Starlito at Marathon Music Works for The Underflow, 8/17/2019
Starlito has one of the strongest legacies of any rap artist in Music City. In a town full of studios and labels, rappers have continuously struggled to get their work noticed by the rest of the country. But for East Nashville native Starlito, grinding has alway been at the forefront of his ethos. He took some time out for a phone call while he was driving around town. We talked about his show at Eastside Bowl, in a place he remembers as the East Side K-Mart, with his fellow Cash Money veteran Curren$y, how Nashville hip-hop can draw a brighter spotlight — and growing up playing basketball against future NBA hoopers.
You’re playing at Eastside Bowl on Thursday with Curren$y. Do you guys go back a ways?
Yeah, we do. We were labelmates on Cash Money/Universal around 2005, 2006. I can’t remember how long ago. Buy yeah, 17 years ago — somewhere in that neighborhood — we were labelmates, once upon a time. We’ve known each other for that long. We recorded music together, dating back to then. I was familiar with his music, even prior to that, when he was with No Limit. I was in high school. We personally go back quite a while. Professionally, as well.
How did you discover that whole New Orleans scene?
Word of mouth. It was extremely popular. I don’t remember exactly how old I was, but somewhere in my early teens, I had an older cousin that had a Master P tape. And I remember not knowing what that was — it was maybe my introduction to music based there. Soon after, that whole region was the biggest thing. Especially Southern music, for quite a while. It was a big part of my upbringing, from middle school and high school times — No Limit and Cash Money having their run from the late ’90s and early 2000s. You couldn’t miss it. I remember every house party and teen- night party, that being the music that was the soundtrack. I remember certain songs from the Hot Boy$ and otherwise. Those were the songs you were waiting to hear — like Mystikal.
I probably shouldn’t try to tell you what your own legacy is, but you have a reputation for being a really hard worker. Do you think living in Nashville made it that way for you?
That’s difficult to say. There have been times in my adult life and my career when I’ve lived other places. I lived in Memphis for a short time. I’ve lived in Atlanta, for a year or so at a time, for a couple of different times in my adult life. I lived in Phoenix. I’ve had residences in other places — in Vegas, etc. But obviously I’m a native here. I don’t know what part of it I can place on Nashville being a centerpiece of my work ethic. I do think certain resources were limited, trying to break through in rap, so I had to get creative and explore. And with that, one thing that did work for me was a persistent, consistent work ethic. Just chipping away. Once the internet became the tool that it has become, I didn’t really see geographical lines anymore, if that makes sense.
Oh, that totally makes sense.
I went to TSU right out of high school. Later I went to MTSU. So I was still right in the area of Middle Tennessee. But those early days, it was still very hand-to-hand, out of the trunk. Direct-to-consumer, in that regard. A listener was someone you almost had to physically meet. Or your music had to physically meet them. Even as far as shipping vinyl records to radio stations, it was very much a one-for-one process. And the internet changed that. So it’s hard to say what role being a Nashville native — and being in Nashville — played.
Just the same, as some resources were limited in terms of audience, we also have more resources in terms of studios. Even going back 20 years, there was more access to what technologies paced the music industry that were here. I’ve crossed paths with a lot of artists – a lot of big artists – that were getting major deals that had to pass through Nashville for certain things. A lot of artists used to come here to mix their albums or to get mastering done. Practical things that — there are probably more access to [those] in more places now, because technology has made things more efficient on a lot of levels.
But once upon a time, Nashville was ahead of the curve in certain regards. Even now, our hip-hop scene is still … it’s growing, but there’s places where it’s completely thriving. In certain places, it’s like a foot in the door, because there’s so much attention and so much momentum from certain markets and areas in hip-hop.
I’ve lived here for more than 25 years, and the whole time the narrative seemed to be that Nashville rappers never get discovered by the music industry, because the attention goes to other cities — Memphis, Atlanta, etc. I recently talked to the Six One Trïbe guys about their decision to go their own DIY way, rather than waiting around for the industry to discover them. So the idea seems to be that rappers from Nashville have to do it their own way. Did you ever feel like if you were going to make it, you were going to have to do it on your own?
Not entirely. I can see that as a perspective. I wouldn’t say anyone is wrong for feeling like that, but I think it’s just a matter of perspective because even prior to any breakthrough that I’ve had I saw an artist from here [Young Buck] become prominent nationally. And for sure, he was working on a collective based out of New York. Even prior to that, he had spread his wings and worked with artists and labels from other places. So I felt like it was possible. I didn’t look at it as a blueprint, but I didn’t see it as a bad thing to get out of. … I don’t mean to run away from here, but you’ve just got to expand your network. Even seeing that, it made me less afraid to go elsewhere and try to connect or connect dots or be willing to outsource or partner up or however you look at it. But I looked at it as inspiration. You could become a superstar in rap coming out of here. I never saw limitations, if that makes sense.
