Today we’d like to introduce you to Aye West.
Hi Aye, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I go by Aye West, and I am a Nashville Tennessee rap artist born and raised on the Antioch side, same stomping grounds as Jelly Roll. My story really starts with my family and music being all around me. My mom is my rock and a true music lover. My older brother Kari was in the band growing up, rapping and producing. My grandma, my uncles had a quartet, and my pops was running with rap crews. So before I ever thought about being “Aye West the artist,” I was just the youngest in a very musical family soaking it all in.
My family moved to Nashville from Michigan in 1994 because my mom dreamed of playing in the TSU band. Then I showed up and became the curve ball in that dream. Growing up I was always listening to music. My mom bought me a DMX album and a cassette player for Christmas and that changed everything for me.
From there, I was the younger brother tagging along with a cassette player while everyone else had CD players. I would follow my bro to the studio, watch him rap with his friends, and jump in with my own verses. They would laugh sometimes, but I always felt like I was hard so I kept going.
After I graduated high school, I joined the Navy and got stationed in Yokosuka , Japan. Even out there, music followed me. I used to freestyle on the ship with the guys and over time my pen and my delivery got sharper. This led me to rapping for my entire ship shout out to DDG-85. My captain at the time was so entertained he asked me to rap for all the captains of the base, and I did.
When I got out of the Navy I moved to California. I started recording myself, and really began locking in at the studio. I dropped my first records and EPs out there. I look at that as my training ground for the Aye West you hear today.
Eventually I came back home to Nashville, and decided to take my music career serious, and teamed up with my brother. Now everything I do is under our independent label, Clique Tight Circle Entertainment. My pops came up with the name years ago and my brother brought the vision to life, and I am one of the artists carrying that flag for my family and the city.
If you really want to understand my journey from Antioch Baby to Navy Vet to Nashville rap artist, you can hear the whole story in my music.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. I do not think there is a such thing as a smooth road to anywhere worth going, in life or in this music game. As a Nashville rap artist, my journey has had plenty of ups and downs.
You can hear a lot of my struggles in my music because I use my songs as therapy. When I am going through something, I put it in the verses and the hooks. There have been moments where I really thought about walking away from rap altogether. The gap between where you are and where you want to be as an independent artist can mess with your head for real.
Becoming a father while chasing this dream has been one of the biggest challenges and blessings at the same time. I am a full time artist, but I am also a full time dad to my two boys. I travel back and forth to see them, I am in school for audio engineering, and continuing my journey as musician.
So no, it has not been smooth, but every struggle added to my story and to the Aye West sound people hear today!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am Aye West, a rapper and recording artist from Nashville Tennessee, and I would say I am most known for my versatility. I do not like to stay in one lane creatively. I can give you pain records, turn up records, melodic vibes, storytelling, or straight bar work depending on what the song calls for. I love pushing myself to try new sounds and flows to see how far I can take the music.
When my manager, and I who is also my older brother, go through records before we release, he will look at me like, “I did not expect you to come like that.” That reaction lets me know I am doing what I am supposed to do as an artist. I never want people to feel like they already know what they are going to get from an Aye West track.
What I am most proud of is my elevation. When I look at where I started and where I am today as a Nashville rap artist, it gives me a real sense of accomplishment. I am not at the finish line yet and I still have big goals for my career, but the growth is real. The fact that I am here, being interviewed, building my catalog, and pushing my brand with Clique Tight Circle Entertainment is proof of that elevation to me and my team.
What sets me apart is that everything you hear in my music is actually my life. Navy, fatherhood, grind, faith, mistakes, wins, all of it. I am not trying to be a copy of anyone else. I am bringing my own story and my own sound to the Nashville hip hop scene, and that authenticity is what people connect with when they discover Aye West.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was a pretty normal kid… until you pushed the wrong button. I was good for the most part, respectful, funny, stayed in my lane, but if you messed with me or the people I love, I would definitely let you know you made a mistake. So yeah, I had a temper on me, but it came from being protective and passionate.
Outside of that, I was fun and full of energy. I played sports, basketball and football, shout out to the Una Bears. I was always what my grandmother called charismatic. If you asked me to dance, I would dance. I would break dance, rap, do flips, whatever. I loved performing before I even knew I wanted to be a rapper.
My mom actually thought I was going to be an architect at one point. She and my uncle had this huge VHS collection and I used to build big towers out of the tapes. My uncle would try to knock them over to test how strong they were. When I finally built one he could not knock down, we were both amazed. That was my first time understanding foundation.
Overall, I was a cool kid. We did not have everything growing up in Nashville, but we made the most of what we had. That mix of creativity, charisma, and having to make something out of nothing is a big part of what shaped me into the artist people know today as Aye West.
Pricing:
- I’m working with all budgets for music features.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aye.west_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ayewestmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aye.west_
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/cliquetightcircleent/
