With his new album Electric Suitcase, Capo Corleone gives us an in depth look into life from LA to The Bay and invites us to ride along for his New-Age G-Funk inspired journey. The project feels like a rebirth for Capo in many respects. Capo’s life bleeds into the music and it pays off in a big way. From tracks like “Put You In a Song” and “Back to the Future” that delve into troubled relationships and deep self-reflection, to upbeat feel-good tracks like “Cali Dreams” and “Going Corporate”, Capo balances the highs and lows of life sonically as well as through his lyrics. His smooth but aggressive style is reminiscent of late 90’s Snoop Dogg and is still undeniably unique in its own right. The album features production from a collection of Bay Area and Los Angeles producers as well as production from in-house Billboard 100 production team and label-mates ‘We Are The Stars.’ With Electric Suitcase, we can be sure that West Coast Funk is alive and well and that summertime in California will be rolling all year long.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Capo Corleone about this latest project, motivations, challenges and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I am a bit conflicted in that answer. I was born and raised in a small town called Santa Paula in California but at 18 – I moved to San Francisco and lived in the Bay for 10 years. My childhood was in Santa Paula and my adulthood was in San Francisco. I now reside in Hollywood. So I guess you could just say California.

I make that West Coast funky shit. I grew up in California so I am heavily influenced by G-Funk and that Hyphy/Mob Music type sound. I just put a new aged spin on it. I am that new West Coast.

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

I used to steal my cousins CD’s when I was a kid. Once I heard Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle at 7 years old – I was hooked. I started writing my own raps and practicing them in my room at an early age. My Mom definitely wasn’t happy about the lyrical content (sorry Ma!) When I finally got put into a studio in San Francisco and finally heard my voice through speakers – I could never turn back.

What motivates me to keep going is my love of the culture. I don’t think I have ever loved something this much in my entire life – to the point that if I ever quit, it would be just like dying. And to that point, the times I tried to stop making music, it was still was coming out of me every day – where I couldn’t even function without writing down the rhymes I had in my head or freestyling when I heard a dope beat. It’s almost like I don’t have a choice – this is who I am and I’ve chosen to embrace my reality and not create one that isn’t my own.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

This release is different because it’s almost like my get back. A release to get people to take another look. I took a hiatus for a while to try and go down a different path in life to do what everyone else wanted me to do rather than what I wanted to do. You can hear the turmoil in my track “Going Corporate”. Like I wrote above, even in my hiatus – the music was still coming out of me. I stayed recording in the 6 years I took time away – where I recorded almost 250 songs and just never released or pushed them out.

This release has a mixture of those songs I recorded during those 6 years when I was going through that turmoil and self reflection, while the other tracks on the release were made after I moved to Hollywood when I was trying to find my place back in music. It’s really a story of where I have been this last 6 years up until now – something to bridge the gap and explain to my fans where I have been before the slew of music I will be releasing in the coming months.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

I think the biggest challenge in the game is finding a way to stand out without selling your soul. It’s challenging just to be yourself – to not let others try and dictate what you should or shouldn’t do. I see a lot of artists out here being too extra – risking their freedom for an image. Trying to be gangster when they aren’t. I think the hardest part being an indie artist is just accepting yourself for who you are in a market full of fakes.

Technology wise though, its nice because no matter what freak flag you fly – you can find your people, your community online. You can literally find a market and a tribe for whatever and whoever you are – whether its your authentic self or not.

What was the last song you listened to?

First We Pray by Nate Dogg

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I got love for all, there is really nothing better then hearing something on wax – but really I am always on the go so MP3’s are a must.

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

I like all platforms because they all help me get my message out to the world. I do however want to throw a big shout out to bandcamp. They always helped me and the homies break a mixtape back in the day when we were first coming up.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

Just hit me on instagram @bigcapeezy – it is really my favorite platform and I make it a point to blast out my music regardless of platform through Instagram. If you are looking for a streaming platform – Spotify or Apple Music would be best. Here is my Spotify link.

Anything else before we sign off?

Thank you so much for the platform to spread my music to others. I will return the love.