What’s your stage name and where are you from?

Capital Ferg – Atlanta, GA

What’s the story behind your stage name?

Rap name generator, last name is Ferguson. It works!

Describe your musical journey in three sentences.

Hard times gets creative juices flowing, poet turned rapper, rapper turned beat maker, beat maker turned songwriter, songwriter turned artist, artist = creative passions unlocked

Share an interesting experience you had while creating your latest track.

Writing my latest track was an interesting experience and one that’s reflective of how non-linear songwriting can be. I was playing around with some samples and digital instruments and found this beautiful sample of a stringed instrument native to China. It was so moving and made me feel nostalgia but with a tinge of sadness and regret. I decided I wanted to feature that sample and built the whole beat around highlighting that emotional sample in the chorus. I figured I’d write about something that made me feel nostalgic and decided to look back at a formative friendship from childhood that was full of adventure, creativity, exploration with some injuries but lots of outdoor fun which isn’t as common anymore. I really sat with the feeling of missing that innocent time in childhood before getting jaded or corrupted by life. I ended up crafting the whole song reminiscing about crazy and entertaining stuff we used to do but also leaning into the sadness and a ‘thread of ache’ we often feel when looking back at good times that are no longer our reality. Glad to have the memories but damn – time goes too fast!

What message do you want to convey through your music?

I am just trying to be me and represent genuine emotions and feelings. I’ve written a lot positive songs that align with my whole journey of discovering unknown abilities that came with lots of excitement and euphoria. Not that I don’t feel that anymore, but I feel better acquainted with my musical outlet now and am experiencing a wider range of emotions while songwriting. I am a positive person for the most part so I don’t think my songs will veer off into any off-the-wall territories but one thing I’ve always been and will continue to be is true to myself and how I feel at the time of writing the song. Even if I don’t feel that exact same way a year from now, I still did at the time of writing the song and so it’s a real and authentic experience and is a point in time – like a journal entry that happens to be audio art. I will look back at some of my earlier songs and cringe a little or wish I had done a song “this way” or “that way” but that’s probably pretty normal. Instead of going back and changing songs, I leave them as what they were and instead write and / or record a new song that’s true to my emotions and feelings at that time.

Tell us about a challenge you faced during production and how you overcame it.

I’ve gone through several different mics but still don’t have top-of-the-line equipment. My first handful of songs were literally recorded on my daughter’s laptop headset with a mouth mic. Then I upgraded to a Rodent mic that hooked directly into my laptop. A few months ago, I got a new mic (still not top of the line or anything – $200-$300) along with a analog to digital converter box thing. I’m glad I don’t to invest huge sums for equipment, but I’m sure as I continue to learn and grow, I’ll keep upgrading as money allows. I guess the challenge is not having great equipment or input devices but I guess I’ve overcome those in how I wrote and / or recorded the songs.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

I have said Ludacris in the past and I still feel good about that one. But, I would love to work with an exemplary songwriter / producer to see how that would enhance my art and songwriting. There are so many people I’d be happy to work with – from one extreme like Ed Sheeran more on the pop side all the way to Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie) if he was still living. I love the way he put lines, bars, and alliterations together to sound fire.

Where do you see your music taking you in the next year?

I would be happy to continue making authentic music that I’m proud of at the time of recording / release. To me, that’s worth so much. I didn’t realize how much I needed creativity to feel happy and fulfilled. I should probably set some goals to work towards but I don’t feel strongly that I have to do xyz with music. It’ll be what it’ll be and I’m here for whatever it ends up being.

What’s the next big step for you as an artist?

I really do want to perform a small showcase of 3 songs or something. I would be so nervous but would practice my ass off to make sure it was the best it could be. I don’t even know where to get started for that. I suppose I could find an open mic night. We’ll see.

Where can we hear/watch your most recent work?

All the streaming platfoms (just search “Capital Ferg”) and the big social media sites