Queens, New York, may be the home base of rapper Seven 30, but the 23-year-old is repping for everywhere on the map that’s ever showed him love—from Canada, New Orleans, and Texas to the Dominican Republic and Florida. Everything about the young rapper is different, down to his influences that include 50 Cent, Young Thug, Canibus, Frank Sinatra, and Bach, a strange brew that makes up his artistic mantra.
“My mother put me onto the greatest music since birth,” he tells AAHH, noting that she was his biggest influence. “Even with the odds against us, she made it work—by herself. Throughout her battle with cancer, car accident, becoming an amputee, she instilled in me that ‘the sky’s the limit.’”
It’s this strength that’s ultimately guided the young dreamer toward pursuing music, an outlet that slowly became a necessity.
“I needed an outlet … I was always trapped,” he explains. “Trapped in life, emotions, fear, and the streets. I wanted out, and the music was [a way out]. As things got worse in life, it wasn’t enough to just listen; I wanted to be heard.”
What makes him genuinely endearing as an artist is a soft-spoken backstory that many listeners aren’t privy to; Seven 30 suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), something that both his mother and sister also suffer from. “The voices in my head go 1000 miles per hour,” he says.
As he describes, though, the voices seem to work together when it comes to his music. “They all rapidly hit every instrument so precise and differently,” he explains. “Sometimes it’s all different octaves and different notes … it’s all quite insane, but in a good way.”
“This disorder, or this ‘blessing,’ is why I’m still here making music.”
His voices, according to him, seem to get along. This control is rare, and he notes that he’s seen others—including his family—have a much different experience. “That’s what I do it for, to let them know ‘you’re not crazy and you’re not alone. We can overcome this,” he says.
His music is confidently dipped into the waters of the contemporary wave but playfully experiments with alternative rock influences to create a sound as unique as he is. Seven 30 is worth sitting with and adding to your playlists.
“This isn’t just a fame thing or a way to get rich,” he says confidently, “this is me.” Press play.