Meet Carl Viray | Hip Hop Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carl Viray and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carl, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Authenticity. I can never go wrong when I walk in my truth because my truth is going to be different from someone else’s and that’s ok. No matter how great or bad an outcome is, I can alwayz count on the fact that I did my honest best with the resources and skills that I had. After that, I go through the process again, but this time with a greater, wiser perspective on how to approach my life/art/work. That keeps me going. I’m a believer in the saying “There’s nothing new under the sun” and that trends, styles, ideologies, and traditions will recycle and repeat – however, the core values remain. Nothing is original, but how we keep things fresh and exciting is when we synthesize various cultures, inspirations, and flavors of life together with our own flare to it to create something. That’s what I aim to do with my music while at the same time learning and appreciating other cultures and ethnic communities and demonstrating to the audience how those things clash and collaborate with my own identity and worldview. That way, the people can feel the personal connection I have to everything I do and can relate to it because there’s something in there that reminds them of the things that riles them up and sparks their creativity. That’s my brand. Be authentic and it’ll inspire others to do the same.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
One of the things that sets me apart from the jump is my identity of being FilAm (Filipino American) from Los Angeles. I’ve been surrounded by various ethnicities since the city is so massive and diverse that I learned about how each culture and community is different/similar and how I interact with each group. Filipino people are very kind and welcoming and I leveraged that personality trait of myself to the fullest to get to know and appreciate many different kinds of people of different ethnic backgrounds. I’m also the only independent Hip Hop artist that I know that co-directed, produced, self-funded, and co-wrote the music for an entire hour long, visual Hip Hop album called “SILAB”, which is the body of artwork that I am the most proud of today.

I’m excited to see how else I can contribute to the betterment of future generations of FilAms by being somewhat of a role model to them, despite the fact that I honestly don’t want anybody to want to be me or be like me. If anything, I want them to be better than me, to use me as a beacon of light to see where we can go and how they can take it further. And of course, just because I talk about uplifting FilAms, doesn’t mean that I’m saying I’m disregarding everybody else. It’s just that as FilAms, we are so tied to our conflicting identity, that we need to see people like ourselves really running the game and doing it justice. It shows us that we can do so much more than what’s been told to us. Uplifting FilAms means uplifting the world, because we all know that Filipino person in our circle that treats everyone with respect and fun even if its at the cost of their well-being.

I got to where I am professionally by living a cheerful life during my adolescent years and failing and figuring things out during my 20’s. If you pay attention to the signs that the universe (God, Allah, whoever that may be to you) whispers to you, you’ll follow them. You’ll realize that you had the juice this entire time, but it took you going out to the world trying to be other people until you figured out that being yourself is just way easier and where it’s really at. You play to your strengths and accept/work on your weaknesses, and push the right buttons that your gut tells you to. It’s too long of a story to say here, but all my decisions led me to creating my visual album and moving with my wife to Seattle to support her during her grad school run. I’ve made all the relationships that fulfill my life and took the risks even when I was scared shitless. It was NOT easy, but I’m happy that it wasn’t. The greatest in the makin’!

I learned three lessons about life. Number one, everything is not what it seems. Number two, patience is virtue, so don’t compare your timing with other people’s. Number three, you are your biggest obstacle.

Keep the fire, respect the hustle, and alwayz be authentic. That’s my brand, authenticity. Yee!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Pack some carne asada and pollo from the carniceria and hit Oxnard for the beach. We’ll chill, have some drinks, grill the meat, and stay there until afternoon. Drive through the PCH to see the coastline and visit a touristy spot or a local street fair somewhere. Grab some In-N-Out to go or we can definitely hit up Park’s Finest BBQ and/or HiFi Kitchen at Filipinotown for dinner. End it off in Koreatown at those late night karaoke spots and just sing our hearts out. That’s only Saturday. Sunday, we can hit my house at Palmdale and throw a family party! We got even more Mexican food, even more drinks, and a home karaoke system! Basically do it all again! Haha! Monday to Friday you on your own because your boy gotta go to work. It’s hard out here! Go find something to do yourself this time foo! And screw traffic!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Family
Friends
Hip Hop
Me

Website: https://www.carlangelo.com

Instagram: @carlangelomusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@carlangelomusic

Image Credits
Andrew Celi