Several full listens into Club Wiley, I still had never seen a picture of you. When I did, I was really surprised because I never would have connected your physical look to your music. Do you ever feel like people underestimate your creativity because of your appearance? Have you ever received a funny comparison from someone?
I don’t know about the underestimation. Yeah, I kinda look like Andy Milonakis, but other than that nobody really looks or sounds like me. Hearing the music, I’m not sure what you’d picture.
For anyone visiting Chicago, are there any really cool places to check out that you always go to?
A cool day that I would suggested: you wake up and go to Valois in Hyde Park. Get a Denver omelet, then you go downtown and shop at Leaders, pick up a bucket hat. Go a few minutes away to Jugrnaut, get your shop on some more. If you’re a tourist that wants to record a hit track, go to soundscape. Hit up Wicker Park. Hit up this spot Phil’s Last Stand for lunch, best burger in the city, a few blocks from the studio.
If you could have a meal delivered to you at the push of a button, what would it consist of and where would the food be from?
Alex Wiley: There’s so many options. Lou Malnatti’s sausage, deep dish.
I actually flew to Chicago this past spring for the first time. It was only for a connecting flight, but I had never before seen Lake Michigan and how big it truly was. Is there a place on the beach or near the water that you and your homies visit?
The point in Hyde Park. A lot of shit went down at the Point.
There is a clear-cut difference between the music that you, Chance, Mensa, and others are making in comparison to the drill music coming from rappers such as Chief Keef. How would you say that these differing styles coexist and represent the atmosphere in Chicago?
Artists like Chief Keef represent the atmosphere in Chicago because it’s really like that in a lot of places. It’s super critical. My music co-exists because there is a demand for both, two different styles of music representing different avenues of Chicago. It’s important to show the way that artists and kids like Chief Keef are coming up. It’s just as important to share what life is like growing Hyde Park and elsewhere. All of it is just as valid.
Do you remember the first album you ever heard that had a real impact on you, not only as a musician but as a person?
As a person I’d say Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. That was the first album I had and that was hot as hell. I had a G-Unit Spinner chain in 5th grade. I thought it was the coolest shit of all time, then College Dropout came out and that’s the album that has meant the most to me.
Producers are in my opinion just as important as the vocalists when making quality music, but they tend to go under-appreciated. What do you look for in a producer? What producers do you constantly work with, and why do you think this is the case?
I look for quality of sounds, interesting melody choices and hot ass beats. Stefan Ponce, Hippie Sabotage, Odd Couple are producers I consistently work with. Really what it comes down is #hotassbeats.
What is one thing you love to do that might surprise people, something that you don’t really present through your music?
I am a headband and Allen Iverson sleeve collector. I’m kind of the Midwest pop-a-shot champion. Nine years in a row. Get at me. For real. Nobody’s seeing me on this pop-a-shot shit… People think it’s a game when they step next to me on the pop-a-shot but I’m about to bust your ass real quick.
How important of a role has Closed Sessions played in your quickly burgeoning career?
Alex Wiley: Closed Sessions has definitely been a big help. It was the main reason why the project sounded so good and how I was able to work with bigger more established artists. Closed Sessions has been like one big family or like a Chicago version of Dungeon Family.
I know that you have some visuals coming for several tracks off of Club Wiley. Can you give any approximate dates/months for when your fans can expect new releases from you?
Soon. Next couple weeks there will be another video. We’ll be dropping videos every few weeks. I’ve been in the studio working on new music, and am getting ready to do some Midwest shows and my first headlining show in New York City in September. I’ll be announcing dates soon.
To bring the interview to a close, where do you see yourself at this time in one year?
Hopefully we’ll have another hot-ass full length project out and be on tour. I don’t want to make this answer too fancy. I hope I’ll have another project out that people like and continue to be doing shows.