Jul 26

Jul 26 THHGURU EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: COREY EI

Alex Henein

Interviews, New Music

THHGURU EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: COREY EI

"Undeniably fresh yet unmistakably familiar."

With The 6th Instalment Of #thhguruinterviews , We Had The Chance To Ask Corey El a Few Questions:

↓Stream 'Til They Know Me' Below:↓

Name: Corey El

Nickname:

(Too embarrassing lol)

Age:

Where are you from & where are you currently living?

I’ve lived in Richmond, Virginia my whole life.

What’s your process?

Usually the music is the starting point and the melody and lyrics come afterward. Most of the time I just kind of bang at the keyboard until I stumble across an idea. Then I build on that idea little by little until I feel I’ve found that “sweet spot”; sometimes it takes a few days - other times it takes a few years. (I literally have ideas from like 2009 that I’m still working on haha.) I like to take my time. Then the melody and lyrics typically come afterward.

Til They Know is a work of art, it displays familiar sounds in relation to an R.Kelly and Justin Timberlake hybrid. How long did it take you to finish/ where do you think it ranks?

Thank you! It took me about 2 years to finish “Til They Know.” Most of that time was spent just getting my ideas together both musically and conceptually. The rest of the time was devoted to actually writing and recording which took me about 3 weeks to do.

And in terms of ranking it, I’m not sure if I can but I will say I’m very proud of it.

Do you prefer a particular art form – emceeing or producing?

I definitely prefer producing. I was kind of pushed to do the artist thing by the people around me, but production was what I’ve always been the most interested in.

What are new challenges when you step into the studio?

Just trying to find ways to keep it fun. I’m the type of person that gets bored super easily, so I try to keep things interesting by taking what I’ve previously learned and further expanding upon it.

Top three music influencers?

Carl Lester-El, Michael Jackson, and Kanye

Can you describe your music in five words?

Undeniably fresh yet unmistakably familiar.

Dream collab?

I’ve always felt it would be an incredible experience to work with Rick Rubin. He’s had his hand in so many classic projects and it seems like he brings a certain energy to a situation that brings the absolute best out of the people he works with.

You have the chance to be anybody for a day. Who would you be and what would you do?

DJ Khaled. Acquire more keys to success while I wait for the Drake vocals to come in.

Something that fans wouldn’t know about you?

I’m really shy and I hate attention.

If you had to listen to one album & one mixtape for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

I think I could listen to Anderson .Paak’s last joint “Malibu” forever. I’ve literally played it everyday for like the past 6 or 7 months. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to any album in a 6 month time frame as much as I’ve listened to that one.

And if I had to listen to one mixtape for the rest of my life, I think it would have to be “A Brilliant Catastrophe (Beta)” by B. Slade.

Everyone has a goal when they first start making music, whether it be making a million dollars or to become one of the greatest. What’s yours?

I just want to inspire people honestly and show people they can be exactly what they want to be without compromising the essence of who they are.

What should we expect next?

Greatness. Utter and absolute greatness. Whether it’s the music, the videos, or these live shows we got coming up: Expect greatness.

Can you send us a selfie?

Nahhh haha

Here’s my IG tho: @iamCoreyEl ;)