All photos by Alec Campbell

I first stumbled upon Outlaw1 when his face graced the prince of Seattle aka Nick Beeba's Instagram, but I didn’t even know he was a rapper until the release of his standout project Disco 30. He's somewhat of a newcomer having only started releasing music in 2019, but this doesn’t seem to matter much to him as he carries himself like a veteran. With four projects out in two years’ time, who’s to say he’s not on his way!

Disco 30 clocks in at a brief 26 minutes and feels like a villain’s origin story. The bass is as dark and eerie as Richard Ramirez’s teeth. The sample selection is as crazy and unique as the people who hang out in front of the McDonalds on 3rd & Pine. It's the best place to start with Outlaw1. It's also something of an introduction to Seattle producer MFB, who executive produced the project and also produced the tracks FUBU, Pink Bottom 1738, Celine Dreams, and Money Counters.

I got to sit down a chance to sit down with Outlaw1 at the Possi HQ in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. In-person he’s striking like a celebrity but carries himself like a shop kid. We talked about music, life, and his desire to be one of the best. I hope you enjoy our edited convo below and if you haven’t yet, go watch the music video for FUBU.

Quiet Prophet: So, who is Outlaw1?

Outlaw1: I chose that name when I started doing graffiti growing up. I used it as a tag around the city. Before that, the name originated from my experience with my grandfather. He's from Terre Haute, Indiana, it’s a little country town. He came from a sharecropping family, just real black hick shit. As a kid, I just loved watching westerns with my grandfather, and I always found myself interested in the bad guy. In most of the films, it’s not until the end, that you finally realize what had happened to him that made him an outlaw. I always felt like one of the outcasts because I come raw, I come in my truest form, and that's me. I really feel like that name is who I really am.

Quiet Prophet: When did art and music come into your life? (Check out Outlaw's art IG.)

Outlaw1: Art was just something that just naturally came into my life. When I was a kid, I was into manga and anime I would draw the Dragon Ball characters. I did a little graffiti stuff playing around through middle school, high school. In terms of music, I grew up in a very musically inclined family. My mom was the type that put headphones on her stomach when she was pregnant with me. Music is just something that’s been with me since I was born, I’ve just always had this natural love for music.

Quiet Prophet: When did you make the leap and start making music? I see you dropped your first project in 2019.

Outlaw1: I started rapping with my older brother. He’s a rapper from the city too, he goes by Chevy Shann. I can say that he definitely was the one that kind of gave me that nudge to do it, you know, like little bro rap too! So then in high school, when I’d smoke and drink with the islander homies they’d be like rap something! Then they started telling me that the shit was sounding good. After high school I tried to go take a course at Seattle Central Community College and I was going to try to make beats, but that shit was not easy. I was gone as quick as I came.

I started hanging out at Stussy Seattle and got to know the manager there, Paul Kwon. He was a Korean dude from New York who was really into hip-hop. I wanted to do something different and something positive. I didn't want to just do the things that I had come from. I wanted to go bigger! I got in there and started working with Paul and he would always be impressed by my music knowledge. Our friendship started there and then when I would rap to the song he would tell me my voice sounds good.

After that he hired a dude by the name of Sax G. He's a musical genius, in my opinion. He taught me a lot. And one day it was me and Sax was in the shop And I told him, you know, I can rap. And he was like, Nah, you, you playing with me! I played him a track. I had made the song on this iPod. I would hit the play on YouTube with a beat and record like that. He told me I sounded really good and he took me to a dude named Kevin Lavitt’s studio where I recorded my first official track in the studio. It was called AD8 Posse and he put it on his project, Tomorrow's New Villain. After that people started messaging me from Japan, New York, Baltimore.

Quiet Prophet: What year was this?

Outlaw1: This is like 2016, So that was the birth of me being like, I'm going to take this rap shit serious. I ended up managing the shop for a while too. There was a guy Boost, but he also goes by Summer Clothes...he lived above the shop. My guy Vlad had moved to Seattle from Maine and started coming to the shop one day after he heard me bumping Action Bronson. We had got to talking and one day I told him one day, bro, I know how to rap and he was like, well, that's funny you say that because I make beats. So, I showed him the only track I had and it was enough to let somebody know, Okay, I gotta put this kid on the mic. So I went to Guitar Center and told the dude I had hit rock bottom, and give me whatever set up you can get me for $350. He gave me a Focusrite set up. Vlad had speakers and we'd record in Stussy after the shop closed and I ended up recording most of the Black Madonna in there. Vlad produced most of it.

