Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Felly

Felly has quickly emerged as a trailblazer in music. His unique sound blurs the line between rap and consciousness and has captivated millions of listeners around the globe. He’s performed at venues around the world and received praise from publications including Billboard, XXL, and Hot New Hip Hop.

This October, he dropped his highly-anticipated album Young Fel 2.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Felly about his rise to the top, his creative process, and all things Young Fel 2.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Felly: When I was younger, I was left alone a good amount. My dad battled cancer from when I was three until I was eight (when he passed), so my mom was gone a lot of the time. That set the stage for me to think deeper about what life is and what is going on. My mom was a great mother, but when my dad died when I was eight, she had to keep going on with life and take care of two other kids. My brother and my sister were in high school, so I was either getting babysat or left alone.

That set the stage for me to be like, “Well, shit. I’ve got to make use of this time and make something good out of a boring situation.” That’s just the type of person I am. I remember hearing old hip-hop songs on vinyl records or sampled songs. I was like, “What is this old-fashion sound?” Then, I realized they were sampling old vinyl records. I thought that was really cool, so that’s how I started. I got a sampler and started making beats and records. I found out where things came from, and it merged into my own writing and production.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Felly: I think the music of Bob Marley. Like a lot of artists, it’s not about them, but it’s their message and what they’re making you feel. I was so thankful and indebted to the way that these artists would make me feel. I felt the need to give that forth and contribute that back. So, artists like Rage Against the Machine, Atmosphere, and Bob Marley—were my friends during lonely times. It was beautiful music to me, and I wanted to give that forth.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Felly: Being able to go on a big tour with all my friends. Being able to pay everybody and employ twelve of my friends. I was able, through whatever gift I was blessed with, to help the homies out and give us all an amazing time. That was the coolest thing. I don’t feel the success as much as maybe I should, but I think that’s natural. You set bigger goals and all that, but I think it was really cool to do it with your friends.

PC: Tell us about “Bones” and the inspiration behind the song.
Felly: “Bones” was supposed to be on the album after Young Fel 2 because on Young Fel 2, I wanted to double up on my hip-hop roots and rap more. I went through many iterations of the project and had to see what felt the most natural and what carried the highest frequency.

Then, I started to make more guitar indie records, like “Bones”. I was like, “I’ll put that out after,” but I loved it so much that I was like, “This needs to come out now.” I had to jump the gun on that. It’s when you can’t control your growth, sometimes you’re in dry spells, and sometimes you’re growing like crazy. I feel like the past three of four months leading up to this album has been accelerated growth.

PC: If you had to select a song off of Young Fel 2 that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Felly: “Fresh Water”. It’s the intro, and it has a lot of vulnerability and honesty to it. It has ethereal sounds; it’s almost spiritual in some sense. It alludes to Jesus, which I’m not necessarily super religious, but it was part of my upbringing. It has a lot of self-reflection. I’m a bit of a deep motherf*cker. I’m not trying to tame that, but I’m trying to investigate that as much as anyone and see what’s there. It’s very honest, vulnerable, real, and has that energy and dopeness behind it that everything needs.

PC: How would you say this body of work differentiates itself from your previous releases?
Felly: I would say it has the most advanced songwriting. I really started to grasp how to write a song and how to make moments. There’s a lot of that. In the past, it would be an open-ended journal entry and you got to feel a lot of me, but it wasn’t very presentable. This feels like it’s presented more concisely, and I found that to be important because I noticed when I’m talking and existing, people have no idea what I’m talking about. Sometimes you need to set that stage for them to understand that. That’s what a good song is. It’s simple.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Felly: I don’t think they would be surprised because they know that I’m very versatile, but I do remember being in line at a King Krule concert and having someone come up to me and say, “What are you doing here?” [laughs] I was alone. I was like, “I love this shit. What are you talking about?” They were like, “I thought you did frat rap.” I was like, “Shit. I either need to rebrand or be more true to myself and my art.”

PC: First album you bought?
Felly: 50 Cent’s The Massacre.

PC: First concert you attended?
Felly: It was one that my parents took me to, and that was the Beach Boys. The first one that I was in control of was Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights, Fall Out Boy, and Atmosphere.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Felly: It was Red Rocks, but I did that recently. The next one is the Gorge.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Felly: Non-meat snacks. If you leave LA and you go to the South, it isn’t very health conscious. All you need on the road is good food. On the next tour, I’ll have some health freak packaged snacks so that I’m not getting a fish sandwich from McDonald’s at two in the morning.

Check out Felly’s latest music video for “Midnight”

To keep up with Felly, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music.