Knoxville-based rapper Notty Taylor has hit the scene with a new project, returning to the scene after a 5 year musical hiatus.
Debuting his music back in 2016 with the release of his project Cutlass, Notty Taylor made it his mission to be heard. He resurfaced recently with his newest project NottyHrs. The underlying message behind the 9-track project is that life is a gamble and has constant up’s and down’s.
“I feel like before you can have the ability to see in the dark, you have to get acclimated to your surroundings,” Notty Taylor says.
Dueled with his his creative ability and being a student of music, Notty has used his knowledge to embody some of his influences such as Drake, Andre 3000 and t.ANT to pour out into his music. His music is a perfect blend of R&B flavor with a twist of rhymes, Notty’s proof of being genre-fluid is a great stepping stone to his emerging musical career.
Remixd Mag spoke to Notty about his upcoming endeavors and his who sonically inspired him to be the artist he is today. Check out the full interview below.
What city are you from/ Where are you based now?
I was born and raised in Knoxville, TN, but I’m based in Brooklyn, NY.
What is your artist name? What is your real name? How did you get your artist name?
I go by the name of Notty Taylor creatively, but my real name is Brandon. My stage name was actually the nickname of my grandfather. It was a name given to him “in the streets” as they say because he was always into something. He’s one of the most influential people I’ve ever been blessed to spend time with, and this was a cool way to keep him with me.
How would you describe your sound to readers who may not be familiar with you?
My sound is a dispensary. Like whatever mood you’re in, whatever type of high you’re looking for, it’s all there. Ideally, the journey I’m on right now has a destination of making sounds that feel like late nights in a city near you.
What’s one reason you are passionate about music and what inspires you?
It’s a result of my parents and big sister. I grew up on everything from The Winans, Kirk Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Brandy, Erykah Badu, Luther Vandross and everything in between. Zero rap was played in our childhood. We had to join our church choir and I briefly took drum lessons so that kept us around music. As far as being inspired to do music personally, my biggest influence was Terence “t.ANT” Pitchford. We’re from the same neighborhood, and he was the first person that I knew that had his own clothing line and rapped on his own beats. The first person from back home popping his shit for real, who fully embodied what an artist is.
Who are some of your main musical influences?
I’m a fan and student of music overall so there’s many artists and genres that I’ve studied and tried to emulate. The mainstays would be Andre 3000, Drake, Kanye West and t.ANT.
Tell us the name of the project you are currently promoting? What inspired this project?
NOTTYhrs is what’s right now. It’s my latest album length body of work. I think for me to be in this moment right now to even tell this story relates a lot to the idea and metaphor of “Notty Hours”. Life is a gamble. I feel like before you can have the ability to see in the dark, you have to get acclimated to your surroundings. NOTTYhrs taught me how to use NIGHT VISION. How else could you choose a path.
Date that this project dropped or is set to drop?
NOTTYhrs released in February of this year on my birthday. It’s a prelude to another project I’m releasing very soon.
What is this project about in your own words?
People will do anything for what they perceive as everything. Learning from that environment, naturally we’re experimenting because of wanting to fit in with the crowd. Trying to fulfill 2AM desires but knowing you have a greater purpose in life.
What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
Include some dates if you have them. A couple of Eps and a few singles to close this year out. Merch and visuals are also in the works so you’ve gotta stay tuned. There’s a lot more to come. It’s NOTTOBER.
What message do you hope fans take away from your music and from this project?
I just want people to escape reality and have fun with it. I’m dropping you into a world and painting the picture. The biggest message is to not allow cheap thrills and temptation to knock you off your pivot and purpose.
Check out the NottyHrs below.
