Arcade Droyd is on a winning streak right now. At the end of April, the versatile DC hitmaker dropped his EP titled Dark Days featuring 7 hard-hitting tracks all produced by Arcade himself. Led by "Empty Clips" and "Hills" amongst others, the EP brought in over 100,000 streams after the first couple weeks it was released proving Droyd delivered a well-received body of work.
Planning to attack the 4th quarter in a fierce way, Droyd is currently working on a follow-up EP that will continue the story he was telling on Dark Days. We chatted with the artist about his catalog, the Matrix, and forthcoming releases amongst other things. Check out the exclusive interview below.
For anyone who isn't aware of you or your music, give us a background of how it all started and what people can expect upon first listen.
I have been seriously making music since I was 16 years old. I began as a producer and engineer for a lot of popular local artists and worked my way up from there. That’s what allows me to get tapped in; I had to put in the work behind the scenes. What you can expect from listening to my music is energy and great musicianship. I pride myself on being a musician first and a rapper second.
If you were to pick any song from your catalog as a way to introduce yourself to a new fan, which one would you pick and why?
I would have to say, "MAXIN" for sure. I just think that song show my creativity, lyrical ability, and has well as my energy. Plus I think in a live performance it would go stupid. A lot of people ask that question and they're surprised it’s not "EMPTY CLIPS" because I have a video out for that song already.
You dropped an EP not too long ago, what went into creating Dark Days?
To be completely honest with you, Dark Days was never supposed to be a thing It just happened. I made the EP in a month and put it out to satisfy the label. I wanted to drop my Album but I was told to drop EP instead; I was mad hell. I had a lot of problems going on back home as well; that’s why everything sounded so aggressive. Then it just snowballed; I ended up making 60 new songs in a month.
Coming off of the release of that, have you decided where you want to go next musically?
Yeah, I’m gonna release another project called Good Days EP but I can’t talk to much about that one just yet.
Let's imagine you're in the Matrix, do you take the red pill or the blue pill?
Man give me the Red Pill. I wanna know what’s really going on out here. And technically the blue pill is just a placebo because life will continue as you know it. Everything will be “normal” you will go about your life and believe the same lies that have been spoon-fed to us for generations. I can all day about the Matrix; it’s one of my favorite movies.
If there's a movie out now that accurately depicts your life, what would it be?
No, I gotta make it myself!
What can fans expect to see from you in the next year or two?
In the next two years I have so much material to release but far from my peak. This moment in my career is an exciting one because I’m entering my discovery phase. Everyone is liking and sharing my music and it’s creating new fans everyday.
One thing I will never do is cheat my fans they will get 100% of me at all times. I just want to continue to grow as an artist and push the bonds of music not just hip hop. I don’t know where I will be 10 years from now but I know I’m going somewhere. I just want fans to buckle up and enjoy the ride and we can enjoy these moments together.
