BANGER EXCLUSIVE: Get To Know WILLIS

1. Why Music?

First off, my mom is a musician, so it’s a hunnid percent in the genes. 

Grew up with music in the household at all times, so I gravitated towards the shit. 

I started with guitar and piano. Took guitar lessons for a couple years and taught myself the piano, and I’m glad I learned instruments because it made me a better producer & composer. 

Music is just what I fell in love with from an early age, and it’s always felt like what I was supposed to do. 

2. Can't lie, Pump Fake is our favorite song by you with Go being a close second! Describe the making of that song?

Man. The making of all my songs varies like hell. Each song has a different process. 

I produce WAY more than I rap, I make like 5 beats every day, and Pump Fake was one of those. 

I was like halfway thru making the beat when the hook started singing itself in my head. Obviously I was in my basketball bag when I wrote it, lol. 

The verse was actually something I had written to a Mandog beat (amazing producer from Nap) about a year and a half ago. 

Ended up throwing that verse on Pump Fake, mixing everything, and boom. 

It is what it says in the title. Just a lil Pump Fake to hold people over till my album comes. 

3. What are your future plans as far as new music and possibly touring?

Currently planning a tour with my people... shhhh... Future music plans though.. wherever my art takes me. 

I’ve got some more tangible goals in mind, but everything will come to full fruition once my album comes out. 

4. You have 24 hours to make a hit record. Biggest one of your life. You can be locked in the studio with 2 artists of your choosing. They are...?

Smino and Big Krit. Two of my favorite artists. 

I know we’re prolly talking money here, but my heart tells me to go with people who’s art I really appreciate. 

5. Describe your sound using only three words. 

Whatever I want. 

6. If you had to pick a popular song to listen to for a day straight, what is it?

There’s so many, damn. I gotta go with God’s Plan right now. 

Recent n dope. Drake never misses. 

7. What’s the most fun part of being an artist?

Getting to wake up and decide what my day is gonna look like. 

Translating the creative aspect of the music into my every day and deciding where I’m gonna seek inspiration from. 

8. Describe your creative process? 

Random. I sit down and make beats constantly, and words usually seem to just write themselves in my head. 

My creative process is fluid and sorta crazy. 

I don’t have a rigid process for each song. I just throw paint of all colors at the canvas. 

9. What do you feel you contribute to music?

My perspective, my opinion, and my experience. 

10. Gimme a day in the life of Willis? 

This year I’m focusing on keeping myself busy. I’m trying to keep myself active and moving, so every day I wake up and try to capture something. 

Some days it’s “how am I gonna make some money today?” other’s it’s “what am I gonna create today?” 

And a lot of times it’s “how am I gonna network and build with my people today?” 

My days are all up to me, I don’t have a job other than music, so it’s up to me to keep myself focused, motivated, and excited about all the possibilities I have. 

11. Who would you say you have drawn inspiration from over the years? 

    Musicians or otherwise.

I draw inspiration from all kinds of things, not just music. 

My mom inspires me to stay on my hustle. 

My friends inspire me to stay grounded and be a good person (and most of my friends inspire me artistically too cause they’re mostly artists themselves). 

My experiences inspire me in whatever form they take, movies inspire me, etc. 

I find inspiration wherever it naturally finds it’s way into my heart and soul. 

On a more tangible level, my favorite national artists right now are Smino, Lil Durk, and Big Krit. 

Some of my favorite artists from my city (who are also my close friends) are Paper Cleveland, Diop, James Oakland, and Double A. 

There’s a very long list of Naptown artists that I love and listen to, and for the most part know personally. 

Imma just type out a bunch more here: Mathaius Young, Sirius Blvck, Dbo, Veno Da Don, Jeremiah Stokes, Pope Adrian Bless, Baby Ebony, Mula Kkhan, Distinct, Allison Victoria, Dre Dys, Tray Watkins, Maxie Flaco, Drayco McCoy. 

I already know I’m leaving off a bunch of important names, there’s just so many people in the city who I fuck with that it’s hard to keep track, lol. 

12. What do you want your legacy in music to be when it's all said and done?

I just want to be remembered for who I am, and for the fact that I always stayed true to who I am and created through the lens of my own eyes and experience.

I just want people to know how much I love art, and that my life wouldn’t be what it is without it. 

And hopefully I carry on the work of the artists and mediums that inspired me in the first place.

Listen to some of Willis' stand out tracks from oldest to newest below and make sure to follow him on social media @WillyFromIndy