Before he was Induhgo, I knew him as Chris. He’s still Chris to me, but the transformation that I’ve witnessed from the man pictured above has been two fold over the course of the past few years.
I met Chris the summer before my freshman year of college, while I was enrolled in classes and training with my teammates prior to the upcoming football season. We had actually met in passing prior to that on my recruiting visit, but I never had the opportunity to actually sit down and chop it up with him.
From an outsiders perspective, I saw Chris as someone that walked to the beat of his own drum — someone that I likened to myself. While I was optimistic that I would eventually befriend him, I was met with what I perceived to be skeptical hostility. I needed to chip away at Chris; I needed to prove to him that I was cut from the same cloth.
Over the course of the next year and a half, it became evident to Chris and I that we were a part of the same band, the same thread. And while I’ve gotten to know him and see his progression since our initial meeting, there are far too many people out there that need to hear and see what this Woodbridge, VA native is spewing out.
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AB: How long have you been making music?
INDUHGO: I’ve been making music for about 3 years now. I was fucking around with making beats my redshirt senior year and it took me a minute to even make one. I guess I was just building up the balls to go head and do it. January 2013 it was on.
AB: What led you to want to start producing?
INDUHGO: I always felt a natural love for music. Backstreet Boys and N’sync when I was younger… And Maroon 5. I listened to what people might consider “weird” stuff, and was scared to tell my friends. I was weak. But listening to Live Love A$AP really sent me over the edge to make music. It was just some shit I’d never heard before. At first I wanted to rap, then I starting making beats.
AB: Who are your biggest inspirations?
INDUHGO: My brothers are some of my biggest influences. They were always just cool with me being me. My brother Mike played D1 basketball, so we had a lot in common as far as what it took to play at that level. Musically, my inspirations are Clams, Neon Indian, Tyler, Washed Out and Death Cab. I have a TON of Death Cab samples in my songs. Their music is the shit to me. Especially when I was sad about a girl in college… They all combined to make how my music sounds now. Local musicians too, like a lot of guys from 5enses inspire me. They are from here and make music that is slept on hard.
AB: How does your past as an athlete help you in your new creative realm?
INDUHGO: It’s weird to me sometimes. In football I used to always feel like I HAD to grind. Like I know you’re supposed to grind and go hard at what you do, but not to the point where you are miserable. I’m gradually trying to get to working smarter, not harder. It taught me to get up early and work on the mechanics of your craft. Discipline and studying. Sports and music is so similar.. You literally get up everyday to compete with yourself. Next thing you know you’re nice as shit at what you do. I try to be less competitive with others and be more competitive with myself.
AB: In what areas have you seen the most growth in yourself as an artist?
INDUHGO: My ability to make things quickly. As a kid I always picked up sports easily. Being an athlete became universal. I could do anything… Golf, bowl, skate. Learning music and seeing myself pickup things easily has been cool to see. Being able to take a sound and make it my own has been my biggest triumph at this point in my career.
AB: What are your favorite projects from artists other than yourself?
INDUHGO: Hmmmm.. I love Something About Airplanes and We have the facts and We’re Voting Yes by DCFC. Live love A$AP is a staple. Goblin, Marshall Mathers and Slim Shady LP. Songs About Jane, Indicud, anything Kanye has.
AB: What artists in particular would you like to work with in the future?
INDUHGO: I wanna make music with Ben Gibbard. Like a “Give Up” 2.0. That would be tight as hell. A new aged Postal Service album would be tight. His vocals are so angelic. I wanna work with Kanye, Tyler, and CuDi. I feel they just represent freedom of speech, and just being “you.” Not some cliche thing, but literally following your heart and doing you. I also wanna do some work with some local guys from the DMV/ Virginia area that are doing well. Chazz French and Sunny.
AB: What are you future aspirations in the business?
INDUHGO: Musically, I just want to become the sickest I can be. Breaking barriers in music and building on classic sounds. Along the realms of Beethoven and Kanye and a whole bunch other greats. I wanna have t-shirts too.. Which is kinda in the works now. “Induhgo” is a cute little character that people really dig. I wanna be financially free and be able to do whatever I want to do and make music without the pressure to make money from it.
AB: What upcoming projects should we be looking forward to from you?
INDUHGO: I’m thinking about making an “Induhgod” album. Like a debut instrumental/singing tape. Like on some Tycho/XXYYXX/Trap shit. Haha.. I have an idea in my mind. I’m working on so much now. Me and my boy Escartier have to projects coming out. We have a song called “Wasting Time” that we are currently getting ready to shoot. Induhcon 2 with my homie Con sometime soon. I’m really just focusing on becoming a beast.
AB: Where do you see yourself and your brand five years from now?
INDUHGO: Honestly. I see this shit really rolling. I believe in what I have envisioned. I plan on working with some really dope artist musically and having Induhgo character on a dope line of clothing. I plan to be financially free by then. That’s a big goal of mine. I wanna be able to be myself to the fullest extent and push myself solely because I want to push myself towards shit I’ve never done before. I want to have worked with Lady Gaga and Katy Perry at that time. That’d be tight.. To do a bunch of cool Pop records. I’d also love to be mentored by Kanye West. I feel he is completely misunderstood and I think his insight from a musical standpoint would be amazing.
AB: How do you stay in m o t i o n . . . ?
INDUHGO: Man.. I literally just have to tell myself to relax. I get so anxious to do so much that I do nothing. I’m constantly trying to keep myself from spazzing and letting shit “flow” and be “in motion”. Life is meant to be loved in every moment. I try to just be grateful and appreciate what’s going on. I like when my ideas feel like they come through me instead of from me. JAH FEEL?
LIKE POETRY IN M O T I O N . . . 