10 Things We Love About Hardrock

Hailing from Atlanta, Hardrock is fresh on the scene as the newest underground sensation. Garnering attention for his distinct style that feeds well into the 'vamp lifestyle', he blends a raw concoction of rock, trap and punk into his music whilst simultaneously drawing on inspiration from rap heavyweights such as Future, Young Thug and Playboi Carti.

Hardrock creates a sound that is both innovative and emotionally resonant. From working with producers such as Toom, No Saint, Wegonbok and Devstacks on his latest work and earlier, his biggest track to date, 'feel alive', samples Deftones, allowing fans of both genres to experience Hardrock and delve deeper into his catalogue.

Remaining quite enigmatic within his career, Hardrock left the U.S military, something he'd never discussed publicly and was previously thought to be a rumour, he decided to commit fully to his music career. Beyond music, Hardrock's distinct aesthetic caught the eye of renowned fashion designer Matthew Williams of 1017 ALYX and former creative director of Givenchy. As a fan of his music as well as his worldbuilding, Hardrock was able to walk for 1017 ALYX during Paris Fashion Week and was dressed by Givenchy to attend their show in the front row in 2023. He has also attracted the attention of Pharrell Williams who got him to attend the men's Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week the year after.

In his sophomore album, SLIMYFELLA, featuring 20 tracks, Hardrock presents his most refined work yet, with carefully curated production from Ojvoulta (Kanye West, Playboi Carti, The Weeknd), Devstackz (Lil Uzi Vert & Osamason), and Toom (Don Toliver, Destroy Lonely, LUCKI). The album includes contributions from Atlanta rap legend and his personal idol, Sahbabii, as well as close friend and underground superstar, Sofaygo.

We love your blend of trap, punk, numetal and rock.

Who are some of your biggest influences and some artists you used to listen to growing up?

Young Thug, Future, Prince, My Bloody Valentine & Red Hot Chili Peppers. Thug explores his versatility really well - it’s something I’ve always looked up to. If you're a real day one fan of my music you know how much I really rock with Thug.

We love the experimental nature of your music.

Talk us through your creative process, do you need to be in a specific headspace to start creating?

I don’t need to be, but it’s definitely better if I am. That type of mindset helps me pour more into whatever it is I'm creating. The vibe has to feel natural and right for me to truly lock in and create shit I’m proud of and want to give my fans - I can’t force anything I’m genuinely not feeling. Everything I put into my music is true to me.

We love that you’ve decided to pursue music full time.

What was the transition like coming back home from the military to fully pursue music? Was it a difficult adjustment?

It was a big adjustment at first. It was crazy to all the love I had gotten and how much more my fans wanted from me musically. In the military there’s a very strict schedule you must live and die by whereas as a normal civilian, you have the freedom to do whatever you want really. When I got out I realized how much more time I had to create and just energy to pour into my music.

We love that you’re from Atlanta.

A lot of great talent comes from Atlanta, what are some of your best memories growing up there?

Skipping class with my friends, riding through the city, just doing shit we shouldn’t be. Being a kid growing up in Atlanta makes you fall in love with the music from the city too - which was definitely my case.

We love your fashion sense.

How did you form a relationship with 1017 ALYX and former Givenchy creative director Matthew Williams?

Matt’s son actually showed him my music which led to him reaching out and us just building a friendship from there. The entire process was very organic and I’ll always appreciate him and his team for supporting what I had going on so early on in my career. The experience made me appreciate how much work goes into the high fashion shit and it's definitely a space I want to continue to grow in throughout my career.

We love your good friends with Sahbabii.

How has he influenced you as an artist?

Sah is easily one of the best artists to me. He cares about his craft and pushes me to be even more intentional with my work than I already am. He really is one of the goats in this shit.

We love your new album SLIMYFELLA.

What message did you want to put out with this project and what are some of your favourite tracks on there and why?

I wanted to let my fans know that I'll never stop regardless of what I’m facing & that I put my all into my music. My favourite tracks are  KOKO, BLOOD SWEATS TEARS, and NO TIME .. they get my message across and everything I’ve been going through recently.

We love your production.

Who are the main producers you worked with on “SLIMYFELLA” and how do you feel like they contributed to making the project perfect?

 Toom, No Saint, Wegonbok, Devstacks & more. Everyone added their own swag to the project and helped give it a special feel. Working closely with all these guys led to the whole album coming together how I wanted. My favourite way to work is locking in heavy with producers I love and just creating hella music off of that chemistry.

We love your music video visuals.

Where does the inspiration come from for your visualisers and videos? We particularly liked ‘Biggest Soldier’.

My team drew inspiration from my experience in the military which naturally went along with the song. I was in the Navy so it was funny cause we went to an actual ship graveyard. Levelling up the quality of my videos is something I want to dive into even more. I haven’t tapped in with that too much yet. I want to work with some fire directors this year.

We love the direction you’re heading in.

What’s next for Hardrock?

They can expect tons of new music from me. There’s a lot I want to experiment with, artists I’d want to explore collaborating with and more. My fans can expect more consistency from me too, they deserve it for rocking with me for so long and supporting everything I do. I feel like I’m just scratching the surface with this shit.