Philly’s B. West Talks New Visuals for Hot Single ‘The Narrative’

Hip-hop belongs to the world. No form of music shakes the globe any harder. But hip-hop is also hyper-regional. If you’re an emcee, no matter how wide your vision is, you’re still expected to put on and represent your block, your community, and your neighborhood. That’s something that B. West understands instinctively. Like all great emcees, his ambitions are as big as the planet. He’s got music that’s catchy and swaggering enough to connect with hip-hop fans in all nations. But when those hip-hop fans listen to his verses, what they’ll find are specific, poetic, lovingly crafted descriptions of the joys and hardships of his upbringing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — a city that has always been central to the larger story of hip-hop.

“The Narrative,” his street-shaking new single, is nothing short of B. West’s life story, rendered in rhyme and delivered with the conviction and good humor that the rapper has become locally famous for. Since it’s an autobiography, you can expect plenty of Philly content. West raps about his youth in the raw but beautiful neighborhoods on the north side of town, reminisces about childhood games and adolescent pastimes, and lets us know exactly how a grown-up Philadelphian spends his days. Like all accurate reporters must, the emcee names names, dropping the handles of eateries, shopping centers, and the skating rink where he and his friends hung out. Every bar of the song radiates love and pride, and B. West has mixed it with an emphasis on clarity, just to make sure you’re present to every syllable. No matter how far he’s traveled, and no matter where he’ll go next, there’s a part of his heart that will always belong to the City of Brotherly Love.

His hometown loves him right back. Memorably, B. West has appeared on “Good Day Philadelphia,” and he’s hosted local luminaries of his own on his web-based talk show — including Meek Mill. There’s footage of B. West with Meek Mill and fellow guest Jadakiss included in the clip for “The Narrative,” which, in keeping with the song’s theme, foregrounds Philly in all its grit and glory. We’re taken high above the skyscrapers of Center City and the bridges across the Delaware River, taken into the graffiti-adorned hip-hop tabernacles under the freeways, and escorted along the sidewalks of Broad Street, right in the shadow of City Hall. We’re in the presence of the best kind of tour guide: one who knows his town down to the smallest detail and who approaches each intersection with reverence and affection.

The Hype Magazine got B. West to weigh in on a few things

What are some of the biggest accomplishments of your career?

One of the biggest accomplishments of my career is being able to sell my music worldwide without a record deal and actually generate worldwide fans and income from my music. Another accomplishment is being able to have my own mobile app for iPhone and androids years ago before it became a thing. I will redesign and release a newer app in the future as well. Another one is turning down 2 record deals in my past because the paperwork was not right, so I decided not to lock myself into those contracts under those conditions. I had to realize my music is good enough for a record deal but I’m not looking to get a bad deal straight out the gate. Owning my own Masters, Publishing and receiving Royalties for my work without the stress of a bad record deal is a blessing because I’m not giving most of my earnings away to a label.

Who are some notable people that have helped you navigate the rap industry?

Some notable people that helped me out would be, Larry Larr for allowing me to perform at his open mic event when I was 18 and the age limit was 21+. I also wanna mention my old head Trizzy for helping me with my first magazine article with Next Magazine and always looking out for me. Tone Trump is another one that helped guide me by taking me under his wing and giving me the opportunity to travel with him and do some music videos for him that premiered on world star. Shay Star would have to be another one that helped guide me because I was her official camera man for her website traveling the world filming celebrities and getting interviews with them as well as networking with them. And last but not least I gotta shout out my long time friend G Dash for giving me the motivation to create The Narrative album, it’s because of him wanting to produce a whole project for me that The Narrative was born.

What inspires you to create every day?

Traveling the world and living life to the fullest is what inspires me to create music everyday. The older I get the more I see myself evolving as an artist, I’m still Hungary for it but my approach has changed. Times are changing as well as my views on life so you hear the evolution in my music when I rhyme as well as the concepts on my songs. It’s a new day and I want my listeners to be there with me every step of the way as I continue to evolve and make relevant music.

What is the significance behind “The Narrative”? What lessons do you hope listeners take away?

The Narrative is a story about seeing how blessed and successful you are in life and taking a moment to reflect on where you came from and obstacles you had to overcome to get there. I want my listeners to understand that it’s not about where you started in life, it’s about where you are going in life. Your attitude today can depict your outcome for tomorrow, and that’s facts. If you approach things with a positive attitude you will have better odds as opposed to approaching things with a negative attitude. Surround yourself with good vibes and good energy and leave the negativity where it’s at away from you. I was that wild kid running around the streets of Philly doing my thing and doing what I wanted but I knew I wanted more out of life so I had to smarten up and create a better situation for my music and most importantly create a better situation for myself. So I continued to stay in school, get my degree, and make a career for myself and still enjoy making music which is now a secondary income for me. So once again it’s not about where you started in life, it’s about where your going in life just stay focused and determined.

What are some major plans you have for the summer that fans can anticipate?

As far as future plans this year all my fans can anticipate the release of 4 more music videos from The Narrative album. Each music video will release 2 months apart for the rest of 2022. So The Narrative Music Video just released on April 22, 2022 so be on the lookout for the next 4 music videos releasing in June, August, October, December. Please visit my website to stay in tuned www.MrWestTv.com and please subscribe to my YouTube channel to make sure you catch the premier of each new video www.YouTube.com/BWESTMUSIC . I wanna thank The Hype Magazine for this interview, and I want to thank everyone for taking time out to read this interview and getting to know me a little more. I appreciate the love and support….

PS…. The Narrative 2 album will be released in 2023! Stay Tuned!

Follow B. West:

http://MrWestTv.com
http://Facebook.com/MrWest
http://twitter.com/BWestMusic
http://Instagram.com/MrWestTv
http://tiktok.com/@MrWest215

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Tags: B. West, Interview, Jadakiss, Meek Mill, Philly, philly hip hop, The Narrative

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.