In this interview, we chat with Atlanta based artist AJ Bank$y about his newest project, influences, and more.

Full Q&A as well as links and a stream of “Gift Shop” are below.

Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?

I love hip-hop man. I’ve been rapping since before I can remember. When I was young, I used to have rap books. Probably like 3 or 4 filled with rhymes, and every day I was penning something new. I like how it allows you to express yourself, things you wouldn’t say in normal conversation or things you wouldn’t be comfortable venting or talking to someone about. Hip-hop allows you to release. It is the cornerstone, it influences everything. You can’t look at society and name one thing that isn’t influenced by hip hop. I love everything about the culture.

How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?

2012- I want to say. When I was 18, I, my brother, and some of our hometown friends dropped our first tape under the BurbLife collective. The mixtape was called Black Art. So May of 2012, that was the first official release. It wasn’t mixed or mastered but I appreciate the rawness of it even today. I spit some of my realest verses back then.

Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?

In terms of inspiration, I would say a lot of things I observe, a lot of current events. I go through long periods of writer’s block, where I’m not inspired by anything and it’s hard to focus and hone my craft. But I would say feeding off the energy of creatives around me, brings me out of those creative droughts. Whether it’s sitting in on a recording session or hearing a beat being made. I really just feed off of those vibes and that positive energy and it can jumpstart my creative processes. I don’t think I could ever fully stop writing and creating. I’ve tried to quit before and I always find my way back eventually. It’s just something that’s embedded in me

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?

The single I just released, Gift Shop, it was a bit more of an unorthodox style for me. I’m still trying to perfect my sound and experiment with different styles. It was a little more up tempo and brass than the majority of my discography. What I was trying to accomplish was just gain more exposure and broaden my reach, just give people something different. And it was a fun song to make.

What was the last song you listened to?

Chance the Rapper- Grown As Kid, with Mick Jenkins and Alex Wiley. I don’t know how it didn’t make Chance’s album.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I’m a millennial so MP3s. I have a little bit of a hipster spirit, so I would love to start collecting vinyls, but yeah most of the music I listen to is mp3, just because digital music is more accessible. I don’t have a vinyl player.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

Apple Music all day. Apple Music for streaming other people’s music (it’s free for me because I use my brother’s family subscription. Life hacks.). Soundcloud for uploading my own music because it utilizes a simple format and it’s easy for bloggers who are interested in sharing your content.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?

I would say just the fact that there are so many artists out, you have to constantly fight the battle of people comparing you to other artists. Especially, if it’s artists that have a bigger following than you, bloggers and listeners will say your biting their style. And second, I would say money. Creating music at a high level, when you don’t have a major label backing you, it can get very expensive between production costs, studio time, and mixing and mastering. I would love to put out a lot more content but most times I’m limited based on funding and resources. Plus I attend Georgia Tech full time so I don’t work as much during the semesters.

Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?

Yeah, I started doing shows in 2012. I did annual shows with an Atlanta collective that I used to be a part of, and the majority of my gigs are in Atlanta. Occasionally I perform on campus. I haven’t live streamed thus far, but it’s definitely a future possibility.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?

Banksy321.com highlights all the important content. I’m also very recently on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, etc. But, my Soundcloud is where you can peep all of my music for the free.

Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?

Shout out to God. Shout out to my girlfriend Jas for typing this. Shout out to the gang and everyone who has supported me on my journey. BurbLife or nothing.