Leading a cultish existence, Deniro Farrar, transforms his thoughts into art. Never hesitating to spit legitimate lyrics, Farrar’s, growing musical family appreciates the unfaltering depth of an expanding perspective. A message, which originated in North Carolina, continues to resonate with a growing global audience. The MC’s natural gift, organic showmanship, and pure humanity helped to garner a recording deal from Warner Brothers and VICE records. The platform has been elevated; these are his words:
AllHipHop.com: On “Feel This” you say, “…I put my life in these beats so I live in these songs…” According to Qushawn Farrar, what is Hip-Hop, and ideally what would you like it to be?
Deniro Farrar: [chuckles] With the state that Hip-Hop is in right now—I wouldn’t even call it Hip-Hop. I feel like we’re living in a time where it’s no longer Hip-Hop. It’s transitioning to something totally different. There’s transition; some are for the better some are for the worse. It’s just transitioning with the times. I feel like things get better and things get worse. Now the whips are much cooler, but they’re not really made out of sh*t. There’s a positive and a negative to everything. I mean, it is what it is, you know what I’m saying.
I would like to be Rap. When you look up the word Rap in the dictionary you see a picture of me. It says, ‘Deniro Farrar: is Rap.’ To be honest, I would like to see it get back to the essence from which it came from. And that’s real music, you know, definitely.
AllHipHop.com: In your opinion, there’s a difference between the art and the culture?
Deniro Farrar: Yes, it’s totally different. There’s a difference between the art and the culture. The culture is just like transitioning with the times. The art is when people actually take their time to perfect something and not just give you anything. Technically, the culture of Rap music isn’t art. In a sense, getting a tattoo is part of our culture. It’s when people’s body tell a story trough their tattoos—that’s art. There’s a difference.
AllHipHop.com: How is the significance of the array of your life’s different situations propelling your art and your business decisions?
Deniro Farrar: I’m keeping good people around me—positive people—people who have been blessed.
AllHipHop.com: Has your circle changed since you’ve got on?
Deniro Farrar: I don’t got no new friends. You know what I’m saying, my last new friend is Annie [his current publicist]. No more new people are slipping through the cracks. Basically, I just structure the business the way it needs to be structured. There’s no nonsense; all the people are positive. From day one, they’ve been blessed. They’re just human. They’re not like other people; we’re just human.
AllHipHop.com: Given that your investment into your art has earned you both personal and professional success, how are you using this accomplishment to help empower those around you?
Deniro Farrar: Technically, at this point, I wouldn’t consider myself successful. In some people’s eyes I am, but I have such a long way to go. I feel like this is just the beginning. If anything I’m in the beginning stages of the success. You know, it inspires people around me. All the time, I get text messages from the people who came from the same struggle that I come from. To see me in New York doing a show like such—it gives people inspiration. It makes them feel like anything could happen. It’s a good feeling.
AllHipHop.com: If the first two verses of DESTINY.altered encapsulate your life’s story; how long did it take you to write it; what will the next project possess to further allow your supporters access into your world?
Deniro Farrar: Um, to be honest, I can’t even tell you what creative space I was in when I wrote that song. I don’t want to lie about it. The creative process and the writing process is different. A lot of songs, every word will come to me right then and there. Some songs takes days to write. I can’t say, that was so long ago. I don’t even know what creative space I was in at the time. When I write music I’m always in a different space. I can’t really pinpoint what space I was in more.
AllHipHop.com: What will your next project possess that will grant your supporters more access to you?
Deniro Farrar: Um, It will possess more me—just exposed in my insecurities and my vulnerabilities. I’m just going with my life story. That’s all I do on tracks anyway. It will get more in-depth into my life with the things that I’ve experienced since dropping [The] Patriarch II. It will go into my life with the deal and the signing [to VICE and Warner Bros. records] and my two sons, of course. My brother is still fighting his pending case. You know, coming up to New York and doing all these shows—getting all these good looks—it’s all going to be in the new project.
AllHipHop.com: How do you draw that boundary between your professional life and personal life?
Deniro Farrar: I want my story to be shared with the world. So, nothing is too personal for the world to know. I’m a human, you know what I’m saying, I’m blessed.
AllHipHop.com: Until the next time, what would you like to share with AllHipHop.com?
Deniro Farrar: I just want everybody to stay blessed. I want them to know that they’ve been blessed since birth. Follow the whole cult-Rap movement. It’s a real movement. I’m bringing real Rap back!