It should come as no surprise ITSOKTOCRY is upfront about his mental health and how it impacts his music. After all, its in his moniker.
ITSOKTOCRY has been upfront about his bipolar disease, as well as battling low self-esteem stemming from his youth.
In a March 2019 interview with ED Magazine, ITSOKTOCRY revealed 2018 was trying because of his mental health but that 2019 was looking up.
ED Magazine caught up with ITSOKTOCRY to check in on his 2019, including his upcoming album “DESTROY ALL MONSTERS!” and how its single “Vanessa With an F” should “finesse” its way onto your DJ’s playlist.
ED: Last we spoke in March, you mentioned 2019 was good—how was your summer? How’s the end of the year and the beginning of 2020 looking as far as projects or tours?
ITSOKTOCRY: This has been the best year of my life so far. I’m only going to assume that 2020 will be twice as good.
ED: You mentioned your bipolar disorder correlates to your music, how do you balance the sound of upbeat versus gritty music?
ITSOKTOCRY: I honestly don’t know how I balance the sound, I kind of just make what I make and it happens naturally.
ED: You mentioned Rhinoceropolis being a lot of fun, have you looked around at any time yet and thought “I made it” or do you still feel you have some ways to go before you “make it”?
ITSOKTOCRY: I mean I look around and I see that I’m doing better than I was a couple of years ago but I’m still not where I want to be. I haven’t made it until I can secure a future for my entire lineage to come.
ED: You’ve been open with your mental health—was that something you wanted to do with your platform as an artist? Or did that come along organically?
ITSOKTOCRY: It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I think that there is a negative stigma around mental health and I think it’s important to educate people and let them know. Especially in 2019 where being depressed is a trend and you have 90% of kids self-diagnosing themselves. In such a toxic place, the best way to help is just by informing.
ED: I know you said Modest Mouse, Sade, Frank Sinatra are your favorite artists; when’s the last time you were awestruck meeting an artist or celebrity?
ITSOKTOCRY: The last time I was starstruck meeting anybody I was about 14 years old and I met Oliver Sykes from Bring Me the Horizon.
ED: In a Tweet you called “DESTROY ALL MONSTERS!” your “best body of work” so when did you realize putting it together you had a gem?
ITSOKTOCRY: I knew that I had something special when I listen to the entire project and it made me cry tears of joy.
ED: StripJoints services DJs at gentlemen’s clubs nationwide, so why would “Vanessa With an F” be a good choice to play at a gentlemen’s club?
ITSOKTOCRY: Because the song is a finesser anthem. Any dancer in any strip joint will vibe and rock with the song solely based on that.
ED: Describe how you linked up with BBY GOYARD and shinigami for “Vanessa With an F”?
ITSOKTOCRY: I have been a fan of both of them for a very long time over the Internet and I just asked them to be a part of it.