For sure, I don’t see Nashville as a focal point, in terms of discovery of talent. I think there’s an abundance of talent here. But comparatively, I know that there are labels that will almost sign anyone from certain markets, just because of the connection to what’s already blowing up out of those markets. And that's a real thing, because it’s a business decision. At some point, it’s almost like a factory. Just cranking artists. And we’re not necessarily one of those places. But I think the only way for it to become that is what you said is what [Six One Trïbe] are attempting to do, which is pave your own way. Create your own trends, if you will.
I think Chicago is a good example. I knew rappers from Chicago coming up, but once they set their own tone and created their own sound, their own look — then it became the point 10 years later when you hear about a new artist from Chicago every other week, it seems like. And I think it’s because they were able to set themselves apart. You even see other markets become byproducts of the trends that they set. I think identity within this whole thing. … It's a challenge, but that's part of it. That’s part of what makes things flourish.
I just never got so wrapped up in it in real time. Because even when things were starting to work for me, I just didn’t identify myself. I always identify myself as a Nashville artist — like I said, as a native of here — to represent culturally, whatever that might have meant. On a larger scale, my most successful work is partnering with an artist from another city [Memphis’s Don Trip.] I just think cream rises to the top. If it’s good, it’s good. And our biggest markets are outside of Tennessee. He’s from Memphis. I hate to be the skeptic or the contrarian that says that stuff doesn’t matter. But it matters just as much as you make it. It’s not necessarily on the artists, unless you’re just making Nashville-centric stuff — for Nashville, about Nashville — and hoping to make it happen here. That can happen! And that can be a low ceiling too, you know? It may make it harder for people outside of here to gravitate to it.
There’s a long tradition of musicians coming out of your high school,Hume-Fogg. How did growing up in East Nashville and going to Hume-Fogg impact your early days?
The only thing I can say is the humble beginnings of my music career started at the time that I was going to that school. I started recording at about 15. I think it was my junior year of high school. I can remember being late to a basketball game because I was going to one of my first studio sessions. This is a strange memory, but they were repaving the driveway to the studio and it had rained that day. So there was just mud everywhere. And I had completely trashed my gym shoes. They were covered in mud. So when I got to the game, it wasn’t just that I was that late, but my shoes were covered in mud. So it took a while.
You played ball at Hume-Fogg?
Yeah, I was the captain of the basketball team.
You mentioned in one of your early tracks that you played against guys who made it to the NBA. Who’d you play with? This is just my personal curiosity.
I played against a few guys. I played with C.J. Watson one summer — AAU ball, Junior Olympics, before he went to U.T. And I played against Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants, I think in the same Junior Olympics tournament. I’m trying to remember who else ended up in the league now.
Felton had a great career.
To this day, I say he’s probably the best player I ever played against.
He was fantastic in college.
The coach at Tennessee State, Brian Collins — he played at Belmont. Four-year starter at Belmont. We were teammates and childhood friends as well. … Quite a few guys who played overseas. The three I named that had pretty decent NBA careers, I remember those guys specifically. I have to think on it a little bit more. Playing in a few national AAU tournaments, I played against a couple of guys who made it all the way. It was like early in their careers though.
Is there anything else you want to say to the folks of Nashville?
I appreciate the compliment of you feeling like my legacy is attached to hard work — being a hard worker. I can appreciate that. On one level, aging in rap music is a challenging thing. Even this, playing a gig back home … I’m from East Nashville. There’s so much of a symbolic thing … My birthday’s a week away. … I was playing Indianapolis Saturday night, and I was explaining to someone how different it is. They were asking if it’s, like, better or more thrilling or otherwise [to play at home]. …
My candid answer would probably be just “amusing,” because there’s just so much more to it. As much as there are things I try to completely ignore and make myself completely oblivious to — in terms of not catering to certain norms and ideas that come with being a native or local — … there’s innate things that come with it because you have family and friends in a place, or because you’re so familiar. Where I’m playing, I remember shopping at that K-Mart. You know, I’ll be on the stage there. Even if you deny where you are and the history of it all, it's like, “Wow, I can remember riding by this place as a teenager going to play basketball or something.” Now it’s a bowling alley or a high-end performance venue. Co-headlining,or opening for someone I’ve been working with for a decade and a half.
