Tre Capital is making a name for himself on the independent grind. He’s garnered enough notoriety that he was selected to open for Public Enemy, EPMD and Ice-T at the Art of Rap show in Los Angeles.
“For me, being on that list, it’s still a trip,” Tre Capital says. “Because you’re thinking like man, I get to open up for straight up legends. I’m starting to think am I worthy? Can I do this? I loved it. The energy was really great.”
He has continued to build his fanbase through performances at SXSW, a co-sign by WondaGurl and his recently released album, I Can’t Die Yet. The LP was the Los Angeles rapper’s fourth project, and he chose to make his first album instead of continuing his popular Gundam series.
“I consider it my first independent album just because of the amount of time and everything I’ve invested into it,” Tre Capital explains. “Artistically, I’ve grown from being a very raw-talented type of artist like struggling to get my whole message across not being very direct and personal with my music. I think from the evolution of my first projects ’til now, I’ve learned to really build projects. What does it mean to make an album for yourself? I wanted to challenge myself and not have any features on it. So I think a lot of difficulty an artist can have is not knowing how to structurally build from the ground up without being dependent on, of course you and the producers have to collab and work, but can you hold down a whole body of work by yourself? I think that’s, every artist should strive to make one of those albums I feel like in there.”
Tre Capital is Xzibit‘s son and has had the opportunity to see many great rappers in action, but has chosen to not ride his father’s coattails. He emphasizes the importance of building his artistry independently early in the process so that as he furthers himself in the industry, he can continue to craft music as he wants.
“For me, I wanted to do that now, be hard on myself now, take the time to really learn how to do it, so that way when it comes for my time to really step onto the court, I’m not facading my way into saying, ‘Oh yeah, I’m gonna drop 30,'” he continues. “I know I’ve put in the time to where I could really achieve that and do it.”
The up-and-comer cites Tupac as someone who exemplifies the successful model of quality over quantity, especially in today’s society where there is so much music available and disposable. He says that part of his creative process has been learning how to share his personal story as it unfolds just as the West Coast legend did.
“He was throwing out so many classic albums, but there’s only one ‘Pac,” he says. “His experiences that he went through, that was not rushed. That wasn’t forced.”