What’s going on man, introduce yourself to the world
Whats up everyone, i’m UG Vavy.
How was life like growing up?
Life growing up was cool I guess. I had the classic Chicago kid upbringing. I was interested in bikes, skating rinks, hooping, fighting, girls etc. I could say growing up I was always in-tune with myself. I knew what I liked and what I didn’t like about myself and things I wanted to overcome. I always was good kid trying to find my way through life you know.
Explain the meaning behind the name UG Vavy
My middle name is Eugene and in hs I didn’t allow people to call my by first name which is Nigerian. UG is the nickname given to me by this girl in highschool which comes from my middle name. The Vavy part is Baby but it sounds cooler when you say it with the Vs hahaha.
When did you get truly interested in making music?
I’ve been interested in music damn near my whole life. My ogs used to play old school R&B, Rap, and Reggae. Being from Chicago you know they used to play House Music too, so music has been around me forever.
You started producing first, what caused the transition to begin rapping then?
I started rapping my sophomore or freshman year of High School thanks to my homie Emil (Fonz). It started off as just freestyling with him and he pushed me to rap. We had a group called Innovative Hitz which consisted of me, Emil, and Fonz. At first I didn’t want to be a rapper, I wanted to be behind the scenes and just produce, I guess it was due to lack of confidence at the time. Every rapper I listened to around that time besides Drake, Cole, and Ye were all aggressive and violent. That didn’t fit me as a person because i’m a cool dude but I forced/learned how be the man in the front and how my life and thoughts can be put on tracks to give the listener something new, something to relate to. Its damn near like realizing i’m special enough to do it, my thoughts are unique, so I figured let me start expressing that.
Now doing both, which do you prefer more, producing or rapping?
Honestly I prefer producing and rapping equally now but if I had to choose it would be producing. Nothing makes me happier than finding new chords and building an entire beat from it. Then sitting back like man I really created this, I really put this in motion, its satisfying. But I also love coming up with dope flows, harmonies, and metaphors which is my shit.
When you first started producing, who were some of the artists you were producing for?
I didn’t produce for anybody or sell to anybody when I first started. Music was purely my hobby, it kept me out of trouble and took me away from the world. I did produce for close friends like Emil, Calez, Legit, and myself.
Also as a producer, do you produce for anybody or do you prefer to build a relationship with that artist first?
I honestly don’t care for producing for someone solely, i’m a bit too selfish for that. If we build a relationship that’s probably the best way to get some shit out of me because I rarely give beats out without a fee. Nowadays I sell beats and lease beats which is new for me but it is a cool way of turning my hobby into some side cash. I cant rap on every beat I make so why not spread the love?
Lets take it back a bit, one of the first groups you were in was Brkf$t club. How did you link up with these guys?
Well Emil started the Brkf$t Club in high school, which consisted of LA Van Gogh, Legit, Calez, Johnny St Cloud, Sani, and Julian Malone. We were all homies that did music at the same level, they were better rappers than me at the time but I was competing fully when it came to production. We were all homies who had similar likes but still individuals and good people.
During those early years, what did you learn about being in a group/collective of artists?
Being in a group taught me to shake loose of your ego and pride, always look at the big picture. Groups breed competition sometimes its healthy sometime its not. Some people you can work with and some you cant. If everyone is not on the same wave then things fall apart you know. I also don’t like the public perception a group gets, its goofy to me. Yeah we can be in a group but we are all individuals, there is no leader or captain among men in my eyes, but the public likes to do that sort of thing. If a person in the group has weak skin, what the public says about them could change how they act and move with the group.
After that group, you took a bit of a break with music. Did you get burned out, or what happened?
I never took a break from music, I took a break from releasing it though. My twitter got verified and I thought to myself like oh shit i’m being watched hahaha. That made me go quiet, get a plan together, sharpen my skill, find myself, and come back stronger. Life was happening too, with school and changes in surroundings but no matter what I always worked on music because it’s a hobby first. The whole time of my hiatus I still created a ton of songs. When I finally found myself and how I wanted to come at the music that’s when I made “Sport It” it was lit from there.
Returning back on your solo tip, you dropped your first single, which still to this day could be one of your biggest hits “Sport It”. Explain the concept behind this song.
Sport it was me doing something I never did before. When I rap I use a lot of metaphors but I just wanted to be wavy on the track and not try to impress a soul to be honest. I wanted to rap about a girl who put herself together nicely. When I made it I didn’t know it was hit, but I had a feeling and didn’t let any negative thoughts stop me from executing it. Sport it was my shit, once it was completed. I played for a couple of the guys and they liked it to. I was pretty much like fuck it this is UG Vavy, this is me.
Following sport it, you’ve dropped a handful of singles, In my bag, Gwap, and bussin. Could we ever expect a project from you?
I don’t like projects at all but to be very real, if the people turn my music up to the point its everywhere, Ill most definitely drop a project. There’s a few more things that has to fall in place before I drop a project, just to make me feel overly comfortable to drop it.
A little bit ago, you teamed up with Supa and Shepard Hues to create Fight Me. How did you guys link up and why did you decide to start up the group?
-Where did the name Fight me come from?
Supa and I linked up at his studio at the music garage a lot along with Hues. We pretty much just played each other new music we were working on and recorded tracks. They’re cool guys and creatives as well so I didn’t mind working around them at all. They both work hard as well, trying to get better and create new hot shit which is great.
The name fight me is something Supa would say a lot, but it resonated with me because when my and my guys would argue we’d yell that jokingly haha.
At first, there was a lot of hype and social media presence with Fight me, after the first song Annie, there’s been a little bit of a hiatus. Could we be expecting more songs or a project coming soon?
Yeah we’ve been working, people have to understand that we have to step away from the computer for a while to create some good music. Annie was hot as hell but people have to be patient, more music will come.
If you were able to produce for 3 artists who would they be?
I would love to produce with Toro Y Moi, Kanye West, and Just Blaze. Kanye because i’ve been inspired by the production aspect of his work ever since Graduation. Graduation is the reason why I add so much different elements to my samples. Toro Y Moi because I want to make some electronic house type shit with him, he seems like a really introverted guy but that wouldn’t stop me from creating with him. Just Blaze because he has done something I have only wished to do. Just blaze would get an entire orchestra in the studio and create classical rhythms from scratch by humming out the melodies and they would play it. Its so many melodies that I have that I don’t have the skill yet to translate into keys and musical notes, but if I could just hum to a trumpet section the melody I want them to play I would be unstoppable honestly.
Written By: Nicholas Rud
Chicago Creatives 