Protégé tells Mixtape Daily about Royal Flush, set to drop next week.
By Jayson Rodriguez
CyHi The Prynce
Photo: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam
Fire Starter: CyHi the Prynce
Every king needs a queen, but in the absence of one ("When you talk 'bout 'you know who,' I don't know who you talkin' 'bout!"), royalty reigns supreme in the G.O.O.D. Music camp with only father and son.
"[Kanye] is really on his kingdom, his Pharaoh, his Roman days — that's his terminology these days," 'Ye's latest protege, CyHi the Prynce, told Mixtape Daily. "And I call myself 'The Prynce,' so he was like: 'If I call myself "The King," I need a prince. And this is perfect.' That's how that went together. A lot of people don't know that."
There was a couple of steps, however, before CyHi was officially crowned.
Yeezy first heard the Georgia product getting busy alongside fellow upstart rappers from the Southern region earlier this year on the remix of Yelawolf's "I Wish," also featuring Pill.
At the time, Cy already had aligned himself with Akon in 2007, and later landed at "The House that Russell Built" (Def Jam) last year. He also partnered with veteran hip-hop figure Greg Street for a mixtape release.
Cy and West connected though — "We sat down and were on the same page," Cy said — and soon were working side by side in Hawaii on the producer's forthcoming masterpiece, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
There, CyHi found himself in a new circle that included legends like Mos Def and Raekwon. Back in New York months later, he and West recorded material, including "So Appalled,", which led Beyonce to applaud the young lyricist's rhymes.
The experience was quite a contrast from where he started his year.
"I been doing this for a minute, but I'm glad no one really knew me," the Prynce said about the newfound attention. " 'Cause it's kind of like I'm a new artist all over again. There's certain people that knew me, but the majority of people don't. This whole year has been a different year for me, just as far as maturing as a man. This year, I decided to cut my braids off. I cut them off for a symbolic reason. I wanted to leave everything that I went through in the past in the past and start fresh.
"My sister passed this year; I had a nephew pass; two of my best friends passed. I had to go to two funerals on the same day twice. But then, at the same time, I get signed to Kanye.
"I got a phone call from Kanye saying, 'You made the album,' " Cy continued about his G.O.O.D. fortune. " 'Jay wants to get on a song with us.' Say what? 'Beyonce loves your verse.' What do you mean, 'Beyonce loves my verse'? That doesn't even sound right. Especially at the pace I'm at, I got 3,000 Twitter followers, don't have a major song on the radio. To me, I'm still trying to convert from a fan to an actual artist."
According to Cy, that conversion will take place with his mixtape, Royal Flush, set to drop next week. The project will feature some of his G.O.O.D. music fam and venture toward an uplifting tone, he said.
"I just feel like ain't too many role models no more, especially in hip-hop," he said. "I feel like people don't give the whole story, and I'm here to give the whole story. I tell people all the time: Instead of you being a drug dealer, instead of you being this and that, I rather for you to be a prince. I'm looking to change the culture. I know these little boys will pick up a CD before they pick up a book. So, I'm not gonna be talking no foolishness."
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