Hi! My name is LEEWAY and I am a Chinese-American rapper, from the Bay Area, now based in Brooklyn. I have been making music for almost eight years. I also have a background in visual arts and do design work full-time. I am inspired by other rappers such as J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Saba, & Smino, to name a few.

Q: When did you start and complete the album “Stay Gold”?

I started working on "Stay Gold." in the winter of 2020 right before the pandemic hit, and finished writing & recording in the winter of 2021. It took about another half year to finish up the mixing / mastering process and get the visual branding of the album ready for release.

Q: What or who inspired you to create this project? What was your favorite part of creating the album?

I was inspired to create this project by my experiences falling in and out of a relationship and my struggles with mental health while stuck at home during the pandemic. Writing the album was a way for me to process my emotions and cope with the hardships I was going through.

My favorite part of creating the album was conceptualizing the story I was trying to tell in the track list from front to end, and then curating the beats to that story. My second favorite part was listening to the album after recording it was complete. It was very cathartic.

Q: What is the Golden Frog and what was your involvement with this event? How did the event go?

Golden Frog was a rooftop show I put on with two of my close friends Archie (DJ Fat Frog) and Parker (Satandoll). It was the follow-up to a rooftop show I had thrown myself the year prior, but this time we wanted it to be even bigger, with vendors, and way more artists and DJs. We wanted to create a space for creatives we knew in the city to share their art and find community and for people to enjoy their talents and have a good time.

My responsibilities included planning event logistics, branding, preparing the space, setting up sound, managing artists/vendors, getting people to come, and also performing my own set.

At first, the event started beautifully, and a lot more people than we expected showed up, which was amazing. Unfortunately, halfway through the night, building management of the rooftop shut down the show due to sound / too many people being on the roof.

I was pretty bummed because that happened right before my set time, and there were a lot of people who had come just to see me perform. However, despite the abrupt ending, everybody who came said they had a great time while it lasted and the vendors/artists who got to perform were super grateful for the experience. And we (the organizers) learned a lot for the next time we plan an event like this.

Q: What made you decide on the Tye Die idea for your merch?

I have a pretty small fanbase so I wanted to make something where each piece would be unique and handmade by me to give it that personal touch. I also just happen to personally like tie-dye, so I thought pairing embroidery with bleach dye would make for a timeless sweatshirt that my fans could appreciate for a long time.

Q: How would you say fashion and music intertwine?

To me, fashion is an artistic expression of self in the form of clothing. Similarly, music is an artistic expression of self in the form of sound. So they intertwine in the sense that they are both ways I can express myself outwardly to the world. Additionally, appearances say a lot, and people can get a sense of who you are / what your music might sound like just based on the way you dress.

Q: How was your experience with your GBAC Stage performance? What songs did you perform and what made you choose these songs?

Doing the GBAC Stage was an incredible experience – it was my first time working with such an experienced and professional crew/set. The folks at GBAC did such a phenomenal job setting up the stage and filming my performance. I performed four songs: "Waiting for the Sunlight", "Treadmill", "Fade Away", and "Stay Gold".

"Waiting for the Sunlight" is the first track on the album and the production hits you right out the gate, so it always made sense as the song to introduce myself / the album. Next, "Treadmill" is a more housey, bouncy track that allowed me to showcase some groove and my ability to hop on something other than a traditional rap beat. I then chose "Fade Away" because I wanted to do a slower song where I could flex my storytelling and lyricism on a boom-bap beat. Last, "Stay Gold." is my anthem and the title track of the album so I had to include it. It is the perfect closer.

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Q: Do you think that open mics are important when starting your career? Why?

I would say open mics are important when starting your career because it is a good way to expose yourself and your sound to new audiences. Not only that, it will allow you to get feedback from real people and grow as an artist.

Funny enough, I have not done any open mics. I think that is because before moving to New York, my music was more aggressive and I never lived in an area that had a prevalent hip-hop scene. So I always felt awkward about showing up to some chill bar/cafe and then rapping aggressively at people. However, since moving to New York I have been thinking about showing up to some open mics to build my audience.

Q: What piece of advice would you give to artists just starting their career?

I would say just keep creating and never let anyone/anything stop you from doing it. When I first started, I had very few resources and nobody around me who could give me any sort of guidance when it came to making music. However, there are so many resources online that if you set your mind to it, you can do it all yourself. I learned everything myself from rapping, writing, recording, mixing, mastering, and marketing by following YouTube tutorials and looking at Reddit threads.

Admittedly, my music also was pretty bad when I first started. But had I gotten discouraged and given up, I never would have gotten to where I am today. Even if you think your art is not good, if you are passionate enough about it and put in the work, you will improve and eventually get to where you want to be.

Q: What do you think there is a need for, in the music industry?

I think there is a need for more spaces/organizations to help up-and-coming creatives to share their music, connect with the community, and grow as artists. Now that I am in New York I am surrounded by it, but when I lived in the Bay Area / Boston I found it difficult to find those spaces where I could connect with others with my art.

Nowadays, social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram make it so anyone can find their audience – but to do so, artists have to sacrifice precious time and energy to create that content. Time and energy that would have been spent creating their art. It is a lot of work trying to juggle all of these different things as one person without a team. So I think that it would be awesome if more organizations could help smaller artists with the marketing/business side of things so they can focus on creating their artistic expression.

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