You’ll have just read our review of ‘Breeze’, by up and coming hip hop artist Veve C. Now read what she has to say in answer to our questions.
Family is clearly important to you – your album, ‘Veveology’ was produced, engineered, and mixed by your younger brother, and you honed your sound in your Dad’s studio. What inspiring things have you learned from your family that you take with you in your life every day?
I always say that I’m extremely grateful to have the family dynamic that I have and the fact that I have an AMAZINGLY talented younger brother who created my beats and engineered my sounds and a great supportive father who manages everything we do to be successful. Growing up, I would watch my dad djay and watch how he used his vinyls with the needle lining up on the disc and it gave me inspiration to follow suit in music. Although I wasn’t as determined in becoming a DJ I always had fun mixing different songs together and that helped motivate me to create my own music.
When it comes to my family we focus on the foundation that was built and our family is built on love and strength. I’m so happy and fortunate that we were able to save up to buy equipment to later create our own home studio to create the music you’re hearing now.
Similarly, what musical artists have inspired you, and why?
To be honest, there are so many artists that I looked up to from the time I was as little as 3 listening to classics of Michael Jackson, Skyy, Biggie, Tupac, and A Tribe Called Quest, to now.
It’s hard for me to just list a couple because every artist that I come across inspires me in some form of way. I always respected and loved the hardcore realistic flow that Jadakiss introduced to the game and was fascinated by how fast Busta Rhymes would rap. I always wanted to be in the same space as Missy Elliot and Timbaland because of the style of music they brought to the music game and how much I absolutely LOVED Aaliyah with her futuristic but sensual style.
If I had to list three artists that helped shape my image I would say Aaliyah, Ciara, and Missy Elliot. I don’t like being placed in one bubble when it comes to genres and styles of music and they inspired me to play with my sensual style but still giving the hardcore edge that someone like Lil Kim or Nicki Minaj would do. Newer artists, such as Rihanna (my fav), Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Nas, and so much more gave me the push to go for it and I hope to cross pathways with all of them some day.
Your new single, ‘Breeze’, feels like a “girl power” anthem, and the video further promotes this feeling. At what point in your life did you realise that we as women don’t have to rely on anyone but ourselves to be complete?
Wow what a good question. Well for starters, I want to say that although I’ll always root for my girls I want the guys to relate to this feeling as well as I know everyone has come across some form of betrayal or pain that they wanted to alleviate themselves from. No one should ever feel validated based on what someone else says and should always feel empowered from within no matter who it is.
As a woman, I carry myself with an independent spirit and always stay true to my character and at some point in my life I realized that I don’t need any friends to feel like I “belong”. It helps that I talk to myself (and I don’t care how anyone feels about that) to get through my days and doing that helps to understand me.
The video for ‘Breeze’ sees you in a wedding dress, then later you’re in more relaxed attire, and then finally you’re having some self-care, pampering yourself with a bath and a face pack. How much of the story in the video is based on your real life? Often when we are bent on achieving our goals, we lose focus of everything else – Do you take time out to chill, relax and regroup?
I wanted to symbolize the meaning of my ‘Breeze’ lyrics by wearing outfits that resembled that and I wanted to show different elements of how I would look like being at peace. I always write my lyrics based on my real life experiences so everything I wrote I went through.
One verse talked about what I wrote in my diary that said I was “thin, ugly, idiot, patched kid, etc.). The reason why I said patched kid with no hair was because I was undergoing an OCD condition called “trichotillomania” at the time that I was a senior in high school. For those who don’t know, “trichotillomania” means to pull out your own hair and I was dealing with that from 10th grade (2012) up until the end of 2019 and it was one of the hardest obstacles I had to overcome because it affected my self-esteem. I always carried myself with the utmost confidence but deep down I was depressed. I wanted my lyrics to show that I’m no longer in that dark space anymore and THANKFULLY I no longer have that issue!
We’re just coming out of two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. How has this time affected you and your music?
Honestly, it didn’t change that much for me personally because I was still working throughout the COVID pandemic as I work at a healthcare facility and I never stopped working. It might’ve helped my younger brother to create more beats and focus better on engineering; however we slowed down on creating music since we had COVID in January 2022 and I focused more on my modelling and acting ventures since then. I’m still writing music in hopes that we can record more music soon but I think the COVID pandemic slowed down the process more than anything.
What can fans expect next from Veve?
Besides my ‘Veveology’ album that came out in September 2021, there will be another album coming out soon with some new hits coming your way (anticipating to come out this year in 2022) that could potentially create some buzz in the music industry (at least I hope lol). In addition to that, I will be doing some collaborations with other talented artists and I will be featured in a couple films such as, ‘The Flaws In Our Eyes’, that will be coming out soon. Finally, I’m still walking for different fashion shows throughout the country and hosting my own fashion show called ‘Bling Boss 2022 Fashion Show’ on July 30 through my soon-to-be organization, ‘Bling Boss Organization’. Lots of different surprises to come!!!
Finally, and I ask this question of everyone I interview, what question do you wish someone would ask you in an interview, but nobody ever does? And what’s the answer to that question?
This is a tricky question but I don’t think no one asked about the hardships I faced that helped develop me as an artist and why I do so many other things aside from music. I answered one regarding the trichotillomania condition I used to have but I also underwent major depression in high school to the point where I wasn’t motivated to apply for any scholarships and found myself to slack off more being that I’m typically an A student.
Broken friendships are normal but how mine happened became controversial to the school because everyone found out about my patchy hair when my wig was pulled off my head after a heated argument with my ex-best friend. I wrote pieces of this situation in my ‘Breeze’ song but I wanted to reflect in a more positive light from what happened.
When it comes to my other ventures, I want people to know that I’m more than just a performing artist and I have multiple talents that I feel separates myself from other talented artists that you know in the game today. Not only do I understand being in front of the camera but I have experience working behind the camera as well and I self-produce the majority (if not all) of my works.
I love being innovative in my styles and having multiple belts helps give me the slight edge to “stand out” from the crowd (and I’m goofy as well).
Find out more about Veve C and her music online on Home Cave Records, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. You can read our review of ‘Breeze’ here.