Quiet Prophet: When did you guys record Black Madonna?

Outlaw1: We recorded Black Madonna in 2018 going into 2019. To be honest, Black Madonna had been in the works for a while. I had written my first song for Black Madonna in like 2016.

Quiet Prophet: Would you say your process is still the same? Are you still on that same Focusrite set up?

Outlaw1: We got a new set up now. We’re using an Aston Spirit now. I starting to get my feet wet jumping in studios too.

Quiet Prophet: Do you think that currently, you’re an anomaly in the Seattle scene?

Outlaw1: That's where it kind of ties into the name, you know? I think I jumped into things real early and I figured out what it was really early on, where I wanted it to go with things. I'm just someone who's gonna come through the scene and shake hands with people and I'm out. I'm very social, I'm cool and laid back, but I definitely am a person who prefers privacy.

Quiet Prophet: One of the first things that struck me when I came across your music was your look. How important is the look and being cool to you?

Outlaw1: I don't ever think about being cool, bro. But I love to get fly. You know what I'm saying? I could show up in a Walmart sweatsuit too!

Quiet Prophet: I feel like if you’re cool it just oozes out of you.

Outlaw1: Tell you the truth. I had two real raw parents and they rubbed off on me. To be honest, being cool isn’t really as important to me as being real and raw.

Quiet Prophet: Who is Alec Campbell to you?

Outlaw1: That's my brother, I’ve brought Alec around many crazy situations and he’s always held it down. That's a solid Kansas boy right there! I met him one day when he was walking past Stussy and I noticed he had a camera around his neck. I remember I asked him about his camera, and we just hit it off from there. I had recently got into the photographer Chi Modu. He’s known for taking a lot of photos of Tupac, Mobb Deep, Snoop Dogg, the classic ones! I remember thinking it would be dope to be able to bring this thing I’m doing to life visually. He came back like a month later and it was crazy because I was waiting on the day I saw him again so I could pitch him this idea. He had the same thing on his mind and we started doing little shoots. but first and foremost, Alec is a brother to me. He knows my family, he’s someone that’s going to be in my life forever.

Quiet Prophet: I think the intimacy of your relationship shine through in the photos and music videos.

Outlaw1: He’s really held me down. I even ended up hiring him at Stussy.

Quiet Prophet: What I like about your music is it makes me feel nostalgic for something I’ve never felt before.

Outlaw1: I'm gonna tell you the truth, man no ego but I feel like my shit is one of its own. Do I draw inspiration from certain people? Hell yeah!

Quiet Prophet: I saw that you tweeted “ain't no more love in the music. I'm going to have to wake the game up.” Can you speak on what that means to you?

Outlaw1: I feel like a lot of times people get into this rap shit and don’t put no love into it. That's the difference in a timeless record. Energy flows through music, you know what I'm saying? When you go into the booth and you spit something, you got to give it energy because you have to make sure people know that you mean it when you say it. Nobody’s gonna feel you if that energy’s not in the music. I feel like that why people gravitate towards my music. They see that I’m hungry.

Quiet Prophet: Would you say that you have a sense of urgency right now? Is music your #1 priority right now?

Outlaw1: In terms of career path, Yes!

Quiet Prophet: Do you think that urgency translates to the music?

Outlaw1: I think it’s more that I feel like the music just needs to be heard. I would say it’s not necessarily an urgency but sometimes I get frustrated. When you know that you got something special, and it’s on the radar of people like DJ Muggs–who acknowledged my project City of Reign with my Boy Dpolo out in Harlem, who mixes almost all my music since day one–it’s hard to be patient. I just want to see success, if you really love music you want to be considered a player. Like when Snoop Dogg passed the crown to Kdot. You want to be MVP. You want a Super Bowl ring. You know anybody's lying if they say they don't want that deep down. That's what you strive for. I strive for excellence!

Quiet Prophet: It’s really cool to hear you say that. I feel like I hear less and less people talk about wanting to be the best. So, what’s next for you?

Outlaw1: Trying to build a hall of fame team, a hall of fame playlist, and continue to strive to be the greatest. I'm far from my prime.

Quiet Prophet: Do you have any final words?

Outlaw1: Listen to the music, I'm in there. I tell true stories in there. Listen to the music.