Broward County, Florida has become a hotspot for young talent, but Anonymuz doesn't sound like most of the rising artists you're used to hearing from the area. On "Urameshi," the rapper and nascent producer brings a contained intensity and technical clarity over a sinister Downtime-produced beat.
"It was meant to be a fuck you to any expectations," Anonymuz says of the song, which was named after Yusuke Urameshi, Anon's favorite anime character as a kid. His music, content, and lifestyle veer from the path being carved out by other young, rebellious artists emerging from South Florida, and Anon's comfortable being different. "I see it the same way as when drill got huge [in Chicago]." he explains. "But then so did Chance the Rapper. South Florida is a pretty diverse place so anything can come out of here."
Check out "Urameshi" below, read our interview with Anonymuz under that, hear more music on the official website, and look out for the upcoming album Freedom.
First of all can we get the basics? Who are you and where are you from?
I go by Anon and I’m from Broward County, Florida. Same place as Kodak Black, XXXTentacion, Ski Mask...
I discovered you through "Urameshi." Can you tell me a little about that song and the video?
"Urameshi" was titled after my favorite character growing up, Yusuke Urameshi from Yu Yu Hakusho, but the song has nothing to do with the actual character besides the rebellious nature. I’m not an anime rapper, but Yusuke was sort of a '90s punk that never really listened to anyone and I used that theme to structure the song. It was meant to be a fuck you to any expectations.
Can you break down the meaning of your name, Anonymuz? And what is the Rxdical term that you use?
My name is Anonymuz, which really isn't a name, in a sense. I feel a name shouldn't determine who the person is, the actions of that person should determine them. So I keep it Anonymuz and I feel like my music reflects that. For Rxdical, it's hard for me to explain a concept that has several meanings, so I should start off by saying that Rxdical is something I came up with to call my fans because they differed from the norm. The name later turned into a independent label and management company that we are pushing as of now. As a Rxdical, we want to show the world that you can be you and still make it. In my life, I never wanted to conform to public opinion because everyone in this industry seems to care about that, so me being a Rxdical, I’m doing my own thing.
Were you always a nonconformist, or was there a point when you realized that it was all right to follow your own path?
Of course as a human being we all want to be accepted, but experiences with people and certain situations have lead me to become this way. And I think it's generally cool to be you—especially now in this age of social media where everybody is trying to be something that they're not.
Who or what inspires you?
I love so much music—stuff like Nujabes, Washed Out, Carnage, and Tame Impala. I'm on a different vibe.
A lot of young artists out of Florida are on the rise right now, and your sound is pretty different from most of those. Is that hard when people start to associate a certain sound with your city?
Not really. I see it the same way as when drill got huge [in Chicago]. But then so did Chance the Rapper. South Florida is a pretty diverse place so anything can come out of here. Everybody usually associates Florida with just Miami but there's several smaller areas where there is a bunch of incredible talent that isn't getting much publicity.
I see it the same way as when drill got huge [in Chicago]. But then so did Chance the Rapper. South Florida is a pretty diverse place so anything can come out of here.
What can people expect from you in the future?
An album and a lot more shows. My team and I have been working on a tour and the first show is on May 27 in Orlando at Soundbar.
We notice the MPC board by your computer, do you produce?
Yeah, well I just recently started to take producing seriously after I decided that I wanted to have more control of my sound. I think every artist is a producer in some way, especially since we spend a lot of time in the studio with producers, but I just wanted to take it a step further. Shout out to Cole.
Did you produce any track off of your last project, Urameshi?
No, but Urameshi was the album that lead me to start producing my own beats since I was heavily involved with post production. I had fun creating that album with Downtime who was the main producer of that album. He and a few other producers I work with definitely helped mold my sound that you hear today.
For someone who's never heard your music, is there a song that you would recommend?
"VICE" because it's a testament to my songwriting. All three verses have specific themes to them, pertaining to vices. In the first verse I talked about drug abuse, the second about womanizing, and the third about a God complex. If you listen to the whole album that song will make a lot more sense to you.
Are drugs a part of your life?
No, and I think it's terrible that it's become this way. It's already caused us to lose so many great artist like Lil Peep, Fredo, and ASAP Yams. I want to set a standard in today's scene that you don't need to be influenced by these types of drugs to create good music. And by the way, that's apple juice in my double cup if you were wondering.
What's your recording process like?
We go to the studio for the final product, but my creative process usually involves a lot of coffee, movies, and series of conversations with people. I can't create music if I'm not inspired. Unlike some artists, I need to feel it in order for me to create my type of music.
