Masked Wolf sat down virtually to chat with 96.5 TDY’s Bennett about his out-of-this-world single, “Astronaut in the Ocean,” upcoming album details, his previous job, top 5 favorite rappers, and much more.
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“I was in a suit,” Masked Wolf, who just quit his day job about 3 weeks ago, says. The Australia-native dives into his previous life and says his former corporate digital job was “very different than going to the studio in hip-hop clothes.” And as it turns out, he has a really good relationship with his boss, who he is now working for, for free. Not getting the proper recognition for his music was, he says, “hurting his soul.”
About his song “Astronaut in the Ocean,” the rapper says that for him, he was “writing a song about feeling out of place,” referring to having that corporate suit on but “being in the wrong environment,” and with this song he hopes to convey that feeling to others. “It’s about my struggles and my personal obstacles that I had to face, but I’m also saying to you, tell me your story as well.”
He reveals that music is his outlet, and that it’s easier to open up in music and on a song that compared to opening up in normal conversations. “In a song it’s easy, you’ve got the beat which is sort of like your shield… I’ve always struggled with speaking to people like this,” alluding to this very interview. “I never would do it.”
“Just the thought of giving up.” That’s what drove him to greatness. “I don’t like the thought of giving up.” He explains that there is a difference between the thought of something and actually doing something. And, for him, that thought of giving up was always there. Actually giving up is something he says he would “never be able to handle.” Hence, success.
Masked Wolf opens up on the stigma on mental health and shares that there were times when he was “really, really down” and he’d “wake up and just want to go back to sleep again” so that he “wouldn’t have to feel anything.” He then “used the pain as the fuel for the dream.”
“I bottled up everything, that’s just how I was as a person.
I thought, you’re a tough person if you don’t speak about it. You’re a man, you know, if you don’t talk about it.” For Masked Wolf, he always found that using writing and making music was therapeutic to him, and that ending up becoming his outlet. “It just went hand-in-hand.”
What music influences him? “I was big on Kanye, G-Unit, and Eminem.” He also notes moving into Joiner lucas, hopsin, and kevin gates “they rapped from their chest and they still made catchy songs and that’s what I’ve always wanted to do.” As for his top 5 favorite rappers? (in order) Eminem, Tupac, JAY-Z, Biggie, and Kanye West.
Coming up next for Masked Wolf, he’ll be releasing another version of “Astronaut in the Ocean” with features, plus remixes, new singles, and “obviously” he’s “working on an album at the moment” that won’t be an EP, rather “a proper album,” he emphasizes. The theme for the album, he reveals, will be “astronomy-themed” and “based around space.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or other aspects of mental health, know that someone is always there to help. Additionally, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-273-8255.
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