Are you ready to get Shwaysted?
Malibu, California native, rapper, and songwriter Shwayze is making his way back to Salt Lake City, Utah to perform at In The Venue, and Shwayze himself says he is really excited! After an epic trip to Hawaii, where he performed a show and then took a few days to relax and regroup, Her Campus Utah got the chance to talk to him.
Shwayze, whose given name is Aaron Smith, got his name from former band mate and friend Cisco Adler. When they started making music together, they realized he needed a new stage name. Shwayze went by other names before he met Adler, which he said were so bad he wouldn’t tell us any of them! Shwayze and Adler brainstormed names for about three days until Adler thought up Shwayze. What sold Shwayze on his new stage name was when he heard musician Mickey Avalon rap it in a song. Shwayze said, “When I heard Mickey Avalon use it in a song I knew that was it,” and that was the day Shwayze was born.
Shwayze and Cisco Adler created great hits together like “Buzzin’”, and “Corona and Lime” from their first album Shwayze, released in 2008. They then created two more albums, Let It Beat and Island In The Sun that include songs like “Get U Home” and “You Could Be My Girl”. Since then Shwayze has started his own record label called Feel Good Music and has been focusing on and working as a solo artist. He has released an EP called Shwayzed and Confused and album Shwayze Summer, which is his first debut album as a solo artist and is his most recent release. With all of this amazing music he has created, Shwayze has started to be called an underground hip-hop legend. When asked how he felt about holding such an honorable title, Shwayze became speechless. It was his first time hearing it. He said, “I wouldn’t necessarily call myself that as my music isn’t just hip-hop. It is all about the music though and I’m honored to hear that. That’s exciting!”
Shwayze’s solo music has been nothing but remarkable. His songs have a laid back, chill vibe that we crave every summer. Shwayze mentioned that his music influences are Motown and Oldies, who were introduced to him by his grandmother, and also Bob Marley, Outkast, N.E.R.D, the Beatles, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. N.E.R.D especially has a big influence on his music that if given the chance to work with anyone in the music industry it would be Pharrell. Shwayze says, “Growing up in Malibu I came from a rich community, and I couldn’t skate or surf so I turned to music. Pharrell also comes from a small beach town and I connected to him with that.”
Now if you are a ride or die Shwayze fan, you would know he has recently released a mix tape called “Greatest Hits: You’ve Never Heard”. The mix tape includes songs with Cisco Adler, songs from when Shwayze was going by Aaron Smith, and songs as solo artist Shwayze. Some of the songs he says fans have heard, but there are about four or five that have never been released before. Shwayze said, “I was most excited for fans to hear “Hippy” featuring Nikko Gray. I met Nikko when I was in high school and even then I was a big fan of her voice. I’ll definitely be working on some new music with her for my new album that I am working on right now.” If you have yet to hear “Hippy”, we at Her Campus Utah highly recommend it. The “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac inspired chorus is very catchy.
Another great song by the one and only Shwayze is his song “Kick It” off the album Shwayze Summer. He just recently released the music video in June. If you have seen it you’ll notice that celebrity Jane Seymour makes a surprise cameo. Shwayze went to school with Seymour’s son and they were close friends. Shwayze says “that was a perk of growing up in Malibu. Jane calls me her adopted son.” He also says, “you know going into the video I realized Jane owed me a favor because she had called and had me do a cameo in a new movie she is working on. I asked her to do the video and she agreed. She was leaving to go out of town for six days too when I called so she really took the time out of her busy schedule to make it happen. It was pretty cool.” Having Jane Seymour appear in a music video is definitely pretty awesome, but I wanted to know if Shwayze had a celebrity crush that he would love to see appear in future videos. After a lot of contemplation and deciding how to make his answer be strategic so she would see it, Shwayze said Sara Sampaio. Sampaio is a model who works with Victoria’s Secret and appeared in the 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. When talking about Sampaio Shwayze said, “Yeah I totally have a crush on her.”
While currently on a summer tour, Shwayze will hit Utah in just two weeks! He has rocked Salt Lake City before while on tour with Slightly Stoopid and Rebelution. He was also here on his and Cisco Adler’s Island In The Sun tour with Mod Sun and G-Eazy, which was one of his favorite tours. Shwayze said, “It’s fun touring with guys like G-Eazy. I got to help show him the ropes and then see him become so huge. I recently saw G-Eazy and he thanked me for helping him in the beginning and for taking him on tour. I joked and said yeah well you might be taking me on tour next.”
Shwayze is such a laid back guy who believes in nothing but positive vibes and good music. I had so much fun talking with him and can’t wait for his show! Be sure to get tickets to his concert at In The Venue on August 11th. Tickets are available through Smith Tix and Salt Lake City Concerts.