Siiire Interview
School spirit is a seemingly mandatory part of the college experience. From football games to branded backpacks, students, alumni and locals alike cheer on any one of the hundreds of universities across the country. For Philly-based rapper Siiire, what started as “go team” turned into an Internet sensation and a team willing to support his own career. Vivid Seats sat down with the rising rapper to talk about his college experience, how music streaming services have shaped his career and what’s next.
VS: For those that don’t know, who is Siiire? Tell us your story.
S: My real name is Carl, but people know me as Siiire. That’s a name I’ve trademarked since I was 19 years old. For those who don’t know, I’m from Philly -- one of the toughest cities in the world! I was born and raised here for most of my life by a single mother with four brothers and one sister. I’m still in contact with my father, but my parents are separated. I was raised mostly by my lovely grandparents who take care of us and really kept us out the troubled streets of Philadelphia. I had a friend who got killed when I was 10 years old and that’s what really changed my mindset and whole outlook on life. It can be taken from you at any given moment, which is part of why I got into making music. It’s almost like I was destined for this lifestyle.
VS: Your path to the music industry includes a degree from Penn State. How important was the college experience to your career?
S: The college experience has its ups and downs, best believe that, but overall it was for the better. It allowed me to interact with a variety of people from all races, you know? That influenced the culture in hip-hop for me. When you’re around a different group of people every day you get to see life from a different perspective. It helped shape me as an artist and individual too because not only did I create this wave of fans but I also built relationships with many people that are still important to me and my career. I also got a PSU degree..... man, let me tell you, there is no feeling like it!
VS: One of your biggest songs to date is about Penn State football: “Saquon Barkley.” How did this come about?
S: It gave me a lot of traction as an artist at Penn state. As we know, Saquon Barkley was a phenomenal football player here at State and the spotlight was on him heavy! But I know Barkley through mutual friends and he’s a very respectful dude, real down to earth. I was truly a fan of him and so was this kid I went to high school with named Marty Fresh. He hit me up one day and said, “Hey I got this awesome song I wrote for Saquon that I know could go viral and would love to have you on it.” I said okay cool, send it over and I’ll cook up something. A few days went by, I sent it back to him, and there you go we had a hit. But.... SIIIRE got plenty of hits on the way too!
VS: I saw you share your Spotify Wrapped on Instagram. How have music streaming services dictated your approach?
S: It dictated my approach as an artist. As an artist nowadays radio isn’t as popular as it used to be so streaming has a bigger impact on success and I felt the need to really focus on that. It gives the fans something to look forward to as well. Utilizing numerous platforms allowed me to branch out and see where all my supporters are located, which I thought was lit.
VS: Your new song “Higher” has a dancehall feel to it. What types of music do you take inspiration from?
S: Dancehall you say? I didn’t think about that one when I first made it but I can dig it. I’m versatile so I really try and incorporate all different types of music in my records. My main inspiration is probably funk, R&B and hip-hop all combined. This is before my team, but I group up listening to roger & zapp, 2pac, Dr. Dre, Ye, Michael Jackson and so on. That combination tends to feel like up-tempo pop in my perspective.
VS: What do you have in store for fans in 2020?
S: Lots of content, music, videos, shows, merch (on the way real soon) and just a lot of having fun you know! I want to be able to touch base with the fans as much as possible. If it wasn’t for them there wouldn’t be Siiire. I will say this: All this different type of music going on in the industry is cool, I respect it, but soon enough the world is going to know who Siiire is in the industry! With a great mindset and an awesome team, we are coming for it all!
Follow Siiire on Instagram and Spotify.