A Portland native, rapper, and a rising star, meet this week’s Campus Celebrity: Wynne.
Name: Wynne
Hometown: Portland, OR
Year: Freshman
Where to find her:
http://www.youtube.com/sinawynne
http://www.instagram.com/sinawynne
http://www.twitter.com/sinawynne
http://www.soundcloud.com/wynneraps
http://www.facebook.com/wynneraps
When did you start rapping?
I started rapping when I was 9. I had to make a pump up cd for my soccer team so my brother (who I shared an iTunes account with) showed me “Lose Yourself” by Eminem and instantly I fell in love with it. I was amazed. I did some more research and found 10 Eminem songs on my mp3 that he had purchased. I would rap every single one of them every night from 4th grade to 6th grade and in 7th grade I decided I wanted this to be my career, so that’s when I officially started to write. I started performing in 8th grade.
What inspires you the most when you write?
Typically the things I experience. I find it much more difficult to write verses when I am uninspired. I also get a lot of wordplay ideas/lines that pop into my head throughout the day as I see things around me. I do a lot of analyzing of other rapper’s work which inspires me the most (aside from personal experience) because it always gets me so excited; I just love words.
Where does the name Wynne come from?
Wynne is my middle name and it means fair hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. I am often called “Wynnie” and “Wynnie the Pooh.”
What sets you apart from other rappers?
The initial thing that draws people into my music is that I’m a white female. My appearance is click bait. Some may think, “I bet this white girl is terrible, I’m going to click on her video so I can make fun of her.” It actually works out in my favor because they end up shocked and confused by the level I’ve worked to be at. Aside from my physical appearance, I also don’t swear in my music. I want people of all ages to be able to hear the messages I have. My lyrics are inspired by late 80’s/early 90’s hip hop in which internal rhyme had just appeared. A lot of mainstream rappers today are lacking that internal rhyme structure which is something I stress heavily. Also, I have found that writing is the easiest way for me to communicate. When I write things down I feel as if everything falls into place, because of this, a lot of my lyrics really hit the listener in a place they weren’t expecting. I try to move people. Sometimes I just want to have fun with it, but generally I want to impact people.
What was your experience with your debut project The Snowball Effect?
Fantastic. I almost hesitate to call it a mixtape because that’s not how I approached it at all. I spent a lot of time making it and experimenting with different sounds and ideas. The whole course of the project took place throughout high school. It talks about working in a pizza place, the passing of my dog, fake friends and so much more. The main theme, though, is depression. I took basically a year off of music my junior year of high school because I was dealing with severe depression. When I was able to get myself to make music again, The Snowball Effect gave me a platform to express not only my deepest and darkest thoughts, but the motives behind them. There are three songs on the project where I talk about my depression, but two that blatantly address it: Numb and Hakuna Matata. Numb is dark, but it’s honest. Hakuna Matata is optimistic but it’s something that I wanted to believe, it wasn’t what I was feeling. I thought if I wrote it, I could fix myself. Numb turned out to be a fan favorite and I’ve had countless fans tell me that Numb saved them. That reaction reminds me why I do what I do, some of the people telling me that are only 12 years old. I just hope that they can learn from my experience and take the upperhand when they’re at war with themselves.
Describe your most memorable performing experience:
Jon Bellion (he wrote the chorus for “The Monster” by Eminem and Rihanna and produced and wrote “Trumpets” by Jason Derulo” but he sings the song produced by Zedd “Beautiful Now”) is an insanely talented artist. I honestly can’t think I could think of someone who is making as good of music as he is right now let alone for the entirety of the 21st century thus far. He is definitely one of my biggest inspirations. I had the opportunity to rap for him and his band backstage at one of his concerts in Portland back in June. He told me I had more talent than he did at my age and that I had amazing potential to make my dream into a reality. He asked for my website and looked up the rest of my music later that night with his band on their tour bus. I also had a performance down in LA in May for a TeamBackPack audition which is the biggest underground platform for hip hop. I was super nervous that I wouldn’t be accepted as part of the culture because of how strict and brutal these crowds can be. I actually ended up getting myself a few interviews out of it and making the top 20 out of thousands across the world. It proved to me not to underestimate myself or what hard work can do.
Who are some influential artists you listen to?
My influences are all over the place. Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Nas, Tupac, Wu-Tang, Stevie Wonder, Jon Bellion, Frank Sinatra, Nirvana, Dr. Dre, Logic, Tech N9ne, Street Light, Locksmith, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye, Jay Z and Disney music. I have so many influences it’s hard to pick just a couple that have influenced my style. Since I’m only 18, I’m still working on developing a signature sound for myself. I draw miniscule things from a countless number of people. Like Disney…how the heck could Disney influence a rapper? The detail they apply to their movies is the kind of detail I strive for when I produce music or write lyrics.