The Hype Magazine Interviews The Faincarter

Faincarter aka Fain Lamar is both a buzzing musician and thriving entrepreneur. When he’s not closing on major real estate deals in the Indianapolis area, Fain is in the recording studio banging out sounds for major projects.

According to The Huffington Post, Faincarter is appearing on the October 6th release,15: The Sins of the Father Playlist that features Eminem’s artists Royce da 5’9″ and Kxng Crooked (“Almost Paradise”), Inspectah Deck from Wu-Tang Clan (“Daddy’s Little Girl”), PM Dawn (“Don’t Change”) and Kanye West songwriter Cyhi The Prynce.

The Hype Magazine sits down with Faincarter for this exclusive interview.

How did you get the name “Faincarter”?

My first stage name was Lamarguitar and after some time, I began to notice how elementary that sounded. Later, I had ended up landing a record deal with an independent label and I made the switch to “Fain”. After things went south with the label, I made my username Faincarter on Instagram, which I thought that name sounded a lot better. Eventually, about a year ago, I decided to change the name completely to Faincarter. The name Faincarter is basically my last name “Fain” and middle name “Carter” combined.

How long have you been a musician?

I started playing instruments when I was 6 years old, or maybe a little younger. I basically remember that my first instrument was a banjo, which the funny thing about that was the fact that it was bought from cracker barrel. I used to take it to church and get in the middle of the isle and rock out with the band even though it wasn’t electric with plastic strings. Later on, I left the banjo on the landing platform at the bottom of the steps and my Dad accidentally stepped on it and cracked the neck in half. After that, I was pretty hurt and upset. For my 7th birthday, my parents surprised me with a dark blue Washburn electric lead guitar, which I played for quite some time doing lessons mainly learning blues. Once I started learning a few riffs, I ended up joining with the church band. Down the road, I had lost some interest, but not totally and played guitar off and on until this other guy joined the church band. Ponell Bruton is his name and he is simply a beast. So at the age of 12, he inspired me to really focus and get back faithfully playing guitar. Ever since then I’ve been murdering the scales and eventually incorporated that craft in my own music.

At what point in your life did you know that you were going to have a career in music?

I noticed once I did my first show. On Saturdays, Sam Ash [the music store] used to book local bands and let them do about an hour set on stage in the store. One day I decided to contact the store manager about booking a live performance. Even though the songs I’ve made at the time were highly mediocre, It was the fact that they actually sounded amazing live. The musicians I had performing were fellow members of the Kingdom Life Church band. Although it might’ve been the church band, the music was hip-hop with a rock twist. We rocked it! The people that were in the store were all watching and quite a few had their cell phones out filming as I rapped while playing the guitar. They were amazed to see a rapper play the guitar behind his head during the solo. Ever since then, I knew I had something else most traditional rappers don’t have.

You play keys and guitar. Which did you learn first? Which is your favorite to play?

I learned guitar before anything which is basically my first love. I started actually learning most of what I know playing with the band at church. The thing about playing in church is that it teaches you almost every style of music you’d need to know. It has also given me that live experience. Most of your well-known singers and musicians started in church and transitioned out like Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry, John Legend, Fantasia, Whitney Houston, Usher and so on and so forth As far as the keys, I mainly play the keys when I’m producing. I know several songs on the keys, which I’m still perfecting that craft. I’d have to say guitar whether it’s lead or bass is my favorite.

When in the songwriting process, do you usually write lyrics first or find a sound on an instrument?

The songwriting process usually gets sparked from messing around with chord progressions on the guitar. A lot of my songs happened that way. When I’m doing songs that don’t rely on guitar, I mainly listen to where the beat is taking me during that process. The melody can actually convey the mood of the song you’re creating. Sometimes I randomly think of nice punchlines that usually sparks a verse, which sometimes turns into a full song.

During what time(s) are you most inspired to make music? Or does it come randomly?

It really depends. There have been times where I heard melodies oddly in a dream while I’m sleeping and once I wake up I immediately put it down so that I wouldn’t forget. Whenever an idea comes about I usually hum the melody in the recorder app on the iPhone and later translate that in Logic Pro X. Sometimes I get inspired when listening to my favorite artists and studying the overall production of the song. I’m also inspired by personal life events and current events.

How do you know when to take a break when you are caught up in the music for a long time? Or do you take breaks?

I realize I have to make myself take breaks every once in a while. I usually start to notice the music creation process gets really tough when I’m forcing it to happen. During my break time, I usually get into other things like real estate and studying business and later come back around to music.

What was your most challenging song and why?

My most challenging song to date I’d say I’m still working on it. It’s a sample of earth wind and fire and lately I haven’t had much direction with the track. The verse I have on it is super dope but after the first verse was dropped it’s been a challenge to complete it. In terms of released tracks, I’d say “On My Mind”. That song I’d say was my 6th song ever created at the time. I knew the lyrics were pretty nice and the chord progression was great but the beat went through so many changes. I’ve made so many versions of that song.

You are known for your amazing sampling skills. How do you know when to add a sample to your music?

Most of the time I’m just playing around with vinyl records or just so happen to randomly stumble upon a song and hear something that I can maybe chop up. Some samples work and some don’t. It all comes down to your creative ability in that process. If you listen to a song closely, you can almost know which parts can sound like a nice loop before you chop it out.

What advice would you give to a beginner who wants to do it all- play instruments, produce, and rap?

I’d say practice is the number one key. Once I began to fully focus on playing guitar, I began to get a lot better at it while studying the greatest musicians like Jimmy Hendrix and Prince. When It comes to producing, it’s about getting the right samples, quality sounds, learning to structure your songs, having a great ear for music and crafting the sound. I usually listen to several genres like Rap, R&B, Pop, Rock, Jazz, and Country. Your sound will be much more versatile when studying all forms of music. When it comes to rap, I usually discipline myself and write a verse, as well as different hook ideas each day. Even if I don’t like the way they might sound, it’s still practice.

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