By Mariana Chajon
Frederic Guillette, whom you may know as Derf, has been making music for some months now. Since the first song he released, I’ve loved his sound and the control he has over his word and rhythm. He has now released three songs: “Kaioken”, “Crystal”, and his latest one, which he mixed himself called “Sushi”. For this edition, I had the chance to interview him. Here’s what I found out!
First of all, describe your fit: Starting from the bottom, black jeans; I only wear black jeans. Going up, I am wearing a black t-shirt my brother just gave me. It says “Wizard’s Production”, it’s actually a cleaning company. Anyway, shout out to my brother for always supporting me and my music. He’s actually been layering t-shirts on top of hoodies for a while, and I always think it looks dope, so I did the same today. I’m also just wearing a classic nike hat, same one I’m wearing on the Kaioken cover. That’s the fit today.
Great! Now that the most important question has been settled, tell me about what inspired you to make music: From the beginning, it was Nekfeu who got me listening to rap, he is still my favorite rapper of all time; he’s amazing; he’s like a poet. But, when I started listening to Kill Bill: The Rapper was when I really decided I’d start making music. There are a lot of French rappers that make niche anime references in their music, but Kill Bill is one of the first rappers I heard do it in English, which was really cool.
So, would you say there is an anime subculture in rap that is emerging? I mean, I don’t think the genre exists yet, but there has been a rise in lo-fi beats within the underground rappers I listen to, and a lot of people are starting to reference video games, cartoons and anime. When you hear something like that in a song and you like all those things, it just makes you happy. It’s fun to do and it’s fun to hear, so a lot of people are attracted to it.
And do you associate yourself to that category of music? Right now, I’m just trying to explore different things, but that’s pretty much where I stand, I guess.
Alright, I want our readers to get a better sense of your personality. Let’s play word association!
Moon: Sun
Water: Bender
Warm: Worm
Tree: Oliver
And the last one. Picture: … No word comes to mind. How can I be bad at a word association game?
Since you’re a Cinema student, what’s the movie that has impacted you the most? Probably Memento, cause I thought about that movie for like…two weeks trying to understand it, until I gave up.
Do you fidget a lot? Yes, all the time. If it’s not with my hands, I’m just spinning on a chair, or swinging my legs. I really want a fidget spinner, those things are addictive.
What is your favorite place in the world? Japan. Easy question.
Bonus question: What was your favorite candy as a kid? Sour patch kids. Wait, no. Nerds. The big box that had a rainbow.