Meet If The Shoe Fits | Long Island Rap Collective

We had the good fortune of connecting with If The Shoe Fits and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi If The Shoe Fits, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Around summer 2017 the four of us (Katharsis, Candid, Robert Dawkins, & Grant Sounds), came to the same conclusion that it would be better for us to dedicate our time and attention to creating music and building a sustainable lifestyle from that, rather than working a 9-5 doing things we don’t quite enjoy. The four of us had individually endeavored to make music in various capacities over the years and had all decided that this is what we wanted to do with our lives for better or worse.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We describe ourselves as “4 dudes who rap pretty.” We pride ourselves on not pigeonholing our sounds and talents to any one niche or direction, rather we pull inspiration from all areas of our lives and present those shared experiences through our music. We’re happy about the connections we’ve made with other talented artists, curators, and programmers who are doing great things which have led us to great opportunities to perform at the Brooklyn Comic Con, the Barclays Center, and the Nassau Coliseum. We want people to know that by virtue of having so many different sounds and pulling from so many different experiences, it’s ok to be a work in progress and work through things that other people may not necessarily see. We have a lot of different flavors to offer so if the shoe doesn’t fit, we have another one in the back.

The process certainly wasn’t easy. We went through a lot of trial and error, and there was an element of “baptism by fire.” When things got rough, we dug into the things that we liked to remind ourselves why we’re pushing forward. We’ve learned that being a perfectionist will only hold us back in the long run.

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?
If our best friends came to visit us we would split the time between Long Island and New York City to maximize their NY experience. Starting off in the suburbs, we would take them to some of the best spots to eat in Baldwin, including the Baldwin Coach Diner, Jamaican Flavors, and the Fish Trap. After eating our fill we would introduce them to the wonders of the Baldwin skate park for some ramps and rails, United Skates of America, Roosevelt Field Mall for some light shopping, and American Thrift and Unique Bazaar to find some hidden gems. For the NYC portion of our trip, we would take them to Forbidden Planet and Kinokuniya NYC in midtown for some weeb activities, head to Bushwick for some open mics and live talent, Brooklyn Bridge Park for a sunset view of Manhattan, and Lot 45 for some libations and dancing.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are 3 people that we would like to shoutout because without each of them we would not be where we are today. First, shoutout to Fancy Cat and Lost Island Arts for all their support and assistance in the very beginning. We booked our first show through them and since then they’ve been an integral part to our growth and success. Second, we would like to shoutout Ten, the owner and founder of the production company we are signed to, J10 LLC. He saw the diamonds in the rough and took a chance on us, which opened doors and provided us with opportunities we would not have had otherwise. Lastly, we want to shoutout Kofi Thomas, curator and coordinator of The Goodlife Garden located in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We threw our first ever concert series that we headlined there and since then he has been an avid supporter of us and our mission.

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Image Credits
Robin Takami Breanna Nicole-Watson