mean to you?
OnCue: To be honest, it was on New Years Eve when me and my cuz’ were in the studio. He made the skeleton of the beat and I wrote the lyrics and the hook kind of subconsciously. I was humming “Time don’t wait for you.” I was thinking, no pun intended, “Holy fuck, it’s about to become 2016 and I’m nowhere near where I want to be.” I recorded the hook that night, and on New Years Eve I proceeded to have a social life and get drunk for a couple hours. When I went back to the record, I thought that the hook was really strong. I don’t usually write a hook on the spot, but I just started writing. Time has been my arch nemesis in my career. Time was really the one thing that was holding me back, and it kind of brought up that gap in time before AYM. I started thinking about all the things that were running through my head in that 3 year span. Sometimes you can be your own worst enemy. I want to be number one, and every decision I’ve ever made has been to keep things authentic and tasteful while still trying to inch closer to any possible greatness I could get my hands on. Sometimes that’s a heavy load to carry.
HipHopCanada: Having been in the game for so long, what’s been the biggest obstacle that you’ve faced personally and musically?
OnCue: I think it was myself. I kind of talk about it in “Time”- CJ kind of stopped making a lot of records early on, and I had to pick up the pieces in terms of getting the right production for me. It was an obstacle, and in the grand scheme of things a small one. But, at the time it was a huge obstacle. I had a former manager and things just weren’t going the way that I saw fit. At a point in “Time” I say “Quit blaming Ceej and Jay, this shit’s a fucking game.” At a certain point I was blaming them. It still boils down to me. At the end of the day, I’m the boss. I still have to be the boss. Right now I feel like I’ve been reborn with a built-in loyal fan base.
HipHopCanada: When can we expect the project to drop?
OnCue: To be perfectly honest we’re just figuring out paperwork. It’s been done for a couple of months. Regardless, there’s more music coming. It sounds ridiculous but it’s true.
HipHopCanada: The way that people have reacted on social media reinforces that this project is really going to help you move onto something greater.
OnCue: I feel it too. This shit makes sense. Looking at the goals that I’ve had all along. I never wanted to be an overnight thing, and to finally get it but then not appreciate it. In 2011 and 2013 I wouldn’t have been mentally ready. Everyone is different. I don’t know if I could’ve handled fame, money, or gotten my bearings. If “Feel Tall” blew up I don’t know if I would have been able to handle it or hold onto it. If the next 12 months is finally gonna’ be my moment, then I’m happy for that. I was able to learn. I keep reminding myself of that.
HipHopCanada: How do you feel like the community reacts between peers, and what kind of reactions have you received from your contemporaries?
OnCue: I keep to myself. I’m very picky with what I listen to. I don’t really associate with a lot of artists if they’re music doesn’t move me. That might be my bougie ass complex but I think I’m better than 98% of the people out. I think I care about this shit more. For the most part I like to stick to myself. It’s a business at the end of the day and everyone is competing regardless if they say they’re not.
HipHopCanada: In terms of future collaborations, who would you want to work with?
OnCue: Jay-Z and Ye’ are on the top of my Mount Rushmoore. I’m currently working with a producer on Perfectly Tragically Flawed who was responsible for making one of my favourite albums of all time, besides Just Blaze, and Maki who executively produced the project with Just as well. I’ve got my team. I’m so thankful for my team – for Maki, and Breton Duvall and everyone I work with. I feel like I’m working with some of the best people in the business in terms of talent and humans.
HipHopCanada: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us. I’m stoked to be able to share your perspectives and for the opportunity to introduce you to our wider Canadian audience.
OnCue: I mean shit, thank you for the opportunity. I appreciate the love 100%.
Follow OnCue on Instagram @MyNameCuey.
