Who Is TRiL

1. Who Is Tril

A young, charismatic & witty dude from Essex County, New Jersey. I like to call myself a throwback rapper with updated views and opinions.

2. When did you first start rapping

The first rap that I ever wrote was @ age 15. I recorded my first track when I was 15. Back then I was just doing it for fun. I took about a year break and then got back into seriously when I was 17,18.

3. Who inspired you to rap

Alot of different people and things inspired me to want to rap. The main person that made me wanna rap is one of my best friends that I grew up with in East Orange. He was always nice since we were real young and I always wanted to be able to flow and write raps like he could. Another thing that really made me wanna rap was when I got in highschool and I saw the niggas that people in my school used to hype up as being "nice". Most of them sucked to be honest. I used to say to myself "I can write better stuff than they do" and @ some point I had to show & prove, so I started writing. The major artists that had/have an influence on my music would have to be Mobb Deep and Method Man. A young prodigy was so raw with his word play and Havoc's production is some of the illest ever. If you pay close attention to my music I'm sure you can hear the influence. Method Man is my favorite rapper of all time along with DMX. Meth was one of a kind when it comes to this rap shit. His originality definitely inspired me.

4. Why did you feel the need to stop rapping?

I got tired of it to be honest. The whole climate of rap changed so fast. It went from lyrics being a major part of the culture to it being some saturday night dance fever type shit. Don't get me wrong I think rap needs different types of music, but right now there isn't any real balance. I also lost inspiration. I used to get inspired by niggas like Kiss, Sigel, Budden, Hov, Nas, and the list goes on. Besides Hov & Nas none of the dudes I named have really dropped alot of material in the past few years. I also used to get inspired by the niggas in my crew. Hearing them spit some ill shit made me wanna go ten times harder. Once they fell back from rap I felt like fuck it.

5. To you whats the difference between a good song writer and a great lyricist and which catagory do you fall in.

A good song writer is someone that makes music that touches the masses. A great example of that would be 50 Cent. He's not considered a good lyricist, but he definitely has a long catalogue of good songs. A good song writer knows how to structure a song the proper way. I'm talking about the lyrics are well put together, the bridge of the song keeps things flowing and the hook is catchy and completes the song. A great lyricist is just that. He/She has crazy wordplay, their rhymes actually have a meaning and they keep you rewinding whatever they just said because it went over your head so many times. Coming up I wanted to be just a great lyricist and I still do want to be one, but overtime I realized that good songs bring in more fans. So right now I would consider myself a good song writer. I have so much more to prove though so be ready.

6. You write R&B as well what made you jump into that genre?

I love R&B music. Sometimes I just get a urge to write a song. I haven't written many yet, but hopefully I'll get around to it.

7. Tril Vs Hipsters In your latest song "Get That Doe" You express your dislike towards them.. don't you think that puts a limit on your music?

Lol. Aiight let me clear things up. I feel that most of these so called "Hipsters" that are running around now are posing. A poser is a terrible thing to be. I don't dislike genuine hipsters, but the ones that are running around posing make me sick. You know who I'm talking about too. I'm talking about the niggas that were rocking baggy jeans and timbs a few years ago and now they're rocking sweater vests and skinny jeans with bright sneakers. It's like c'mon stop with the bullshit! I feel the whole hipster movement as a whole is a trendy thing moreso than a genuine thing.

8. Whats your favorite song out of your collection?

Definitely During The Storm.

9. What made you Quit Rap and what Brought You Back?

To sum it up a lack of inspiration made me quit rap. Once you lose the inspiration to do anything it's hard to continue on. The thing that brought me back is all of the people that are in my corner telling me not to quit. That's everyone from my closest friends to my fans and the girls that I fuck with. All of the people that are actually interested in hearing my music is still amazing to me. I don't think I'll ever get used to it. I'm back though and I'm ready to give them something new.

10. Do you feel you need to take over jersey?

Lol nah. I've never been in it to take over anything. I don't want or feel the need to be the king of anything. I just want to do me. I feel that the music will be so good that it's going to take over whatever anyway.

11. Autotune? Would you Mess with it?

Hell no. The biggest fad of '08 by far. Any nigga that's not T-Pain should be mollywhopped for hopping on this trend.

12. Whats the next step.. and are u done with doing mixtapes?

The next step is putting out the "What's The Meaning?" EP. I'm putting that out for free since I've been away from music for so long. It's going to be a free digital download. After that I'm putting out the "Test Of Time" album. I'm real excited about these projects. I'm definitely not done with mixtapes. I may be done with the conventional mixtapes, but I'll still put out mixtapes with original material. They'll be like street albums.

13. During The Storm, What was going thru your mind when u made that song?

I was in the middle of a rap "beef" @ that time. Those niggas inspired me to make that shit. I should start beefing with them again. Lol.

14. What will u do different now that youre older.

I'll work ten times harder than I've ever worked before. That's a promise. There's no reason for me not to put my talent to use and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

15. Entourage/Cliques Where are the Starters.. & Whats new with Illafam?

I am The Starters as of now on the rap side. The clique is still in tact. Everyone is just doing their own thing right now. Illafam is my 2nd fam. Everyone is still here.