Family First: An Interview with Hue

Family First: An Interview with Hue

by: Paul K Barnes

You might be looking at the title of this article and think we’ve made a typo. But it’s quite the opposite actually. Hue was previously known as Huey Supreme and I hit him up to see what’s happening with him and not only learned why this name change was made but also learned even more about him as an artist and a person too. “The name Hue is a derivative from my original rap alias which was Huey Supreme. The reason I shortened it is because Huey is not my real name (its Jesse if the world is wondering), and ultimately I want to be transparent in that and be known as my name or something that directly reflects who I am.” One of the most important aspects of being an artist is being yourself and being comfortable being yourself. Hue’s decision reflects this and once any artist does this they are more than likely to truly enjoy creating their music. He also went on to share “ Hue means shades of color, and thats represents humans being multifaceted and that's who I am. We are all a combination of all things, good and bad, etc etc.” Being yourself as an artist should translate directly to the music you put out. It should reflect who you are and what you love - which connects to what your supporters love. “My sound is still being figured out.” says Hue. “I grew up in the church so there's a soulful element and a tug at the heart that will always be present because that can’t leave me. I also grew up a fan of everyone from Wayne, 50, Ye, T.I, to the whole blog era and more. So the cool, the rap influence, the swag, and the soul I embody it all. It's just about taking all of them things and refining them down into a cohesive sound that when you hear it you say, “that's Hue”. Hue is not a here today gone tomorrow artist. He’s in it for the long run and has his eyes not only set on the near future but beyond that as well. His number one goal is to “...perform at the highest level possible for as long as I WANT to. Use that to branch into different areas of creativity that I’m interested in and do what the hell I want. This is all about longevity. I want to make sure my grandchildren don’t have to worry about a thing. Let the world know that God blessed us with these gifts and we have the option to do what we want with them, and hopefully it's good.” With a mindset like this Hue can only go far in his career. The keyword as he said is longevity. He’s not here to become an instant success. He wants to be remembered when he’s gone. He wants to leave a mark and with it both substance and quality. Family seems to be the most consistent theme in Hue’s mindset. Not only did he bring it up when I asked about his goals as an artist but also when I asked what his biggest influence was, how he feels about being in New York (he hails from the 757) and what his collective eleven01 means to him. Hue describes eleven01 as “...family. Plain and simple. It's a collective of humans who came together to do something bigger than what they could do on their own. It's about spreading love and extending a hand.” In terms of his influence he said “My mother was my biggest influence, church, my family, and then music intertwined with that. Love was the influence. Seeing what that looked like makes it easy to navigate this world because I've been influenced by love and home, so I carry that wherever I go.” And as I mentioned earlier Hue has gone all the way from the 757 to New York. But, even there he still misses his family saying “... I’ll miss birthdays, I’ll miss the first day of school for my younger siblings, I’m not physically there to see my nieces grow up. My parents are getting older and they don’t have the energy like they used to and I can’t be present to help like I would like.” However, despite all this, as he said, his reason for moving in the first place is to be able to have all these people be financially secure in the near and distant future. The 75 will always be his home though as he “ I miss the space, I miss the smell, I miss driving, I miss home cooked meals, I could go on.” Hue clearly has kept the generation coming after him in his mind and this extends to any rappers on the come up as well. In terms of advice he had quite a bit to give: “Trust God, do the work, this shit is a wrap. Do your research, see who came before you and why they were the man. Be original, be yourself and stay true. Its a lot of fake shit goin on out here and the world needs something real. Don’t quit. Stay consistent, speak YOUR truth. Be humble, collaborate, develop a team, respect the journey and take it one step at a time... If you want to be a rapper, then let's rap. PRACTICE, be on time, rap over show edits, memorize your lyrics.” Hue has also encouraged any rappers who need additional advice/guidance to DM him on his socials. This is the type of behavior that just comes naturally to Hue. Being a family oriented individual it’s all about helping the next person, working together and elevating together.