Interview: Reno, NV Rapper Lightweight Literate Talks About His New Video "Gazuntite" and His Creative Process For Song Development
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Hip-Hop artist Lightweight Literate was born and raised in the suburbs of a small town called Yuba City, CA. Lightweight’s music reflects a “silver spoon” upbringing contrary to the average rapper. Many artists pride themselves on the struggle, but Lightweight finds pride in the support of his loving family and fans.
Lightweight Literate primarily delivers melodic choruses and aggressive verses. It is evident with each new track he is constantly striving to improve his craft and expand his fan base. Lightweight appears to have a continuing trend of paying homage to his heroes with each project name, including his mixtapes “BLONDJAMESBOND” and the latest, “WHITEWILLSMITH”. You can hear the artist’s growth in the short time between projects. Around the same time, he released a side project, part one of “STORY”. In “STORY”, Lightweight raps from the perspective of successful individuals in society who came up from nothing (Neil Peart, Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Disney).
We connected with Lightweight Literate for an exclusive interview to discuss the newly released visual for his track “Gazuntite”, which appears on his mixtape “WHITWILLSMITH”. We also pick Lightweight Literate’s brain about how his moniker came about, his musical goals for 2019, the Hip-Hop music scene in Reno, and much more.
After reading our Q&A with Lightweight Literate, stream and share his mixtape “WHITEWILLSMITH” and connect with him on social media.
Your name Lightweight Literate is very catchy and memorable; where did this moniker originate from?
I don’t know; I made it when I was young. I wanted something that stood out; I wanted to show I was good with words, but didn’t take myself too seriously.
You've released three projects thus far - BLONDJAMESBOND, WHITEWILLSMITH, and STORY. If you had to pick one song from these releases that reflects you the most as an artist and music brand, which one would you select?
My track “Brother” off of “WHITEWILLSMITH” was most clearly how I felt about my brother leaving to Pennsylvania. I don’t think there is a single song that came easier to make than that one. Straight from my heart.
Tell us about your creative process when it comes to song development. Also, what do you look for in the beats that you select to write to?
If the words and melodies fly straight out of my mouth, I know that is the beat I should create on. I wake up early, hit the gym and as soon as I get home from the gym I lock myself in the room, no phone or anything and try to get as much done as possible in the day.
"Gazuntite" is one of the featured tracks on "WHITEWILLSMITH"; of all the songs on that mixtape, what led you to create a video for?
“Gazuntite” had a more mainstream feel; it was also the highest streamed on my Spotify and a track I had received the most praise for. I hit MOGELMINDEDPRODUCTIONS with an idea for it and they adjusted the vision to make me a magician. I’m happy with how it turned out.
What are some of your biggest goals musically for the remainder of the year?
My third tape “LLNOTCOOLJ” is set to come out before summer 2019.
Describe the music scene in Reno, specifically for Hip-Hop. Are locals supportive of talent based in the city and are there venues to perform at?
In my experience, there are a lot of opportunities to perform through Dan Hubbard and Jub Jub’s in Reno. I have found that I get along with more artists specifically from the Bay like “ozer” or South Lake Tahoe like “undefined”.