Rapper Big Pooh: Painting Pictures With Words

Let’s hop right into this lead single, “Changing Again” — Tell me about this particular track; how did it come to fruition?

“Changing Again” is a track that’s a look into the journey from unknown artist to signing with and then getting off a major label. The Little Brother story hasn’t been told yet, but we have had an amazing journey thus far. I just wanted to share a taste of that.

Of course “Changing Again” comes courtesy of your upcoming LP, To Dream In Color — Conceptually, what does that title represent both to and for you?

“To Dream In Color” is a concept I have had for about four years now. I always believe ideas and thoughts, whether your write them down or not, represent the black and white in life. Once you begin to live out those ideas, you’re living in color. Most of us dream big, to actually get to live out some of those dreams has been an amazing experience.

How then does this new material(s) either differ and / or compare to previous Rapper Big Pooh entries?

My new album is my most personal to date. I want people to walk away after listening to this album and feel like they have a good idea of who I am as a person. I detailed my maturation as a man on this album.

As a lyricist, when you sit down to pen your rhymes where do you draw your inspiration from?

I draw inspiration from life. I let the beat take me somewhere specific, but I typically have a general idea of what it is that I want to communicate.

Reflecting, tell me your whole inception into music — When did you first become interested in it? And, how did it all begin for Rapper Big Pooh?

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always had a love affair with music. I can remember being in elementary school, listening to music my older brother would bring in the house. I fell in love with the emotional journey music could take you on. I wanted to move people like the music moved me. I started off by trying to memorize some of the music I would listen to. Then I started writing poetry. I toyed with the idea of writing music a couple of times in my teens, but it wasn’t until I got to college and met up with people there that I started to take making music seriously.

Now you are a native of Durham, North Carolina, correct? So growing up in the ‘Tar Heel State,’ who all did / do you consider to be your strongest musical influences?

I’m actually from Virginia. Northern Virginia to be exact. I didn’t come down to North Carolina until my freshman year of college. My musical influences were Nas, Ice Cube, Notorious BIG. I was big on storytellers. I wrote a lot of short stories and appreciated the detail those artists put into their rhymes. Growing up in the DMV area, I also listened to a lot of Go-Go music. I was drawn to the musicianship and the perceived spontaneity of what they were doing. The live feel of music being played on instruments also appealed to me.

In having said that, how do you classify your overall sound and / or style?

I’m a storyteller. I prefer to paint pictures with words. I liken it to listening to an audio book with music.

Where does your moniker originally derive from?

My freshman year in college, an upperclassman used to always say I looked like a black Winnie the Pooh. So he started calling me Pooh Bear and everyone else followed suit. Over time it shortened to Pooh, but there were other people on campus that went by Pooh so Big was added to distinguish me from the others. 9th Wonder started calling me Rapper Pooh, thus Rapper Big Pooh became my official moniker after The Listening.

What particular string of events actually led up to your initial linking with Phonte and 9th Wonder and later forming Little Brother?

I met Phonte in the room of one of the RA’s [Residential Assistants] in our dorm. We all would go down to this particular RA’s room and talk music and just kick it. Phonte ended up walking in one day and wanted to recite a rap he wrote for English class. We ended up having a freestyle session after that and hit (it) off. I wasn’t the best freestyler, but he liked my enthusiasm. To this day, I can’t remember the exact place or moment where I met 9th. I know we ran in some of the same circles since I hung with mostly upperclassmen. The formation of Little Brother came about after a couple years of us all knowing each other. We were a loose collective at the time, just making music. Phonte and 9th were slated to record a song with Median one night and Median didn’t show up. I was there, so I hopped on the song and that song became “Speed.” The rest is history.

Ultimately, what caused the group to disband or at the very least the parting of 9th?

Lack of communication. We didn’t have any mentors or the proper tools to help us navigate the music industry or the journey we were on.

Switching gears here…

What do you feel has been the key to your longevity?

I believe one of the keys to my longevity has been maintaining my humility. Even at my highest, I remained humble. I’ve always been accepting of the younger artists coming up, especially those that looked up to us. Being genuine has also been a major key. My motto has always been, “treat everyone as if, until they show you otherwise.” I’ve seen people start off as struggling artists and end up being the president of a major label. You never know where a person will end up in this industry.

What do you want people to get from your music?

I just want people to feel like they are not alone. Regardless of what my status may be, I’m still a 42-year-old man trying to figure it out.

On a more serious note, are you happy with the current state of Hip Hop?

The state of Hip Hop is what you make it. There are so many outlets and avenues that there is room for everyone. I think we get too caught up in what we have been told defines what success is, instead figuring out what success is to us personally.

Do you have any other outside / additional aspirations, maybe even completely away from music?

Absolutely! I love music and plan to stay involved in some capacity well after I’m done putting out my own songs. I started managing in 2015, since then I have realized my true passion is an A&R. I Executive Produced and A&R’ed my first major label album in 2021. That’s where my heart is musically. Outside of music, I have a few things up my sleeve that I’m going to keep close to the vest for now.

To date, what has been your greatest career moment(s), at least thus far anyway?

To date, I believe my greatest moment has been Little Brother dropping an album after 9 years and it going number one on iTunes all genres, the same year I received my first platinum plaque as a manager.

What’s an average day like for you?

My days vary from day to day. It depends on what I’m working on and what I have going on in my personal life. For the most part, my days start around 10am and end around 4am.

Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans…

I engage mostly on Twitter with fans. I’m a sports fanatic, so that tends to be 90% of what you can see me talking about. I talk about food, and sometimes I may get into music discussions.

What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? And, why?

My favorite part about what I do is creating works of art that inspire. I want to inspire people like the artists I listen to inspire me. My least favorite part about what I do is having to try to keep up with the ever-changing landscape. When you deal with younger artists like I do, you have to understand how the tide is changing to help give them the best chance to succeed.

What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Don’t follow in my footsteps, walk beside them with the goal of sprinting past me.

Lastly, what’s next for you, Pooh?

To Dream In Color on August 22nd. Popping up in a city near you this September. The Little Brother documentary is on the way!

Is there anything I left out, or just plain forgot to mention?

And / or, any “closing” thought(s) for our readers?

Thank you for listening!