Arnstar might not seem like a familiar name yet, but he has been slowly rising as a star in multiple areas of entertainment.
Recently, the growing celebrity has starred in the Netflix biopic film ‘Roxanne Roxanne’ portraying MC Shan, and also made a television appearance on Nick Cannon’s hit show ‘Wild N’ Out’.
The Knockturnal: When did you know that you wanted to be in the entertainment industry?
Arnstar: I was in art class, and my teacher played a documentary called “Style Wars.” The documentary was about graffiti aka “writing” in the 80’s. It briefly covered the other elements of hip-hop, and when it got to the breaking part, I saw my father (Kippy Dee of the legendary Rock Steady Crew). That’s when I knew I was born to do Hip-Hop. Around that same time, I had also read this book called “The Business of Getting Rich” by Bishop E. Bernard Jordan. I read it under the pretenses that it was going to teach me how to make money, but I didn’t realize that it was more of a spiritual book that opened-up the relationship between me and the creator even more. It peeled back the layers of frustration that my environment provided to me and gave me a better outlook on what I can do in this world.
The Knockturnal: How did you get the role of MC Shan in Roxanne Roxanne? In portraying the role what similarities did you notice between yourself and MC Shan?
Arnstar: At the time there were a couple of auditions around the same type of films based on the 80s. I had auditioned for one that I didn’t take seriously. After seeing the movies full potential, it fueled me to land “Roxanne Roxanne” when the opportunity came. I knew MC Shan needed to be honored correctly. What better than an MC from today’s age that pulls from the original essence of what hip-hop started from which leads to our similarities. If not for the MC Shan’s of the world, I wouldn’t have the foundation to pull from in the first place. My style is old school new school. Old school principles with new school energy. I feel like we would’ve saw eye to eye on many things if I was born then or if he was coming in this age. Not to mention, even though our names are spelled differently, our names are both Sean (Shawn/MC Shan).
The Knockturnal: What was most challenging thing about portraying the role, and what did portraying the role help you in discovering about your acting ability?
Arnstar: This was my first major role, and I did not consider myself to be an actor up until this role. I just knew if they were looking for someone to portray a hip-hop icon then you would need an artist that can match that frequency naturally. Portraying the role help me discover that there was a talent that needed to be explored through acting. With technique and experience, I can see myself portraying many different roles with precision. People would probably believe that acting was my first passion.
The Knockturnal: What was it like being on Wild N Out and working with Nick Cannon, what was some advice Nick gave you that you feel is most useful for success in the entertainment industry?
Arnstar: To be honest working on Wild N Out is a dream come true. There’s so much hard work that goes in that no one can see that it kind of pushed me to be the best me altogether. Wild N Out is the only place where you can get music, jokes, and basically a full dose of the culture in one show, which is perfect for me because of the many layers that I have. Working with Nick Cannon is a blessing. He’s a man of little words yet a man of his words. He’s more about action which notion me to be my truest self at all times. I learned more from what he did, and that was all the advice I needed.
The Knockturnal: Can you talk a little about how you got to be a part of McDonald’s campaign, how did you go about getting featured and do you plan to work with the brand again in the future?
Arnstar: One of my team members discovered that there was a call for rappers for a fast food campaign. We didn’t know it was for a McDonald’s campaign at first. I auditioned over skype where I rapped a few scripted lines and then freestyled. By the second skype audition, I was rapping for about 30 people in one small room. After a few days, I flew out to LA to shoot the campaign for six days just before Christmas. And, the commercial aired on Super Bowl Sunday of 2017, which was also on my birthday February 5th. One of the greatest birthday gifts ever. As far as working with McDonald’s in the future I am definitely open to seeing where our relationship can take us.
THe Knockturnal: What made you decide to do a freestyle to Nicki Minaj’s Chun Li? What has been the feedback you have received from it? Have you heard a response from Nicki herself?
Arnstar: The beat was so infectious I knew that if I flowed over it, I could bring a new outlook to where it can be taken. Usually, when people use other artists tracks, they tend to use the same flow/pattern the original artist used. I wanted to highlight it in a different manor. Also, this is one of my more recent lyrical approaches to tracks. I just wanted to show my fanbase that I have a message with my music. The feedback I’ve been getting has been summed up in one phrase #BARS. I’m still waiting on that response from Nicki herself. I’m sure she heard it by this time. I have a good feeling about that.
The Knockturnal: What else can we expect from you?
Arnstar: Look out for the music video #JohnOClap featuring John O and Kid The Wiz. The single is available everywhere right now. Make sure you look out for me on season 11 this summer. To stay updated, you can find me at @Arnstar on Instagram.
The Knockturnal: One last question. How would you describe who Arnstar is?
Arnstar: Arnstar is an energy light being that loves to entertain and educate the people. He is about getting the work done but having fun at the same time spreading love where ever he goes.