Interview: S.O.P and Krystal Fame Discuss Their New Single/Video "Pullin Up" and Upcoming Collaborative "Pair A Dice" EP
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Our latest exclusive interview is with Flint, MI based rapper/label executive S.O.P and singer-songwriter Krystal Fame who just released their single/video “Pullin Up”. On top of being a very DOPE track, there’s a lot of soap opera’esque drama going on in the visuals, so it was only right that we connected with the two artists to find out more about how it all came together, their upcoming collaborative EP “Pair A Dice”, goals for Black Gold Records in 2019, and much more.
After reading our Q&A with S.O.P and Krystal Fame, be sure to stream “Pullin Up” on Spotify and connect with S.O.P and Krystal Fame on their respective social media.
Salute to you guys on your new single and video "Pullin Up"; both are very dope! I love the way the video played out with both of you playing each other with other people. Who came up with the idea for that ending and who directed the visuals?
(S.O.P) Thanks, that means a lot. The visuals were directed and shot by my good friend, Brandon Weathersby (Watery Bar Films), whom I actually flew out from L.A to Flint. The drone footage was shot by Donald Redmond.
We started throwing around ideas for the video as soon as we recorded the song. My manager Blake and myself ended up coming up with the story portion of the video, but we got stuck on the ending. We were initially going to have the guy that Krystal was with, pull up behind her after she caught me. We took it out because, it was too much.
Tell us about how you two connected initially and what we can expect from your upcoming collaborative project "Pair A Dice"?
(S.O.P) I actually wrote my verse and the concept of the song about a year before I met Krystal. I needed a girl to do the feature, and I couldn't find anybody for it. I posted on Facebook that I was looking for a feature, and one of my friends from high school tagged her in the post. They were working together at a restaurant at the time. I sent her what I had recorded and she sent me a voice memo of her verse back within like an hour. I was sold from there. A few months later me and my brother started the label and she was the first person I thought to sign.
(Krystal Fame) The title to "Pair A Dice" is a play on words, because love seems like a paradise to most people, but it can get "Shaky" at times. We wanted touch on the ups and downs of love, so we wrote every song about a different aspect of a relationship. Heartbreak, happiness, and carelessness are only a few of the emotions that we were able to touch on with each record on the project. "Pair A Dice", will have you go from in your feelings to saying forget everybody and just doing you.
How many tracks will be appearing on "Pair A Dice"? Will another song/video be released before you drop it?
(Krystal Fame) There are currently eight records on "Pair A Dice". S.O.P and I, are thinking of the project as love in a "nutshell". We will be continuing the story that we started in the video for "Pulling Up" in our follow up record "Keep It Moving". We already have the second part of the story complete, we're just waiting to start filming.
Would you say that the city of Flint is represented in the music you create?
(S.O.P) Flint plays a part in everything that we do honestly. Our city made national headlines for having lead infested water, and we still don't have clean water. One of the main reasons we created "Black Gold Records", was to keep artists from having to move to major cities to be successful. We want to keep the money circulating in our community.
Everybody felt that the video for "Pullin Up" should've been shot in Miami or Cali, but we stayed right here in the city to show people that this is home. Flint is a tough city with a lot of talent, so we use that as motivation in all of our music. We want Flint to be a house hold name in the entertainment industry like every other major city.
With 2018 coming to a close, what are your goals for Black Gold Records in 2019? Also, are you currently looking for artists or producers?
(S.O.P) We planned a lot of things out ahead of time. Our team is always brainstorming on ways to make sure every move, and every record has a purpose. Our main focus in 2019 will be growth. We want to build our fan base as much as possible and we want every new record to feel like Christmas day. From playlists to blogs, we're going to keep pushing until we do everything; we want to make as much noise as possible.
As far as artists go, we're focused on myself and Krystal Fame right now, but we're not closed minded to signing new artists. Producers are top priority right now for us. We are currently seeking in house producers to add to the label.
Stream and Share “Pullin Up” on Spotify