Vtto, or Vittorio Tartara, is an Italian American rapper from New Brunswick in the heart of New Jersey.
The artist began writing his palatable and fresh rhymes back in 2018 whilst studying at college and at just twenty years of age, he is already working with distinguished producers such as Hit-Boy, Cam Wallace and Jaylien Wesley.
With 2020 tipped to be Vtto’s year, and his stand- out track ‘Eye 2 Eye’ seeing a release last month, The Lowdown decided to catch up with the emerging phenomenon in our coveted Get to Know you series...
Your new single ‘Eye 2 Eye’ is one of the freshest tracks we have heard all year! How excited are you now that it’s out? "I’ve been waiting to put this song out for so long. Now that it’s finally out, I’m so excited that people can finally listen to it and enjoy it as much as I do." The track is very upbeat and given the current mood, do you think you took a risk releasing it just now? "I think it was the perfect time to release the song because of what’s going on today. Eye 2 Eye is an upbeat, feel good summer song. The original purpose of the song was to motivate the listener to block out the haters and keep living their best life. But now with everything going on in the world, this songs chorus can have a totally different meaning. That being, we as human beings need to see more eye toeye with each other so that we can all live in peace." What type of audience listens to Vtto? "Anyone can listen to my music. I try to make my music relatable and enjoyable for all." You studied the music industry at college. Are you solely gunning to be a successful artist? Or are you exploring other avenues as well? "I think studying the music industry while at school helps a lot because it’s always important to really understand what’s going on when negotiating and reading through contracts. It’s also great to get a good idea of what the business side of the industry is like." You are currently working on a new project with Hit Boy, Cam Wallace, and Jaylien Wesley. Can you tell us much about it? Or is it very hush hush? "Yeah so we’re currently working on that right now. We have about 50 songs, so it’s all about narrowing down to see which songs we want to put out on the project. We may put out a small EP first before the album. But we’ll see where things take us." Is rap music better now than it was ten years ago? "It’s different. Different storytelling, different people, different ways of viewing things." What are your top three tracks of the year so far? "After Hours by The Weekend, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon by Pop Smoke, and My Turn by Lil Baby." What has to happen before you think of yourself as having made it? "Hearing my song non-stop on the radio and social media. Then I’ll know I’ve made it."
Listen to ‘Eye 2 Eye’ HERE
Instagram: @vttomusic
INTERVIEW BY ALISTER ROSS
Twitter: @ross_alister