Jackson, Mississippi rapper, SilaS, will be playing his first show in Oxford on November 17. The stop will be a part of his Gullah Gullah Island Tour II. The rapper took some time out of avoiding election results to chat with us about the upcoming tour and his influences as an artist.
“We’re doing a couple cities in Louisiana, a Memphis show, Mississippi of course, and we’ll be in Texas,” said SilaS. “We’re just adding some different cities to it this time around. It’s crazy man. People are wanting to see me perform and that’s a blessing in itself.”
Gullah Gullah Island Tour II will be his largest endeavor yet on the road. Depending on venue, his shows can range from him and a DJ to a full backing band.
“It’s bananas man, really more so because of the energy I get from the crowd,” said SilaS. “It’s a well-rounded show, with some great hip-hop. We’ve got some high energy and some stuff you can just vibe to.”
Live instrumentation is something that SilaS wants to work towards and is largely rooted in that he has been playing the trumpet since his adolescent days.
“I’m a trumpet a player, been one for a very long time,” said SilaS. “It’s something I’ve been doing but never tried to incorporate into hip-hop. I tried it and people liked it. I’m just trying to give people every aspect of me, especially doing live performance.”
The Day I Died, features a handful of producers including SilaS himself. With each track, he works with the beats from the ground up as much as possible so as to design the sound around how his own delivery and cadence.
“I really want to work with the producer and bring my own ideas in,” said SilaS. “I’m a real stickler for delivery. I really like to enunciate and I think of my voice really as just another instrument on the beat. I want it to be something that compliments everything that’s going on rather than just being on top of it.”
While talking about his future, we asked SilaS his plans on staying in the Jackson area as his career continues to grow.
“Probably not,” said SilaS. “I’ve been here my whole life. I want live a little and see the world. I’ll always come back home to visit, but I’m young right now.”
SilaS recently filmed a video for “Wiz” that he expects to drop, “at the top of the year.”
Amidst all the imagery SilaS pulls heavily, both in appearance and artwork, from the popular manga and anime, Naruto. He explains what his close connection is to the series and its main character.
“It’s a character that I really relate to, I see a lot of myself in him,” said SilaS. “The values that the show has, that someone who is always last in everything can, in the end, become the top dog. Work hard and never give up, that’s one of the qualities I like him. He’s not the most talented guy, but he continues to work hard and do whatever he has to do to get to where he wants to be. That’s a strong quality that I would like have for myself.” 
