Urban Vault caught up with Los Angeles based Rapper/Engineer Tenacity to ask him some questions about his new album, collaborations, and inspirations

Los Angeles based Rapper/Engineer Tenacity and Grammy-nominated producer D.R.U.G.S. Beats recently joined forces to create the collaborative project, ‘Discussions’. The musical duo’s first album together introduces 13 forward-thinking tracks that focus on a variety of societal issues and current events that have affected a vast amount of people around the world. D.R.U.G.S. Beats supplies a hard-hitting backdrop for Tenacity to express raw emotions and share his point of view in a way that makes the listener feel as if they are part of the discussion.

What is your name?

Tenacity

Where are you from?

Ann Arbor, MI but based in Los Angeles, CA

How long have you been making music?

20 years

How many songs /albums have you released to date?

I’ve independently released 10 albums / projects:
Tenacity & S.A – Blunt Raps – 2004
Impossible Obstacle – Replacements – 2007
Tenacity – Glitches – 2008
Tenacity, Shi Dog, & Oznoh – ChainBreakers – 2009
Tenacity – I’m Different – 2010
Tenacity – Fire Your Ghostwriter – 2012
Tenacity & Eddie Logix – Everything Must Change – 2013
Tenacity & Fratello Beats – ABnormal – 2013
Coarse Company (Koncept & Tenacity) – Same Page – 2013
Tenacity & D.R.U.G.S. Beats – Discussions – 2018

Can you tell us about your new album ‘Discussions’, the background, and inspirations behind it?

My new album is ‘Discussions’ produced by D.R.U.G.S. Beats. It’s an album I wrote over the past year while watching my country (USA) fall victim to our ‘bad decisions’. A lot of unacceptable behaviors continue to happen here, and it doesn’t get discussed enough in current music, in my opinion. My inspiration is the actions of all the hateful, one-sided, ‘bad decision makers’ that walk amongst us. I hope to give them some sort of understanding on the topics I discuss and inspire them to spark up a discussion with their peers. Or better yet, a complete stranger.

Who have you collaborated with so far in your Career?

As a rapper, I have collaborated with Chino XL, Guilty Simpson, Ras Kass, and House Shoes to name a few, but as an audio engineer I have worked with hundreds of Hip Hop acts with various levels of success. I also do all of the audio work for DJ House Shoes’ label ‘Street Corner Music'(My engineering credits can be found on my website iamtenacity.com)

Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?

As far as rappers go I’d say Jay Electronica, Royce Da 5’9″, & Crooked I. Producers would have to be Madlib, Black Milk, and Dr. Dre of course.

What inspires you when you make your music?

My surroundings. Whatever is going on around me. My music is Inspired By True Events

How have you ended up in the music industry?

I played drums in different funk/r&b bands throughout high school. Being from Ann Arbor, I was always surrounded by talented musicians from many different genres. I just never stopped working on my craft.

What do you think of the music industry in 2018?

I think that musically the industry is very watered down and that the value of an artist is based on their likes/followers, instead of their level of skill or the content of their music. In other words, dope shit continues to get slept on because of the amount of garbage that is out there. It’s a needle in a haystack situation.

What have you got planned for 2018?

I plan to do some touring and spend countless hours in the studio working. I’d also like to vacation on an island for a week.

What’s your favorite track at the moment?

Anderson .Paak – Silicon Valley

What do you do when your not making music?

I chill and cook amazing meals in the crib

Facebook or Twitter?

Twitter all day.

In a few words sum up your thoughts about Urban Vault and what we’re trying to do?

Shouts to Urban Vault for being a supporter of independent artists, and supplying a platform for us to build on. Peace

Thank you for your time and may you carry on making dope, fresh music…

https://iamtenacity.com/
www.facebook.com/TenacityHipHop/
https://twitter.com/tenacitymusic
https://soundcloud.com/tenacity
http://drugsbeats.com/home/
https://www.facebook.com/DRUGS-BEATS
https://twitter.com/D_R_U_G_S_BEATS
https://soundcloud.com/d-r-u-g-s-beats