Artist on the Rise: iiiMPERiAL
iiiMPERiAL is a rap trio hailing from Florida who is preparing to release their debut album titled ‘iiiMPERiAL Styles’. The album brings together the three members, Swerv the Hooligan, Tre Godfella, and Sidney, along with producer Forenzik Styles. The group brings that old familiar edge of east coast hip hop and combines it with passion and dedication to high-level lyricism.
With this group catching the ears and eyes of music fans all over (already over 2,300 monthly listeners), and their debut album about to drop, we thought it was a good time to catch up with the group and learn more. We talked with them about their influences, the album, and where they see all of this going. Let’s not waste any more time and get into it.
Before we look at their future, we wanted to understand their backstory a bit more. As three independent artists who have now come together, each brings a unique perspective to the group which helps them as a unit. We asked about their influences and here is what they had to say.
“The group has many influences. Swerv is influenced by Kanye West, Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown, Kid Cudi, and Jay-Z. Tre is influenced by Lupe Fiasco, Nas, Biggie, J Cole, and Tupac, Sidney is influenced by Kendrick Lamar, Tupac, Isaiah Rashad, and Michael Jackson. The group is also heavily influenced by Hip-Hop groups Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, OFWGKTA, Griselda, Black Hippies, Beast Coast, and ASAP Mob.”
Seeing them site solo acts and group acts is very fitting given their background. Solo acts that are friends and then decide to form a group in hip hop is a familiar and successful story. With ‘iiiMPERiAL Styles’ set to drop, the immediate and long-term future both appear to be bright for this group.
With that in mind, let’s now turn our attention to the album.
‘iiiMPERiAL Styles’
While the album hasn’t dropped yet, there are a few tracks that have been released which we can talk about more in a second. But first, we wanted to ask the group about the concept behind the album. Here is what they told us.
“The concept behind the album is us making an album together as friends. Forenzik Styles (the producer) had been releasing albums for a couple of years and he had Swerv the Hooligan and Tre Godfella featured on them. Swerv, Tre, and Sidney all have individual mixtapes out but Styles wanted to make all the beats for our first album as iiiMPERiAL as we came together.”
The concept of coming together for a greater good and a bigger and better sound is an idea that we can get behind. From what we’ve heard from the album to this point, we’d say it’s a strategy that is paying off. Looking to learn more about the album, we asked the group what their favorite songs on the album were.
“The group’s favorite songs on the Album are ‘Westside’ and ‘Romeo’ which are currently out. The group really likes the concept on ‘Pull Up’ and ‘Highs and Lows’.”
As they mentioned, both ‘Westside’ and ‘Romeo’ are both out currently, so here they are and some thoughts on them.
This song starts with a soulful and jazzy feel and then leads into a cool punchy beat. The three emcees are able to flow well together while each gets to put their own individuality and style into it. It’s a great song and it shows why these guys have joined forces.
‘Romeo’ displays a darker and more menacing themed beat but again focuses on putting the three lyricists at the forefront. Each is again showing their own style while showcasing a different flow than they displayed in the other single. This talent and the ability to switch it up is a huge benefit to them as musicians.
The last thing we asked them about the album was why they thought people should check it out.
“People should check this album out because it’s genuinely a new sound. People haven’t heard a fresh new sound like this. From the beats from Forenzik Styles to the heavy bars from Swerv, Tre, and Sid. The way we mesh these sounds together hasn’t been heard before. We live in a time where everything sounds the same and everyone is trying to copy each other. We create refreshing music that paints vivid depictions of our lives.”
On this sentiment, we couldn’t agree more. iiiMPERiAL flawlessly puts a modern spin on classic hip hop sounds while crafting songs and styles that are all their own. They are exactly what music needs right now.
After the album releases, they will need to turn their attention to what is next for their music careers.
“Our overall goal as hip hop artists is to spread our music across the world. We want to bring real hip hop with a message back to the forefront of the rap game. We also want to connect to people like our influences did for us. We want to spread the message that you can be your self and still be dope. We want people to know that they are cool just they way they are and don’t need to change for ANYONE. We want to be known as one of the greatest hip hop groups of all time. We also want to tell our individual stories that can relate the world. We have each have a story to tell.
We love this message and these goals, and we believe in the group’s ability to achieve these. To help them get there, follow them with these links here and check out ‘iiiMPERiAL Styles’ once it drops.
