Haddy Racks

Hard work and perseverance are important characteristics for any rapper to make it in hip-hop. That’s what makes Haddy Racks stand out from the rest in 2016. The Bronx native went from local MC to a buzzing artist by outworking the competition and thinking out of the box.

After releasing his DJ Kay Slay mixtape Racketeering in January and his debut album, Resume, in June, Racks got creative and released a mixtape through Instagram titled Mixtagram in August. Creative ideas like this are the reason he’ll be a step ahead of the pack.

Now he’s already working on his next effort. “I’m currently working on a mixtape titled New York Gritty and that’s set to release sometime in October,” he says. “Right now I’m in the studio with Vinny Idol. Just staying busy and doing a lot of shows, I’ve been doing shows with Cormega. 2016 has been motivation. I wasn’t able to get a XXL interview a year ago so when I see progress I just want to see how far I can take it.”

With momentum on his side, Haddy Racks aims to be the newest New York rapper with a promising career path.
Name: Haddy Racks
Age: 29
Hometown: Bronx, N.Y.

I grew up listening to: “I grew up listening to Biggie Smalls, The LOX, Scarface. Music has always been a part of me. It’s always been in my house. My mother would listen to music. I grew up listening to like LL Cool J. That was my first idol. I would go to school and I would rap a lot of LL rhyme or a lot of Biggie rhymes and people would always be excited when I rap them [lyrics]. I seen the attention and I fell in love with the attention I was getting. I started to write my own lyrics and from there I kept on going.”

“What made me take rap really serious is when I was about 19, 20 years old and I hooked up with Buckwild from D.I.T.C. and he told me he liked my music and we started recording. I grew up to listening to records he produced. So once I got his attention and seen the response I got from him I was like maybe I could take this serious and I just kept going from there.”

“I think I bring a reality, everyday life to the music world from my perspective. I think I bring a realness to the music industry that people can relate to.”

Most people don’t know: “I’m really just a cool guy. A lot of people say I got an aura about me and I’m unapproachable when I’m not. I’m just a humble dude. I’m very open and I’m very loyal. I think when a lot of people listen to the music they think I’m super, mega hard but I’m not. I’m just the coolest guy you’ll ever meet. I just give you my life.”

My style’s been compared to: “I get compared to Jadakiss, Nas, Jay Z, DMX but I would describe my sound as a combination of all of that. I’m heavily influenced by the people I named earlier. [My sound] is a golden era 1990s feel with a 2016. All of your favorite lyrical artists, if that makes sense.”

My standout records or moments to date have been: “My standout track is ‘Resume.’ It opened up a lot of doors for me and a lot more people was exposed to Haddy Racks. My standout moment was when I got the chance to re-record DMX’s ‘Slippin.’ I did the remake over it with an actual video and I got to let DMX see the video and rap it to him. For DMX to stop all those people in the club for me and zone out that was amazing.”

My goal in hip-hop is: “Just to bring substance back to music. I always thought that music was very diverse and you have your down South music, West Coast music, East Coast music, Midwest music. I feel like it’s not as diverse for me when I was growing up. What I want to bring back into hip-hop is substance music. Everybody is not able to go into the club and buy 500 bottles and drop 20 bands. I want to be the voice of the people who can’t do it. So when I make it, it gives them hope that they can do it. I want to give hope to people who follow Haddy Racks.”

I’m gonna be the next: “People already say that I’m going to be the next top 10 dude in New York City or dude on the East Coast.” - XXLMag.com

“I’m jumping on the bandwagon of people that’s putting out meaningful music,” says Haddy Racks. The Bronx MC is no hapless wave rider, but instead is pushing through the game as an indie artist with a potent debut album, Resumé, and an ever growing fanbase.

To help push his album, in September, Haddy kicked off #Mixtagram, a “visual mixtape,” and is dropping a second round starting Sept. 30. A vintage work ethic with new age social media savvy puts this rapper, who also can boast a Kay Slay co-sign, ahead of the game.
Find out more about Haddy Racks below and on the flip.
—
Who: Haddy Racks, born Harold Easterling, 29, and repping the Bronx. His debut, Resumé, is out now and features Dave East, Bugatti and more.

Credentials: Back in 2004 he was battle rapping and caught the eye of producer Buckwild, of D.I.T.C fame, and for a minute Haddy was part of a group under his tutelage called Kurupp Money Inc. That’s a guy whose taste you can probably trust.

Fun Fact: Thank BIG. “In high school I used to rap a lot of Biggie Smalls rhymes and stuff like that. Once I seen the attention I would get it made me write my own rhymes.”

- See more at: http://hiphopwired.com/2016/09/30/certified-fresh-haddy-racks-bronx-still-creating/#sthash.QsLyIb2Y.dpuf - HipHopWired.com

Thisis50 & Pvnch recently spoke with Haddy Racks for an exclusive interview! (click link to watch video interview) - ThisIs50.com

Haddy Racks hails from the Mecca where it all started; The Bronx, and as an upcoming heavyweight in hip-hop, he shows no signs of slowing down. Consistently providing us with gritty music to vibe out to, he puts a pretty ill spin on today’s viral music with the release of his #Mixtagram Volume 1 visual mixtape.

Indubitably, we have to give Haddy his credit for a dope concept. The original seven-video series follows him around New York City as he jacks classic beats by some of our favorite legends in the culture. It’s refreshing to catch a Bronx native do what he’s supposed to #fortheculture in 2016. Haddy rocks over Nas, Tupac, Mary J Blige, Amerie, Cam’ron, and Monica instrumentals and laces them proper with noteworthy freestyles, doing nothing but justice with this mini project.

