Eddy Puyol is all about keeping it real with his new singles, ‘Like A Cadillac‘, and ‘Bang Bang Baby‘. We had a chat with the artist himself to find out more about his music, and what’s coming up for him.
Your brand as an artist is about “keepin’ it real.” What inspires you to strive for authenticity in your music?
Hip-Hop started that tagline, but over time the whole vibe has changed. I firmly believe artists shouldn’t just talk about it, but be about it. So if you’re talking about something that you’re not doing, believe, or rep it’s just wack to me. Whatever I say in my life or in my rhymes I’ve either done before, doing right now, or believing I’m going to do. My raps aren’t fantasy like a lot of stuff that’s out there is today. It’s real life.
What sparked your interest in making faith-driven rap and hip-hop?
At the age of 11 I saw some kids rapping at the church (Word of Life) that we went to. I grew up listening to the early days of hip-hop so I was already impacted by the style and the culture. When I saw them on stage, I told my Mom, “I want to do that!” I’m so glad she said yes!
How does your positive outlook and faith influence ‘Like a Cadillac’ and ‘Bang Bang Baby’ lyrics and message?
My faith heavily influences all that I do. I’m grateful and thankful for the life I live and all the blessings that God continues to give me along with all the things I’ve learned and the wisdom I’ve gained from living life. I’ve spent a lot of time pushing myself to have an optimistic view on things and look at life with the glass half full.
What was your favourite part of creating the songs and the music videos? What was a moment that stuck out to you in the production process?
It was really cool being able to sample lines from previous records of mine. I thought being able to have my family involved with the ‘Bang Bang Baby’ video shoot was super cool as what you see in the video is a normal outing for me. I also think it’s so dope that on ‘Like a Cadillac’ I was able to bring a line to life that is over 10 years old with exactly what I talked about back then, “My soul done got saved / So I be flossin’ Him / Like a Cadillac sitting on 24’s.” It was also a bonus to have my wife riding shotgun with me.
Can you tell us a little bit about the filming process for the ‘Like a Cadillac’ and ‘Bang Bang Baby’ music videos? What inspired you to shoot them in your home state of Florida?
I’m a Florida boy through and through. I was born and raised here and still live here, so as an artist that talks about keepin’ it real, I love doing exactly just that.
I was born in Miami so it was great to shoot the ‘Like a Cadillac’ down south in Wynwood where the backdrop was the boom box I’ve passed tons of times on my way down to visit my family.
I now live in Palm Beach so it was awesome shooting the ‘Bang Bang Baby’ video here on my home golf course with my fam and friends.
What challenges or surprises did you encounter during the production of the songs and music videos?
We had to fight off a tornado during the ‘Bang Bang Baby’ video. As a matter of fact, on Hole 1 it started sprinkling after we teed off. Once we got onto the green, it was raining a little heavier and then the siren went off to get us to get off the course.
I know how run-and-gun shoots are, so I told my brother Bobby and my friend Adam Jones along with my director Will Thomas to keep going since I knew Hole 3 was a long Par 5 and we could at least get some rap scenes there while driving in the cart like we storyboarded before filming.
So Adam followed them and what you see in the video is all we got. It was literally one take down and then one take back to the clubhouse. Once we got to the clubhouse and assessed the situation we figured out that we had a little bit more time before the storm blew us out completely so we jumped on to the 18th green to capture some other shots. Once we left, the tornado literally went right across the golf course. It was crazy!
Afterward I didn’t think we had enough footage so I connected with the head golf pro Allan Bowman at the North Palm Beach Country Club and he got us out first thing in the morning before Will had to catch his flight back home. It was still overcast so Will was able to make it work in post-production to have it feel like it was the same day. To me that was such a God thing that we were even able to pull off the video, let alone capture the vibe, have a good time, and dodge the storms.
To me that’s a lot like life. Storms come and go and will randomly come up when you least expect it. The goal is to not allow the storms of life to take you down, but to always take the high road and find the silver lining in everything.
The energy in both the songs and videos are contagious—what emotions do you hope to evoke in your listeners and viewers?
I definitely hope they see joy in both visuals. I want people to watch, vibe, and feel like they’re having a good time with me and realize it’s something they can achieve too with God on their side.
Both songs have strong themes of gratitude—how does gratitude guide your life inside and outside of music making?
I’m human—so I’ve made some mistakes and weathered some storms just like anyone else. However, I know that my God has been one to forgive and sustain me through it all. For that, I’m forever grateful. And just like He’s extended grace to me, I know I should do the same to others. So that’s how I want to be both in life and on the mic.
Watch the music video for ‘Like A Cadillac’ below and follow Eddy Puyol online on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
You can watch ‘Bang Bang Baby’ below too:
