Grinder of the Week: Philmatic

ORIGINALLITY KILLS X PHIL MAO INTERVIEW
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Originallity Kills
“How you living big dog?”

Philmatic
“Things are great. I’m approaching the launch of LRGRTHNLFE.com (“Larger Than Life”), so I’m definitely excited as the days are drawing near to launch. Aside from that, things couldn’t be better. I’m surrounded by amazing talents and I get to spend the majority of my days doing what I love to do.”

Originallity Kills
“Before we start with questions, can you give the OK supporters a small background about yourself?”

Philmatic
“My name is Phil Mao, most people might know me from the work I produced as the Creative Director at Artillery Clothing years back. In addition, I freelance Graphic Design and have begun shooting photography more extensively. My affinity with art and music has led me to doing work with a lot of artists. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to shoot numerous emcees across the board, from Fashawn, Wiz Khalifa, El Prez and Speak. Additionally, i’ve had the great opportunity to design the album artwork of a lot of talented artists – Stevie Crooks, Basicali, and Prophit amongst many others.”

Originallity Kills
“How old were you when you began designing? and what made you start?”

Philmatic
“I’ve had no formal training with design. I’ve been writing graf for years and drawing pretty much my whole life so I’ve always had a keen eye for aesthetics. The progression into design was only natural. As of late, i’ve taken great interest in photography and hope to learn further from the talented photographers around me (shout outs to the TGL family and Neil Favila, all amazing photographers).”

Originallity Kills
“Who influenced you to make music? Is their a specific artist or song that made you like hip hop?”

Philmatic
“They say nothing ever occurs because of one single reason. With that, there is no one specific song or artist that made me fall in love with Hip-Hop. I’m all over the spectrum as far as hip-hop and music is concerned. One day I can listen to ATCQ, Elzhi & Dilla and throw on Nipsey Hussle the next.”

Originallity Kills
“There are a lot of brands & artists coming out now and trying to get their shine on. What makes you stick out from them all? How do you keep making different goods but keep all of your customers and capture new ones?”

Philmatic
“A lot of my clientele is through word of mouth. At the end of the day, a good product will sell itself. My design philosophy is to always try to produce the vision an artist has for their respective projects. Moreover, I try to keep my work clean and polished. A lot of people have said I have a certain signature look attached to my work, but I was never really able to see it.”

Originallity Kills
“What genre do you classify your work as and why?”

Philmatic
“I’ll leave that up to you guys, there’s no project I’ll turn away from if I feel the artist / client is as passionate about their work as I am about mine.”

Originallity Kills
“Are there any projects your supporters should be looking forward to anytime soon?”

Philmatic
“Keep an eye out for the launch of LRGRTHNLFE.com. I have a lot of future works scheduled to drop soon. Also, me and my crew, The Good Life got some things up our sleeves as well.”

Shout Outs.

“Ace Mars for having me on this interview. Anybody who’s ever told me to keep going and not look back. The TGL fam, The Apple Beats, Instrument, Stevie Crooks, Prophit, Jansport J, everybody i’ve ever worked with and anybody who has contributed to my growth as an artist. Two fingers up, peace!”

CONTACT:
Philmatic@lrgrthnlfe.com
www.twitter.com/_philmatic
www.lrgrthnlfe.com