Recently Texas rapper Project88Icon spoke about his recent run of successes after being featured on NBA 2k21 with his song, “Go Viral.” In addition to his recent placement in the video game space he also landed a placement on Netflix and ESPN’s newest untitled series that has yet to be released.
Brought up in both Texas and Atlanta, Project88Icon says his music is a fusion of the two cities’ music with a futuristic twist.
“I rap, I can sing – I do it all. Some say I’m just musically inclined, but I’ve just been making music since I was younger. In middle school I was a fan of 2Pac, but I wanted to be a DJ. I thought I was going to be a DJ but then I started writing poems. My poems just kind of started turning into raps.”
“Atlanta moves on a different time so it allowed me to move around out there and understand the scene” – Project88Icon
From there while living in Atlanta Project88Icon soaked up the culture of ATL making long lasting connections with artist like Gorilla Zoe and other up and coming acts like Johnny Cinco.
“I moved to Atlanta when I was younger, I went to school out there for a little while. Growing up in Atlanta I saw a lot of activity as far as the music scene and the streets. I connected with a whole lot of people when I was younger and a lot of those people are DJs now and we’ve just stayed connected. Atlanta moves on a different time so it allowed me to move around out there and understand the scene,” Project88Icon said. “I was always writing and making music but I didn’t understand the business and so I did whatever I could to get my foot in the door. I did everything from working and writing for artists to doing whatever I could to help build their buzz.”
Plotting and planning his next moves Project88Icon released his first album in 2020 called Area88 and has since continued to feed the fans releasing roughly 9 singles in a few years time which included his fan favorite and breakout single, “Glizzy.”
“Glizzy was a spurt of the moment song, just a leaving the spot type thing. I had situations where I had people turn their back on me. That song was made from the experience where someone was close to me and set me up. I promised myself I would never be caught lacking without my pistol. I made a song about it and it was produced by my boy Feddi. We connected and knocked it out in like an hour. People always get hype off that song and it really moves the crowd – people really like the song. A lot of people from different walks of life like the song. It’s the wild wild west out here now, this is what it is,” Project88Icon said.
The song was released as a single on the Area 88 album and accompanies other songs that Project88Icon has released with Johnny Cinco, Gorilla Zoe and others.
“I got a street team and I promote music online, word of mouth is always great. But I am always trying to expand my brand. And that way I can tap into them when we need each other. We got the Alien Mob over here that’s always been so supportive of my music. It’s just we got a different way of thinking and moving. So we have that out of the world energy with everything that we do and you can catch that vibe in my 11:11 visual.”