Nacho Picasso on Stoned and Dethroned

Independent music has always been a grey area in music. A kind of limbo, where artists hope to not have to dwell for long before being snatched up by one of the big five record labels. There are many hardships for an independent artist; there’s no big promotion budget or built in studio producers, to ensure hit records. But, the independent artist has the most crucial element for reaching the ultimate creative nirvana: freedom.

Nacho Picasso is one of the most uninhibited artists we’ve met. He’s been shaking shit up since his debut album, Blunt Raps. His music is a reflection of his turbulent lifestyle, rapped with a sense of humility instead of grandeur. He came into the game with the intention to piss people off and hilariously has attracted so many people to him. His blend of realness is intoxicating. He’s self deprecating with a dry sense of humour, a personality that comes across as soon as you hear the first few bars.

Not having any of the inhibitors that can plague the creativity of an artist removes most of the compromises that have to be made to please a team of executives. There are so many artists releasing music through their own channels and the internet makes it possible for independent artists to be massively successful.

This is the case with Nacho, who shot straight to number one on bandcamp the day that Stoned and Dethroned, his fourth collaboration with producers Black Sky Blue Death was released. His fans are constantly in an uproar about including him on “best of” rap lists and on the map in terms of leaders of the new school. But, Nacho stands seemingly unbothered about all of it.

Perhaps it’s the Seattle in him, the inherently, not too bothered, stance that many people in the Pacific Northwest display. Or it’s the fact that at such a young age, Nacho has already achieved what some spend their entire lives wishing for. He’s turned his stormy youth around completely and is now an inspiration to many. Nacho’s only intent in rapping was to make music that he and his friends could relate to, the rest of the world is just a bonus.

We spoke with Nacho the day Stoned and Dethroned dropped, and asked him about his process, and working with producers Blue Sky Black Death and Harry Fraud.