A Q&A With Hip Hop Artist Ry Willy

Ryan Williams aka Ry Willy grew up in Syracuse, NY listening to rappers like Nas and imagining what the future would look like as a successful musician. Having just released his single “Ball”, Ry Willy is staying positive in quarantine by keeping his creative wheels greased. He says that becoming a musician was inevitable and he’s excited to be on this journey. I had the chance to sit down with Ry Willy to talk about his musical influences, his dream collaborations and how growing up in NY affected his style of music.

What made you decide to become a musician?

Honestly it was inevitable, I grew up listening to all types of music, and then I would try to make my own version of it. I would also say my Competitive nature. Living in Syracuse there was a whole lot of other artist that I felt weren’t as good as what I could be if I decided to make my own music, so I did.

How did living in NY state affect your music?

I would say it gave me a lot of stuff to talk about. It gave me many outlets to express myself. Where I grew up there was a lot of Blacks , Latinos, Arabs Chinese and a whole other bunch of people. I felt comfortable to be different because I was surrounded by different. The inner city is full of ideas if you actually care about the craft.

What is the biggest obstacle you’ve had to face as an artist?

Support. I say that because nobody really cares until you got a big name or something to do with them. Especially in Syracuse support is slim to none. If someone is actually good and has potential, the artist wouldn’t even know if he’s not confident because the “Audience” isn’t passionate about him. Family as well.

Tell us about your new single “Ball”. What inspired you to write it?

Same thing that inspires me to write every song. Life. I feel like it’s a passionate song, it describes who I am in a way, I relate some of my metaphors to actually sports, which I love, I chose dope beat in the back that makes you wanna move cause that’s who I am as well, especially in the club, the song is just overall inspirational to me. I chose to do a natural ,home edition ,2nd person narrative for the video because no camera guys are available in my town and I just wanted to give people a authentic feel of Ry Willy, I needed a haircut bad in the video, but that’s one of my favorite joints so far.

What artists do you dream of collaborating with?

Nas. He’s my favorite artist, the way he craft his songs it’s like a story, so detailed and fluent. Also I would say Trippie Redd, his hooks are fire.

Tell us about your creative process. Do you write the lyrics first and then find the beat? Or is it the other way around?

Nah it’s the other way around, I find the beat first and then write the lyrics. The beat gives me the feel of what I want to talk about and then I tap on related to those feelings and just snap.

Who are your musical influences and why?

Nas, because His creativity, Trippie Redd because of his voice, King Los because his flow, and one of my good friends more like brother Leo Robins. Go check him out as well he dope.

What are your plans for the rest of 2020? Will you be releasing more music?

I got a project drop in July 18th which is my birthday, called INDUBITABLE. It means ‘impossible to doubt’ it would be my first project so I’m pretty excited, I got a lot of dope beats on there and plenty of different vibes I’m sure slot of people gonna rock with. Be on the lookout.