Check it out below via his Instagram and be sure to show love. - Respect-Mag.com

Haddy Racks has found a novel way to use social media to get his music out.

The New Yorker is using Instagram to release his latest mixtape – or “#Mixtagram” – seven one-minute freestyles accompanied by music videos.

“I wanted people to see that in being an artist, you don’t have to follow any guidelines,” the Bronx rapper told BOSSIP. “I wanted to do something different, something no one else was doing, and bring a different type of attention to my brand.”


Haddy Racks said he was inspired to create the Instagram-only music after nailing the recent #SoGone challenge and decided to take it further by dropping visuals and music on the social media platform. With other artists using sites like Instagram to bring fans to their websites, Haddy Racks said listeners don’t have to get off the platform to hear his songs.

“I wanted to make as simple as you can for people,” he said. “You don’t have to leave Instagram.”

The rapper said he plans to release one mixtape a month, with themes like the 90s and LL Cool J’s early music. - Bossip.com

I2G chilled with Haddy Racks for an exclusive interview. We discuss his start in hip hop, upcoming projects and much more so check it out.

Illuminati 2G is here with Haddy Racks – how’s it going?

Haddy Racks: Everything is all good, I’m feeling blessed and just happy to be here having this interview with the good folks over at I2G.

Yessir. Tell me a little bit about how you got your start in music and who are some of your musical influences out there coming up.

Haddy Racks: my moms was heavy into music, I grew up listening to Stephanie Mills every morning,so I gained a love for music early on. As I got older, my uncles and older cousins were listening to hip hop and I fell in love wit rap music ever since. Growing up, my musical influences were LL Cool J, Notorious BIG, Tupac, The Lox, Jay-Z, Big L, Nas… the list goes on… ohh and I can’t forget my Snoop Dogg and my boy Scarface. I use to wake up every morning and play “The Fix”, Scarface’s album.

You have your new single entitled Where The Bronx At. Tell me a little bit about the single and how it came together for you.

Haddy Racks: Buda Da Future sent me the beat long before I actually recorded it. At first I didn’t know what direction to take with the beat, and Budda would always be telling me that the beat reminds him of the skate key era in the Bronx. So coming from the Bronx, Skate Key was like heaven for us growin up. So one day we were in the studio and my boy Bugatti pulled up to the session with another dope artist from the Bronx named Pyrotrax, and history was made that night…

What projects do you have in the works?

Haddy Racks: I just released the Rackateering mixtape with DJ Kay Slay – we already have two videos from that and more coming. Then in March I’m dropping my first album called Resumé with production from Buda and Grandz, Chopz165 and AListFame. It has features from Dave East, Bugatti, Ran Christian and more.

Do you have any upcoming videos?

Haddy Racks: Videos for “Where the Bronx At” and “New York Gritty” are out on my YouTube. My RackdUp crew is in the videos. We got the Bronx looking real good. The “Resumé” video with Dave East from the album will drop soon too, as well as some more visuals from the Rackateering mixtape.

What are your thoughts on the state of hip hop today?

Haddy Racks: I think it’s coming back to New York. New York’s been out the loop for a long time if you ask me. I think hip hop is doing its normal 360 and it’s of time once again. One minute the South got it, next minute the West got it, and in 2016 New York, Haddy Racks and RackdUp entertainment gone have it.

What’s currently playing on your playlist?

Haddy Racks: Right now I’m listening to my own projects of course, also Nas second album It Was Written, and Jay-Z’s American Gangsta album.

Do you have any upcoming shows or tour dates?

Haddy Racks: I have a show coming end of February for the Rackateering project, as well as an in-store with DJ Kay Slay in the Bronx. Working on more shows as we speak.

What is your website info for people wanting to check out what you have going on?

Haddy Racks: My official site is http://HaddyRacks.com and you can find me at http://instagram.com/HaddyRacks, http://twitter.com/HaddyRacks and http://facebook.com/HaddyRacksBX

Appreciate the interview. Are there any last words or shoutouts you would like to get out there?

Haddy Racks: First and foremost I wanna shout out my team, my family and everybody that keeps Haddy Racks and RackdUp In their hearts. Secondly I wanna thank my publicist Dove for setting up this interview with I2G, and last but not least I wanna thank all my fans and all my supporters, I owe it all to y’all because it’s y’all support what keeps me going. And my borough, salute to the whole BX!! - Illuminati2g.com

Haddy Racks goes deep for his new music video “Slipp’n.”

The Bronx rapper tackles his personal struggles in the video – including his rocky relationship with his child’s mother – which was shot in his Castle Hill neighborhood and features his daughter as a co-star.

“When I make songs, I talk about what I deal with at the moment,” Haddy told BOSSIP. “When I actually sat down and recorded the record, that was my zone. That was what I was dealing with at the time.”


He added: “I didn’t have to make anything up. It was so raw and genuine. I wanted the video to explain everything that I’m talking about. You’ll see me arguing with my daughter’s mother. Those are my actual kids in the video and that’s what makes it so real.”

Directed by Xpensive Glass, the video – which feature a sample of DMX’s “Slippin” – is off of his mixtape, “Racketeering,” with DJ Kay Slay. - Bossip.com

Haddy Racks talks with Sway and the Sway in the Morning crew about his New York Gritty project and more, and also performs live in the Shade 45 studios. - SwaysUniverse.com