NJ Next usually focuses on talent rising from The Jersey Shore, but every so often an artist comes from another part of the state that can’t be ignored. Foom’s debut project is available now and Angelo Gingerelli got to sit down with him to talk about the new album, his history as an artist and the music scene in Camden.
When does Hip-Hop enter your life? When did you decide to transition from fan to artist?
Honestly, Hip-Hop was introduced to me at a very young age. Being around different family members and listening to what they were into was a big influence without me really even knowing it. Now as far as when I made the crossover from being a fan to artist. I actually was in a rap group back then called “XIX” in like 2013 with the same guys that are a part of my team today. They just decided to take on different roles and got into different lanes but I always wanted to keep going musically. Took a break for a while to find my sound, then fast forward to 2019, I officially put myself out there as a solo act and we haven’t looked back since.
What’s the music scene like in Camden?
There really isn’t much of a music scene in Camden. We’ve had artists that have gotten some limelight, but that’s mostly old school rappers. We are literally five minutes across the bridge from Philly so I feel like we’re always looked at like Philly’s little brother which I get, but there’s actually a lot of talent in my city. We just need someone to break through and open the doors for us all. If that person could be me … great, but if not that’s cool too. I just want to make my family and city proud when they mention me.
What producers worked on the album and what was the creative process like?
Honestly, most of the beats I find are a product of me just sitting down, sometimes for days, listening to different beats from beat finder apps I use. One producer I know personally is this guy named DB Beats. He produced the track “Face It,” off the album. He’s literally like a hidden gem and he’s going to blow up. I tell him this all the time. I’m very selective when it comes to finding beats. I have to literally have a feeling when a beat plays and if I don’t, then it’s not for me. I’m really big on making people feel what I say. Delivery is everything to me. Throughout this album there’s a lot of different vibes and I think that just speaks to who I am as an artist. We all have different moods and feelings but I think my album gives you a full scope on who I am not just as an artist but the type of person I am too.
2020 is a tough year to promote new music because there are so few opportunities to perform live, what other ways are you planning on promoting the project?
Yeah it’s been a blessing and a curse for me. Of course going through an entire pandemic has been rough, but it gave me a lot of time to self-reflect and really perfect my craft. All my team and I had was free time so I just used it to really zone in on this album. As far as promoting, we try to just look for different ways to be heard. Whether that’s me being my natural goofy self on camera or executing different promotional ideas we come up with. Something we’ve tried to do more this summer is capturing all the moments that went into making this project and to show off my personality more.
We started a Vlog, “Foom Views,” on my YouTube page to show people the work behind the scenes of how we come up with our ideas and we have more content coming which excites me. Also incorporating my brother’s clothing line, “Camp Couture,” in what we do musically is so important. That’s why you’ll always see me wear CAMP when I’m out or ever on camera because we’re all a team and we move as such. Like I said though so much time was given to us by this COVID situation so we just used the time wisely, and we’re still coming up with new ideas daily to get me out there to be heard and seen on a larger scale.
What’s next for Foom?
Honestly, I just want to get right back at it and keep creating more music, more moments and coming up with new ideas to make us better as a whole. Our team is called CAMP, which means Constantly Applying Massive Pressure, which is all we’re trying to do. We’re going to still promote the hell out of this album of course but my mind is always like “what’s next? So stay tuned because there’s so much more to come and when we look back at these moments right now, we’ll say this was the beginning of a special moment. And with that said, “Good Noise,” is available everywhere, I hope you enjoy it.
NJ NEXT 5 Questions
Top 5 Rappers All Time
Lil’ Wayne
Hov
Kanye
Drake
Cole
Top 4 Producers
40
Hitboy
London on the track
Wheezy
Top 3 Places to Perform
I honestly couldn’t tell you other than the BB&T Pavilion in Camden. That’s where all of the big artist perform in my city.
Top 2 Songs you would play for somebody that never heard a Foom song
“Good Noise Intro”
“1942 Blues”
Top 1 Reason everybody should check out Foom in 2020
Because I am content with being my full self, unapologetically. My mom always stressed to me be yourself and have confidence in anything you do despite how nervous you are. People feel that real emotion because it’s an energy and it’s relatable for all people who are chasing their dreams like me.
