Bobby Hilfiger; Eastside Legend

"FUCK EVERYTHING! It's okay to dream, be happy & maximize your potential as a human being. Do what the fuck YOU like even if other people think it's lame or whatever. Learn/do as much as you can in life so you can be an example to others & the kids in the next generations to come. Try to help these little niggas even if they don't get it at that time just so you know that you at least kept up your end of the bargain. Everyone has the ability to become legendary, it starts from within"

-Bobby Hilfiger

It's not often you come across an artist with as much personality and spunk as Bobby Hilfiger. At the age of 26, this NY native/ATLien is about to drop his fourth project Golden Era the follow-up to his third project American Sports Car.

Bobby isn't new to the rap game. He's been here, been doing this and has a plethora of good music under his belt. He's the Eastside Legend and is probably the most known unknown rapper in the A. He started rapping in 08, but released his first solo project in 2010. "I used to like freestyling on camera back in high school and always loved uploading my songs/videos to Photobucket, MySpace, & YouTube. I used to and STILL do rap for fun. It all started when my friend Mikey and I recorded a mixtape in 2009. On that group project I was on most of the songs, that's what made me want to put out my own music. I really just fell in love with recording and never stopped."

Bobby's sound can only be summed up as Bobby. It's a little dark, chill and very laid back. He's like the love child of Earl Sweatshirt and Vince if both of them grew up in Atlanta and were adopted by N.E.R.D; basically this dude is sick. What I love the most about Bobby is that he doesn't let his area effect his sound. There's nothing wrong with sounding like your city; artist like Outkast embody Atlanta and obviously make/made fantastic music; it's just, he has a sound that can't be attributive to a city. The reason why I think this is so great is because, it doesn't matter where you are from everyone can vibe to his sound.

His music is universal and that universal sound can be attributed to his varied musical influences. Bobby is inspired by a plethora of artist from Ghostface Killah, Ludacris and N.E.R.D to Alchemist & Prodigy, Eminem, Tyler, Earl Sweatshirt, and Key. "Most of the people I've named were local legends with larger than life personalities & all had interesting stories to tell. I love when artists can talk about anything & make it sound cool; even if it's a record about some stupid shit like sharpening a pencil or buying cereal, all the artists I mentioned have the ability to make simple things sound really cool & that inspires me to look at EVERYTHING in a subtle manner. Some records are deep & some aren't but it's the experiences I look forward too whenever I hear those people rap."

This is Bobby in a nutshell. His music, from the sound to the flow, captures his personality. It doesn't matter what he's talking about it will always be good or fun because he's telling his story. His music comes from a genuine place that's full of creativity and uniqueness. Along with the "live your dreams message", he also shares a "be yourself/love yourself message". Artist like Bobby who give off these vibes, change the negative image associated with hip-hop and give it a new look that better reflects our culture. Bobby Hilfiger and artist like him are pioneers in today's hip-hop world.