Interview: Meet Your Cousin, Alex.
Your Cousin, Alex, blessed us with his new project, 'Snow on the Buffs,' just in time for the holidays. The new project dropped on December 4th, 2020, on all platforms with nine cohesive tracks. Ok, Alex is not exactly your cousin, That is his rap name! He's an all-around guy, your go-to person, and a rapper with a creative flow. Your Cousin, Alex, was born in Grand Rapid, MI but is now residing in Orlando, Fl. The artist likes to describe himself as a word nerd with an open and dynamic sound. I'd like to say Your Cousin, Alex reminds me of some of my fav story-telling rappers such as J.Cole, Dom Kennedy, and Larry June. 'God's Work' would have to be my favorite from the project; Alex raps over a soulful, angelic piano beat, giving me a message to be more mindful that's when God speaks.
“Moment of silence, let the vibe speak. You ever notice that’s when God speaks.”
I got the pleasure to sit down with Your Cousin, Alex, to talk more about him as a creative and 'Snow on the Buffs.' Check it out below!
How are you feeling?
A: I'm doing good.
Who is Your Cousin, Alex? What is the story behind the name?
A: Umm, Your cousin, Alex, is your favorite cousin, man. I'm everybody and nobody. Growing up being connected to so many different people, different circles. Like if somebody wanted the hookup somewhere, getting into venue/party or you know if they want mechanical work done for the low or something like that.. I'll just tell em 'yo, tell em you're my cousin and they'll hook you up.' So eventually it just stuck, 'Oh yea that's my cousin Alex.'
When did you find your love for rapping?
A: I've been rapping since I was like six honestly. I grew up in Grand Rapids Michigan. In my neighborhood, where I grew up at I would always come outside and see the older kids battling and stuff. I tried ball, I wasn't too good at basketball. In my area you either hoop or you rap. Well, my jump shot is not that crazy but I know a lot of words so I'm going to try my hand at that. It kind of just happened organically.
So, when did you decide to take rapping seriously?
A: The first time I recorded anything, I had to be like 12. I had just moved down to Florida. One day I was coming home from school and I saw this group of older dudes freestyling into this little karaoke mic. They had an instrumental playing and everybody was just taking turns rapping. By then I had already been writing for a few years so I heard em and I was like 'yo that's dope.' They had the Ether beat playing, and that was the first time I heard that beat. I walked over to them right, and after everybody got done doing their verses one of them handed me the mic, and I started going at it. The guy whose house it was, his name was Tony. He was like 'yo man, you're really nice with what you're doing,' from there every week he would give me an instrumental CD with 20 new beats and I would just go through them and all the ones I liked I would write a verse to them and I would go to his house and record them all on his little karaoke thing.
How would you describe your sound?
A: Open, honest, candid. Umm, dynamic I guess. I don't mean that in like a boastful way. I try to balance myself with what I do. I feel like my sense of humor definitely plays a major part in my artistry. I also take it seriously too, I'm a word nerd. I'm really into syntax, I like story-telling, I love humor. Overall I really like smooth, laid-back type energy. I think that reflects a lot in what I do, my production choice.
What was the creative process like for 'Snow on the Buffs'?
A: Honestly, I spent a lot of time by myself. I had dropped a thanksgiving project a few years back it was called 'Fix Me a Plate.' This year I had planned on doing a sequel to it, I was gonna do a fix me a plate two. but then I was like man if I do a sequel to this one people are just going to compare it to the first one and it's not really gonna live up to its own name. Maybe it would make more sense to do a Christmas tape. So I looked at all the different Charlie Brown holiday special covers and they had a couple of different ones for Christmas, I picked the one I liked the most. I had my cousin animate and draw it up for me. I sat on the animation for probably like a week or two and one night it just came to me, 'Snow on the Buffs'. You ever seen the movie Snow on tha Bluff? ... I tried to tie into something familiar with something relatable to me. Back home in Michigan, Cartier buffs are a big deal. How people in Florida like the golds and jewelry, we don't really do all of that, we do the cartiers. I titled it as a nod to my culture where I come from.
You have a story-telling type flow, who are your musical influences?
A: It's a lot. I'm gonna say, Kurtis Mayfield.. umm The Whispers, Bootsy Collins, Nas, Jay, Prince, Camron.. love Camron. I feel like my taste was influenced a lot by my mom and uncle David. He really introduced me to soul and funk.
What's your fav song from Snow on the Buffs?
A: My personal favorite song probably is 'Sincerely' or 'Gods Work'. Those songs are the most personal to me, they were coming from a real humble and modest place.
'Sincerely' is the last song on the project, and you say it's one of your personable songs. What's the story behind that track?
A: That song was probably the most direct and straight forward off the project. I was reflecting on my experience, and speaking for myself and others like me. I feel there was a lot that I touched on in the song. I spoke on poverty, conditions in the hood, fears, motives and aspirations while trying to make it out, and the state of mind a lot of us were/are in due to certain hardships and situations that we face day today. I tried to do so in the most sincere and candid way possible.
What's a typical day for Your Cousin, Alex?
A: So, I get up. Eat some fruit, preferably mangoes and/or bananas. Check my emails, drink some tea if there's any at the house. I'll spend an hour or two trying to discover new music from different genres, just seeing what I like or if I'm inspired by anything. This year more than anything I've been trying to treat music like a job. In the sense of you clock in for an X amount of hours, you go to work, it becomes a routine. You stay productive, stay sharp, stay fresh. I like to ride my bike, clean my car, I love my car.
Zodiac sign
A: I think I'm a Taurus.
One song heavy in your rotation right now?
A: Keep on lovin me- The Whispers
What's next for Your Cousin, Alex in 2021?
A: I don't have anything set in stone. I've been working a lot lately on new material. A lot of new features. I plan to drop another tape probably first quarter of next year. I'm just gonna keep on working, perfecting my craft.
'Snow on the Buffs' is out on ALL platforms so please tell a friend! You can keep up more with Your Cousin, Alex and his music by following him on his socials @yourcousinalex.
- Jasmine Pollard