California based rapper Casey Veggies, is one of the brightest stars coming out of LA hip hop today. At only 22 years old, the artist has achieved miles more than most, having come to attention with former crew OFWGKTA. Veggies, real name Casey Jones, has been releasing mix tapes since the age of 14, and since then has gone on to co-own his record label and clothing line, Peas & Carrots International. In spite of what feels like years of success and recognition, his very first full-length album, Live & Grow, was just released late last month. We had a chat with the man himself about the new album, his clothing line and more.
Hey Casey, thanks so much for speaking to me today. I love Live & Grow!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that.
I thought it was a really strong album, I especially loved I’m The King – it’s such a great opening track. How did the idea come about for you to use clips of your dad speaking on that track?
That’s one of the earlier songs we created for the album. It just had a crazy vibe to it, it reminded me of something old school, there’s just an old school feel to that track. It just brought out me speaking out about my life, and talking about how I was feeling. I started off the album just speaking about where I saw myself at, how I’m feeling at work and my perspective on the game. It’s like a boost, it’s like a real confident song. I’m kinda not really telling people that I’m the king in that song, I’m just speaking on the fact that we’re all kings, we’re all human beings and people should think of themselves as a king and be confident in themselves. And that’s pretty much the concept of that song, and that’s why I had my dad talk on it. It just meant a lot to me.
I really loved it. Did you have a favourite collaboration on the album?
I think the record with Tyler, The Creator is probably my favourite collab on there!
What was different now that you’ve got major label backing? Did you learn anything new during the recording process?
I think there was just a couple things that I was just trying to figure out on this one. You know, it was a little different of a process but I definitely adapted to it and I learned a lot creatively.
Can you tell us a little bit about Peas and Carrots International as well?
Yeah, Peas and Carrots International is my clothing line, my brand, it’s a lifestyle brand. We have a store out here in LA, and there’s a lot of new things coming soon from the brand. We have a lot of collaborations coming, we just dropped a collab, a pair of boxers. We just have a lot of new things in store.
Do you think there’s something important about the relationship between music and fashion?
Yeah, they go hand in hand! They’re both strong, strong advocates for creativity.
What would you say you get creatively out of fashion, that’s different to what you get from making music?
They’re just both such strong forms of self expression, you know we rappers like to express how we feel. In what we wear, in what we say and how we say it.
I saw you had a scene in the film ‘Dope’ as well, how did you get involved with that?
It was just dope, it was a dope opportunity. The movie was based in my hometown of Inglewood, and the director reached out to us, and was like you really embody the era, and the generation. I was more than happy that he called me, and its a super dope movie.
Do you think you’d do something similar in the future?
Oh, definitely! I’m definitely going to stay in tune, and keep thinking of accessing more film opportunities.
So, in regards to the album again, when you write do you consider your audience? Or would you say you write solely for yourself?
Who am I writing for? I write for my fans, I write for myself, I write for the people around me and I write because I know that a lot of young kids listen to my music. And you know, the world does need a lot more positive energy, we need to focus more on giving back and give people something they can use that will benefit them.
You’re really active as well on social media. What effect do you think social media has had on you as an artist, and your interaction with fans?
I think it’s dope. I think it definitely gave me the chance to spread my music, and it gave me a fair chance to become an artist and follow my dream and get my music out there to the world.