viisi - Runner (Official Music Video)
By: Phil Deutsch, IG: @pbdeutsch
If you’re on the lookout for something emerging out of Canada, viisi - pronounced “vee•see” not “vizzy” - is a rapper who’s popped on the scene with only a few singles to his name, but has already been rising fast and growing his following. His latest effort, the video for the track “runner,” is a thrilling homage to Get Out, directed by Martin LaFrenière. With a full narrative and a chilling twist, viisi’s fast paced flow mingles perfectly with the video to create an intimidating sense of suspense.
viisi switches his flow up several times on the F E R R O-produced track, only hinting at the full range of his lyrical skills on “runner.” Check out this release for a stellar example of how to best support a new single - with amazing visuals. Check out our exclusive interview with the rapper below!
How’d you start? What’s the plan going forward?
My dad listened to rap music, he wouldn’t let me listen to it usually, but he’d give me bits and pieces and I loved it all. I’d sneak upstairs and go on YouTube. I started with Eminem and Tupac, and it was over. I knew that I wanted to make music that could give people that feeling I felt then.
I started at 9 years old, but my first song didn’t come out until 9th grade. Looking back now it’s not my best work, but based on the reaction there, and starting to hear that I had tapped into people emotionally, I spiraled into it.
Was the song made with the lyrics and beat together?
I wrote it from a random internet beat. I didn’t know how to produce then, about two and a half years ago, and I just picked the beat for its BPM.
When I met FERRO, we scrapped the whole beat and co-produced the track from the ground up together, making it around the lyrics.
How does cinematography come into song creation?
Every song that I write, I imagine a music video that goes with it. Whether it ends up happening or not, that’s part of the writing process. If it was up to me, and I had the budget, I’d release a video every time for singles. Next to making music, videography and directing are big passions of mine. I like to dip into other outlets of art besides just making music.
What do you want your legacy to be?
I want to be someone who stays true to themselves. I don’t want to do things that aren’t me to get ahead faster, I’m okay with just being me and making it known that I’m not okay with a trend just to hop on it. Being diverse and being able to dip into other mediums should be a part of my growth.
How did you come up with your name?
My stage name used to be “Matt Redd” & after I got back from touring in Europe I was on my fifth year of making music and about to start the next 5.
At this point I was in talks with Tim about signing to pipe & hat and there’s this saying that “life goes in 5 year cycles”
And In the midst of signing to pipe & hat I started realizing I wanted to take music more serious but I was affiliating my old stage name with a childhood version of myself so I thought it was time for a rebranding.
I went through lots of different names for myself but none of them stuck out, that’s when I reached out to my friend Faouzia and she suggested “Da Vinci” and as cool as the name is I didn’t want to just straight up take someones name but decided I could maybe play off of it. That’s when I thought of
“viisi”
viisi, means 5 in the Finnish language, something I learnt that back when I was in Europe in 2018 closing my first 5 years of making music and stating my next 5 year cycle signed to pipe and hat and about to take this industry more serious.