The Playground Meets: Mori Briscoe
Virginia ‘Steph’ Donalds of The Playground recently sat down with rising New York artist Mori Briscoe to talk about his recent project Blixkavelli, the state of the New York drill scene and his big plans for 2021. We also asked him why he’s so amazing.
“Apparently I’m so amazing cause I'm the top consistent n***a in New York right now, but I’m Mori Briscoe if n***as don’t know, so”
Growing up in Brooklyn, Briscoe was surrounded by hip-hop and it’s strong New York roots from an early age. While rap wasn’t always his first instinct, his location along with a strong local support base led him to hop in the booth. Not long after, Briscoe began to build a true following as an artist and place a stronger focus on the music.
“I’m from Crown Heights in Brooklyn, but most of yall know that already, I started rapping 2018 I’d say, and I aint rap cause I was on some like “oh this is what I wanna do” I rapped because I was bored, but I already had a little fanbase like Facebook clout, so everyone was pushing me to keep goin so as a lot of people started jackin my shit I started goin with it and taking it more serious.”
Continuing to work on developing his sound, he tapped fellow Brooklyn artist Siggie Sev for their single “Woo In My Spliff” which helped bring more widespread attention to his upcoming work and create new areas of fans in New York and all around the world.
“I wouldn’t call it a big record for myself but a lot of people would say ‘Woo In My Spliff’, like that was the first track that really put me out there”
While the song helped establish his name in the New York scene, he wasted no time following the momentum. Despite the success of his early sounds he still aimed to step out of the box with each release and continue to freely experiment with sounds, which has resulted in a lengthy and versatile catalog.
“I would say I’m different from everybody cause I know how to be versatile, you feel me? I could switch it up, I know how to do the autotune, the real rap, the drill rap, dissin n***as I do it all, so”
While versatility is a major selling point for Briscoe, he has always had a proven sweet spot in drill music. While acknowledging the stimulation that drill has provided, he says that drill music has become less regulated, and this has allowed people to portray themselves in a way that is not always accurate.
“Ain’t gon lie, I think drill music changin a lot of shit that’s goin on in the real world, like I'm starting to feel like its people drill rappin that’s not even about that life, you feel me? And my son SPNB Bill said on his song in this rap shit n***as can really be what they want, like a n***a could really go to the studio today, and lie about some shit he ain’t ever seen before or he ain’t ever been through, and then put it out there now people think he’s tough and he’s trending now. For example, the 6ixnine n***a, everybody like him, why? Because he’s putting on the persona of a tough guy, but we all know the truth about that, so.”
Continuing, Briscoe emphasizes the importance of authenticity in gaining a solid fanbase in drill music and rap as a whole. Integrity and honesty have always been a priority for Briscoe, and it has resulted in a very strong, personal fanbase that enjoys his music because they know it comes from a true place.
“I think that’s the number one priority, like people not gon listen to you if they know your shit not real. A lot of n***as can listen to me because they know i'm not cappin about what i'm talkin about.”
Real or fake, the personas and styles of these New York artists have brought mass amounts of attention to the New York scene, making it the hottest right now in Briscoe’s eyes. He acknowledges the strength of the other bubbling cities today, but explains the consistency of star power that New York is producing.
“I would say New York right now, only because we got so much n***as that blew up out of nowhere, and we got the whole world attract to it, Chicago everyone was listenin to them for a minute, it's been a while, but they haven't really had that one person that blew and everyone was listening to at once, we got that though New York, we got at least a good like 5 rappers that do that here.” List : 22gz, Coach da Ghost, CJ, 6ixnine, not that I even wanna say him but he’s from New York so, yeah that’s just some examples right there.”
Briscoe doesn’t take the city’s momentum for granted or his own, and he was happy to contribute to the scene himself with his March album Blixkavelli. The nine-track project saw a few different versions before the release, and the final product was very well received. Briscoe has made consistency a focal point this year, and it has been rewarded with great feedback from the fans.
“So I was holdin it down for a minute ain’t gon lie, the tracks that I had on there wasn’t even the tracks that were originally supposed to be on there. But due to copyrights and shit, I was gonna put my ‘Back in Blood Remix’ on there but they wasn’t allowing it so I couldn’t put that out there either. But we still gon drop that video for y'all, shoutout the comments we gon do that this weekend so, yeah we gon do that, but I really chose to drop it this week cause I was seein a lot of good feedback from being so consistent from the beginning of 2021, so I just wanted to throw somethin out there and keep it goin.”
