Tampa Bay’s Boy Wonder has been on his grind for years. Today, he officially follows up on his 2011 release with his new album, Eight One Trill. The release comes complete with 12-brand new tracks, all originally produced in-house by Boy Wonder and his team. And an album dedicated to Tampa wouldn’t be right without features from fellow Tampa artists Crown Marquiss, OG Layla Johnson and C Gutta. Stream the project above, download below along with our exclusive interview with the ‘Boy’ himself.
DOWNLOAD: Boy Wonder – Eight One Trill [Album]
PHOTOGRAPHER: Benny Flocka
What has the journey been like since your last release, Eddy For Mayor?
It’s been a blessing and also very educational for me, as a man and an artist. Learning that I’m capable of overcoming any obstacle and finding my sound have brought me to a place of peace in my personal life, and is opening a lot of doors for me on the business end.
What makes this release different from your previous work?
Well, this is my first all original project. All the production is in house with J. Skeete, Demise Studios and 100.
Not only are you a rapper, but you also play the Guitar. Do you still incorporate live music into the production for your projects? If so, how much of it is live?
I play rhythmic guitar and am lead singer of my band, The Electric Jacket, but my hip hop is separate from the music I make with the band. To answer your question, no, there aren’t any live elements on this album. But we’ll be dropping the urban punk music for you guys soon though, so be on the lookout.
Share an interesting story during the recording process of this album.
The beat session to “Fire” went missing before I laid down the final version so we had to remake the beat all over again which was wack but necessary. [Laughs]
What were some of your inspirations behind this album?
Really, the current Tampa Bay culture and the Trill lifestyle that was passed down to us by the great UGK.
This album is a surprise since you decided to just drop this album out of nowhere. What is the reasoning for going down this route?
People’s attention span is so short now-a-days that it’s easier to promote and advertise once the product is out to maximize connectivity, as opposed to trying to build anticipation and possibly losing interest in the process. Look at Beyonce and now Drake’s latest! There’s a science to it.
People don’t seem to realize much work goes into making music. Who else has helped you over the last couple of months to make this release possible?
The 1-Der Corporation is my company and the machine behind everything you see that comes from me artistically. I wanna say thank you to the whole team for putting up with my shit and helping me bring this vision to life.
