Z:
Where's home?
Vinny Gigs:
Everyone knows my ties to New Jersey and New York (pronounced Yawk) and heck I wasn’t even born in either of those places (a whole different story) but since you’re asking me today, home is St. Petersburg Florida because my life started over here and I’ve MADE a home here with my family.
Z:
How long have you been making music under the Vinny Gigs persona?
Vinny Gigs:
I’ve been Vinny Gigs since the early 2000’s (can’t really dive into the origin of the name) but it’s kinda like a mischievous version of myself. Around the same time circa 2002 I was downloading instrumentals from Napster and using a voice recorder to make these freestyles and those were actually my first songs.
Z:
You carry quite the mafioso personality, tell me a little about your Italian made-men influence.
Vinny Gigs:
I’m an American Italian and I’m really proud of my culture and yes I’ve done things I’m not particularly proud of and even before the 21st century but also I think it’s important to remember I made this album (M5) for entertainment and because I have a passion for hiphop. Yes I have a dark past and yes the lyrics can be graphic but they’re still put together in a clever way and I just want to make rap music that’s still lyrical and sounds good!
Z:
You packed up from NY and made your way to the sunny beaches of FL. That's quite the trek. What are some of the biggest adjustments you've had to make when settling into a fresh location?
Vinny Gigs:
The first thing I thought when I touched down is I need to find a good barber AND get a good slice of pizza. I still have the same barber after 3 years but the pizza still sucks hahaha. Adjusting was easy I love the heat it’s better than the frigid cold I grew up in. Honestly I met a girl five days being here and we fell in love and went through Covid together and have two amazing children now so Florida change my life for sure and it was the best decision I ever made coming here.
Z:
So being a father figure, and considerably an old head in a genre that's often discussed as a young persons genre. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages your age brings to your Hip-Hop journey?
Vinny Gigs:
I just became a father recently but trust me I’ve had sons for a long time hahaha. No seriously though my advantages is just my experience and growing up in the early 90s when hip-hop music was getting very very popular I had a chance to witness that firsthand. I’m pretty sure the first rapper I heard was biggie smalls on his album ready to die in 1994 and just thought Juicy was so sick and revolutionary. I would a disadvantage against these youngsters might be I just can’t keep up with it all. There’s way too much content and new music and so much going on nowadays and my time is just way more limited now.
Z:
You dropped a new album this year, "Mobsters, MasterMinds, & Made Men". One of our resident writers is playing the album on repeat now for their synopsis. For our readers, what tracks do they HAVE to go listen to?
Vinny Gigs:
“I’m a Guinea!!” sets up the whole mob vibe with a Godfather sample and Goodfellas references. Also on this album you get a little bit of everything and a little bit of everyone. I got 13 features all from the 727. That was the whole point for me though was to make an album with people I met in the hip-hop scene down here as if we’re a “mafia” together. “On My Way” featuring the Palm Pact is a fan favorite and we’ve performed that song a whole bunch of times and it gets the crowd going crazy. “Where You From?” and “Heaven 4a G” are the ones being streamed a lot also. And I can’t forget “8 Iz Enuff” a song inspired by Big L and has 8 emcees on it spitting 8 bars a piece.
Z:
Quite the project indeed. Now that you finished the album and it's released for listeners to hear, what do you have planned with the project? Music videos? Shows? Tour?
Vinny Gigs:
I dropped a video for “I’m a Guinea!!” to give y’all some dope visuals but yea I got a few other videos in the works and plan on still killing these local shows and even might be hitting the east coast of Florida to do a show in April so we’ll see but a lot happening in 2023!
Z:
You are having cigars and playing poker in the basement of a NY Italian Deli with 3 mafia movie legends. Which 3 legends are at your table?
Vinny Gigs:
There’s sooooo many great ones to choose from like the Godfather trilogy and the Sopranos but if I gotta say 3 it’ll have to be Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and the late great Ray Liotta all from Goodfellas, a timeless mafia classic and a Scorsese masterpiece. And since we’re playing cards I’ll even go so far as to say Michael Imperioli (Spider) is serving us drinks limping on one foot, great scene. Fun fact my grandfather was a boxer in the Bronx in the 40’s and had a cameo in the original Godfather film.
Z:
You've reached the end of your mafia career and you're on death row. They give you a choice of last meal with no limits. What's your last meal choice?
Vinny Gigs:
Y“And when I wanna mangia (eat up) I’m headed to mamas in the middle of the night I wake her up in her pajamas she feeds me some Lasagna.” that line says it all! Of course, it needs to be paired with some vino rosso (red wine).
Z:
Private Jet or Private Yacht?
Vinny Gigs:
I feel like everybody would pick a private jet but I don’t mind flying commercial. Now that I live in Florida I’d much rather have a boat to kick it on and fish off of. Have a jet ski to take me back to land when I want and just live on the water.
No Vinny Gigs interview is complete without a Take It Ease and Fughettaboutit!!
You can find Vinny's new music below:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Gyd8bV5NIhh180XUDjtH3?si=R1vgOU4GSiayHOv5ROOlyQ
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