One On One With LOE Adde’
Meet LOE Adde’: A Nigerian New York Raised Lyricist Who’s Putting On For The DMV
We recently had a chance to catch up with LOE Adde a rising DMV artist originally hails from New York. During the course of our chat we chopped it up discussing his upbringing, his brother, musical influences, projects, and much more.
Did rapping get you out the streets and what drew you to the streets in the first place? Money? Respect? A sense of brotherhood?
Yes writing rhymes did save my youth days but what drew me to the street life was basically growing up
In an urban area full of nothing but hustlers and shoplifters my age. The wrong influences caught my eyes before the right ones. That did not only happen to me but happened to my older brother as well. About 90% of my behavior as a kid, I got from him. He was the big brother I wanted to be like.
What did you admire about him?
I admire how he didn’t take any disrespect from nobody and how much he valued me as a brother. I remember this time I was in 1st grade when two 3rd graders were bullying me. Long story short, I told my brother and they both got dealt with at the same time. My brother ended up getting suspended for fighting but he didn’t care. My older brother is a quiet person. He doesn’t talk too much. He’s a talk less, more action type of individual. He’s dope.
Is he one of the reasons you started rapping?
Not at all.
So was it a certain artist that inspired you?
Of course. J.Cole inspired me more than ever
I feel like Cole is one of the strongest rap artists of this generation but people still negatively criticize his music and display his skill. He had been dropping jewels since his mixtape days. His debut album under delivered but he’s more than redeemed himself. What was the first Cole tape you heard?
Exactly. His debut was more so what the label wanted out of him before he had the chance to do his own shit. The first tape I heard was “The Warm Up”.
How many projects have you released?
I’ve released three projects and three were EPs. No mixtapes. No albums
Yeah, I noticed that you focus on quality over quantity when it comes to your music.
For sure. If it’s not quality, I won’t drop it. I take my art seriously to the core.
Yeah, that takes a lot of patience though.
Exactly. God lets me know when I’m ready to release and when I’m not. Perfect timing.
Do you spend a lot of time in the studio?
Not at all. Now if I had the money to, of course, but not being in the studio doesn’t stop the grind
Tell me about “Third Times A Charm”. What inspired that tape? What was your creation process?
“Third Times A Charm” is my third and latest EP to date. The name came after me competing with myself and realizing that my last two projects before that one could’ve done better if they were constructed properly as far as theme and frequency. What inspired the Third Times A Charm was the necessary feedback that I got from the two other projects prior to that one so it me basically reevaluating my sound and testing out new layers of music as far as instrumentals and flows. The creation process had to deal with studying different flows and breaking out of my comfort zone and using different types of instrumentals I’ve never rapped over before.
Over the course of your the three projects you’ve released are there any central themes?
Yes, there is a central theme to all three. Loe York City and Loe York City II were more so dealing with inner-city tales and my experiences in the inner cities I’ve lived in as well as my upbringing and my transition in between from the states to another country, which was Nigeria.
As an artist what do you want to be known for?
As an artist, I want to be more so known for my storytelling and picture painting within my lyrics.
Who are three rappers you want to work with?
Three artist I would love to work with is Cole, J.I.D., and Nick Grant.
Favorite track you’ve released?
My favorite track I’ve ever released had to be “Message To A Stranger” on LYCII. The reason why is because I was 16 when I wrote that track about my father and I was actually shedding a few tears while writing it. That breakdown was real but beneficial.
