We sat down with Long Island, New York lofi hip-hop and emo-rap artist SadBxyLee to discuss mental illness, recording and engineering his own music, powfu influences, and more.
Hey! Introduce yourself. Where are you from?
Hello! I’m SadBxyLee, a lofi hip-hop and emo-rap artist from Long Island, New York! I do all my music in my home studio in my basement. Music has always been my passion and I believe one day I’ll change the world for the better. My goal is to create relatable music from past traumas and dealing with mental illness. I hope to one day help those suffering from mental illness through my music and in-person and donating to charities.
When did you start making music?
I started back when I was 15 making beats using Garage Band and recording on Audacity. I’ve made beats for many artists and decided about 5-6 months ago it was time to start my own. From there I got FL studio got a internship at Suffolk Record Studios where I learned more about mixing, mastering, and the music industry with my amazing teacher Ryan Welsh.
Who inspired you to start making music?
My inspiration came from artists such as powfu, Rxseboy, sadboyprolific, Josh A, Jake Hill, Darko, Billie Eilish, mounika, and nothing, nowhere – but, mostly powfu.
How would you describe your music style?
I would describe my music as very relatable and calming. All of my music is straight from the heart and my past trauma also about my mental health. I use music as a coping mechanism. A lot of my music comes from the inspiration of powfu and Rxseboy – so I like to think it’s a similar style, but I don’t wanna be a copy of them – I wanna be me.
Who are you listening to now?
Currently I am listening to powfu, MGK, Rxseboy, Billie Eilish. But powfu the most and some Josh A. They help me think.
What’s your best project or single so far?
The best project so far to me is my song “I’m So Scared” feat. Weepings. but in popularity, it’s “Let Me Go” feat. Michelle Dawning who’s my close friend.
Any upcoming releases from you to look out for?
Yes! In May I will be releasing my album “Broken Love Songs for the Broken Hearts” with many artists such as Weepings, Layzi, Michelle Dawning, kiddsnooze, DF.LAST and more.
Have any shout-outs?
Yes, so I want first give a thanks to my parents and a huge thanks to my brother Fabio. Next to Suffolk record studios and Ryan Welsch for teaching me what I know now and allowing me into the studio as an intern. Next I’d like to shout out my friends for the support. Sandro my cousin and best friend, Dylan one of my best friends, Ryan is also known as DF.LAST another of my best friends and Lenny the last best friend who I miss dearly since he’s moved for starting my first band and being a huge support.
My dog Luna for being my support animal and my other dog Diana who’s passed away and I miss dearly. And my cousin Criss for supporting my dreams. And lastly my fans. I love them dearly I could never be anywhere without them. There are these two specific fans Michael and Shu who have been there since the beginning and I can’t thank them enough for the support and daily love.
Want more from SadBxyLee? Head over to his Spotify account to listen to his entire discography. Interested in more emo-rap artists to listen to? Check out the top 5 emo-rap artists we think you should be listening to this year in this article.