We caught up with Slayter last month at SOBS during the New York leg of the “Brandon Banks” tour.
“Yeah there are a lot of us Nuyoricans kids….,” Slayter said proudly as we discussed his upbringing, musical influences and family. From his mother to his motherland, Slayter is the embodiment of the “American dream.” Having immigrated to New York at the age of 1, after his father passed, Slayter was single-handedly raised by his mom, who has always been and still is the biggest supporter in his life, so much so that our interview was cut short when Slayter and his mom reconnected for the first time since joining Maxo Kream on his “Brandon Banks” tour. Nevertheless Slayter was able to paint a beautiful portrait about how his motherland and his travels back home gave him the tools he needed to pursue his dreams.
The Knockturnal: Can you tell me a little bit about your family?
Slayter: My mom had me when she was 16, and then my dad passed. When she was 17 and I was 1 we flew to New York.
The Knockturnal: Does your mother like music? Is she supportive of your career?
Slayter: She was always into music. Like I remember when the first sprint phones came out she used to work at the Sprint store. That’s when reggaeton was really a thing, so everybody used to go to my mom in the sprint store to try the new camera phone that came out. So she became friends with a lot of Spanish artists.
The Knockturnal: So she’s been the plug basically?
Slayter: She’s the plug! So I used to just freestyle when I was a little kid. She used to record me on the same phone that had just come out that year, it had a voice memo feature, had a camera feature. The first year a phone like that came out she used to record me freestyling.
The Knockturnal: How old were you at the time?
Slayter: I was 10 or 11.
The Knockturnal: Okay wow, she’s been your hype man from a young age as well.
Slayter: Yea she was my hypeman so like after I recorded for the first time I got a little confident. One of my neighbors in Puerto Rico, whose crib I used to chill at used to record me at the in-home studio. Then there was this man in the Puerto Rican Basketball League- he took me to my first real studio, I recorded a song that my mom played too.
The Knockturnal: So the first time you ever you ever recorded music you were in Puerto Rico?
Slayter: Yea the first time I ever recorded was in Puerto Rico
The Knockturnal: What was going through your head when you first started recording music?
Slayter: Shit it was like, even when I was in Puerto Rico I was going to New York like every Christmas, every Thanksgiving, and every spring break. So I would come from New York with new shit to Puerto Rico like you know I got some new shit y’all don’t got. Then I’d go back from Puerto Rico to New York like I got the new shit y’all don’t got.
The Knockturnal: That’s fire, do you feel like a lot of kids growing up in New York had those same experiences as you?
Slayter: Yea there are a lot of us Nuyorican kids, that’s what we call them Nuyoricans.
The Knockturnal: Was it easy to travel back so often?
Slayter: Hell yeah, we were in New York all the time.
The Knockturnal: Did you know off rip that this is what you’re meant to be doing with your life? Or did it take a while before you took it seriously as a career path?
Slayter: I always seen that this is what I’m gonna do cause it was the only thing that I felt I was good at. When my mom showed it to the people she knew they were like “this is actually good.” People would only hit me up in school to like fight and make music. Thats the only time that I seen people be like aight I’ma tap me in and bring me in on the activity, it wouldn’t be on the basketball shit like “Oh yea bro come ball with me,” feel me?
The Knockturnal: So how old were you when you began to see positive reactions from your music and your popularity began to rise?
Slayter: In High School, I would just record music on like a Logictec headset with a program called Cooledit. I used to just record mad random songs and I made like a little mix tape CDs and the word started spreading around. But at that point I wasn’t even taking it seriously I was only just f***ing around.
The Knockturnal: While you were passing out mixtapes in high school, were you performing at showcases or talent shows at all?
Slayter: Yeah I’m doing like little showcases. My uncle put me on, but this is in Jersey I recorded a little mixtape in Jersey. I was there one summer in Patterson and we came to Times Square when I was 15 or 16 and I remember we were just walking around passing CDs out.
The Knockturnal: You started hustling early.
Slayter: Yeah yeah but I started taking it serious for real when I was 20. I was like nah hold up I was f***ing around when I was a little kid so I can’t quit now. Cause I thought about saying f***
it because I’m doing all this bs at the time- which it wasn’t bull**** I was just grinding trying to grind it out you feel me.
The Knockturnal: Yeah you were just trying to support yourself. So what was that eye-opening moment for you?
Slayter: I started like losing friends and like real s*** started happening around me know what I’m saying. I’ve been seeing that shit since I was little but you know but it was like damn it’s a cycle. Like do I want to be involved in the cycle and do the same bull**** everybody doing. Like right now where I’m from right on my block it’s still the same people that was there years ago doing the same shit you know.
The Knockturnal: How do you feel when you see that AND when you go back to the block?
Do you like having other resources to tap into, but being able to come back to the block?
Slayter: Exactly like I always come back. That’s what I’m trying to do now, like I’m on this new tour right now I brought people that was on the block. They ain’t ever been in new states like I ain’t ever been in new states. Like North Carolina was my first time in North Carolina. I’m about to go to Detroit and I never been to Detroit or Chicago. Like I got people that I grew up with that wasn’t doing nothing like I’m trying to show them like yo bro this is what I was introduced to right now like y’all could do it too-Probably not rapping, but one of my mans is driving, you could be a driver you feel me and one of my mans works in the merch booth.
The Knockturnal: I respect that you’re trying to bring the whole team with you.
When you go back to the the block are you met with any of that “man he’s changed” or is it all love?
Slayter: It’s love cause it’s like they get the feeling like “damn it’s about time” cause they seen me as a little kid doing shit you feel me. They not like I’m this kid that started out of nowhere and just started rapping now.
The Knockturnal: So what was your first release and was it on Soundcloud or another DSP?
Slayter: Soundcloud
The Knockturnal: Soundcloud right, so what was the first record you put out that you saw generating traction?
Slayter: It was a song called “Still Me” -It was like years ago like 2016-17 that’s when I really first started taking music serious. And I ain’t gonna lie that got a couple of producers’ attention and people in the industry were posting my shit, Fader, Complex etc.
The Knockturnal: How soon after putting out your first release on SoundCloud did labels start contacting you?
Slayter: Like 5 months after I dropped “Still Me” that’s when the first label reached out.
