R2R MOE INTERVIEW: VIPER PRESENTS [FEATURE] BOLD ENGAGING INTERVIEW
R2R MOE INTERVIEW: Hailing from Harlem, R2R MOE is best known for his melodic take on the NY Drill scene. His 2024 Skepta collab, ‘Miss Independent’ has 12M+ Streams and led to a performance at Skepta’s Big Smoke Festival in London. Get familiar…
What five words define your sound?
Motivational, triumphant, intellectual, dominant, and resilient.
Tell me something unique about your creative process.
I don’t write anything, I just walk in the studio and record. I’m a firm believer that you don’t know how you’re feeling as the day goes on. I might write something in the morning and get into the studio at nighttime and not feel how I felt in the morning. So I just go in the booth and record however I feel at that moment.
What song of yours would you like people to hear first?
I think ‘It Is What It Is’ or ‘PROGRESSION’ are two perfect embodiments of my sound. ‘It Is What It Is’ lyrically, and ‘PROGRESSION’ melodically, with the way everything flows as far as the beat, the lyrics. It’s just a complete package.
What inspired you to make that song?
I made ‘It Is What It Is’ a super long time ago actually, it just took me a while to drop it. I’d just gotten out of a relationship, and that’s what made me write it.
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
I can’t really say I’ve allowed myself to be vulnerable to an extent, because I feel like all my music is vulnerable. All my music is based on stuff I’m going through or stuff people around me are going through. It’s nothing false or facade, so it’s like I’m vulnerable every time I record. I’m most vulnerable when I’m alone.
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
The worst experience I’ve had on stage was my first show ever. It was at Dingbatz. It’s a venue in Clifton, New Jersey. I’ll never forget, I was on a card with a bunch of Drill artists — Dougie B, Kay Flock, 41, C Blu, Kenzo Balla — and then you have my singing ass go out first! They had me open the show. So the crowd was looking at me like I was stupid. That was the worst experience ever. But my best experience was my headlining show, August 16th, 2024, at Baby’s All Right. It was sold out to the back, like over the Fire Marshall limit; that was crazy.
What’s your favourite song to perform?
I’ve actually got a couple, but recently it’s been ‘LONG AS YOU REAL’. It’s just groovy, everybody’s gonna dance.
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
I don’t really think anybody’s music made me want to make music. I always liked music, so I just listened around to everybody. There’s a couple people who inspired my process along the way, like Juice WRLD, Gunna, Don Toliver.
What is the meaning behind your name?
Road to riches — it’s endless, it’s limitless. You’re always going to be on the road to riches. It never stops, no matter how much money you have. We’re just gonna be here forever.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
I’d still be working at Walgreens, lemme keep it G. Only cause I’m a firm believer in day by day. So I can’t really tell you what my future would’ve held if I wasn’t here right now. But I know the last thing I was doing before I decided to really start cooking up was working at Walgreens.
What’s success to you?
When I come out on stage and people faint, that’s success to me; like Michael Jackson. Or people just hear me sing something in the back without seeing me, and they pass out. That’s when I know I’m really him.
What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?
When my brother Jiggy passed away. Before that, we were already doing music. We were serious about it, don’t get me wrong. But Jiggy passing away — it was like, alright, we gotta make something out of this. From that point on, we had to work towards something.
Where can people keep in touch with you?
@R2RMOE on all socials — Instagram, TikTok, Twitter. Your sister’s phone. Everywhere.
Photo by Tamara May
