B. Austin has been making waves in the the Upstate Hip Hop music scene producing music and performing consistantly each week. This spring, the Glens Falls, NY based artist will make his way to Brooklyn, NY breaking out into bigger markets. We first met B. Austin back in the day and it was been really cool to see his journey onward and upward. We decided to check in with him and see what he has been up to. Read the full interview below:

It is great to call you a friend and it has been great to see where you have come from since knowing for over nearly 10 years. You have been on your “A Game” really getting yourself out there locally after finding success online. Has your approached change with now performing live out more often?

I appreciate your friendship after all these years. I would definitely say that yes my approach has changed a lot since I chose to take the next step in my career with music by performing it as much as I can. Everyone always talks about marketing your music and the best way to do that is to perform it !

You have a regular thing going over at 42 degrees. How does it feel to have a venue in your hometown that is accessible for all genres of music?

The people at 42 Degrees are the nicest and most open minded individuals I have ever met. We have talked about so many different possibilities and opportunities since there’s so much talent in the 518. 42 is definitely open to anyone and any kind of genre of music as long as you take the first step to come up the stairs!

Who have been some key figures in your life that have helped you further your career.

My biggest influences and key figures would have to be someone like 2pac, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Eminem, Scott Storch and the list can go in when it comes to successful people in the music industry that chose to stay consistent. I don’t want to list everyone because it could take up this whole email. Nas, Wu Tang, Busta Rhymes..

Lately it’s a-lot of the people in my city that keep telling me the same few things. “That was so good, you got this, stay positive man, you’re gonna make it.”

It reminds me that after all these years my hard work is getting noticed more now than ever, especially in person even more than just online. I really study the greats and see how I can adapt that into my life and image as an artist. Believe is so important and I believe my approach is making a huge difference. Not only in my community but around the world.

Where do you hope to take your career in the future?

Full time musician, I want to be able to go on big tours, huge festivals, produce for more artists, get more artists in the studio to record with. Build a loyal cult like fan base that will eat up everything that I record, sell and do. Use my analytics to see where people are listening to my music and use that data to run proper campaigns to get noticed even more.

My biggest focus this year is not only running ads all year long, but to also official create an LLC or a DBA for Family Thing Records. I also want to be consistent with my content marketing which a lot of people reach out to me about since my Instagram has nothing but reels and pictures of me performing.

What aspect of being a musician do you like the most? There is a lot that goes into it that people don’t realize.

I really enjoy the recording process. From creating the instrumental from scratch with no samples in it is pretty hard in itself to do. Then have the feeling when it sounds amazing bringing instant joy into my life to laying down some ideas in a freestyle then crafting the well written song. It’s something that I truly love to do is record music. I’ve been doing it for so long now that it’s amazing that I still get the same little kid vibes when I record. I also get the same feeling performing. You can see it in my eyes and in my smiles on stage. Working so hard on something for so long and getting the great reactions from the people are the main reason why I do what I do. It’s also therapy for me.

It looks like you have a stacked list of places you are performing throughout New York state this first half of the year. What shows are you most looking forward to?

Brooklyn Music Kitchen on April 15th. My first New York City show ever. I feel like I truly have been working so hard for this moment. Other than the big Apple I am very excited and happy for some shows at Sweet Side Records right in Glens Falls on Curran Street next to the T Shirt Factory.

Big shoutout to Ed since he really cares for the artists and bands in the community. I have supported the record store as much as I can from coming to shows, buying records and some merch. Now Ed gave me the chance to perform in his record store on April 29th for a Hip Hop showcase and also on August 3rd with Untouched one of my favorite hip hop groups ever right now especially locally.

Who are some local hip-hop acts that you are a fan of?

Mundy and the Messenger are 2 producers and rappers that I have the out most respect for. They both are very sharp and intelligent individuals that make me seem like I’m always 2 steps behind. I met them at Sweet Side Records and everything changed after that. We have done numerous amounts of shows together that I know quite a bit of their records now.

Untouched reminds me of G Unit and Wu Tang. Just raw Hip Hop to the core no filter just real shit. They also make me feel like I gotta get back to the basics and step my game because while I’m working and producing by myself. Untouched is a whole group of 4-6 individuals who all have their own style but blend it so well it’s so awesome. They created something I always wanted to be apart of.

Another person I have a-lot respect for is Blister Boo. Very self explanatory since he’s the truth. He’s been rhyming for 10 years and hates writing songs. However he will go out there and freestyle for 3 hours straight. Blister Boo is actually the only person other than myself since the very beginning of my career that produced a record for me. He also has a very good mindset about our place and business in the local scene for Hip Hop. We really bounce ideas in how we can expand and grow creativity by working together and collaborating. He will be a locally legend very soon.

What can fans expect from B. Austin in 2023?

Fans can expect a lot of music from me. I just release the New Goats EP which is a 5 track EP to start off the year. Beast mode produced by Blister Boo is coming in February and I plan on dropping a record every month this year. This will end up being my biggest and most successful year as an artist, producer and engineer ever. I wanna to be very consistent, network as much as I can, & as long as I’m consistent with performing. I can not lose.