I played the coronet first, and then I upgraded to the trumpet. First song I learned on there was 'Hot Cross Buns.'
I don't know who I can compare my style to because I listen to everybody from old to new. If I hear stuff that I like, I'll definitely gravitate to it and spin it in my own way. I'm a mixture of a lot of people, honestly, but I'm myself.
Wherever you're from, you adapt to your environment. It definitely made my music a little bit more explicit. Because I really was in North Philly, I listened to State Property and stuff. Everything my dad listened to, I listened to.
I really didn't want to rap; I was just a regular kid. My friend - his name is William Aston - we went to the same high school together, and he was rapping. He put out a freestyle over Chris Brown's 'Look at Me Now,' and it was fire, and the whole school went crazy.
The first album I bought, I didn't even buy it. My grandma got Mike Jones and Bow Wow's 'Wanted' a little later. Matter of fact Ying Yang Twins' 'U.S.A. Still United' was the first album, but Mike Jones was the first album I really love.
There's a lot of haters in Philly, but it's a lot of people that give you support - but way more haters. It's definitely a great city to be from. But it's not really a lot of people that come out of there. So when you, like, make it out of Philadelphia, everywhere else is easy.
Mike Jones, Ying Yang Twins, then a little later, Wiz Khalifa and Meek Mill, too. It was the repetitive stuff with Mike Jones when he would give out his number, and I also like his style. Back then, actually, I still think du-rags, grillz, and stuff like that are cool.
I got a lot of influences. I got relevant influences today. I got influences that you wouldn't even think of. I'm very influenced by Marilyn Manson. His style is ridiculous. Like, honestly, if you want me to keep it 100, Marilyn Manson has as much style as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.
I saw Marilyn Manson. He had, like, the platinum grills, and that's when I got my first ones. And honestly, I didn't even buy them. My grandma bought those. I paid her back right away, though.
I remember, when I first rapped, I was writing raps. I don't write raps at all; I stopped early. I don't know - it seems like every day I find something a little bit easier.
My first CD that I had was the Ying Yang Twinz, and my grandma bought it for me. Honestly, I think my grandma got it from a thrift store or something. She just got it for me. It was in downtown Philadelphia. And I would listen to it. I liked it. None of my friends did, though, but I liked it.
Honestly, if you want me to keep it 100, Marilyn Manson has as much style as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. He has a lot of style. I'm telling you, it's crazy. It might be a little darker, but it's crazy.
I don't know... Philly's a little different. It's a little bit more competitive. Everybody's got something to prove. In Atlanta, you see stars every day walking down the street; it's normal.