What’s your stage name and where are you from?
Hiram Torres – Long Beach, CA
What’s the story behind your stage name?
It is my given birth name. I am a junior. My grandparents are very christian so they gave my father the name Hiram, who was one of King Solomon’s homies back in the day. Hiram was the king of Tyre which they believe is where most of the world’s gold was at the time. I am not religious but the story is cool.
Describe your musical journey in three sentences.
In grade school through college, I learned a myriad of instruments, such as guitar, bass, clarinet and piano, as well as music theory. In 2021, I dropped my first track, “Forest Whitaker” and never looked back. Since then, I have played many show in and around Los Angeles as I continue to release music, with my newest EP on the horizon.
Share an interesting experience you had while creating your latest track.
My latest single, “Devil’s Work”, became a track after I dug up an old beat I made years ago. It has an obscure sample from some either Eastern European or Former Soviet state (possibly both) progressive rock band. I touched it up to my current standards and have been feeling a lot of emotions towards other rappers in Los Angeles, as well as the general scene. I took those emotions to pen and wrote a no hook, 4 minute track of just bars aimed at my issues and concerns. It is an honest track and I’m very happy it exists.
What message do you want to convey through your music?
I want to show people what it’s like to be human, in sonic form. I want people to resonate but also understand what I’ve experienced in my life, and I hope my thoughts can help those who need it. I wanna be honest and true to myself. I also wanna have fun and keep my youth in tact whenever I can.
Tell us about a challenge you faced during production and how you overcame it.
My biggest challenges always come after everything is all set and done. Recording and producing is typically the easy part. I record my own vocals all in Reason, where I also produce all my tracks. Mixing isn’t too difficult these days either. Now mastering, that’s the trickiest. But even still I find that I can achieve a master I like. It’s the release and promotion that is easily the biggest challenge I face as an artist. Trying to grow my fanbase and have my art reach a mass audience is always a hurdle. However, I hope to craft an answer with this upcoming year as I try to break through with my slew of releases.
If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?
Tough question always. I’m gonna go with artists currently living. I’d have to say Rico Nasty. I don’t think I could exist without her art to influence me. She’s so unique and I know we could be beyond explosive in a track.
Where do you see your music taking you in the next year?
A tour. That’s the goal. I’m an incredible performer and I know I’ll project very far once I’m in front of people, and they have no choice but to listen to me.
What’s the next big step for you as an artist?
Understanding that I must maximize my luck. It’s a lot of hard work I’m putting in, and now I have to get in front of the right crowd. I have to find my path to exposure through the algorithm. But even still, I know as a producer, that’s gonna get me far, my production sounds like nothing else and I can’t wait for someone to take notice. I think my solo career will do fine but I truly believe my production career will be what’s first to take off.
Where can we hear/watch your most recent work?
Here’s a Linktree to all relevant media
