Bobby Brackins Interview

Article written by: SoJones
Posted on: December 28, 2010

The name Bobby Brackins probably isn’t that familiar, but if you’re from Northern California it’s pretty certain that his trademark voice sounds like something that you’ve heard before. That’s because the young rapper from Oakland was a member of the upstart group, Go Dav, who had a buzzing single a few years back in “Ride or Die Chick”. While the group may not have lasted it has spawned on the brightest up and coming talents out of the Bay Area in the young Bobby Brackins, whose solo career has already brought along a hit single in “143” and shows the potential to do a lot more.

What’s your take on music where you’re from?

There’s a whole bunch of good music in the bay area and there’s always been good music coming out of there. I never really considered myself a part of the hyphy music, I just like versatile music that anybody can enjoy in any region, but I’m from Oakland and it has definitely influenced my music a lot because I grew up there. I think there’s a lot of up and coming talent in the bay area that doesn’t really get that much shine, but I really think all the newcomers are going to keep making records until people start giving them attention and we get the spotlight back on the Bay Area.

What’s it going to take to make Bay Area music live again?

I would say just that next big wave. In LA the whole Jerk Movement was big last year, so it’s just going to take that next big wave and somebody coming up with something that gets everybody’s attention to become the next big trend and take it back to the Bay

What happened with Go Dav?

Everybody is pretty much doing their own thing. It was a good chapter, but we all moved on.

What brought that decision along?

We just stopped getting along in the group. Everybody couldn’t see eye to eye anymore, so everybody just went their separate ways and I was still passionate about music, so I just kept doing my thing.

What was that first moment that really got the solo thing started for you?

My first single that really got a lot of airplay and a good look on MTV, BET, and all that was “143”, but I’ve been doing the solo thing for probably two years now.

How did you get that Ray J feature?

My manager was cool with his manager and we were originally going to have him on another song on the album, but then I wrote “143” and I wanted to have him on that song.

How did that buzz from “143” help your label situation?

I’m signed to an independent label called Tycoon Status and after 143 got big on the radio all the majors wanted to pretty much sign me, but Universal Republic seemed like the best fit, so I’m over there now and its going cool. They had the best deal and offered the most money on top of my manager already having a relationship over at that label.

What’s your mentality going in as a new artist in order to make sure that you’re heard and get the proper attention?

I just want to infiltrate the internet, do as many shows as possible, and touch as many fans as possible to make sure that I stay relevant and keep my buzz strong.

How are things coming along with the debut album?

The album is called Live Good and it’s pretty much done, I’m just putting the finishing touches on it. I’m staying in the studio swapping songs in and out on the album trying to perfect it and make it a masterpiece, but it’s coming out probably in the spring and before then I’m dropping an EP around the holiday season called Live Good 0.5. That will be a couple of songs from the album and some songs that are going to get swapped out of the album, but it’s all good music. Nic Nac, who produced 143 and Ride or Die Chick from when I was in the group, produced the whole album except for one song that was produced by the Cataracts. I got Paul wall, Jeremih, and a whole bunch of up and coming talent that I think are going to be the next big thing on my album.

I’ve been doing a lot for radio shows through universal republic because they’ve been hooking up a lot of stuff for me and then I’ve just been doing a lot of independent booking while trying to expand my fan base.

How would you describe this new music that you have coming out?

Its lively, it’s bright, it’s really pretty groundbreaking music. A lot of the songs are jamming and you’ll move to them, they’re really moving records. A lot of the records just sound like they’re going to be big songs and can do damage. It sounds real versatile and dynamic.

Words by Michael Mahon