I got to sit down and interview Namialus Validity, a multi-talented rapper/producer/musician from Fayetteville, North Carolina
Give us two words to describe your music
Melodic Hip-hop
You go by "Namialus Validity" as well as "SDOT" - what are the meanings of those?
My name is Sulaiman, so in high school they shortened it to Sdot. "Namialus" is my first name spelled backwards
With COVID & everything, how have you been coping with that?
I've been making music, mixing projects, engineering music on side, finishing my project. I've started doing engineering & photography on the side to balance out not having local shows to do
Now with things opening up, do you have any big shows or plans coming up?
I'm going to do a blockbuster listening party in Fayetteville for my tape coming up this summer
10 Green Lights 3, that's dropping soon right? What can you tell us about that
Similar vibes to 1 & 2, dope melodic hip-hop - certain songs taking risks
How is it different from 1 & 2?
With 3, knowing I'm not going to be doing anymore series of it, I feel like I've got to go out with a bang. Part 1 was me coming back from a hiatus, so I had nothing to lose, there was no pressure
What does 10 Green Lights mean?
It's all go, no stop no red lights. Whatever you're going through with life, keep going. If you run into 10 green lights, that's something rare
You rap, sing, produce - what else do you do?
Engineer, rap, write, photography, things like what
Is there anything you want to learn?
Film - I want to have the right equipment & shoot the scene with my vision
What was the timeline of you getting into everything
I started making beats as a little kid. I like computers though, I stumbled on some music software - whether on torrent sites, any type of software I liked to download and try it out
How do you think growing up in Fayetteville impacted your music?
It impacted a lot - I was born in Brooklyn, NY though - I moved to Fayetteville when I was a year old. But I went to Brooklyn every summer, so I've always seen past my environment. I think Fayetteville is a place where, whatever you want to do that's outside the norm - you really got to be motivated to do it. It's 2021 and we just now got a city where we have multiple videographers. It was never like that, I remember first rapping and not having many videographers to choose from. So I think Fayetteville is the place where if you really want to do something, you have to really do it
What do you like to do outside of music?
I like to do photography, I get a rush out of editing stuff -- even removing pimples from photos -- I like doing all of that. When I don't make music, I'm really just chilling with the homies, staying out of the way. I'll be around people that make music - but I try to be around just regular life still so I can have stuff to write about. Musicians can be cool but egotistical & competitive, so I also try to be around people who's last thing on their mind is music. Just trying to find that balance
I feel like sometimes people just get really sucked into that lifestyle, especially musicians
Sometimes it's good being competitive but overwhelming though. I already was who I was before I made music, so it doesn't really do anything to my ego, it's about music
If you could open a show for anyone, who would it be?
J Cole or Jay-Z
If you could travel to any location in the world where would it be?
I'd go to Mecca - I'm also Belizean, I'd go to Belize
I asked Namialus Validity about some of his favorite things, here are the answers
Favorite Album? Jay-Z "The Blueprint" Lupe Fiasco "Food & Liquor" Kid Cudi "Man on the Moon I" Kanye West "College Dropout"
Favorite artists? The Weeknd Jay-Z
Favorite people who you've collabed with?
1. Video - Bclipz "Hands Up"
2. Featured on Song - Ahmad Latif "Holy"
3. Own song - Hollywood Hemi on "Style & Profile"