After two years in upstate New York, RJ Levychin’s entire outlook on music changed.

Originally from Brooklyn, Levychin is a junior information management and technology major at Syracuse University. The rap artist, whose stage name is Julius Caesar, has been exploring the hip-hop genre since eighth grade, when he found the connection between lyrics and poetry.

He released his first major project two summers ago, but before that, his focus was on letting the music come to him. He now spends his time collaborating with artists and working on as many projects as possible, including those on SU’s WERW Radio and Marshall Street Records.

The Daily Orange: What do you bring to rap?

RJ Levychin: I think I bring an open mindedness to the music that I make. I think that because hip-hop wasn’t my original favorite genre … the way that I approach music is from a different perspective. When I think about making a song, I don’t necessarily think about what I’m doing; I think about what would make the song the best song it could be.

D.O.: How did you transition into exploring rap if you weren’t originally drawn to it?

R.L.: I was introduced to what was popular or Top 100. In eighth grade, I started looking more into rap but I didn’t really know about a lot of artists. I started my approach (with) poetry. It was really the thing that I liked the most. I like the way that it manipulated words. Writing lyrics just came to my head. A lot of the times I was in class (during) junior and senior year of high school, that’s what I was doing in (English) class.

D.O.: How have your fans/peer responded to your work?

R.L.: I was never taken seriously. That was kind of how I was treated until I released a project after my freshman year of college. I was putting in work every day, I was thinking about music videos. That was the first time people started treating me like an actual artist. It didn’t feel genuine until I dropped my first project.

D.O.: Who are you collaborating with right now?

R.L.: The person I make the most music with is Austin Suzuko or Mango. A big thing with me and Mango is that our chemistry was kind of undeniable. When I first met him, the first song he played me was an EDM song. He made it clear he was never a hip-hop artist, but I saw something in him. I saw that he had the ability to produce multiple genres and not even know it.

D.O.: Where do you draw your inspiration from?

R.L.:  I draw my inspiration from a lot of people but the big one is P-Diddy. In the last few years, Calvin Harris has become a huge influence for me. Childish Gambino is a huge influence. When Chance blew up he became a huge influence for me. When I was in high school, I started looking into hip-hop, and then everything from classical music to jazz music to R&B music. Now lyrics have always been my thing because I’ve always been about the poetry, but I also play a bunch of instruments like piano, trumpet, saxophone, and (I’ve) also produced a little music.

Published on November 7, 2017 at 9:24 pm

Contact Lydia: lnilesst@syr.edu