2 PISTOLS - Ozone Magazine

Aych (pronounced like the
letter “H”) is a frontrunner in
the local Tampa Hip Hop scene.
Chasing his dream has allowed
him to appear on BET’s 106 & Park,
open for several major artists,
and help others get a foot in
the door as well.
Introduce yourself and tell our readers how
you came to be the lyricist you are today.
I’m originally from Delaware. I moved to Tampa
in 2004. Since then I’ve opened for people
such as Missy, KRS-One, Ludacris, Rick Ross,
Juelz Santana. That’s how I really got started in
Tampa.
When people talk about open mics in the
area your name comes up a lot. What role do
you play in the local Hip Hop scene
When I first came to Tampa I got started doing
things like open mic nights. For the last three
years I’ve been running one and it’s basically
the only Hip Hop open mic night that’s been
consistent for this long. There’s nothing like it.
We do it every Wednesday at Full Moon right
now, but after the Super Bowl we’re moving to
Crowbar in Ybor City.
What’s the significance behind your name
Do people mispronounce it a lot
Oh yeah, all the time. The name came from
when I was young. My first name starts with
an H and my boy used to always spell it out. So
on the night of my first show they wanted to
know what I go by and I was like, “Uh, I go by
Aych.” A lot of people pronounce it like ache
or ack.
Tell me about your experience on BET 106 &
Park. How did that come about
The last time I went up there was in May. It was
a good experience. I learned a lot and got to
see how things work behind the scenes. I met a
lot of cool people at BET.
What’s your approach to putting out new
music It seems like you put out a lot of projects
and singles at once. Why is that
I don’t do it to just to put music out. People
want to hear new music. It’s supply and
demand. I just try to do a lot of collaborations,
stay relevant, stay recent, and stay working.
When you perform, what are some of the
crowd’s favorite songs
“Dollas and Dreams” would be one of my favorite
ones. They’re spinning that on 95.7 now.
And the ladies like the “Like You” joint.
What’s “Dollas and Dreams” about
It’s basically the story of me being 18. It’s
about believing in myself and going through
things an 18 year old dude goes through. Like
you might not see eye to eye with your mom,
and you feel like you grown and she feels like
you still a little boy. So you say I’ma do my own
thing, I’ma man and I’m gonna stand on my
own two feet. The hook is like: “Look ma I’m on
TV/Used to think one day that’s gon’ be me/
Running up and down the block screaming
that’s my car/Now look, years later that’s my
car.” It’s more of an inspirational song.
Is there an overall message or an image
you’re trying to portray to the youth through
your music
You can tell the kids all the things you want,
but when they actually walk out the house
they’re gonna see the world for what it is. I just
try to tell my story, what I’ve seen. I just try
to be as real as possible with the people that
listen to my music, whether it’s kids or adults.
You can’t lie to yourself.
I see you have some overseas fans and you’re
branching into that market.
Yeah. That’s one thing I can say BET helped
me out with a lot. I didn’t know they had 106
& Park overseas. A lot of DJs reached out to
me from over there. The Future Star DJs been
behind me since day one. They have DJs in
Dublin and Berlin. I’m just trying to spread my
wings. If you’re an artist you gotta travel.
Do you have shows lined up for Super Bowl
weekend
More than likely I’ll be performing at Full
Moon. I work for that club.
What are your plans for 2009
My goals for right now are just to put out as
much music as possible. I’m working on like
20 tracks a month, just keeping at it. I want
to double my work ethic, get my business
together. I’m trying to get on some of these
movie and video game soundtracks and things
like that.
Do you have a Myspace page where people
can check out the new music
Myspace.com/aych302
OZONE MAG // 29