Raptology: How did you come up with a stage name?
BREIS: I remember rhyming over an ODB instrumental and the way I was flowing was just reminiscent of the breeze and it stuck. Later on I gave it a meaning, the original meaning being Bona fide Rhymes Exist In Self and the spelling changed to BREIS. I later changed it to Brother Reaching Each Inner Soul.
Raptology: What tools do you find indispensable?
BREIS: I’m trying to think of something outside of my phone but can’t. My phone is my mobile office. I’m discovering apps that can do amazing things. These apps are gonna take over actual jobs. What we would’ve asked a professional to do for us, sometimes an app can do the same thing for next to nothing. Sci-fi times.
Raptology: What’s the coolest, most important show you’ve played to date (the kind of show you’d like to play more of)?
BREIS: I performed in Japan in the early 2000s at the Blue Note Jazz club. Most of the audience couldn’t speak English but the way they responded to the music was emotional. They had a deep appreciation of music. It was the first time I understood the impact that music had globally.
Raptology: What’s your latest release?
BREIS: My latest release is a 5 track EP called ‘Arise & Shine’. It’s very eclectic musically, on point lyrically. The EP explores life growing up in London and Lagos and themes such as believing in your worth, not hiding your brilliance, and keeping on despite adversity you have to face. It’s an important body of work to me for what it’s done for my soul. I hope it can bless others and uplift those that need uplifting after all we’ve experienced this year. For various reasons it took a year and a half to put it together. It wasn’t even a pre-meditated project, it just grew organically and became bigger and bigger as the weeks and months went on. I’m very proud of the final outcome and hope it brings joy to listeners.
Raptology: What are you focusing your time on now?
BREIS: Right now I’m focusing on the ‘Arise & Shine’ project which is not just about the music, it’s also about books, art and merchandise. The most a fan has spent on my music, a gig and merchandise is between £50 – £80. The other morning I woke up to a notification saying a supporter had spent £500 on my merch. This has really encouraged me to keep investing in myself and the products I create. Now I just need to stay diligent and keep grinding, especially as there aren’t any gigs for artists now due to covid. I hope to start recording new material in a few months time.
Raptology: How do you currently feel about the state of Hip Hop in general?
BREIS: If we’re focusing on the music, I’d say I love some of what I hear, especially in the UK. Ghetts is a prime example of that but if I’m honest I’m not aware of half the stuff that’s out there right now. Unfortunately ageism is killing Hip Hop, misogyny is poisoning it, but the number one killer of Hip Hop are radio stations that refuse to broaden their musical palettes and only want to cater towards young demographics.
Raptology: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your music?
BREIS: The biggest compliments about my music have been people saying how my music made them think differently about something or when my sister played one of my songs continuously during around revision time and how it was what kept her going through it all even when she was on the verge of throwing it all away.
Special edition blue vinyl can be purchased at https://shop.mrbreis.com/
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