ATLANTA — Seven-time Grammy-nominee and Atlanta-based rapper CyHi Da Prynce recently released his brand new album, EGOT the EP, on June 3.
The DeKalb County native has worked with Kanye West and many other major artists in the industry as an artist, rapper and songwriter
The album release comes nearly five years after he dropped his debut studio album.
CyHi sat down with 11Alive's culture journalist Neima Abdulahi to break down the messaging behind his latest album EGOT, and how his own life story inspired him:
Q #1: I remember your old music videos, with the sunflower seeds, and I was like 'oh he's got a story to tell.'
A: Sonically trying to make it a motion picture without the picture. Sonically can you still have those pictures, still have those feelings.
Q #2: Your album EGOT really has a lot of pain in it. You had a line that said, ‘We got opps, pray to God we never cross ‘em. Never knew how much you loved someone until you lost them.’ Artistically, what story were you narrating?
A: It’s similar to post-traumatic stress. One bad mistake. One wrong right. You walk down this street. It could be over.
Q #3: You experiencing that assassination attempt, how has it impacted you to this day?
A: Now that I think about it, it’s really normal. That’s what hurts me the most. One thing about Atlanta is, we’re the city of opportunity. And at some point, the cup overflows. People on the pandemic. People ain’t got money. People ain’t getting jobs due to COVID. And different things like that. And guys just out hunting. Even if it was something where it was deliberately or something that was just random, it was just unfortunate.
Q #4: Why are rappers still getting gunned down? We see that trend in the headlines every year. We’ve lost so many. Tell us about that cycle and what the root of it is?
A: To me, it’s kind of sad because the root of it is success.
Q #5: What do you mean by that?
A: You come with this talent and this record label tells you, ‘You get your name big enough, we'll give you 5 million dollars.’ So, how do you develop money for studio time, money for promotion, money for club dates, so you try to take some shortcuts. And during that shortcut is when you step on toes. As you grow, they might envy you. Artists really get killed in their hometowns because that’s where their enemies are. That’s where the people who don’t like them are at.
Q #6: To get an EGOT means to reach the upper echelon of your greatest potential. Does it really personify the American dream?
A: It is the American dream. Because we come from negative 100. Most races start at zero. And then you got to work up.
Q #7: It’s like what they say, you either hit a triple or are born on the third base.
A: Right. And some people are born on the third base and we know who they are. And we’re not even at the park yet. We’re stuck in traffic on 285.
Q #8: The world would have never seen you at this stage, if you didn’t make it through that phase.
A: Absolutely. Keep it moving. Stay prayerful. And stay inspired.