Slump6s on his debut album, ‘Genesis’

by Alexis Watkins

From Rochester, New York, Slump6s has been creating music since 2017 and continues to forge his own path in an everchanging music landscape that is the rap genre. Initially posting his music on SoundCloud, the 18-year-old has gained attention from fans with his slightly autotuned, usually upbeat and catchy flow.

Now, fans can experience even more of Slump6s’ piercing beats when listening to his 21-track, debut album, “Genesis,” which comes off of the heels of his very first mixtape, “Origin.”

“The meaning to ‘Genesis’ is the evolution or the second coming and I felt like that's what it was,” the Republic Records artist explained. “It was ‘Origin’ if it was evolved and fine tuned into a more mature sound, so the name just fit and I stuck with it.”

The creative process behind “Genesis” began only about a month after the release of “Origin.” The majority of songs first produced for the album were scrapped because Slump6s felt as though his sound was maturing and wanted his album to reflect that. “Genesis” ultimately took around six months to complete.

“During that period, the main thing that was going through my head was making sure every song was better than the last one, and that every song showed some sort of improvement, mixing-wise or lyrically,” Slump6s said. “I just wanted to one-up myself with every song, and I feel like I did that with ‘Genesis.’”

“Mosh pit rage” — that is the term Slump6s has coined for his music, and if you ever see him in concert, you’ll understand why. Even though Slump6s’ musical style and sound has evolved, it's never failed to make crowds go crazy at his shows, with attendees aggressively dancing, jumping and colliding into one another, otherwise known as moshing.

Bringing this new sound to life has been a work in progress for the rising rapper. As a child, Slump6s began rapping in a studio set up by his father. Although he did not understand what he was saying at the time, he found a love for music in those first moments in front of the mic.

Growing up in Rochester, Slump6s found that there wasn’t really a scene for the music he’s making, despite New York as a whole having an underground rap scene. Being from an area where there is no distinct sound to follow has helped Slump6s stay in his own lane musically.

“People can't really say, ‘Oh, he's a New York rapper’ or ‘he sounds like this because he's from Los Angeles.’ There's not really an indicator of why my music sounds the way it sounds, it's not really because of where I'm from,” he explained. “That’s definitely one of the pros of being from Rochester. One of the things that is a flex in a way is being able to say that no one can really put me into a box as far as where I’m from.”

Slump6s was involved in music all throughout his adolescence. He played the drums and the trumpet as a child, in addition to being in the chorus. Having a musical background is one of the reasons why the emerging artist feels as though he is so musically versatile.

“The drums are still to this day one of my favorites, just because they are so easy to translate to actual production,” he said.

When producing music, the beat is what catches his attention first. Slump6s’ emotions and life experiences dictate what tone the music he is creating will have.

The track list for “Genesis” and the order of its songs were configured based on what sounded best sequentially.

“I didn't want the songs to be scattered around,” he explained. “I wanted the full project to be an experience as a whole, so I definitely focused on making all the songs flow nicely and that they had a cohesive sound.”

The tracks “10 Toes,” “Long Way From Home” and “Luv, Hate” are Slump6s’ top three songs off of his latest album, but “10 Toes” is his personal favorite.

Creating music seriously started for the rapper when he was only 13 years old. Slump6s’ ability to understand the internet worked in his favor by propelling his career. With platforms like Discord and SoundCloud, he was able to network and put himself out there in ways other artists might not have.

“When I was starting, I was definitely making it a big thing to network with the right people, and social media networking is a huge thing, especially when you're first starting out,” he said. “If you're not doing that, then you're more than likely doing what every other rapper is doing. You're just rapping and posting it, and hoping that it sparks one day, and at the end of the day there's only so many people that can take off like that.”

Although Slump6s believes that social media played a huge role in the advancement of his career, he ultimately thinks that staying true to himself is what keeps him relevant. He hasn't tried to keep up any image or brand, which he said has made it easier for him to be himself.

“A lot of people feel like it's hard to stay relevant as a young kid because a lot of people feel like you have to portray yourself as something in order to keep people's attention and keep them interested,” he said. “There's not really much you have to do. You don't really have to fake anything, you just have to be you.”

Collaboration is one aspect of music that Slump6s loves. On “Genesis,” he featured Destroy Lonely and sgpwes. Though there’s one particular rapper who he’s dying to work with.

“Future is definitely a dream collab,” Slump6s said. “Out of all of the top dogs in the mainstream, I feel like he is the one that rappers look to for inspiration. Everyone falls under the Future umbrella. I feel like working with him would be a big achievement for me for sure.”

Two major inspirations for Slump6s have been the artists XXXTentacion and Ski Mask the Slump God (hence Slump6s’ stage name), especially when it comes to performing.

“Watching Ski and X perform, and watching how they interact with the crowd and how they were able to control the crowd without really having to do much. I definitely wanted to get to that point, and that just comes with reciprocating the same energy the fans give you,” he said.

Slump6s’ favorite moment in his career so far was actually being able to meet Ski Mask, but he also cherishes the moments he’s shared with his fans. He recalled a moment at the Summer Smash Festival where a fan ran up to him and hopped over a fence so that they could take a picture together.

Festival performances will most likely be a normal occurrence for Slump6s. On Sept. 24, he will be performing at one of the biggest music festivals on the East Coast — Rolling Loud, New York.

“It's a really cool experience because four years ago, when I started making music, I never thought that I would be in the position to be performing at Rolling Loud,” he said.

In the future, Slump6s hopes to inspire as many kids as he can, take care of his family financially, and make a difference. Forging his own path in the music industry is extremely important to him as well.

“That's what all of the G.O.A.T.s at the end of the day do, they change, they start their own wave, they create their own sound. I feel like once I do that, that's my final achievement.”

KEEP UP WITH SLUMP6S

TEAM BEHIND THE STORY