Approved Interview With Bing Cypher

I have the opportunity to talk to Bing Cypher about his past mixtape and his upcoming mixtape Over Thinking: Everything in Every Thing. This time around Bing and I discuss everything and I appreciate how he didn't let anything be off topic and he answered everything truthfully no matter how hard it was for him. Hit the jump to read the interview and listen to his new track!

Listen to Bing Cypher - Prelude of Light

To being I want to ask how was the response to your previous mixtape, Change of Heart, different to what you had expected? Why was this?

When I wrote Change of Heart I wasn’t writing, but rather jotting down rhymes. In the end I really just put together 13 tracks that shouldn’t have been put together. Aside from Dead Presidents and The Fame all of the tracks were rushed and really lacked a meaning or a concept. Letting Go with XV was literally done in 15 minutes. I’m not bragging or beating my chest…it literally took me one sitting and I recorded it later that day. So I rushed a lot of tracks and I think that set up the response. I didn’t take my time and put my full 100% effort into it and I really was just relying on name value with the hosting from Capcom and the track with XV and thought I would automatically blow up. Obviously it didn’t happen that way, but I’m glad it flopped because it allowed me to really see what happens when I don’t put my effort into something. So I expected the downloads to soar and everything to follow.

With that being said what is the concept of the new mixtape?

As far as concept goes for the whole tape…there is none. However every track will display a concept. I’m excited about a few of them, but I don’t want to spoil too much of the tape so I’m relying on the fans to explain it themselves. However I know some tracks will need further explanations so for those of you who really want to know more log on to Rap Genius’ website and go to my tracks I have a verified account with them and will be explaining most of the tracks if not all.

How are you going to attack this next mixtape?

My next tape is titled, “Pleasantly Over Thinking: Everything in Every Thing” and really the title explains it all. There’s no unifying concept or track…I’m covering everything and every little thing that is important to me ranging everything from my comeback, my views and goals now, and all the way to a track that is rapped from the perspective of Super Mario. Every track is unique in its own way and I think once you listen to the final product you’ll hear it. I’m adding a more cinematic approach as well with soundclips and scenes from movies so you can almost ‘see’ the concept without seeing it. In short it’ll be an eargasm of sorts.

Who can we expect to hear on it, and who are some of the people doing production on it?

I’m trying to stay away from the feature bug this time around and really give a bigger focus on myself and how I’ve evolved since the last tape. I will have a few though from my dudes Natural and Tre from Divine Intervention. Production will be from Natural mostly; TL Productions for a few, MAZing Product, and Sha-Leik who is one of my favorite producers of all time gave me a beat to use. I’m really excited about the production because all of the styles of these producers are different. Natural gives more of a sampled and old-school sound, Tre (TL Productions) uses more heavy bass and new age style, MAZing product has a very futuristic feel and Sha-Leik is like a modern day Dilla.

Last time we talked about some of your influences such as Lupe, J Cole, Bob Dylan and even Coldplay, can we expect to hear other influences in your new tracks?

All of these influences still apply, I’m definitely applying all these artists to my own sound. I’ve also drawn a lot of inspiration from Charles Hamilton and B.o.B lately as well.

Can you guide us through the first track “Prelude of Light” as I listened it was very deep and introspective

Prelude of Light was and is my favorite track so far. I wrote this song over a long period of time. After Change of Heart I took a break for about 6 months. I didn’t listen to rap during that time and didn’t write rap either. Instead I started writing poetry to help unlock what I wanted to include in my music. The first part of Prelude where I’m just talking is from a poem that is over 5 pages long. I shortened it considerably to fit the track until the beat drops. The actual rap took me a very long time to write; not because I had a writer’s block, but because I wanted to make sure every single word deserved to be there. I think I went through 15 rough drafts of the song until I settled on the final product. I wanted to let my fans and everyone who supports me that I still have it. The track itself isn’t intended to make new fans, though it has, but rather serve as a message for my family and friends to let them know how I am doing. I touch base on a lot with my life; my depression from last year with music, my confidence now, my crush of the last 4 years, and where I’m going with my life and music. I think I achieved more with this track than I did with my whole mixtape from last year.

What are your expectations for this mixtape?

I’m trying not to go in with any expectations this time because I realize now that I have no control over how every person will receive the music. I could get 2 downloads or 2,000, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. I’m making music that makes sense to me and what I think my fans want to hear. If they don’t like it I can’t change that, but if they do then I see it as a bonus incentive. I would of course want good numbers with this tape, but I won’t dwell on it. I’ll continue making music no matter the outcome because it’s a part of me.

What are some songs that you have on high rotation now?

To be honest lately I’ve been listening to only Charles Hamilton music with a little bit of The Weeknd. I just feel like Charles’ music has so much emotion and genuine feel to it and I like to use him as an inspiration and starting point when I write. Some of the most important songs I’ve been listening to are ‘Choices (A Wave for Alex)’ by Charles Hamilton because he describes his life so detailed and in such a powerful way that I feel like I can identify with what he is saying throughout the song. Whenever I have doubts I listen to this song to keep me on track.