Studio Visit with Horace Gaither
On one of the coldest days of the year we paid a visit to the studio where Louisville grown rapper Horace Gaither often records. He was joined by his good friend and producer, Dohboiii, and we chatted about Horace’s process, inspirations, and the struggle of working, “like 10 different jobs.”
Who are you?
My name is Horace Gaither. I'm a rap artist from Louisville, Kentucky, 21 years old.
What do you do?
I make music. I really speak on my own experiences and the experiences around me. I look at my music as the world through my lens.
First song you’re playing on aux when you get in the car?
Heart and Soul, NBA Youngboy.
Top artist on Spotify?
Kendrick Lamar.
Album you remember listening to as a kid that inspires you today?
good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar. I listened to that and I was like, “I wanna be a rapper.”
Do you work a day job?
[Laughs] I work like 10 different jobs.
I feel like there's an illusion that you gotta pick between one or the other, like working nine to five or pursuing your creative endeavors.
But obviously you're doing both, how do you manage to balance all that?
Man, that's the reason why I've worked 10 different jobs. It is definitely hard. I just make sure that I look at things as a self investment. It's all about perspective, 'cause like a lot of people are like, “I rap, I don't wanna work a job.” Which, you know, none of us wanna work a job. But shit, videos cost money, travel for shows costs money, you know what I mean? So I be on the job and I'm like, “I hate packing these boxes.” But I look at it like, “I'm doing this for this.” It kind of mentally just helps me deal with it.
What do you do for fun outside of music?
Hiking, I love to hike. My favorite place I ever went to is Red River Gorge, but usually I just find a random trail and I just start.
It’s just a good way to clear the mind.
Friend that inspires you?
Dohboiii. He just brings me up, he brings out a new sound. It works both ways, but you need new sounds to be inspired to write new raps. With the shit he sends me and the shit that he makes, he's like constantly pushing me to experiment. As an artist, you don't really find too many people like that. It's easy to find someone where it’s like, “okay, you're good at this, let's just do this.” But like Dohboiii, he’s gonna send me some different shit. He’s gonna have me on some pop shit, rock shit, all that.
Give me a breakdown of a typical recording session for you.
I used to not like recording and I used to not like writing at the studio. But now I normally just link up with Shy or Dohboiii. Dohboiii might play some beats and then I might be like, “oh, that one right there.” I usually just write and then record that day. I might get a verse done, I might write the first verse in the studio, then go home and write the second verse. It all just depends on how I'm feeling. Sometimes it might take months for me to finish one song due to the context of the song, like I need to put myself back in the emotions that I initially had.
How does having your own space to record change the way you make music?
I've recorded at different studios and it's been cool for sure, but I think that here, and especially just with the people that I work with, I get feedback that's so genuine. It’s the best when you're around people who understand what you're trying to do. You know what I mean? I think it's just 'cause we around so many different people with different music tastes. Or I might try to make some Paramore shit and my manager might not understand it, but Dohboiii, he's gonna be like, “oh, okay. I get what you're trying to do there. Instead of doing this, you should do this.”
So it's all about people understanding the attempt.
Dream team.
Tell me about the collective that you’re a part of.
Oh yeah, That's Crazy. It's a group of artists, producers, videographers, photographers, all that. I wouldn't really call us just simply a rap group, but it's really like a family, you know what I mean? We all got our own thing going on, but we work with each other so well. I be telling everybody, even if That’s Crazy didn't have a name, we'd still be together because before the collective existed, we were already all working together.
What keeps you going and inspired to make music?
Honestly, it's a long list man. One of 'em is that I like challenging myself, you know, like challenging myself with new sounds. Other than that it's just a way that I love to express myself. Sometimes I feel like I’m not good at conversations, certain things I might not be able to say in a conversation, but I can say in a song. It's good to see people pop out at shows and all that stuff and the numbers go up, but this is really just how I express myself at the end of the day. It's something I feel like I need to do.
How does performing live affect the way you perceive your own music?
