Success is a marathon, not a sprint. At 27 years old Bino Rideaux has established himself as the new buzzing artist from South Central Los Angeles. It was not handed to him, Bino had to grind on his own while acquiring cosigns from some of the biggest names out the west coast, most notably from the legendary Nipsey Hussle. He recently released a mixtape titled Outside that has been constantly playing through the streets of LA and all around the world. The mixtape has 15 songs with features from Mozzy, Bluebucksclan, Fredo Bang, Ty Dolla $ign, and Blxst. Outside displays Bino's ability to create a sound that no other LA artist has. The standout song for me has to be "Brand New" which includes a feature from Blxst who also produced the song. The song has chill vibes with both artists making it sound effortless through the mellow production. We recently caught up with Bino Rideaux in an exclusive Elevator interview. He speaks about the influence Nipsey Hussle had on his music and personal life, and how his sound has changed the climate of how LA music is perceived. 

What part of Los Angeles do you claim to be from?

I’m from South Central Los Angeles

The go-to food Spot in Los Angeles?

S/O to Taco Mell on Crenshaw

Who are your musical influences?  

It ranges anywhere from Nas to Young Thug.

Do you think the internet has ruined the music industry or helped it?  

I feel like it’s been a little bit of both. There are some pros and cons. It’s easier for an artist with no help and no team to put their music in somebody’s face. However, sometimes it’s a little too accessible.

How was quarantine for you? Did you learn anything new from the shutdown and how did you deal with it? 

The quarantine was straight. I don’t have too many complaints other than the fact that I can’t do shows. It’s kind of f*cking me up, but I get to spend a lot of time with my kid during this break and my drop was successful.

What’s one thing that your fans don’t know about you?  

My fans don’t know that I was just a rapper. I wasn’t always singing.

What is your goal for the next year? 

Go on a tour and have a top-charting album.

Any tours or shows planned? 

Sh*t, whenever they open sh*t up.

You don’t have the orthodox sound of an LA artist, why do you think that is? Have you purposely tried to stay away from the usual LA sound? Describe your sound. 

I think it’s more so my surroundings. My family is from New Orleans. Inside my house was a little bit different from going outside. So having the best of both worlds played a huge part as far as what I was attracted to when it came to sounds and music. There’s nothing I ever tried to focus on… honestly sometimes when I make a song and I feel like I’m making a west coast song people tell me it sounds like a south song so I don’t really realize I’m doing it when it happens but I understand it. Before the southern/trap influence in music was as prevalent in LA like it has been the past few years, people would dismiss or overlook my music because I had that south sound. Now it feels great to hear people say that I’m one of the first to develop this sound that Los Angeles has been gravitating towards.

How much of an impact did meeting and working with Nipsey Hussle have for you personally and for your music? Do you still carry anything he told you?

It was everything. It made me a better man. It was a blessing and I wish everyone could have experienced it to better understand it. It was exactly what a n*gga like me needed. Young niggas coming from the streets having Nip was the best situation that could probably happen as far as a positive role model. He kinda groomed you without even trying or forcing nothing on you. He kinda groomed you into you a better you. By default, just being around him you gonna soak up so much energy and game. As far as the music goes he was sharpening my sword. He played the sensei role as far as my story goes, and I wouldn’t have it no other way.

The new tape Outside explains the process of making it, how long did it take you, and what it means to you? Also, what is your favorite song on the project?  

A lot of the songs are years old. I signed with Def Jam and I told them to let me drop a mixtape prior to dropping my album and they were with it. We had a whole other title and came with the title Outside because everything that’s going on as well as the energy of my music being a solid foundation for going outside in the city, club, party or anything in LA. You’re probably gonna hear my music when you’re just going outside. We really just had to put together a tracklist of 15 songs out of 80 songs so narrowing that down was the hardest part. The music was pretty much done, we didn’t have to do any extras. I probably made 2 of those songs after I signed my deal. The process was easy. We had a good team making sure the rollout was A1 and everything. It came together and we exceeded a lot of expectations. My favorite song on the project is “Mismatch.”

Did you have any songs with Nipsey that almost made the project? Why didn’t they make it if so? 

I didn’t want to put any songs with Nipsey on this project mainly because it’s a mixtape (not my album) and I really wanna come correct as far as anything dealing with Nipsey or his legacy or his name.

I noticed you and Blxst have a tape together titled “Sixtape” that dropped in 2019 which had good feedback, how did that come about and are there plans on dropping another tape together? 

It was just me tappin’ in with Blxst and him sending me beats and me just going crazy on the beats and

one day he sent me a beat with a verse on it. It just happened to be him. Ever since then, we’ve just been sending shit back and forth working and it just became regular. We had enough songs to put a tape out and we went with Sixtape. It was six songs and it went crazy. He’s probably one of my favorite current artists to work with. We’re working on Sixtape 2 right now.

After listening to your music, what is one message you want people to walk away with? 


I want people to know that it’s just me sharing my story with people and me sharing my opinions. I’m not pressing anything or preaching nothing. I’m telling you the pain I go through and how I dealt with it. And my message is that I’m still cool and alright. It’s going to keep goin’ regardless. Whatever you’re trying to do is possible if you’re just willin’.

You recently inked a deal with Def Jam, was that a goal of yours to sign to a major and do you have to release music differently now that you are signed?

It wasn’t necessarily a goal of mine even though any recording artist is going to be thinking about signing to a major label but I was cool with or without it especially coming from under the wing of Nip and learning how shit could go. It was never really the goal but understanding the history of Def Jam and the fact that they want me to carry the torch and represent them is a big deal in itself. I feel like now as far as putting the music out it’s honestly not really that much different.

Stream his new mixtape now: 

Instagram: @binorideaux 

Twitter: @BinoRideaux