INDIE SPOTLIGHT - The Larro Interview
Texas-born Larry Santee more popularly known as Larro, is on his way to becoming a top prospect in Houston's rap scene. Providing an alternative to what you're used to, Larro's sound is fresh, and he has been keeping listeners ready for the next release.
Since 2017, he has been hard at work putting together quality releases, and growing his fanbase considerably. In just a few short years, his talents have taken his name to various parts of the world, and he has already gained co-signs from the likes of DJ Drama, Lil Baby and Scott Storch. Larro is as focused as ever, and with his new album "Love, Loyalty, Respect", the rest of the world will know of Larro and his greatness.
We recently had a convo with the Texas rapper, and we spoke about coming from a non-musical family, remixing Trinidad James' "All Gold Everything" for his first song, what Houston means to him and the music scene there, his new album, and more!
Check out the interview below.
Thanks for coming through! How’s life been treating you?
Of course, I'm happy to be here and lif'es been treating me great man. I feel like day by day there's growth taking place whether it's a centimeter, inch, foot, mile or whatever. I'm very grateful.
What has excited and surprised you the most about 2022?
I mean I gotta say I'm happy that things are somewhat back to normal for the most part right. The pandemic was a surprising and also an eye opening experience I think for all of us. But I'm just excited about being able to do what I love, which is music and in due time It’ll heard by millions of people all over the world. That's something I'm looking forward to.
A lot of artists come from musical backgrounds and families. Was it harder for you to develop your talent since you were raised in a non-musical family?
No, not at all. I think if you're blessed with a talent then it's just in you, you don't have to develop it you just have to discover it and once you discover it you just continue practicing and utilizing it and that talent will have no choice but to become greater and greater over time.
How did you discover your gift of music in the first place?
I’ve always loved music as a kid, but the first time I ever made a song was in Jr High. I had a friend that recorded music and one day he came over to my house and brought his studio equipment and we stayed up all night in my room recording.
The first song I ever finished was a Trinidad James “All Gold Everything” Remix and I remember the next day I had school and I went to school and played it for my friends and it was going crazy! It was being sent around all over school and sh*t. But I didn't officially start actually recording real music in an actual studio and taking it seriously until like my senior year of high school.
You’ve been heating it up since 2017, and already have co-signs from some of Hip Hop’s top players. What role has networking played in your success?
Networking has played a major role in a lot of the doors that have opened for me. Just being out meeting people is essential I think to an artist's success in the music industry. I’m constantly in the rooms I need to be in and around these mega music stars and industry people through people I’ve met through networking.
Houston is a very influential city within the culture. How does it feel coming from such a historical place?
It feels amazing and I honestly wouldn't want it any other way. I love my city and the culture we have, there's nothing else like it.
What’s Houston’s Hip Hop scene like these days?
When it comes to the music scene in Houston we still have some work to do I feel like. In Houston, I feel like we have more of a disadvantage because we lack community support and the majority of the people don't wanna show love or support until somebody big co-signs you or puts their arm around you. But I think we're getting better over time. We just have to come together and embrace our artists and creatives more because we represent the city and we are the home-team.
Who else do you think has next out of Houston?
Not to sound overly cocky, but me for sure. I'm the next big thing to come out of Houston or to enter the music industry period. I can feel it, it’s about to happen very soon.
So, you just released a new album, "Love, Loyalty, Respect”, which is a very powerful title. What do those words mean to you?
Well these words were instilled in me by my father. Those 3 words describe my standard for life, it's the base requirement for anyone I allow in my life, my mind, or my heart. I live by those words.
How do you want people to feel after they hear the project?
Well hopefully they like the music. But when I think of a project I really love, there's songs and lyrics on there that I can relate to, or whatever feelings or situations that artist is expressing I've been there or felt the same way before so that automatically draws a connection between me and that song and I think that is a beautiful thing. That's how I'd want the people listening to feel about my project or even just a particular song on the project that they relate to the most.
Your music is smooth, hard-hitting, and highlights your hunger for success. In what ways do you see yourself bringing something new to the table?
I think as far as overall sound I'm bringing something new to the table. I can go so many different ways with my music, I just see myself being across the board artist and not being limited to a single genre of music. I’ve already dabbled and made so many great records outside of Rap/Hip Hop and I'm looking forward to keep experimenting and keeping people on their toes, wondering which way I'm gonna to go next.
What challenges have you faced on the road to your dreams?
Honestly the most difficult thing for me has been not seeing a huge blow up. I used to think that there’s no way the people could see and hear this stuff I'm creating and just pass it up and go about their day. I used to get frustrated because there hasn’t been a huge blow up yet.
I had to sit down one day and really pay attention to all the growth that was happening right in front of my eyes. I think everybody in this world can relate to this because sometimes we work so hard towards our goals and dreams that when they haven’t came into fruition in the timing that we THINK they should have yet, we tend to get frustrated, and maybe even discouraged a bit, but when you look back at the point from where you started to where you're at now, that's when your able to see how far you've come and how much closer you truly are to making that dream come true.
Speaking of dreams, what are yours?
My desire and goal is to become one of the biggest music artists in the world.
Anything else we should know?
I have a lot more music that I will be dropping before this year is over. One of those songs is one of my personal favorite records that I’ve ever made so be on the lookout for that.