A lot of things go into how I perceive my music. 'Cause you gotta think about it, you might write a song and you might be frustrated by the fact that it's taking you so long, then you might have issues recording it and you gotta re-record it four times, and on top of that you gotta listen to the beat like 300 times while you're writing it. So you might be completely tired of a song and that spark might be gone. But going to a show and seeing people scream the lyrics back at you or having people come up to you after a show like, “that one song that you did was fire.”
That's kind of like a refresher to remind me, like, this is why I'm doing this.
via @horacegaither
What makes Louisville different from other cities in the Midwest?
We got a real versatile sound. You just got very different sides to shit, you got people like Midwest Postal Service and then you got people like EST Gee. They sound completely different, but they're both from the city. They're both doing their thing and it's real distinct. There's definitely a Louisville culture when it comes to the sonics. I feel like the difference between Louisville and a lot of other places is that we have a lot of Southern culture too. It wasn't until I went outside of the city, 'cause I have family who are from New York and they'd be always talking to me like, “oh, y'all so country.” It wasn't until I went to places like New York and LA and I realized we do shit that people don't do in other places. You know what I mean, you come down here and all my aunties got gold teeth and the food that we eat, the way that we dress, all that is different. It's harder to see it when you're in the city, but when you kind of take a step back, you realize.
Sentence of advice for people who want to get into making their own music?
There really is no cookie cutter way. You just gotta start. And don't think about it too much. I think everybody should make a song, no matter what you do. You can be an old lady, you can be a construction worker, anybody. Art's always just about expressing yourself. You get used to being like, “I'm mad, I'm sad, I'm happy,” but to actually be able to put those emotions on a canvas is what it’s really about. I might listen to a beat that somebody makes and I could tell they was angry while they was making it. Even if it doesn't have any words to it, you know what I mean?
What gets you stoked?
Good hooks. If I write a really good hook, I get really excited about it. I feel like it's easy to get kind of lost in the lyrics and all that. So being able to remind myself, “okay, now we making good music,” always excites me.
What inspires you?
Sometimes I get a lot of inspiration from conversations. I might talk to a random old lady or just any older person and that might spark something. Maybe they’re like giving me advice or something. I feel like that's a perk of being young, a lot of old people got something to say and they got advice that they want to give down to you. I just put that into the music. Even things that I might not necessarily agree with, it’s still an interesting conversation, you feel?
Do you ever feel like you don’t want to make music?
I've never really felt like that, but there have been times where I've had writer's block. I think that my brain just gets on autopilot. I'm in school, so when you just go to school, go to work, go home and you just have your set schedule for the day, you get used to doing the same shit and you're not gonna get any new ideas living the same day by day. So whenever I feel writer's block I just change little shit in my day.
What does success mean to you?
Being able to give my message out to the world while staying authentic. I think that there's no point in making it if the person that makes it isn't me anymore. So I think that authenticity and being able to do what I want authentically is like the real definition. ‘Cause I might not get a billion dollars. I'm not really looking for that. It's more like, can I make an album and put anybody I want on it? Can I experiment with any type of sound I want?
That's what success is to me.
What are you most proud of right now?
This album I'm working on. I feel like Never Catch Us was a great first project but I experimented a lot more on this.
I took a lot more risks sonically, so I'm proud of myself for that.
Dream scenario in five years?
World tour. You feel me? I just wanna go to different places. I like traveling and meeting new people and stuff like that. So mixing that with music would be the dream.
How are you going to get there?
Honestly, just staying consistent. I pray a lot. The blessings just come. Obviously I try to plan for things, but I don't focus too much on a five year plan. People have been supporting a lot and even when I've been making different shit, the support's been there, so I just feel like certain shit's meant to happen.
Last message for the people?
Appreciate y'all for the support all 2023. Shit was a real blessing. I didn't really realize it until like the end of the year, but we did a lot last year. And we couldn't have done it without the people who listened to us and who allowed us to freely express ourselves. More music coming in 2024.
@horacegaither
Horace’s 10 favorites as of late. Listen below.
January 2024
Louisville, KY.
Photography & Interview by Isaac Barnett
@iebcam