Armed with an inspiring story that lies within the upbringing and heartbreak of the man behind WHO SHOT SCOTT, the experimental hip-hop artist has certainly been through trials and turbulence. Fleeing Iraq in the arms of his mother when he was 2 years old, they were forced to journey to Moscow due to the dangers in his home country. After time in the Russian capital, they packed their belongings and travelled to New Zealand. Meeting and finding comfort in a friend at the age of 8, their shared love for hip-hop resulted in an internationally performing duo with big visions for the future. In 2019 however, his partner, citing new-found religious belief, abruptly announced he will no longer make music, moved overseas and left his closest friend with no goodbye. After some gruelling months, experimental hip-hop artist WHO SHOT SCOTT was born from the ashes of that personal and professional apocalypse.
To anyone new to your music, name 3 words that best describe your sound.
Vulnerable, Fast and Frantic
What’s your writing process like? Do you write the music or lyrics first?
Everything all at once. I don’t separate the process into parts because I don’t want to limit the creative opportunities. Being a producer, I’m a strong believer that all the elements need to complement each other in a track, and it’s so empowering to be able to change anything at any given time in the making of a song.
Do you prefer performing live or recording, and why?
At the start, I definitely used to prefer the live aspect of music a lot more, but as I’ve grown as an artist and as a person I’ve definitely found that I’m very ‘at home’ while creating music. My new experimental approach has made the writing process so fun and liberating. Most of the time I feel like I’m ‘playing’ as a child would, rather than just working on music.
If you could collaborate with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
Rick Rubin. He’s my all time favourite producer. Him and I share so many creative philosophies and I feel like together we would create something incredibly bold. I haven’t told many people this but it is one of my life’s goals to work with him.
What’s the music scene like where you are from?
There’s an incredible amount of talent and love for the arts in New Zealand. We are also big on supporting each other and the community of artists are so friendly and kind. We definitely have something special to offer the world, and I think people are starting to take notice.
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