Just a month after it was announced that he had inked a new deal with Republic Records, Harlem, New York rapper Charles Hamilton spoke with XXL about a variety of subjects including, among others, his nerves when it comes to releasing new music.
First up, the “Brooklyn Girls” rapper spoke on his “New York Raining” record with Roc Nation singer-songwriter Rita Ora — which is set to be featured on the season finale of Fox’s “Empire” tonight (March 18).
“Originally it was a beat I had made at the top of the year and I sent it to management and they sent it to The Invisible Men,” he says. “And The Invisible Men made a remix of it, and I learned what they did on the remix on the piano and I played the chords for the entire song and wrote rhymes around all the chords. Then I requested that Rita Ora be on it—I like her voice—and the rest is history.”
Charles Hamilton later revealed a few of the artists that he has been collaborating with as of late.
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“A majority of the production has been handled by me and The Invisible Men,” Hamilton says. “The Invisible Men had worked a lot with Iggy [Azalea] (‘Fancy,’ ‘Work’) and I think their sound is a real throwback. But the sound we’ve been producing in the studio isn’t like anything I’m sure they’ve produced before.
“I’ve also been working with Ray Angry from The Roots; he’s an awesome keyboardist and pianist,” he adds. “So working with him I was able to flex my piano muscles. Plus I’ve been working with a bass player named Brian Cockerham, I wanna give him full props, and he’s definitely one of the best bass players I’ve ever played with in my entire life. So we would do impromptu jam sessions and those jam sessions would turn into beats that I would record to.”
Later in the conversation, Charles Hamilton opened up about the nervousness that comes along with releasing new music, especially considering that he’s been less active over the past few years.
“There is a certain nervous edge that comes with putting out any new music,” he says. “I have been nervous about the Hamiltonization process. Thankfully, I have the type of fans and fan base that will stand by me because they know I’m trying to take things elsewhere as opposed to staying stagnant.”
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To read the full interview, visit XXL.
