An Interview with Time Just Kills

Dami: What was your first introduction to music?

Time Just Kills: I've been around music my entire life - it was and still is my therapy. I primarily grew up around rock and roll, specifically around bands such as The Beatles, Nirvana, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Metallica, and many others. My cousin introduced me to hip-hop, mainly artists such as Eminem, Tupac, NWA, Three 6 Mafia, Lil Wayne, etc.

Dami: What then inspired you to start making music?

Time Just Kills: Ever since I was about five years old, I knew that I always wanted to be a musician. I wouldn't capitalize on that dream until the pandemic rolled around in 2020. I felt like I was at the lowest of lows, not knowing what to do with myself and not knowing who to talk to. I remember writing down little notes in a journal about how I was feeling. At that point, I just felt like something clicked and I begin writing down lyrics. I wrote my very first song in April 2020, however I never recorded it. I continued writing down lyrics throughout the year though. I remember in September 2020, my friend had sent me a song that he posted on SoundCloud and asked me to give it a listen. So I did, and for whatever reason, something told me to write a song and post it that same night. So after listening to my friend's song, I went to my room, found a free instrumental on YouTube, wrote lyrics down, recorded it, and uploaded it to YouTube. In some way, shape, or form, I feel that if he had never sent me that song, I highly doubt I'd even be making music right now, let alone sharing it to the world.

Dami: You grew up listening to rock and later got introduced to hip hop. With all these different introductions, how will you describe your sound now?

Time Just Kills: I guess you could consider my sound as "alternative" based on the fact that I alternate between genres quite often. I don't like sticking to one thing for a long time, I want to keep my sound fresh - I always enjoy bringing something different to the table whenever I get the chance.

Dami: How is it alternating between genres?

Time Just Kills: I feel that I find myself making songs of different genres quite often. I can record a hip-hop track, and after that I can record an R&B track, and if I was feeling up to it, I can record a metal track right after. I feel that's the great thing about growing up around many different genres of music, especially being an artist.

Dami: How much would you say you’ve grown creatively since your debut?

Time Just Kills: Nearing four years into my career, I feel that I have grown into an even better artist than I could ever possibly imagine - and I still feel that I haven't reached my full potential. I feel that my overall product has improved, from the range of my flows and melodies, to the mixing of my music - I am very proud of how far I've come over the past four years.

Dami: Which artists would you say inspired your sound?

Time Just Kills: I feel like the main artists that really inspired my sound would have to be XXXTENTACION, Juice WRLD, Denzel Curry, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, $uicideboy$, and Lil Peep.

Dami: When making music, where do you grab inspiration from?

Time Just Kills: I tend to grab inspiration from the things I’ve been through or how I’m feeling in the moment. I tend to tap into my subconscious while writing music, which helps me understand what it is I want to talk about it a song. I also take a look at my surroundings - what is the mood of everyone around me? what is the weather like outside? — things like that give me inspiration to write and it makes the process very enjoyable.

Dami: How do you deal with writers block?

Time Just Kills: I feel when writers block happens, I take a little time to myself to think and get ideas down for whenever I start writing again. I like to go out into nature or take drives while listening to music to cool my mind down, just so I can avoid burning myself out. It definitely is frustrating though, because I could write three songs one night and not know what to write the next. It’s all a part of the process.

Dami: How is it pushing your music to a larger audience?

Time Just Kills: It's definitely different having a much larger audience, especially knowing where I was last year at this point in time. Being able to have a larger, and ever-growing audience that I can push out my art to is such an honor and I am so happy they are here to support me. Seeing that my music has been performing the best it ever has since I first started making music is absolutely incredible and I am so grateful.

Dami: Are there any struggles with pushing it?

Time Just Kills: Sometimes there are struggles, but you learn your way around those obstacles as time goes on. One of the biggest struggles, however, is that I'm going up against millions of artists every second of every day who are striving for the same goal as me. New songs are consistently being put out, so finding a way to stand out is definitely a challenge.

Dami: What’s your creative process like?

Time Just Kills: I feel that it really depends on the mood I'm in. If I'm in a good mood, I'll make a hype song; if I'm in a sad mood, I'll make a sad song; if I'm pissed off, I'll make a song that has a lot of screaming - anyone who has listened to my music or knows me personally knows that better than anyone. Other than that, once I find a good instrumental that I'm happy with, I tend to hum out melodies and find flows that I feel would work with the instrumental. Whilst doing that, I tend to "freestyle" the lyrics I come up with while listening to the instrumental and typing them into my notes app on my phone. Afterwards, I finally start recording - which in my opinion is the hardest part for me. I tend to be a perfectionist, I don't want to put out a song that I feel isn't the best possible quality that I can produce. Lots of times, I have to re-record whole verses, even whole songs at times, just to ensure that it is a product that I'm happy with.

Dami: You just dropped a new single titled “Sinister”. Can you tell us more about it?

Time Just Kills: I feel that "SINISTER" is much different from the rest of my discography. It's got a very dark undertone with lyrics that can be associated with that dark vibe I was going for. I didn't really have any other intention while creating the song except for the fact that I wanted to make something unique and unlike anything I personally hadn't made before. In a way, I suppose you could say I was stepping out of my comfort zone with this song.

Dami: Should we expect more “dark” singles in the nearest future?

Time Just Kills: Definitely, however I like to surprise my audience with each new song I come out with. My next single "BURN" will have that dark vibe that "SINISTER" had.

Dami: What does “Burn” mean to you?

Time Just Kills: Without giving too much away (since the track isn't out yet), I feel that "BURN" is a track that anyone and everyone can vibe to, despite their mood. That in itself was the overall vibe I was going for whilst creating that song.

Dami: Are there any artists you’ll love to collaborate with in the nearest future?

Time Just Kills: Absolutely yes. I would love to work with the likes of Ski Mask The Slump God, Kendrick Lamar, $uicideboy$, Denzel Curry, Travis Scott -- I'll go as far to say I'd love to work with artists like Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Post Malone, even someone like Eminem.

Dami: Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Time Just Kills: In five years I just hope to be an artist that everyone can look up to, an inspiration if you will. I hope by that point I will have been able to move my parents into a nice house in a nice city, and even pay off any debts that my family has. All in all, I just hope I am a better person than who I am today -- that is and always be my ultimate goal. I look to continue evolving until I have reached my desired self.

Give Sinister a listen here