Fort Washington-based rapper Pro presents the Versus Visualz-directed music video for “What, What”, his new single produced by Artem. Pro’s previous releases include “In The Way” (stream on YouTube) and “Sauce” (stream on Soundcloud). When asked about the inspiration behind the song, Pro said, “’What, What’ is about all the nonsense. This song is about filtering out the stuff you don’t care to hear. It is about loving what you love, and loving to disregard what you hate. ‘What, What’, in laymen’s terms, is ‘that thing’. It’s either that ‘yeah’ or that ‘no’ and it is up to the listener to determine what falls under those categories. ‘What, What’ can be the new car you bought yourself, or it can be the hater in the crowd while you are trying to perform. It is not negative or positive.”
What do you think surprises listeners the most about you?
I think what surprises listeners the most is how different I come on every track. Most of the time when people hear my songs they say “I love how you switched it up on this one”
Are you working on a new album? Who’s involved and how will it differ from the new records out these days?
Yes I am working on a new album. I really like to keep it true to my DMV roots, so I am working on getting a few of my favorites like Visto & DMV Mac. I got a big feature in the cross hairs that I don’t want to speak on prematurely, but it’s gonna be something everybody loves. What makes my work so different is that I embrace being me. I find inspiration in art that others make, but I don’t care to sound like them. A lot of these new guys try so hard to sound like someone else.
Who’s your favorite rapper ever and why?
My favorite rapper ever? Man that’s a tough one. If I had to pick 1, it would definitely be Cole. Aside from his talent, I feel like we went through the same struggle, he was just signed doing it. It’s hard to be a lyricist and still make music that is melodic and commercial. Most of the time you have to pick a lane, but when he said “there is no right or wrong, only a song,” that hit home.
What are some of the more interesting interpretations of ‘what what’ from different listeners you’ve spoken to about it?
You know, I don’t even like to hear peoples interpretation of my bars and my music. If my art inspires you to make ANY interpretation, then I have done my job. Sometimes people make sense of things that didn’t make sense to you when you wrote it. So I just make my music and put it out there for people to consume.
What was it like working with Artem?
Artem, I don’t really know honestly. I had this beat from him for quite some time. It was one of those, hurry up and buy situations. Shoutout to Artem for making one of my most diverse songs possible though. No love lost.
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