Brett Deadly 
The following article was featured in Trap Metal Magazine issue #1 CHECK IT OUT HERE
1. You’ve got a unique blend of heavy metal phonk and trap metal. How did you come across this sound, and what pushed you to experiment with screams?
Well I have been doing metal since 2010, I have played in countless bands and live projects. I have also always listened to rap on the side. I then discovered that rap metal was a thing and was immediately interested in it. So I started using online already made beats for a while, until I learnt how to make my own and would experiment heavily with genre mashing. Such as phonk aspects mashed with metal and trap. I have always been a fan of mashing genres. I have even mashed some black metal with some of my beats, which I like to think has created a semi new sound in the trap metal genre.
2. A lot of artists stick to one lane, but you merge two intense styles. How do you balance the phonk beats with the aggression of metal?
I am constantly in the mindset of innovation and creating something new and thinking outside of the box. There are MANY artists in the world doing the same thing over and over again. But I want to stand out. I want to do something different. So I would sit for hours listening to different artists and styles in the sub genres of trap metal and dark rap and so on. I would study what they did and how they did it and why it sounds the way it does and then take that structure and try my best to reinvent it. Also metal and the aggression in metal has been a part of my persona for years, so I find it quite easy to put elements of metal into all of the music I make. Even if it’s a small amount.
3. Who were your biggest influences growing up, and how do they influence your sound today?
Growing up and thinking back in the metal scene it would be bands like Oceano, Chelsea Grin, old Bring Me The Horizon, Signs of The Swarm, old Lorna Shore, Carnifex, old Thy Art is Murder and then with rap it would be Three6 Mafia, 50 Cent, Dr Dre, Eminem and then it moved onto artists which are more recent like, Warlord Colossus, Witchouse 40k, $uicideboy$, Pouya, XxxTentacion and Ghostemane. I could possibly name many many more artists. But it would fill up pages and pages. Haha. But these artists have influenced me for years. I was always drawn to metal vocals and heavier, more aggressive music. Music that wasn’t the norm you know. Then I found the darker side of rap, people actually talking about their feelings and how fucked up life can be and it’s hardships and shit. The rawness and anger of metal combined with the flows and rhythms and rawness and hype vibes from rap together just seemed right to me and I wanted to experiment further with these 2 types of genres and build my very own trap metal styled genre.
4. What is your local scene like? What are the pros? What are the cons? And where do you see room for improvement?
This is a tough one. The local scene regarding trap metal is pretty dead. But I have started a collective with some other artists that do similar styles (there really aren’t many of us) So shout out to my homies in Darkverse Syndicate – Vally boys, Redgxd, VulgrX, Ateo, Sarco and Ginoxide – Check them out! Or check out my project with Ateo “GRAVEYARD CITY” . We believe it has the potential to blow up more than everything else we have released. That’s the ONLY trap metal, alternative rap artists in the local South African scene.. We are trying our best to start a movement on this side. It’s hard work. But slowly people are starting to catch on and more people are attending shows with every show we have. So I would say that’s a pro.
As for cons. We live at the bottom of Africa and I don’t think people from overseas realize how much talent there is here in Cape Town alone. It’s hard as hell to get our music heard overseas as the goal is always to blow up overseas before here. You can blow up locally. But niche genres like what we have don’t usually blow up. It’s mostly Afrikaans music that blows up here or anything more mainstream and not underground. Whereas in the US and EU, the trap metal or metal genre is more likely to blow up a bit more. Also there are very few venues this side to play at. It would be awesome if we had states to tour with the homies in Dark Verse Syndicate. I feel like living in the bat shit bottom of the world really has it’s challenges musically. The only metal artist to actually make it out and big here is Vulvodynia. They are now on an international scale.
5. What’s the creative process like for you when you’re putting together a track? Do you build the beat first or focus on the vocal delivery?
I always build the beat first. I write music fully driven by emotion and how I feel in the moment. So the beat usually turns out depending on how I feel at that moment. So it usually can go in any direction. Then I will write lyrics and then put down flows and shit when I get to the recording part. But EVERYTHING that I make musically is driven by emotion.
6. Who are some of your favorite Aggressive Phonk and or Trap Metal Producers or Artists? Who would you like to work with at some point?
Phonk wise would probably be Freddie Dredd and Sxmpra. Trap Metal or rap wise would probably be Kill Dyll, Witchouse 40k and Warlord Colossus. I’d kill to work with any of those artists. A dream would probably be $uicideboy$. That would fuck real hard haha.
7. How has the underground scene embraced your music, and do you feel there’s more acceptance now for genre-bending artists like yourself?
I think all of my music will stay underground forever as it’s either too depressing and can be triggering for some people or it’s just too dark. But I don’t think there’s a ton of acceptance here in South Africa yet as there are a ton of gatekeepers in the underground metal scene. Although I do know of a lot of people that listen to this style of music they just don’t know where to find it or keep missing our shows. But I’ll keep my head held high and keep thinking positively and hopefully more people will come to enjoy it here.
8. A lot of your tracks have dark, aggressive vibes. What emotions are you channeling when you write and why?
A lot of my music stems from my past and how people have hurt me or how much my ex fucked me up emotionally – sadness eventually turned to anger and I channeled that through the music. Another thing that happened recently was the passing of my gran and she was pretty much like my mom as she raised me. So that’s also a point from which I channel a lot of pain through and speak it out through my music. My music is sort of my therapist and I get everything off my chest that bothers me through it.
9. What do you think the future of heavy music like Trap Metal and Aggressive Phonk looks like, and where do you see yourself in it?
I do see that it’s on the rise and more people overseas have much more of an open mind to it. So I hopefully do see myself eventually making it more overseas with my music instead of locally. I don’t want to get stuck in the local trap. I do think people overseas have much more of an open mind when it comes to music. So I’d love to see my music reach more ears internationally and hopefully one day even just play a small show overseas or even a big one haha.
10. If someone is just discovering your music, what’s the one track they should listen to first to get the full $lur experience? And what platform should they listen to it on?
Id say they should listen to either Graveyard city – Leave This Place or $lur – PTSD. Both tracks are on all streaming platforms. But it would be nice to see my Spotify plays go up a bit more. Or even YouTube. Haha. I’d really appreciate it so much.
11. Thank you for your time. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Just want to shout out to Trap Metal Magazine and to Brett Deadly for managing all of this and giving us trap metal artists a voice and place to speak out about ourselves a bit and also for trying his best to keep the scene alive and thriving! Peace and enjoy my music! Let me know what you think in the comment section haha! More music coming real soon! Thanks.
Check out the rest of the magazine! CHECK IT OUT HERE
