Ethik Spotlight: NxG

"The first time I ever saw Ethik was through REC Philly. They did a partnership, where Ethik designed some original REC Philly jackets that initially, absolutely fired me up. In high school, I was like, “Who the fuck is that? Where do I get one of those?” And only the people in REC could have them. So to me, it was the exclusivity and coolness it represented."

What headspace did you hold during the creation of ‘Next Up’? 

"I mean, I was high as shit when I made it for real for real. I was just talking my shit. 

Usually, I like to make all my songs in one sitting. I don't like to go back and do shit later. But for some reason, I was like, “I don't know if I can finish this right now” for once. 

So, it sort of just sat on my computer for two months and then, I saw the opportunity to get someone else on it. I took the opportunity. Never looked back since, because it worked out."

What are you applying your work Ethik to now? 

"Nah, we got a lot going on. Since the project with Working On Dying in October, I just been trying to figure out, what can I do? What can I change in how I'm moving to make myself grow faster, because I saw a lot of growth from that. Like word, that worked. So, how do I bottle that up or make it a formula? Now just keep going and making it. 

I'm thinking I'm doing a pretty good job. I mean, it remains to be seen. We'll see in the next coming months, but we got a lot cool shit coming. I can't really speak on that too much more yet."

How would you describe the Philadelphia (underground) scene?

I was just talking about this the other day, because I feel the scene in Philly really forced me to earn my stripes. When I first came on the scene, nobody gave a fuck. Makes my respect for them increase so much more. Because I had to earn your respect. Y’all didn't just take to me immediately, I just show you and prove myself to you. So that when you do now finally fuck with me, it feels all that much more… like I did something to earn this.

What's something most people don't know about you?

I play a lot of chess. A lot of chess. Like, every day. I have it on my phone. When I'm bored I will play chess. Also, this is really weird but, when I'm really angry, I go play chess. It is just a time to actually meditate, not think about things for a while.