EBN Artist Next Up: $olito
Where are you from: I was born in Monterrey, Mexico. I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, up until I was twelve and then I moved to Houston, Texas. I’m currently still staying in Houston just stacking bread.
How long have you been making music?: The first time I ever started playing music was when my grandpa would let me play his guitar when I would visit in Mexico. I remember just strumming the strings randomly thinking it sounded awesome. My first ever release on all platforms was in February 2021, so it’s been over a year since I started my career.
What are some trials and tribulations you go through as an artist?: One of the harder things about being an artist is definitely gaining the courage to display your art for the world to judge. Are you prepared to put down your normal life and commit to this mission of becoming a somebody? The hardest part isn’t making the music, it’s maintaining discipline, commitment and desire throughout the whole process.
Do you feel like you’ve developed your sound?: I can tell my sound has developed over the years and is still evolving. I like to use a lot of hums in my music, [as well as] incorporate Spanish into my lyrics because I’m bilingual. I have a Pluggnb/West Coast Hip Hop sound, like a mix of 03 Greedo and Autumn. Mexican immigrant makes music in Houston.
Describe your musical style in three words: If I had to describe my music style, I would say it’s versatile, unique and street-influenced.
If you had to write a novel based on your life what would the name of it be?: [The name of the novel would be] “Inmigrante”.
What is a quote that you were told or that you came up with that you will never forget?: I can’t remember when, but at some point I made the realization that I want to die for a reason. I want to live, I just don’t want my life to be wasted. “I’m going to die anyway, so I might as well die for something”.
What are your three biggest accomplishments up to this point?: One of my biggest accomplishments so far is my sound progression. I feel that as time has gone by, my quality and style has only gotten better and better. I also have reached nearly 25k streams in my first year and a half of [releasing music on] streaming [platforms]. Something else[that] I’m proud of is my interactions with Chxpo and Zellyocho. I’m not friends with them or anything, but they were the first famous people to put me on their Instagram live and give me a platform to speak.
Who are the artists that influenced you to make music?: XXXTentacion and Lil Peep were definitely my favorite artists in middle school. I remember riding in the back of the bus blasting “Run Up on Me” on my janky little speaker. Summrs and Autumn became one of my favorite artists around 2019, and when I found out they’re from Houston, it made me like their music even more. 03 Greedo, free 03, is also a heavy influence on my sound as well when it comes to singing and note humming.
What is some advice you’d give to an independent artist trying to develop their sound?: I think that the best way to develop your own sound is to fully commit in your head to becoming an artist, and then continuously make songs until things start looking good for you. The only way to get better things is by practicing, so just keep freestyling and writing over those YouTube beats until you start to see some motion. Once you see that motion, don’t look away and run straight towards it!
Listen to $olito’s most recent release “Heaven” and follow him on Instagram!
