Wes Denzel gets the Try Hard Vinyl treatment
A hip hop chameleon, Wes Denzel is a rapper, songwriter, and former KUTX Artist of the Month from St.Louis making a name for himself in San Antonio and Austin. Equally at home producing Kanye West inspired arrangements as he is mixing syrupy beats and channeling Slim Thug’s iconic southern drawl, his new album, Last Night in Houston, pays homage to the golden era of Houston rap.
Try Hard Coffee will be re-releasing Last Night In Houston on vinyl March 1. You can pre-order it HERE!
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Scroll down to read our Q&A with Wes Denzel
Q: Where are you from?
A: I was born in Georgia and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. I am a product of the Normandy School District. I love St. Louis, and it will always be a part of who I am. I remember spending a lot of time with my family growing up and falling in love with music as a child.
Q: How did you get to San Antonio?
A: I went to high School in San Antonio, and I came back after college. It seemed like the most chill city, and I could access all the cities in Texas without having to drive too far. Although, it seems like I’m in Austin just as much these past few years.
Q: What got you into music?
A: The Nelly “Country Grammar” music video helped me realize I wanted to do something similar as a kid. The Kanye West “Through The Wire” music video cemented it as something I should start though. There’s always been something about music, even before I started writing my first rhyme in 5th grade. It was just in me. I didn’t have to seek out anything.
Q: How do you know when an idea will make a good song?
A: I’m looking for the song to write itself a lot of the time. Always looking for music, always wanting to hear stories about love. Always experimenting or telling the same story until it sounds the way I intend. We have all the words and stories we need or the things we want to say. We just need to be able to put them out into the world how we imagine. Sometimes people decide for you, and songs do better than you expect. So I just have to stay true to what’s in my heart and be patient. Jazz and live instruments have been sparking my interest the past few months. Just seeing what sticks now.
Q: Tell us about an artist you’re loving right now.
A: Right now I am loving R&B from the 80s and 90s. The-Dream – Love You To Death EP, Justin Bieber – Journals, Teezo Touchdown, 21 Savage, Fever Ray – Shiver, and I’m sure a lot of other random things new and old. Send me some songs!
Q: Do you have a favorite Austin music experience?
I loved the first time I ever got to play at Free Week for the Red River Cultural District. It was at the Empire Control Room & Garage. I got to meet a great friend, Darian Burns, that night. The sound and visuals were so good. I hope that I can play their big stage some day. I’ve also got to work with KUTX and Sonic Guild for one of their Wednesday shows. The crowd was so fun, and it was such an intimate venue, and again, I got to meet some really great people. I’ve been very lucky and fortunate with every opportunity that pops up in Austin for me. I hope that it continues, and I hope that I can also help artists do the same or help guide them or introduce them to people so that maybe they can become as lucky as me or get their first show. I am very lucky and so thankful for anything I get to do in Austin or anywhere else. I am taking in all of these moments and they are all so special and mean the world to me. All these things I’ve wanted for so long happen so randomly, and I couldn’t have imagined or planned out any of this. It’s truly incredible.
Q: Anything exciting coming up that we need to know about?
We have more visuals and new music dropping. There is also the KUTX Studio 1A performance, and I hope that I can be booked to play more venues so I can have shows to tell you all about in the future (wink wink)! I just opened up Stable Hall in San Antonio as a co-headliner, so that was a huge accomplishment. We also have Last Night in Houston (Deluxe) Vinyl (and coffee) coming out March 1st thanks to Try Hard Coffee, Spacelight Records, and EQ Austin. Jon from Try Hard has been extremely nice to me. I thank him for this opportunity, again, I couldn’t imagine this happening at this time last year. I thought I was in over my head having a release party at Sammataro Pizza, and now look! I am excited for everyone to see the design and artwork for the packaging. I hope people like it enough to purchase!
Musicians: Wes Denzel – vocals
Credits:
Producer: Deidre Gott; Production Assistant: Confucius Jones; Audio Engineer: Jake Perlman, Rene Chavez; Audio Mix: Rene Chavez; Cameras: Julius Shieh, Renee Dominguez, Michael Minasi; Edit: Renee Dominguez
