Dropping his highly-anticipated EP “I’m Gone” tomorrow is Texas-raised rapper iann dior. After releasing his stunning debut album Industry Plant in November last year, iann dior has had a massive 2020 so far with sold-out tours and hit singles with Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker.

The rapper’s fluid and dreamy approach to his sound is what makes his music so unique, with personal and heartfelt lyrics capturing the hearts of millions worldwide. iann diors’s rapid rise began after receiving major buzz for his melodic brand of lo-fi hip-hop on Soundcloud back in 2019.

We caught up with the rapper talking inspirations, creative approach and what’s next.

Check out the interview below…

How is lockdown going and how has it impacted your creativity
Lockdown has been an interesting experience in my life. We saw the world’s biggest protest go down and we saw a pandemic that we never saw coming. When this all started, I was in New York and it felt like I was in Gotham City. It was very weird. I’ve been spending this time to really get to know myself again and to learn a few things I’ve been procrastinating on, like learning the guitar. But honestly, it has been really depressing.

How are you handling being in LA right now after seeing everyone come together. Does it feel strange to release art at such an uncertain time?
It definitely feels weird to be dropping music right now. I pushed back my project a week because of everything that is going on. Of course, music is not the #1 thing on people’s minds right now, but I know that music has the power to heal and help comfort people, which is why I ultimately decided to put my project out this week. I want my EP to give people some reprieve during these unsettling times.

You were raised in Texas, how did that influence your life and impact your music?
Living in a very small city was definitely a big part of my career in the beginning. It was a huge change when I went from Corpus Christi, Texas to Los Angeles. I would say it felt like I had to grow up a lot. I didn’t really know how the world worked, so when I moved out here, it was really a slap in the face, especially when I signed a record deal. I’m not going to lie; I appreciate small towns a lot more now that I live out here. The traffic was so easy. There’s less going on there. It was simpler living in Corpus.

What change do you think we need to see in the music industry in the future?
I think we should all be careful with what we are taking and consuming as individuals because it seems like, everybody lost themselves. I don’t know if that’s just me, but we lost a legend in the making, RIP Juice WRLD. I know depression is something very serious and if you have it, you should talk to someone. Bottling it up makes it worse. That’s one thing I would change. I want more positive energy in the music industry. I think we should all get closer and just focus on making music. To be honest, to be able to make music and to have people actually listen to it feels like a superpower, and we should be grateful for the superpower that we have.

What is your new track “Prospect” about?
Oh man, a whole bunch of bottled up energy that I’ve been holding onto for a minute. I just let it all out. I think the only part of the song that I wrote down was “I can’t conform / I ain’t fallin’ back.” The rest was freestyled. I heard the beat and I don’t know if it was the flutes or if there was something else in particular about that beat, but it was telling me a story. It made it easy to freestyle to it. It was super dope. I had to make it the next drop. A lot of things went on in 2019 and I never spoke about it. I couldn’t get over it, but now that I wrote this song, I am over it and it’s done. Now, we get to use this song to share the experience together, and listeners can relate it to their own struggles.

Where do you mainly pull your inspirations from?
I mainly pull my inspirations from the production itself, the beat. The beat always tells a story. I also love guitar melodies. When I hear a guitar melody it feels like a story. It all depends. It is all based on the mood. I’ve been veering away from listening to other artists right now for inspiration. The only one I listen to often right now is The Strokes. They dropped a new project, and I’m addicted to it. It’s amazing and really inspiring to me.

Congratulations on your EP, what’s the best feedback you’ve gotten from it so far?
Thank you so much! The best feedback I’ve gotten about it so far is that it is my best body of work. I live by this rule: only show the best things in life to five people around you, your five closest friends. That’s all you ever need for feedback. They will be the ones to tell you the truth and say if they really like it or not.

What do you hope that people will take away from your music?
Be yourself! One thing I hope people take away from my music is that you can seriously just be yourself. In this age, in this generation, with everything that has been going on lately, you can definitely 100% be yourself. I hope my music can help you do that. I put a sad song on a happy beat so that you can get both sides of the story, and hopefully, you can come to an understanding about where you are at right now. Even in situations, you think you probably can’t get out of. Just love yourself. You always got to love yourself before you love anybody else and that’s a life rule.

What’s next for you? What are you excited about next?
I will tell you one thing about my life. I don’t think about what’s going to come next. I let it come to me. When it’s here, it’s here. The answer to that question is what’s next is tomorrow. The future is endless.