Yung Tilla (Justin Murray) is a rising R&B artist from Burlington, NJ. Since debuting in 2018 with his stunning debut EP titled ‘Playboi Color’, Tilla has gone from strength to strength with a 2019 mixtape titled ‘Can’t Stop Me Now’, followed by two hit tracks ‘Party House’ and ‘Dangerous’ which have both become instant fan favourites- amassing over 500,000 plays between them.
The New Jersey upstart is now capitalising on the success of his ‘Lost Feelings’ EP which was released earlier this year, and has dropped his tranquil new single, ‘Shots’.
Read on to find out more about Yung Tilla as The Lowdown delve deeper into the artists‘ musical journey.
How has life been treating you? "Life is crazy right now, especially with all that has gone on this year. I had a lot of goals set for myself that I had to switch up but I'm still doing my all to make 2020 a huge year. It sucks I can't perform for my fans right now, and I miss the feelings of turning up with them. These past few months have been a lowkey blessing though because I've really locked in the studio and put together some really great quality music I can't wait to drop."
You have to describe yourself in one sentence for our readers, go! "Like the goat himself said, I'm here for a good time not a long time."
When did you first start writing music? "So I was always that kid in school banging on the desk or tapping with a pencil making a beat in the classroom or at lunch. I always had interest in making music but I never had the equipment or knowledge on how to do it. My freshman year of college, my friend Noah showed me the ropes on how he made songs. I just took mental notes on everything he showed me. I came back home to Jersey that summer I'd say about 3 years ago, brought the equipment I needed to record and I started writing songs non stop. 2 years ago I began creating my own beats as well and the rest is history"
And what makes you stand out from other rappers in the game just now? "I don't even consider myself a rapper. I'm a music artist. What makes me stand out is I'm not a one genre artist, I do it all. Most rappers just rap so they're in rap. Most singers just sing so they're in R&B. I rap and sing. On top of that I make my own beats. I'm in my own genre I feel like. "Night time vibes" I like to call it. Not too many artists can have you lit during one part of an album but in your feelings over a relationship the next. You want a summer anthem I got those. You wanna listen to danceable R&B vibes? I got those. The list goes on and on. A lot of rappers can't claim such versatility like I can."
You have had a lot of success with your singles 'Party House' and 'Dangerous' which have amassed half a million streams. How does it feel to be getting recognised? "Half a million streams with no label help is so crazy to me like I really got the best fans in the world foreal. It's so crazy how my music can have an impact on someone's life. The fact that someone could be having a crappy week and go listen or stumble across one of my songs, and it instantly changes their mood for the entire week is wild. The amount of DM's I got on instagram when those songs dropped, from people saying how much they loved the song, and how hype they were after listening just feels so gratifying. The positive recognition only makes me wanna go 100 times harder."
What is next for Yung Tilla? Are there any album plans on the horizon? "I got enough songs to drop an album today if I wanted but for my expectations I'd say it's 75% done. Whether I drop it this year or not you'll have to tune into the journey and find out. One of my biggest goals I started the year with was to perform at a major concert like Coachella, or Rolling Loud. Covid messed that up big time, but once they allow concerts again that's my next big move im working on."
Creatively, what are you hoping to achieve with your music? "Creatively I'm influenced heavily by Drake, Kanye, and Travis Scott. I want people to feel every type of emotion when listening to my music, whether it gets you hype for a party, something to take your mind off a stressful day, or to help get over a breakup. I just want to leave a lasting impression on someone where they can say "damn... this guy is fire"."
Do you have any plans to collaborate with other artists? "I always wanna collaborate. I got a few songs in the vault with a few artist from all over the country. I truly believe collaboration really helps artists grow. I'm not the type to charge you tons of money for a feature especially if I think your music is fire and together we can make a banger."
If you could choose one rapper who is in the game just now to team up with, who would it be? And what would the song be called? "I got so many I wanna work with but right now I'd have to go with Tory Lanez. If we ever collaborated on a track or an album it would be the most fire song or project ever, like our voices easily compliment each other and it definitely would be a classic. Like Drake and Future type classic. I'm hyped thinking about it. "Been Out Sippin" that's the first thing that comes to my mind. It would be a summer anthem for sure."
That's it from us, thank you for your time! Any last words? "I just wanna thank you for interviewing me and giving me the opportunity to share my story with you. Everyone who's reading go check out my new song 'Shots'."
Listen to 'Shots' HERE Instagram: @yungtilla7
INTERVIEW BY ALISTER ROSS
Twitter: @ross_alister