The C is for creativity, and the High is for stars he and his team CTG (Compelled to Greatness) are looking to reach. We linked up with the 18-year-old for this week's segment of #RespectTheArtist.

How did you get your Artist name?

I used to be Hi-C because the drip came in flavors, but now I’m High-C because I smoke a lot of flavors

How did you get into creating?

There always has been music running through my mind since birth, my family is very well implemented in it. Growing up, I’d see my uncle, Optometrist and my cousin, B-EZ on stage and I’ve always had a feeling that one day we all hit sold-out stages with everyone in the crowd vibing and reciting lyrics from the art we create. As a team, we’ve all been taking our individual steps forward to fulfill this dream.

How has creating changed your life?

I started getting serious with creating after I was kicked out of high school at 15 years old. I always had lyrics written down, I even dropped a track on YouTube when I was 13 thinking I was nice, but I wasn’t all that. I knew one day I’d find my craft so I kept working towards that. In middle school, I met YoungNez and we’d just do wild shit to rile up the school. We knew what we were doing was wrong, but it was fun at the time. One day at lunch YoungNez and I started freestyling, and since then we made it an everyday thing. We would skip the last class to get out early and hit up the pizza spot so we can freestyle in the back. All we said we needed was a studio. B-EZ and Optometrist had a studio, but YoungNez and I were still looking for places to record locally. By the time my mom had a decent job, she saved money to buy me studio equipment, and from that day forward I knew something special will come out of the art we create. I started out using free software on my HP laptop to record, and it worked. At the time I thought I had hits ready to go, but deep down I always knew it can be recorded and mixed better. Sometimes I would take trips from Upstate NY to Staten Island just to record with B-EZ, but still, I knew I had more to give. Despite my doubt to myself, I had another friend who would throw parties locally, and he wanted me to perform at all of them to turn the crowd up. I did exactly that about 6-7 times in the span of 2 years, and each time the performance got better. One of the last times I performed there, I met my girlfriend, Evony, and since then the progression started showing itself. Evony can sing, and not like every other female that says they can sing, she can do covers for Beyoncé, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, you name it and it will sound the exact same. It wasn’t until this year that I got my first studio session at Deadlife on Staten Island, I recorded 3 tracks, and Evony showed up to “surprise” me (I had a feeling she was pulling up) and I recorded 3 tracks. Since then, I went to RealJobMusic Studios with B-EZ and CTG, and we’ve been creating our discography. We all have serious talent that we’re ready to broadcast to the world, creating is still changing my life day by day.

Where are you from?

Throughout the ages of 0-12 I never settled in a house for more than 2 years, I’ve been back and forth from Woodhaven Queens and Bensonhurst Brooklyn (and more apartments around the Brooklyn area) until my mom met my stepdad, stacked money, and moved to Middletown NY. The reason I did not finish high school is because we moved to this area, but I managed to get my GED at 16 and went to SUNY Orange Community College for business management. Now I’m even more upstate dorming at the Culinary Institute of America to learn about cooking food and the business to it since figuratively it ties into music. Whatever I do in this life I will create art.

How did growing up in your neighborhood affect you?

I was a part of my family’s struggle for more than the first half of my life, and I also witnessed them flourish. I know how it feels to be on both sides of the spectrum

What did you do to advance your knowledge?

Every day I freestyle, and do practices with rhyme schemes and flows to make me better. I’m also in the process of learning how to make beats.

What does your current setup look like? 

I have a beat pad, a mic, Kaotica eyeball, HP laptop, audio interface

Who inspires you? Why do they inspire you?

I get inspiration from everyone I choose to be around whether it’s my mom, my girl, my brother, the homies, B-EZ, and myself. What inspires me most is the vision I have to impact the youth in the most positive way possible.

What is your goal when you create?

Throughout the process of creating, my goal is to let my emotions out through a catchy flow. My goal is to have the listener find something new every time they replay the song, and have them think “I never heard anything like this before”

Why do you create?

To give back to everyone who has hope in me, and to give back to those in need, since I was in need once and I was lucky enough for someone to have my back through it all. Everyone deserves that.

What's your go-to song right now and why is it important to you?

What More Can I Say -Jay-Z
This song is important to me because the nostalgia this song brings me is powerful. Since a kid, I always said to myself “I want to make music like this” after I listened to this song. Now, I listen to this song daily because of how relatable it is to my life. I achieved a lot in my 18 years of life, put myself through tough situations that could’ve been avoided, but I always seemed to make it out 10x stronger.

What is your dream as an artist and what steps are you taking to reach your dream?

My dream as an artist is to be crowned by the greats by sending positive messages. I want to inspire everyone with my story to keep pushing forward. The steps I will take are simple. Respect everyone I cross paths with, create and cater music-related events to bring more people together. I will market what I’m doing with the ones I cross paths with so no one is left behind.

What is the best advice you would give someone with a dream?

Whatever you do and no matter how hard times get, keep in mind that those feelings do not last forever. Do not take your life and do what you can to stay healthy to fulfill that dream. Time moves way too quickly for you to end it early.

Tell us about your most recent release

My most recent release is called Attention Featuring YoungNez, and this is my most important release yet no matter how many numbers it’s bound to get. I originally wrote this song at 1 AM after watching a 6ix9ine video. The 6ix9ine video made me realize that all people need to blow up these days are fake guns and the industries help. During those times the radio would play Cardi B’s popular music, not even her good songs. All of that inspired me to write a song about how much bs we’re taking in, and how music is not real anymore. After I wrote my verse I called YoungNez and showed him, he got inspired to write a verse of his own. We recorded this song a good 3 times before we had it done officially at RealJobMusic Studios. We decided we were going to create a music video with no budget, so I did and it came out exactly how I wanted it to, raw but well put together, like sushi.

Share a link to your most recent release: http://youtu.be/5Mn-fponjsw

Instagram: http://instagram.com/highest.c444?utm_medium=copy_link

Photography credit: Evony V. Vasquez

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