Hot on the heels of Forever, Bronx emcee Godz Chyld’s collaboration with Killah Priest/Tragedy Khadafi producer Jordan River Banks comes a new single, also titled Godz Chyld. Explaining the song, Gods Chyld said “Godz Chyld is not only my name as a rapper – it’s just what I am…This song is just me explaining what that means to me, which is probably completely different from what you would think at first hearing it. This song is an introduction and attempt at getting that point across.”
Certainly he has a nice easy flow and interesting lyrical wordplay, all delivered in an abrupt, almost retro style, but this guy is definitely poking his head out of the underground and liking what he sees.
We caught up with him to get the low down on his history, his influences, his music, and his future.
I am Godz Chyld. That’s my stage name and that’s also who and what I am in my everyday life. I’m a 25 year old emcee from New York.
I make music that contains a part of me in every song. Every song has a part of my essence because I’m myself in my music. I don’t lie or front. Everything is my real feelings and thoughts and I put it out there for anyone to hear.
The records that got me into hip-hop were Pretty much, 2Pac’s Me Against The World and All Eyez On Me albums. Those projects made me want to rap. I had heard alot of the hip hop that was out at that time and none of it inspired me to do it. But when I heard those albums and heard the heart he put in his music it made me want to do the same. Also alot of Wu-Tang’s earlier stuff inspired me too.
The best hip-hop record of all time is Gang Starr’s “Moment Of Truth”. That song connected with me in a strong way ever since the first time I heard it. Those are some of the truest lyrics i’ve ever heard. That whole album is a classic and I love pretty much everything Gang Starr came out with. R.I.P. Guru.
I started rhyming When I was about 12 or 13. I just tried it out for fun and people started liking it so I kept on, then I fell in love with the effect I could have on people. I was real quiet when I was younger, and when I’d rap it was a way for me to let people know where my mind was at and impress them and I loved how having that effect made me feel. I was always intelligent as a kid so I knew how to flip things and write clever lines. So I’d surprise people with my intelligence. Ever since I noticed that I never stopped.
The things that influence my rhymes are My hunger to be seen as a great emcee. Every time I hear a beat the first thing I’m thinking is, how can I kill this? How can I make people remember who I am? Then I just let go and do me. I don’t overthink what I’m gonna say or analyze it too much. I let it come naturally and my hunger usually does the rest. I have an energy that comes out when I’m in that booth and I let it just take over. I feel the music on a different level. Plus, I’m a perfectionist so I dont stop til I love what I’ve recorded.
I wanted to sound like I wanted to sound like 2Pac when I was younger because I looked up to him. Then Wu-Tang. It wasn’t until I was about 16 that I let go and decided to just be myself completely in my music. Up until that point I was really trying to impress people with my lyrics. After that, it was about expressing and not impressing. That’s when I started to shine. It was a growth thing for me. Then I really started loving rapping even more, because it was a way for me to put all my situations I was going through out in a positive and productive way.
My first battle/public appearance was I’ve never been one to battle. I’ve never seen any real benefit to that. To me, the benefits come from learning to flow on a beat and making songs, so I’ve always tried to perfect that. My first public appearance was when I released a single with Sadat X. That song ended up on iTunes and I did a video for it and promoted it and got people to check it out.
Since then I’ve come out with an album titled Book Of A Scribe. I also have the single with Sadat. Working with him was great because I loved “Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down” when I was younger and I felt he had the best verse on there, plus hes a hip hop legend. I also released an EP with producer Jordan River Banks earlier this year called Forever and that was great for me because I love his sound, from hearing him work with Killah Priest and Hell Razah. So seeing him like my music and wanting to work with me made me real excited and ready to kill anything he sent me.
I work by I don’t write. I go in the studio, hear the beat, light up a joint, and start thinking up lines. Then I might punch in every four bars or so, just thinking up my next lines. I like working like that because I can really capture how i feel as opposed to just reading off of a paper that I wrote a couple days ago or something where the feeling is gone. I capture the energy right at that moment and go in.
My new record is “Godz Chyld”, that’s the first song off an EP I’m releasing soon. I’ve got songs recorded already and I got a few left then I’ll release it. It’ll be titled Don’t Sleep On Me.
Lyrically, its about The record started off with me just expressing my hunger and my belief that I’m ill at this. Then I start showing and explaining by example why, and that’s where the Godz Chyld part comes in. I’m showing you why I call myself that. I’m not really explaining but showing by example that I’m the real deal. All these dudes lie about being different or interesting and I feel like I really am what alot of people imitate. The only reason people don’t know yet is because everyone else hasn’t co-signed it yet but I wont stop until they will. I’m Godz Chyld by nature and it’s not a religious thing, it’s a real thing. It’s kinda like saying I’m the one.
On the record I’ve worked with St. Peter did the beat. He also has another song produced on the EP. I got that beat a while ago and decided to just go in on it, and I really just started letting my feelings out on it. Then after hearing it, I realized this song contains a lot of what I feel my name stands for and who I am, so I decided to call it Godz Chyld.
The messages in my rhymes are Mostly positive. I come from a real negative place and it’s not easy to be positive here but I do it every day. For me it’s about showing by example that you can push forward. I want my songs to be positive and fun to listen to so I don’t preach too much. I’d rather let the message be in my actions than my lyrics.
In the future I want to Achieve all my goals grow and evolve. I want to represent the idea that you can do what you want and the only thing holding you back is yourself at the end of the day. For now I’m just starting off with music but I plan to take it as far as my heart desires. For now, I just want to be heard. I also want to be remembered. That was the point of titling my EP with Jordan River Banks Forever. I feel like great people make sure that their names are remembered and uttered throughout history and I want to leave something here as a reference or inspiration to inspire others to push themselves and be great, just like great people inspired me to wanna push myself, and maybe one day be seen as someone who accomplished a lot.
I’d love to work with There are lots of new artists I like. I actually knew Logic back in high school. I lived in Maryland for a little while. So I’d like to work with him. Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean. There are a lot of dudes I respect but I wanna make a name for myself first then work my way up there to earn those features.
