Today I’m going to be telling you about our Artist of the Week Singer-Songwriter Figgy!
Here’s his story in his own words.
VMS: “When did you start writing and performing your music. What is your backstory.”
Figgy: “I was born here in Vegas from two immigrant parents that came from a small town in the state of Jalisco in Mexico, and I grew up drawing and painting so a lot of my formative years were spent online learning new ways to expand those skills in forums and communities. There was a death metal project back in the later 2010s called Desolation that my friends started, but instead of playing instruments I was doing LED light work for them basically coloring the stage with their music and that visceral feeling of adrenaline when you’re on a stage really stayed with me, being able to craft experiences for people in real-time felt super dope, and the catharsis of being in the middle of that whirlwind was surreal.I wanted to give more of myself to that feeling, and when Deso ended there was a hole in me that was created by that need to continue and I started writing and recording rap songs in my free time to express myself.
Originally I just wanted to have music to add to my iMusic or whatever, but with encouragement from my friend Yatta, and many others I grew to find confidence in my sound that felt unique and I felt like I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t try to make an impact with this new art form. Once I got my first midi keyboard I started to take this more seriously.”
VMS: “What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.”
Figgy: “Everything, full stop. My favorite bands growing up were along the lines of whatever was radio friendly in the late 2000s. (Gorillaz, Linkin Park, Lil Wayne, etc) I think “Speak Now” by Taylor Swift was the first album I bought with my own money because I had a massive crush on her in middle school lol. Few years later my friend Jake turned me onto Gojira, Avenged Sevenfold, and Cattle Decapitation.
When I grew out of my “only metal is cool” phase I really started to get into stuff from Kendrick Lamar, Poppy, Billie Eilish, Nirvana, and Daft Punk. And recently I’ve been on a Citizen, Vince Staples, and Beatles kick, so they’re cooking in my brain right now for sure.”
VMS: “What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics.”
Figgy: “If I have something to say or a sound I want to hear I find a way to write it down or record it on my phone if I like it enough. I don’t really have a process. The ideas are always there. I just disassociate if I’m in public (otherwise I’m just writing at my desk with a guitar or something lol).
My brain is like a sponge and it has an insatiable desire to constantly create. And as far as lyrics I go just pull from my own life experiences. I try to find a balance between speaking from my experiences and being vague enough for someone to take something I write down and be able to interpret it their own way. It’s a constant flow of push and pull and it’s the most intimate I get to be while being cryptic, its very fun.”
VMS: “I love your songs “Planetbustr”, “Afterglow” and “Miyazaki”. What is the inspiration or story behind these songs.”
Figgy: ” “Planetbustr” was the last song I finished for the album, I asked my closest friends to help me write a song that could wield the powers of hip hop and groove metal to “break the world” and they delivered with sauce so immaculate it was a no brainer that it was going to be the title track. The lyrics came from anxiety, perception destabilization and a lot of self-loathing.
I’ve always been an over-thinker, which spirals into a hyper-sensitivity to mine and others emotions. I often quickly downplayed my own experiences and opinions in favor of others, and I had a bad habit of ruminating on my own negativity. A mushroom trip unlocked all these unresolved tensions and I was in a bad place because I found myself reaching into places that utterly destroyed me (which makes for easy poetry).”
Listen to “Planetbustr” on Spotify:
“Afterglow” came from the toxic desire to write music cooler than a guy I knew who was dating a girl I liked lmaoo. I guess I chose violence that day. I wanted to sample “Voice of the Soul” by Death (I love Chuck Schuldiner) and I wanted to try rapping fast and find a way to add tone-style screaming into music and it was one of the first songs I ever wrote from scratch.
The lyrics came from a lucid place and I remember I wrote and recorded the ending vocals during disobedience of the work day in the pandemic after riding a manic wave in a five figure trade on the stock market. With how much money was flying around at the time it was hard to focus my actual job lol.”
Listen to “Afterglow” on Spotify:
“Miyazaki” started as an interlude idea, I really loved Savannah Brown’s take on creativity and how a lot of artistic people see it as a “need to feed its existence to feel good, but are often finding walls in their own imagination” The sample came from the Kill La Kill OST and the lyricism is probably the most unflinchingly vulnerable I had ever been at the time.
I was at a party at my friend Aaron’s house and he asked me what I thought about having cerebral palsy and I told him I didn’t know how I felt about it. I still don’t know sometimes, some days I feel better than others, but I’ve grown to love that part of myself too. The lyrics reflect these feelings.”
Listen to “Miyazaki” on Spotify:
VMS: “What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.”
Figgy: “I want them to feel whatever comes. Something, anything, whatever it is, whatever they feel. I don’t think I should decide that for them lol, but any time I get a stank face reaction because the music hits just right is always appreciated and encouraged (haha).I want them to crave more of it before even they know they want it.”
VMS: “Which local artist would you like to work with and why.”
Figgy: “I love how many artists I’ve met in the last couple years man, it’s really hard to pick. I’ve reached out to Jag Gatz, and Gabbi from Elevated Undergrounds because I love the energy and texture they bring to their projects. I want to try to illuminate them with something outside of their usual sound, so I hope unique blends come out of those waves. And I definitely have Sam Ramirez, Andrew Gensel, and Joey Barone from KOS in my sights too though. I love that there’s a lot of talent here, even the guys that stealth their moves because that’s who can pack some heaters too.”
VMS: “What’s your overall theme or message of your music.”
Figgy: “I want my music to inspire people to have unconditional love for themselves and their loved ones. To let go of things that no longer serve them and I want them to grow their empathy for others. I want them to never feel like anything is impossible for them, that no matter whatever circumstances come their way they’ll be able to take their best shot in good faith and live well in what happens in their next page.”
VMS: “What does the future hold for Figgy.”
Figgy: “I’d love to play more shows (especially with The Boys). I’d love more opportunities like this to share about my work, and I’d love a partnership or advancement from a label that wants to help a homie with his heart on his sleeve thrive out here and reach bigger heights by providing liquidity in exchange for high quality content made for distribution. In addition, I have a couple more videos I want to release to celebrate PLANETBUSTR, which are being finished. Additionally I’m helping Ra the Sun God with the production of his record which we’re just about wrapping up too.
Finally without saying TOO much I’ve been writing what looks like to be a second album, but I’ll share more about that when I’m ready.”
What I love about Figgy and his vision is how open he is to experimentation in different genres. He’s not afraid to push the envelope into pop, rock, metal, electronic, punk, hip-hop, classical, whatever seems to be the current musical journey he is on. I love that his songs can go from rapping, metal and electronic within seconds, which is such a perfect representation of the human condition and how fast things can change, which puts you mentally into a completely different mood. Our minds are incredibly complicated, and I feel he captures that beautiful chaos perfectly.
His lyrics are raw and vulnerable, which is always refreshing to hear in a world of capitalism, he is talking about the real issues that truly matter (anger, love, sex, loss, depression, the complexity of the human condition) and I appreciate that. I wish more artist’s were as honest and raw. In this over processed world of social media its nice to hear and feel someone who is real. I’m excited to see what the future will hold for Figgy, he’s already figured out who he is, and what direction he wants to go, so it’s exciting to watch that evolution musically in the years to come.
—–VMS
For more information about Figgy, please follow him on his social media platforms.
Tik Tok:
Studio Tanuki:
YouTube: (Studio Tanuki)