Recently Twin Cities artist Populaire connects with fans for his new single, “Blow Money.”
Bred in the heart of the Mid-West where his father was a local musician based out of St. Paul, Minnesota, Populaire has always been accustomed to the world of music and has music running through his blood.
When asked about how he got his start, Populaire said he used to play around at his dad’s band practices, getting accustomed to the world of music.
“I guess it kind of goes back to my childhood. I always used to be with my Pops at band practice, just watching him and his guys go at it. That’s kind of where I got into that niche of music at a young age. I started writing at about 10, recording at about 16. I spent that teenage to adulthood gap, just trying to figure out my lane and my sound which is very universal, but the past couple of years I kind of got it down pat.”
Since releasing his DJ Scream hosted project Cheap Flights in 2021, Populaire has followed up with several singles, along with the most recent single, “Blow Money.”
“That song in particular, I grew up listening to the West Coast sound with DJ Quik, Warren G and Snoop, so even the sounds I got now, it’s kind of like I got my own twist to it.” Populaire explained. “Blow Money caught my ear and it kind of got me with the Detroit sound and the cowbell. I kept hearing it throughout the beat and that’s what made it gravitate towards me. The artist/producer Kush2x who I worked with laid a verse, but this beat was produced by California native Ninety8. Kush2x has the Detroit sound and he’s mainly a producer, but it was good for creating my artist awareness. He’s done songs with Babyface Ray and Icewear Vezzo so he’s got a dope sound as far as production. I also know him personally, our family is friends and I was feeling good. Just got a new whip and so I dropped the vlog with it. The feedback is great and shows people I can hop on this and not bite or borrow from somewhere else. This is my twist on it and it’s going to lead up to a new project this Summer.”
When asked about the sound in Minnesota, Populaire said the Twin Cities right now doesn’t really have it’s own sound, but that there are some really unique performers out there that pride themselves on being unique and authentic rather than copying someone else’s sound.
“It’s crazy because there’s so much talent up here all together. We don’t have our own sound and even in the African American community we don’t have a real identity like you might see in Houston; where they have the grills and slabs, or out West they got the low riders and chucks – we don’t have that. But we do have some really unique stuff out here and it’s just very different as far as the sound up here. We got Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Asians, Africans, all types of people out here. The Chicago sound is definitely here, there’s a lot of shi*t going on in this big and not so big Twin Cities area. You can get unique or watered down versions of the originators. So it’s really important to be original out here, and I’m the one bringing the original Minnesota rap sound.”
