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North Dakota rapper Big Reeno just released the new EP Watch My Indie Throne. He’s also out on tour with Yelawolf, T-Pain, and Tech N9ne.
GroundSounds caught up with this rising star of hip-hop and discussed growing up in North Dakota, fresh music, and more. Check it out below!
Your new EP Watch My Indie Throne is such a fun listen…unique samples and beats, great guests and collabs, and awesome lyrics. Tell us about how the EP came together and how long you’ve been working on these tracks.
Thanks so much man! I really appreciate it. I started working on the album last summer actually. I think the track “Iron Man 3” was the first piece of the puzzle. I recorded that in my home studio in Fargo, North Dakota. That was the foundation right there and it kind of set the tone for the level of realness I wanted the project to embody. I did a lot of touring last year both here in the US and internationally in Asia, so I recorded the album between tours, which wasn’t easy. There were a lot of starts and stops. The last song I recorded for this EP was “The Rain” which features the homies Dizzy Wright & Stevie Stone, and I recorded that in December. It was quite a fun, roller coaster ride but I am proud of how it came out and the reception it has gotten so far. Its been crazy!
How did you connect with Sean Kingston and King Los for their contributions?
Sean Kingston is the homie man. He is like my industry big bro. We met early last year in LA, that was really a blessing. The opportunity came for us to record “Celebrate” together to be used as the theme song for this big rugby concert out in Asia called The Carlton Super 7. So we hooked up at the Legendary Chalice studios in LA where everybody who is anybody in the history of music has recorded in, and the rest is history. But I gotta say though, Sean is one of the realest and coolest dudes I’ve met in the industry. Homeboy is super talented & freaking smart too when it comes to this music thing. He definitely knows his shit (laughs).
Me and King Los connected through our managers. That was freaking cool because I’ve been following his career and been a huge fan for a few years now. And all I gotta say is that boy can rap! That boy would rap circles around your favorite rapper any day. So when the opportunity came for us to record the track “Home,” I knew I had to come with my A-game. I wasn’t about to be embarrassed on my own shit (laughs). I couldn’t see anyone else on that track but Los. We are currently in the process of shooting the music video which isn’t easy because we are both on tour right now. He is out on tour with Kid Ink right now and I am on three separate tours at the same time with Yelawolf, T-Pain and Tech N9ne, so the video is proving a little hard to coordinate with our schedules but we will get it done.
Being in a constant traffic jam here in LA, I’m always eager to talk to a musician/artist from a place like North Dakota. How is the music scene there? What is your favorite venue in ND?
North Dakota is definitely a special place. You should come visit sometime man. Just not in the winter though, I can’t help what might happen to you then cause Mother Nature don’t play if you know what I mean (laughs).
Ummm, the music scene is really growing. It’s pretty slow but slow progress is better than no progress right? When I opened my MySpace page in 2006, there were just a handful of us rappers here, and basically no venues that allowed hip hop or would agree to host a hip hop show no matter how much money you offered them. It took a lot of hard work & persistence from artists like myself and OG’s in scene like Charlie Mizza, J-Sauce & Kipp G to finally burst the market wide open. But it’s still a work in progress though. We get little to no support from the local radio stations, and there’s a lot I wish I could change. But one thing is for sure, we got a lot of undiscovered talent out here. Rappers like Charlie Mizza who is a dope producer too, Stan Cass who is one of the dopest lyricists I know & Hollywood Sunrise whose got an awesome ear for music, just to name a few.
My favorite venue to perform is definitely The Venue @ The Hub in Fargo, ND. It’s a big, 2500 capacity room that I’ve had the pleasure of selling out a few times both as a support act and as a headliner. It’s booked by my man Jade Nielsen who gave me my first big opportunity which was actually at that venue so it definitely holds a special place in my heart.
What is one thing I must do when visiting North Dakota?
If you are in Fargo ND, then you gotta go bar hopping downtown. We got some great bars and beautiful women! That’s what we do. We drink! (laughs). We got great bars like The Old Broadway, Fort Knox, Dempseys and Shotgun Sally’s.
If you are into sports, then you gotta go to a North Dakota State Bison football game! They won the championship three years in a row you know? North Dakota ain’t nothing to play with (laughs).
There’s a ton of variety on the EP and it seems like you are influenced by a lot of different musicians. Who would you say influenced you or inspired you the most musically?
Oh yea I was definitely influenced by different musicians in different genres. I don’t think I can name just one artist that inspired me the most. I was influenced by Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Kenny Rodgers, Notorious BIG, Tupac, Puff Daddy, Ma$e, Don Williams & Will Smith. Notice the nice mix of rappers, r&b/soul singers, reggae artists, and country artists? (laughs). Now, being that I am originally Nigerian, I also got a couple African artists that influenced & inspired me like the legendary Fela Kuti, his son Femi Kuti and Lagbaja. Thanks to my Mom, I listened to every genre of music growing up. From Classical, to Rock, to Hip Hop, to Grime, to Country, to Afro beat, to Juju music and everything in between.
I read that you’ve been making music since you were 7. What did your very first song sound like? What was it about?
Oh God (laughs). The first song I ever wrote was a cheesy R&B love song that shall never see the light of day. It was called “L.O.V.E.” It sounded like puppy love dipped in a river full of cheese. That’s exactly what it sounded like (laughs).
You’ve already toured with some of the biggest names in the game today. If you had a “dream tour” where you could share the stage with 2 other artists, who would you choose and where would you perform?
It would definitely be at Madison Square Garden. No doubt about that. It doesn’t get much better than Madison Square Garden. And the tour will be Myself, Jay Z and Snoop Dogg. It’ll basically be bringing together the best from both coasts.
You’re out on tour now through mid-May throughout the Midwest. What are your plans for the Summer and beyond? Any plans to head down to LA?
I’m always down in LA a lot lately actually. I do a lot recording there lately and just a lot of business, meetings and all. But on the tour side of things, there’s an opportunity on the table that will bring me that way later this year so we are keeping our fingers crossed.
This summer, I plan to keep touring. I basically plan to tour all year long, and maybe release another album before the end of the year. Another international tour is definitely in the plans too. I went on my first international tour last year with Taio Cruz and Sean Kingston, and it really opened my eyes. There’s a huge hip hop market outside the US and those fans need love too (laughs).
What album or mixtapes are you currently listening to?
I’m listening to J. Cole’s Born Sinner album, Wale’s The Gifted, Hopsin’s Knock Madness, Dizzy Wright’s State Of Mind EP and a whole lot of Tech N9ne.
What is the big goal for your music career?
The big goal for my career is to be respected for my music, for my name to be mentioned among the greats in not only hip hop, but music in general. Lastly, to be able to feed my family doing what I love, which is making music.
Where is the best place to grab the EP, check your tour dates, and stay updated with you online?
The best place for all things ME is my official website. You can download my new EP absolutely free there; check out my tour dates and all. Also please follow me on twitter & instagram @BigReeno and LIKE my facebook page.
Big Reeno ft. Sean Kingston – “Celebrate”
