OTF’s Hypno Carlito is an American rapper, singer, and oscar-nominated songwriter from the city of Chicago. On this third episode of season two on Q&A’s with Clark St., Carlito stopped by the studio to share with us how signing to Lil Durk’s label Only The Family came about, founding his very own studio and label Forever Legend, alongside giving us a glimpse of the next project he is set to unleash.
CSC: Introduce yourself and let us know what you do.
Carlito: My name is Hypno Carlito. I'm a songwriter, rapper, everything you already know.
CSC: How did you get your name?
Carlito: I'm mixed with Hispanic, so everybody call me Carlito, and I've always had Hypno since a shorty.
CSC: Tell us a bit about your upbringing and where you come from originally?
Carlito: I come from everywhere. I never really had a momma or a daddy, so I always moved around. I come from the West Side, and I also some of my time in the South Side by 63rd, Humbolt Park too.
CSC: What do you have to say about this lyric?
Carlito: 'I'm from the lam fuck 63rd, but that don't go for Hyp.' That's cuz from where I use to be at I had a crib for a couple of years. I was on 63rd, but that's not really where they be into it at. So this all the way probably out fifteen minutes away from where everybody else be talking about 63rd. People from out of town they really don't know how long 63rd run. So where I use to be at, they ain't really talking about that side, but that's why he say that don't go for Hyp, you feel me, but it's funny because a lot of people be like, 'damn you from 63rd?'
CSC: You signed to OTF in 2015. How did that come to be?
Carlito: I had a friend named Lil Varney. He was OTF already, so we was just doing music together, and then they was showing Durk and D Thang, RIP D Thang, and D Thang had called me and told me he wanted to sign me to OTF. He said Durk wanted me to be his first artist. We started making music, and it went from there.
CSC: Before rapping before being signed, what were you doing?
Carlito: Everything, selling weed, cut hair, I use to cut hair, all type of shit you know, street shit, regular shit, regular come up shit, tryna finesse man.
CSC: What drove you towards the rap game?
Carlito: I always liked rap. I've always liked music. It was just always in me. I liked it as a kid. I ain't wanna do it for money; I just wanted to do it because I really liked it. The people that I watched on TV I wanted to be like, so hell yeah, I stayed at it, and that's what it is.
CSC: What artists did you grow up on?
Carlito: What's crazy I listened to a lot of people. I was a fan of everybody because everybody was original and music was just different. I didn't really have favorites, but like Bow Wow was the first person to make me say, 'damn I could be a kid and a superstar.' It's a crazy person to name-drop, but it was important because he was the only kid that was super turnt where it was like, 'damn if I rap, I could do the same shit.'
CSC: Who do you currently listen to?
Carlito: Ofcourse, Smurk, a lot Smurk, Lil Baby, Rod Wave, there's a couple of more people, but yeah.
CSC: What motivates you to keep going?
Carlito: The passion, I got the real passion for work. It's not about being a number one superstar or having the biggest bag or none of that. It's really more so about I just like music. Just by me loving music so much and being involved in music my whole life is like I don't gotta make no money and I'm going to still love it, that's what keeps me going for sure for sure.
CSC: You've been on several tracks with Durk. Which one of them is your favorite?
Carlito: "Don't I," for sure, one of my favorites. Only because it made me Hypno Carlito, it's one of our biggest works right now it's at like 15 million. "Don't I," definitely, but I like "This Case," too. A whole bunch of them but the most current "Our Year," that shit hard.
CSC: Any more tracks on the way?
Carlito: Yeah, we got one called "Humbolt Park Demons" that ima drop soon.
CSC: Tell us about establishing Forever Legend Studios.
Carlito: I was spending a lot of money on studio time, and it was to that point where I was just like I can make my own studio. I like being in the studio so much it don't even be about recording. I just like being in the studio to vibe, listen to music, catch an idea. So I ended up making Forever Legend. I always said that Forever Legend, that's my clique, my movement, but then it became the company, and it's been doing good. Forever Legend Studios, ya'll go visit there for sure.
CSC: Besides being an artist, you're an Oscar-Nominated songwriter. Tell us about some of the songs you've written for other artists.
Carlito: I did records for French Montana, Nick Cannon, there's a lot of people, and I just don't want to name people. Everybody be real sensitive when it come to the ghostwriting. Songwriting cool, but it ain't some that I want to do. I ain't never wanted to be a songwriter. I just knew how to write records, and people would ask me let me get that or whatever. I got a lot of friends in the music industry, and a lot of people do need help. It don't mean that they not talented or they not dope it's just ideas. It's just like music. A lot of people been in the studio sessions with me and gave me ideas, you know what I'm saying.
CSC: The last time you dropped a project was in 2019. Are you currently working on another studio album?
Carlito: I've been working on a lot of music. I just been really doing music. I ain't been really focusing on dropping a real project. I know I'm going to give them Good Karma II for sure. I ain't tryna do no dropping music for no reason. I really want to make the best music that I can to my ability, and I'm definitely doing a tape with DJ Drama, too, so I've been working on that. This my first time speaking on this for sure.
CSC: What are your thoughts on gun violence in the city of Chicago?
Carlito: It's to the point where we get used to it, and we shouldn't get used to it, it's messed up. A lot of people losing they life for no reason a lot of senseless killings. People that I know, people that I grew up with, people I've been knowing my whole life, a lot of people they lose they life to violence, and it's like crazy that that's the way our city is. We definitely need to turn it down, but this is what it is and what we gotta deal with. It's messed up.
CSC: What's the story behind these flicks?
Carlito: This me, Durk, Baby, and Moneybagg Yo; they was working on the project they just dropped, so we just really listening. You could basically see Baby right here telling Durk the records we gonna go with and all that. So it was just a vibe.
This is the first night I met Keef, we was in LA, and Durk and Keef was working on a couple records. This Akon brother, and I think it was his studio, his name Omar. They made some good music that night for sure that was a good night.
This one, I was on Wild N' Out with the Chicago audition with Durk and Chance, and I've always messed with Nick. That's my homie, so Nick had already told me you up here and gave me the sweater, and yeah, we did that.
This Durk, Moneybagg Yo, and Yo Gotti. This at Moneybagg Yo video shoot with Polo G and Durk. This was in Atlanta. Von was still alive, too, at this time.
CSC: Let's talk about Von. What are your favorite memories alongside Von?
Carlito: Von, one thing I do remember, I got a couple of moments with Von where it's like we was with each other or all that, but this was before the fame. Before he was King Von, and he had just came home from jail, he was just like, 'man Hypno we go lock-in; Vernie was telling me about you." We was locking in, and we was in Miami. I wanna say it was Durk's birthday and he had did a boat party or some like that. This way, before Von, was who he was. We would go to the mall together, grab shoes together, and all that. I remember it was just genuine from the jump. You knew he was a real ni**a. You knew he was solid. I was happy for his success. I just wanted to see him get bigger and bigger and bigger. It was like he was growing every time we spoke, you know what I'm saying. I'm mad we didn't get the chance to see the real legend that he would become, but he is definitely legendary and left behind a lot of good music. Everyone go remember King Von for sure RIP King Von.
CSC: Is there anything you'd like to let your listeners know?
Carlito: New music on the way. I know ya'll been waiting. There's a lot of people bugging me on the gram, and I don't really be caring about Instagram and how many comments and how many likes and I don't really care about that world, but people tell me it's important. I try and keep it as organic and real as possible. Music coming soon, so this shit ain't over with ya'll already know Good karma II on the way.
