Mr. Living Reality – Slay

Posted by By T. Craig at 16 May, at 01 : 19 AM Print

Mr. Living Reality raises the bar with new genre-
defining sound and style

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Mr. Living Reality is the self-proclaimed originator of a genre of music he calls
Trap Hop. The veteran artist from Champaign, Illinois calls his unique sound an original fusion of
trap and hip-hop – music that features a trap beat with a lot of bars. It’s a sound that he puts on
full display with his new single, “Slay,” which is currently available for download on all digital
distribution sites.

“It’s a song about slaying every day,” he said. “Everything we do we’re gonna kill it. Every time I
touch a track or step out, I’m gonna stay fly. It’s an up-tempo song to get people in the mood,
and it’s something everybody can identify with because everybody feels like they’re slaying in
some form or fashion. And like all my music it comes with bars, but it’s identifiable as trap
music.”

Mr. Living Reality – who chose his stage name as a way to emphasize his mission to “keep it real
in everything I do” – said he started his journey in music at a young age. His father and uncles
played music in a band, and his older brother was a DJ. He developed an early love for hip-hop,
and in his teenage years became a “backpack hip-hop head.” Everything in the music industry at
that time was filtered through his love for hip-hop. As he grew older and lived through more
difficult experiences, trap because a huge part of his life.

“Eventually those two loves morphed into a little bit of one thing,” he said. “I want to keep it
hip-hop and true to the origins of that genre, but I still want to create feel-good music that trap
provides. I want to fuse that together. I don’t think it has to be one way or the other, and
because of that I’m willing to do something that most people won’t do. There’s nothing out
there to compare it to.”

That statement fits in line with his goal within the music industry: to create music that is
elevated and above the status quo. In fact, he launched his own company under that very
name: Above Status Quo Inc. It’s a company that represents other artists – Issue’z, Big Ken and
Juno Red – as well as ventures into other aspects of the entertainment industry, including
representing DJ Q City, music videos, fashion and more. Like the music he wants to create, he
hopes the business will exemplify excellence.

“That’s what the name stands for,” he said. “We strive to do everything above average. When
we step out we want to look a little better than anybody else. We want people to play our
music a little more. We want to build a brand to a level that opens other doors to other
ventures, and we want to let the music be a vehicle to those other things.”

But first, the music … “Slay” is the first single off an upcoming mixtape called “Bag Bidness,”
which Mr. Living Reality said he hopes to drop this summer. He also is slated to perform at
Coast to Coast on May 21 in Indianapolis.