In a conversation with label mate Pusha T, Desiigner reveals just where his blues influence stems from.
Desiigner’s second single, “Timmy Turner,” went viral before it even became a song. The XXL freshmen freestyle received mixed reviews but for those fans it touched, the chant-like freestyle could be described as a “trap spiritual.” The comparison comes full circle in a recent interview with Pusha T for Interview Magazine where Desiigner discusses a blues player, his grandfather, as a major influence on his sound.
“If anything, I would consider my grandfather,” Desiigner spoke of his favorite artists. “He’s a blues player. I like the old soul—you know how it is, Pusha, that old soul. My grandfather, he went by the name Sidney ‘Guitar Crusher’ Selby; he formed that old soul, that old blues, that old rock that I put on my songs. He bluesed it out. And my pops, he was old-school, too; he played that old funk. I fell in love with that old style.”
Desiigner’s real name, Sidney Royel Selby III. The rapper goes on to explain how people would sort of tease him a little, notably for acting much older than he really was. Desiigner blames it all on his swagger.
“People would always be like, ‘You always act old!’ People thought I was an old dude; it came with my swagger,” he said. “I’m a creator; I’m into this music shit. I wanted to build it up and give it to my peers. I was a singer. I used to sing to the girls, ‘Happy Birthday’ and all that. Did the Temptations. I always knew how to play around with my voice, make people laugh. I’d be crazy. Just my swag I guess. God blessed me.”
Check out the full interview here.
