A little while ago you got on Facebook and shared what a few of your goals were for the next year and playing a big festival was one of them. Now that you’re playing Trillectro next month, you knocked one of those out. How do you work towards goals? Do you give yourself a set schedule to go by?
HI$TO: I do what I feel. It’s not like, “It’s 1 o’clock, let me do this.” But when I was going for Trillectro I just started sending emails to a bunch of people that know about me. I found their emails and sent out some exclusive tracks. A little while later I got the offer. I have a lot more to do but I’m really proud of this. I’m planning out my set right now. I’ve been working on things for the past few days and I’m making new stuff for it. TT The Artist is gonna hype up my set. I’ve got a month so I’m being creative as possible.
Your debut EP, Yung Spvce Cadet just dropped. When you were putting it together, was there a defined sound you wanted to establish with it?
HI$TO: I knew I wanted to come out with an EP but didn’t know what the EP would be. I actually had a bunch of tracks ready to go but I had a falling out with some featured artists and a lot of them got scrapped. I’m on there rapping as Yung EBT. I really put my all into it. The only feature I have is TT. It’s funny because I’ve always written raps. In middle school I wanted to be a rapper honestly. But I wasn’t myself. I was rapping some gangsta shit because I was listening to a lot of Mobb Deep. The only reason I even put vocals on this project is because I had people around me telling me that they were feeling it.
What would you say is your biggest hurdle as an artist?
HI$TO: Really, staying up to date with what people like instead of playing what I like most of the time. I used to only DJ shit I like but then people started making requests for Gucci Mane, Future and other stuff. I would turn it down but then I got the idea to bring that music in with what I was already doing. People dance to it.
What have been your biggest hurdles as a person?
HI$TO: Aside from the music it’s just getting myself together personally. I’m trying to get my own spot and all that. I mean, I’m cool, but I’m not where I want to be right now. I don’t really talk to people about this but I went through a whole depression period this year. Just thinking stuff like “Damn, what am I really doing with myself right now?” and, “Is this music shit really for me?” It took some people to really lift me up and remind me of the things I have accomplished.