Lil Shxwn is carving his own path in the music industry while staying true to his St. Louis roots. The St. Louis rapper is the nephew of Nelly and is currently riding high off the success of his latest single “Leave” ft Yungeen Ace that is getting radio play all over the country. Lil Shxwn talked about Nelly, being influenced by Bow Wow, and why he would want a feature from Taylor Swift.
Leave featuring Yungeen Ace is getting radio play in different markets. How does that feel?
Yeah, I’m surprised man. I’m happy … It’s overdoing what we thought. It’s overachieving. And that’s great. I feel like I worked hard. My team worked hard. And I feel like we deserve it. … We going harder. We trying to get number one. I clip it every time. I do a video … One time I was in Boston. I was listening to the radio station. They played my song.
What is the biggest piece of advice your uncle has ever given you about the music game?
When your career is going good, your personal life cannot be so good. When your personal life is good, your career might be a little shaky. I took that mean and you got to learn how to balance both.
Who were some of your musical influences?
Bow Wow. Wayne. Of course, Wayne. Yeah, like Bow Wow was a heavy influence.
What about Bow Wow really influenced you?
Because he was a kid doing it. He was a young kid doing it and he was flashy. … I remember traveling from St. Louis to Chicago in a car to see Bow Wow. … It was the Screen tour. And I think he busted out the screen of it. And I was like, oh, yeah, I want to do that. … All the stage presence is there.
What are your top three Bow Wow songs?
That’s tough. I like “Take Ya Home.” I like the video go crazy. Of course I like the single “Bounce With Me,” the first one. … And this song off his first album, “The Dog In Me.”
If you could have a dream feature, male and female, who would they be and why?
I’d be shooting for the stars. … Of course, Michael Jackson is the king of pop. Who don’t want a song with Mike. If you don’t want a song with Mike, you don’t want a song with nobody. And then the female feature would be Taylor Swift.
Why Taylor Swift?
The one I love her album, Red. I listen to it. … I had a much thing. I was right down the highway. … But she’s like edgy. She’s a country artist, but she still got a little edge to it. And she know how to write a song. I love her breakup music. And I feel like she could come to the hip hop world and still make a nice record. Let’s put Taylor Swift on some nice drums, some 808s and make her do what she do. I think she would go crazy.
