We had a moment to wrap with TinoSZN who recently signed with SCMG (South Coast Music Group). Get to know more on this upcoming artist on his full interview below and be sure to follow Jukebox Culture on Instagram.
TinoSZN Interview:
Where are you from?
Gastonia, North Carolina
What was life like growing up?
I stayed out of the way, I was the weird kid in middle school but that’s when I started hanging out with people and was able to deal with some real life experiences and once I got to highschool I started to distance myself and focus on music,
What inspired you to start your career?
I started doing music in the summer of 2018, what inspired me was I always had wanted to try out music, so I started creating music on my phone, learned how to make beats, and then eventually got my own mic to record. There was a kid in school who made music and was getting all the attention, and I wanted that attention too, that also had a role in my pursing music.
What was the first event or experience that really boosted your career?
In September 2019, I dropped “Big Bank” from my project Pegasus Kid 2, I reached out to my eventual manager Drako (this was before I knew him) for promo and it started doing really well on SoundCloud. The first week it did 5K streams, 2nd week 10-20K and a month and a half later it was at 50-60K. It helped me grow my fanbase and also gave me a small buzz in the underground community.
How did you get your name?
I get Tino from my middle name which is Valentino (Very Fancy lol) and I got SZN whenever I walk in the room. It’s my SZN, whoever I’m with, it’s our time, if it’s just me it’s my time. Every day, every month of the year it’s Tino SZN all the time.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
Lil Uzi vert, Chief Keef, Playboi Carti, Billie Eilish, Pierce the Veil, and Trippie Redd
What has been the most difficult part of developing your career?
Getting followers and differentiating my sound, a lot of people say I sound like Uzi, but It’s hard because my voice is my voice, I don’t intentionally try it, it’s just how it happened, even my friends tell me this sometimes.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Big in the music industry, most likely have already done songs with my big inspirations, being an inspiration for a lot of kids, and doing what I can to help out with some organizations. I also have plans to start my own label down the line.
If you could collaborate with a celebrity, who would it be?
It would have to be Lil Uzi Vert, Billie Eilish, Kanye, Pierce the Veil or Carti.
What advice would you give to young artists that want to have a career in music?
Make sure you really love this, there are a lot of people who get big and start complaining about everything that comes with it. I always have the thought in the back of my head of why I started doing this, it’s really just about being mentally ready to be an artist. Mentally ready to record a song, getting interviewed, and handling business. Be big on Business, music is a lot of business from what I’ve learned.
