I’m Tree. I rap, produce, write and engineer. I’m the curator of #soultrap music: The genre I created when releasing my #sundayschool mixtape.

I live in Southside Englewood, Chicago, Illinois (the nation’s highest murder rate-rated neighborhood).

I create a defining sound in music, I produce for a list of up and coming Chicago acts, and I release hit music in abundance, rapidly.

I started rapping and producing about 12- to 13-years ago. First I started rapping, then I started making beats a couple days later.

It was awful; I had no stage presence, and I was scared as hell. But the people in the crowd were vibing with me all the way: intently listening to my message through lyrics. That’s how I knew this was for me.

Acknowledgement, fame, fortune, opportunity, acceptance and acclaim. You know, all the real shit we as entertainers are after. The top!

A breath of fresh air. An alternative to everything else. My style of music’s completely different from everyone else’s. I created my own genre just so I could stand out. I hate comparisons, so don’t compare me to anyone else, just accept me as Tree and gloat on that.

My biggest overall influence through music would have to be Tupac Shakur. He still carries weight, and he’s a legend like no other. But my biggest overall influence is real life: living, learning and expressing it through music in vivid detail. Whether it’s drug problems in the home or dead friends who wouldn’t leave the streets alone; I’m definitely influenced by my environment. I can’t hide it. That’s what I write about. I can’t ever forget this life and the shit that I’ve gone through that we can all relate to each other from.

The grind. Whether it’s retweeting or doing interviews like this; music’s fun to me. I could never get bored with it. It just comes naturally. It’s the business side of this game that can urk you: dealing with others and their personalities can be exhausting. But when it comes to the music, I’m in my own world.

I’ve got this Trillin EP project with Chicago producer 110% Pure (Grimey League/Point Blank Productions) that just dropped August 31, 2012. I’m also working with the entire Chicago rap scene on a project called Tree Featuring The City, where I’m getting back to producing and writing hooks. It’s about 50 percent done. We’re just waiting on a few high profile Chicago acts to jump on some tracks, then we gone put that out. That’s gone be the project to check for since Chicago’s all the rage right now. I got ‘em all on one disk with my production and hook writing skills. I definitely think it’s a win-win.