For features on this project, Briscoe stuck with those close to him who helped him gain his footing in the game, and the result was a cohesive project that showed true chemistry.
“It's not like people that’s like artists to me, just like my real life friends, people I grew up with in real life, they saw I wanted to do real serious shit with rap, so they took me in and tried to help me gain my own clout up too, so we did the tracks, threw em out there and it did what it did.”
Company and environment are crucial to creating during unprecedented times, and Briscoe has made sure to maintain a stronger focus than ever. He explains how the studio is an important outlet to go to, and one that has kept him on the right path during a rough year.
“I put all the bullshit behind me and stayed focused, every other day you would catch me in the studio, and that's so I'm not gettin caught up in all the other mixy bullshit that’s goin on. Cause I'm really not tryna go back into that so im tryna stay focused on the path I'm on right now.”
This consistency and focus has brought Briscoe a lot of great feedback, and he is excited to keep building with all kinds of collaborations and styles. Versatility and growth are important to Briscoe, and he wants to make sure that whatever works will get done for the fans throughout his career.
“Someday I want to work with like Toosii, Rod Wave, but like when people hear me say shit like this they be like so suprised but like if you really know and support me and listen to the autotune shit I do then you’ll know i'm on the same route. It’s a lot of people that I wanna work with, and it’s a lot of people that I already did. I'm pretty sure yall already know the names imma name so, anybody that’s on the same type time as me we gon work, so”
While Blixkavelli is making its own impact, Briscoe shows no intent of slowing down this year. He plans to add onto the rollout of this project through new visuals and as well as a second round of new deluxe songs for the fans.
“Next weekend Imma drop the deluxe version of Blixkavelli so, just stay tuned for that, and imma drop a video tonight matter of fact.”
Briscoe is very grateful for those that have helped him grow, and he explains how anyone can do it if you just be yourself, and let that show in everything you do. This attitude has carried him very far in his short career, and it will only continue to excel him forward.
“Let me tell y’all somethin a wise man always told me, be yourself, don’t try to be like these other n***as cause a lot of them is goofys, and they tryna be somethin they not you heard? So be yourself, stay true to yourself and that's it, you’ll be ight.”
Mori Briscoe plans to maintain a consistent stream of content both visually and sonically in 2021, and continue to build a strong connection with his supporters. His fanbase is only growing larger, and it’s going to be hard to miss anything Mori Briscoe (@therealmoriblixk) puts out this year. Make sure to stay tuned with him on all platforms for updates!
Check out our interview below with Mori Briscoe from The Playground’s Virginia “Steph” Donalds (@_stvph) below, and follow @pressplayground for the full video and more interviews with your favorite artists.
The Playground Questions
Hide and Seek or Tag?
“I’d say tag, cause I used to really run down on a lotta n***as, if you know me you know I was fast cause I used to play basketball, so anybody they thought they could get away from me I was on ya heels.”
Parachute or Capture The Flag?
“I would say parachute, I don’t know why, it was just fun to be under that shit, I don’t know why.”
Telephone or 7-up
“Telephone, yo you givin me so much memories right now sayin these games tho, like telephone, oh man I used to say some crazy shit to females, I’d switch the whole mood, after I set the tone everybody know which way to go wit it.
Double Dutch or Hopscotch
“I never really did Double Dutch, so hopscotch, I’d say that.”
Football or Basketball?
“Basketball, I was never really into football but I like it, if somebody had a football I’d play but I really wasn't into it like that. Basketball for a fact.”
What NBA team are you supporting?
“I don’t watch basketball no more so I wouldn’t even know, I don’t play sports I don't watch sports no more none of that, I’m just really locked in with music, I don’t pay attention to none of that shit.”
Red Light Green Light or LeapFrog?
“Red Light Green Light. Yeah”
Tug Of War or Dodgeball?
“Dodgeball, and everybody know I got aim, I used to hit n***as, I got aim.
Red Rover or Duck Duck Goose?
“Duck Duck Goose, all those fast games I was into, cause I liked to run a lot.”