(All photos captured by @jwoods_14)
Enrique: SB, thank you for sitting down with me and taking the time out of your day to have this conversation. I really appreciate it. You are from Florida originally, right?
SBNUNKK: Yeah Fort Myers, Florida to be exact.
How long have you been making music for?
Oh, man. Okay, you know, that be the thing I've been making music for a while but actually taking it serious? I’d say about like three years.
Okay. So when so we'll take the starting off point from when you dropped your first song. When was that, three years ago?
Like an actual song on streaming platforms and shit like that? About 2018-2019 for sure
Got you. So, let's take it back to Florida. What was it like growing up in Fort Myers?
It was cool. You got the fun, you got the sun, you got the girls, you got all the stuff. But it's like once you get a bit older all that transitions into bad shit. So it's like everything else peaches and creams growing up. But after a while it got rough, it got crazy.
And how would you say that informed your music or your creative process?
I was wrapping stuff that I was experiencing, but I had to put it in a different perspective because I can’t tell on myself. So I was able to use different perspectives as metaphors, and instead of me just rapping about certain events that I encountered or something like that, I figured I would rather just talk about cool shit, instead of talking about other stuff that's gonna influence somebody to do something they're really not supposed to be doing type shit.
What was your inspiration to pursue music?
I’m a real big Lil Wayne fan. I mean all the way from the droughts. I used to try to write
music. I would actually try to steal some of his lyrics to put it in myself. But my brother told me one day - ‘[Bro] you’re gonna motherfucking go to jail.’ [laughs] ‘You didn't write those raps and shit.’ So that after that it was like, I [have] to transition into my own person. I [have] to make my own style and shit like that, but I [can’t] lie, it all started from that.
What was the reception like in your city when you dropped your first song?
I was nervous as hell. I didn’t think I was gonna get the feedback I got from it. I had people that was actually telling me, ‘damn, bro. You sound like you signed already.’ like you just like[...] It didn't go crazy, but it went crazy to the point where like, I'm a nobody, but I got a thousand plays on Soundcloud on this first song. That was kind of big to me, so it was like, I’m not gonna stop at this. It gave me the right momentum.
So a lot of the support that you found after starting to drop music, was it more so from like your friends and family? Or was it more from complete strangers on the internet?
Definitely complete strangers. I still have homies to this day that don't even push my shit, don't play my shit, don't know my shit. But every time I come around or whatever the case may be, they ask me about this asking me this, that, and the third. Like, I get a whole bunch of love from people I don't know. I moved out [to Atlanta] a year and change ago, and I've become bigger in my city than I've ever been in my city [when I lived there]. It's like, once we do get to where we’re supposed to be, motherfuckers feel like we acted funny or we changed up. Nah, it's never that. It's just that you [hadn’t] seen my vision until now. I got to this point and now you want to come back around and act like we're friends.
What's the adjustment to Atlanta been like since that's not just a big city on its own, but also a Music City, and furthermore, a huge Hip Hop City?
Honestly, lit as fuck. I could go pretty much anywhere around there, like I'm known. I‘m not saying I’m the biggest but I’m definitely not a nobody either. I moved up there, I made the right connections, I put in the footwork to actually be talked about. So now it’s like, what’s next? Cuz Atlanta is popping. I'm in touch with some of the biggest producers out there, some of the biggest artists out there. So now it’s just figuring out how to level up from there.
So you dropped “Get Away” on Valentine’s Day with Seddy Hendrinx. How did that link up happen?
We were both in Houston, and we were at the [William P. Hobby] airport. It’s crazy because I had just seen his interview with Funny Marco the day before. So when I saw him, I just like spoke to him like I knew him and it started from there. I told him I was like, ‘What's up? I'm trying to get you on this song.’ I sent him that song. And he wasn’t even 10 minutes out of the airport and he hits me back real quick saying he was fucking with this song. That song was made for me back in like 2020-2021, but I had been trying to find the right people to put on it. So once I ran into him and knew he was already on his shit like that, I knew it would make sense. We linked up in Houston the next day and made that song. It’s even crazier because we came to Houston on the same day, and left on the same day too. At that point, I knew everything was meant to be. And of all the people I've met, the connections I’ve made, he has been one of the most genuine. All of them are genuine honestly.
Let’s fast forward to now. You’re in New York now for Fashion Week. How have you been enjoying it? What was the overall experience like?
To be honest it was really kind of hectic. There were a lot of people outside. It kind of reminded me of Art Basel [in Miami]. Everybody says they’re gonna pop out for the events, they gonna pop out to see the clothes, they gonna pop out to do this, that, and the third. But next year, I want to be walking in somebody’s show. That's what I really wanted to experience, but that’s next year’s goal for sure.
Is Fashion an avenue you see yourself exploring the further you go into your musical career?
Yeah. I love clothes, I like to look good. I love jeans, I love shoes, so I definitely see myself designing something in the future. I'm big on the design, man. Having my own brand is definitely in the works. It's just that I'm so picky. [Laughs] I really don't know what I want to pick. Actually, I was thinking about making clothes like a while ago like on the logo maker. I was trying to make little designs and the clothing line was going to be called Swamp Life because I was doing it while I was in Florida. It was just a bunch of ideas, though. I got images and ideas in my head, I just gotta get the right person. We’re definitely gonna make it happen.
So Fashion Week is over with, your new single dropped [on Valentine’s Day], what else do we have to look forward to?
I dropped a single before this one on the 28th of January. So there’s going to be something dropping every two weeks. I'm waiting for the tape to be mixed and mastered. It's actually been taking longer than I thought too, but that's what happens when it's with a professional. So it's like why not just keep the momentum and keep my fans fed, and keep them anticipating the new tape. I dropped Steven Seagal, I just dropped [Get Away], and then I got the Steven Seagal video about to drop soon too.
Any other collaborations happen while you were out here?
I tapped in with That Mexican OT so that's was cool. I've been working with a camera man out here too. Every time I come out here, I try to work. Last time I was here. I shot a video with Spike Tarantino. So I have a lot of visual and audio content on the way for sure.
You can follow SB Nunkk on Instagram, and find his music on all DSP's.
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