We recently sat down with Chesapeake, Virginia native and recording artist Shmockeyy for an interview. Shmockeyy discusses growing up in North Carolina and Virginia, Sleepy Sam, starting to make music with Skelz, his best release, and more with us.
Introduce yourself. Where are you from?
It’s Shmockeyy! I’m from Virginia. I grew up in Chesapeake for the most part, but when I was a bit younger I lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I then ended up moving to Virginia Beach, Virginia, and then ended up in Chesapeake, Virginia. I met my tiny little crew here and we grew up together exploring the world, drugs, music, and life.
When did you start making music?
I started making music around the age of 12-13 I believe? It was me and my brother Trey who took the first few magical steps of experimenting with FL studio. We tried to make a punk/trap/metal type beat and I remember that night like it was yesterday. We took Adderall (that he took from his parents) for the first time and we stayed up all night. We talked about the future and all that it could be. With just the right amount of consistent work, love, dedication, and momentum, anything could happen. We eventually just said fuck it and downloaded a crack of FL studio, and we worked on this pretty bad beat for hours till the sun rose.
After this inspirational moment in history, I experimented with vocals and tried to put something together. Vocals have always been the hardest thing for me. I hate my voice which is mainly why I like to yell and release all my frustration and energy all at once. Originally I started to record vocals with Skelz. He’s an amazingly talented slept-on artist, strongly suggest you look him up on SoundCloud.
We made plenty of songs together and bounced off of each other’s creativity, diversity, and style. I slowly started to learn how to mix vocals and then I transcended to all sorts of mixing styles. After a while, we started getting the hang of it and learned to take it a bit more seriously. After a while, I was able to connect with Sleepy Sam, and he introduced me to his secret collective type group SMC.
Who inspired you to make music?
Truthfully and honestly Sleepy Sam (SoundCloud legend) and XXXTentacion were a massive inspiration to me when I was younger. So it was 12 year old me too busy being a loner and a loser in the front seat of the school bus with Trey. I had Headphones in exploring SoundCloud and then suddenly one day I came across XXXTentacion and Sleepy Sam. I then thought “what in the world is this?” I never heard anything like it and it was groundbreaking to me. I couldn’t even identify it, I had no clue what genre/category it was. After a bit of research, I then realized these people were regular people like me, and only several years older than me, and couldn’t believe this was possible. I then started to plot how I could make my music with my style.
How would you describe your music style?
I don’t even know it’s just diverse and honestly all over the place. Honestly, it’s all-around chaos, but if I had to put it in a category it would be New Age Punk I guess. I don’t like using a label though, I think it’s lame.
Who are you listening to right now?
Nobody for real, I don’t like listening to music because half the time it’s just boring. I listen to my stuff that I’m making and use that as inspiration and whatnot. But whenever I do listen to music I like listening to Sleepy Sam and Trassh Vampire, so big shoutout to them!
What’s your best project or single right now?
The Day Before—it’s a short EP with my feelings written all over it. It’s hands down the best thing I’ve put out so far, every single song is amazing, but I haven’t put out much of anything yet.
Any upcoming releases to look out for?
Yes. My next drop is going to cause the human population to riot. So be on the lookout. Follow me on Instagram or any and all socials @shmockeyy.
Have any shoutouts?
Yes! Shout out Skelz, Sleepy Sam, and SMC!
Want more from Shmockeyy? Check him out on Spotify or wherever you stream music, or on social media at @shmockeyy.