The DC Scene recently interviewed a member of a group new to the music world, Hotstylz. The group formed in 1997 and released its first single, "Lookin Boy," this year. The DC Scene spoke with group member Raydio G.
Raydio G: Yes. We prefer that title because rappers are limited. You got a lot of people who are rappers and they take pride in it, they are great rappers…Hotstylz, you never gonna know what to expect from us. You know, "Lookin Boy" yesterday, but you never know what you’re gonna get tomorrow.
DC Scene: Are you enjoying your newfound success?
Raydio G: Success is cool. One thing that it’s doing is allowing us to kind of change the world and not just change people locally, you know, like we’ve been doing before.
DC Scene: So how has Hotstylz been changing the world so far?
Raydio G: Well, one thing that we’re doing with our music is we’re showing people to lighten up and there’s more out there than just selling drugs and just shoot em’ up, bang bang. We’re showing a lot of people who actually respect the music that there’s a bright side to everything at the end of the day.
DC Scene: How do you hope to touch people with your music?
Raydio G: One thing that we do is we put a lot of subliminal messages and a lot of messages that are kind of apparent as well in musical form and comedy form. So it’s just like Dave Chappell and his show. He uses comedy to convey a lot of messages on racism or fashion or a lot of different things that people can relate to.
DC Scene: Why did it take 11 years for Hotstylz to put together its first single?
Raydio G: Oh man, well, I’m a college student, Meatball’s a college student, and also Krazee, too. So the whole time, we were focusing on getting money and trying to finish out the education, trying to make sure things is cool, so it was a great time.
DC Scene: Are you guys planning to put together an album or another single in the future?
Raydio G: Oh man, we’re definitely putting together an album. The album is slated for a late summer release, and the title of it is “Yo Mamma Got a Mustache.”
DC Scene: What's next for the group?
Raydio G: The next big thing is not just the album. I actually got a TV show titled “Raydio TV.” Meatball is a producer, so Meatball’s producing for a lot of people. And believe it or not, you’ve got Krazee and Krazee does choreography, like a strong type of hip-hop choreography, so Krazee’s got that going on. So I won’t say the album is the next biggest thing, but it is a big thing.
DC Scene: Has this been a dream of yours for a long time? Have you always dreamed of being an entertainer and being in entertainment?
Raydio G: We didn’t have time to dream; we never had time to dream. It was one of those things that we were so hard-working that we didn’t have time to sleep, we didn’t have time to dream on it cause we were living it. We were actually putting in the work to make it happen.
DC Scene: What’s one thing you’d like people to know about Hotstylz?
Raydio G: One thing is what you said before and that is that we’re not rappers. And we’re trying to show people that there’s a brighter side to this music, not just a goofy side or a lame side. Funny ain’t always gotta be lame. You got three different artists, three different personalities, and they all coming together to form Hotstylz. Hotstylz is a group that consists of three individual artists.
DC Scene: Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?
Raydio G: To all aspiring artists, if you’re an aspiring artist, people ask us all the time how did Hotstylz do it? How did these three dudes from Chicago of all places do it? I’ll tell you one thing all aspiring artists can do: Stop wearing shades and baseball caps everywhere you go. If I can’t see you and I can’t recognize you, I’m not going to idolize you. That’s all I got to say.
DC Scene: Thanks Raydio G and good luck!