CozyClyde Talks New Deluxe Album, Pandemic Process & More
Intro:
Clyde Killebrew, otherwise known as CozyClyde, is one of the most prominent and gifted young artists on QDUB Productions. Clyde’s steadily been building up an impressive discography on Soundcloud. Last year, his project COZYSEAZON went on to becomes his most celebrated and well-received work to date. After a long crazily-eventful year that 2020 became, Clyde returns with the Deluxe version of COZYSEAZON.
Here, CozyClyde follows up with the musical backings of the “after party” following the success of the 2019 effort. We got a chance to meet up and discuss a variety of topics. While playing matches of NBA 2K20, I got a chance to learn more about the new project (among other topics):
Summary:
Me: What originally inspired you to get into music?
Clyde: I first started getting into music in the fourth grade when I played trombone in the marching band. I stopped doing band my sophomore year of college, but Hip-Hop has been around me all my life. My pops is heavy into rap, and my mom is heavy into R&B; it’s a good mix. I told myself, “If I was gonna criticize any type of new changes in the rap game, that I needed to participate as well.”
How would you describe your overall style?
I’d like to think of myself as a laid-back dude, and I have to be that way because I’m very calculated. Before I started rapping full-time, I was involved a lot in school so I needed to always have my schedule organized and my team building skills on a bean.
What style were you going for on this new Deluxe project? Favorite song on this project?
The deluxe is a huge contrast to my original album Cozy Season because this one focuses more on actual singles rather than a story. I wanted to make sure that people can pull one song out of the album, and play it standalone from one another.
I’d say my top three songs are: Two Times, Rockstars & Legends, and From The Dirt. That was definitely my top three songs, and I say From The Dirt is probably my top song.
Do you think your upbringing/neighborhood in New Jersey influenced your sound? How?
Well like I said earlier, my dad and mom were heavily influencing my career. I will say that this sound you can hear in the deluxe has a lot more of the Sicklerville sound; versus the Kutztown sound that I had originally on my last project.
What was your creative process during the pandemic? Did it affect things for the better or worse?
My creative process during the pandemic that we’re having included very tough conversations, listening to a lot of beats, and most of it came from crafting the order/song titles of the album; rather than the lyrics themselves. I wanted to get in the studio to make sure every word that I said had a meaning to it, and had enough energy with it. So some songs, which I won’t say which ones, were off the dome.
Where do you fit into KU’s current music scene? Who’s your favorite student-musician right now?
I say right now I wouldn’t call myself the best student, but I’d say the most recognizable. I feel like my marketing has a big part in doing that, which I’m proud of, but there’s a lot of great artists in KU scene. It’s just about getting everybody together to collaborate, and you feel me, come back for a second time around.
How hard is it to manage the college student lifestyle & a blossoming music career?
I’d say as the years go along, it’s much easier to manage both my college career & my music career. However, I will say the time that I was struggling sophomore year were important times to understand why I wanted to do stuff like this, and I say two years down the line that it surely paid off.
Which was harder to create: the original project or the deluxe? Which took the longest to complete?
I actually say this was easier to create than the last one, however it was much more time-consuming. I said it was time-consuming because I’m actually in the studio understanding the importance of mixing and mastering; shout-out to my engineer my dude Nate Kobain. He’s been putting in work for me the last couple years, it’s easier though because it’s less rapping and more fun tbh. COZYSEAZON was good and important, but it was too cookie cutter.
Got any plans for the future? And, what’s the current plan for your “Cozy Show” series?
As far as future plans go, I got my next mixtape coming out February 14 called “Cozy Heartbreak”; as well as the long awaited releases of my new merchandise and streaming platforms. Cozy Heartbreak is probably gonna be even better than this past one. Trust me, I’m more excited to do this one than ever before. A LOT of R&B, more vibes, real conversation, etc.
The Cozy Show’s probably what everybody’s most excited about. I know a lot of people asking questions so far about when I’m gonna be back out there on live. Stay tuned! That’s all I’ll say on that. I appreciate everybody that you know, is tuning in so far, showing love and asking questions. But, stay tuned because we’re going to expand this a lot bigger and better. TRUST
Overall:
CozyClyde is an incredible talent, and just dropped one of the most solid projects out now. I recommend listening to the full project on Soundcloud now, as well as sharing with family/friends. Despite knowing Clyde personally, I learned and took away a lot from our meeting/interview. Thank you for reading, and enjoy the trailer for COZYSEAZON Deluxe below.
