Photo Credit: Vinny Got Heat
[44phantom](https://www.instagram.com/44phantom/) creates music from the heart, touching on all the highs and lows in the emotional rollercoaster that comes with this thing called life. At only 19 years old, the rising star arrives as a breath of fresh air in the music industry, creating his own version of grunge pop and reminding the masses that they are not alone.
The name 44phantom is inspired by his late second cousin, along with his family's connection to the number 44. Born in Oklahoma, relocating to Seattle and Nashville, and now finding his home in Los Angeles, real name Brayton Mathews wrote his first song ever at the young age of 8 years old.
In describing himself, he states, “44phantom is the part of my real self I always wanted to be. I don’t talk about myself very often so it’s weird. For the most part, I’m somebody that was really, really bored and decided to not be as bored anymore.”
Most recently, 44phantom unleashed his newest project titled _die sometime,_ _it’s good for u_. Clocking in at 8 tracks, the EP sees him evaluating topics of mental health and self-love, in a way that allows the listener to feel okay in their own lives. We all go through shit, and 44phantom uses his voice for the people.
_Flaunt_ caught up with 44phantom at El Cid in Los Angeles, hours before his EP celebration. The purple/pink hair and red painted nails paired nicely with his black sweater, Ksubi jeans, and white Jordan’s. Read below as we discuss how he got his start in music, going viral in his small hometown, signing to RECORDS/Columbia Records, what inspired the title _die sometime,_ _it’s good for u_, self-care routines, inspiration behind “gray!”, his fashion sense, why he doesn’t set goals, and more!
Photo Credit: Vinny Got Heat
**How did you end up doing music?**
Growing up, I lived in Oklahoma. My cousins who are basically my uncles because they’re significantly older cousins, they had this popular local band. They’d always take me to shows and I’d perform with them. I’d sing “Bartender Song” by Rehab all the time, then I stopped when I was 6. I thought “I don’t think this would ever happen.” A year later, the person who’s now my brother, Jessie, was in New Orleans when Katrina happened. He became really good friends with my brother in this town we lived in.
Then we moved to Texas, he moved in with us and lived with us. He got me really into Lil Wayne, so we started rapping all the time. I really never did music much, but I rapped every day until I was 16. I put out this shitty song on SoundCloud. Awful song, horrible song. It’s not up anymore, this is the first song. Put it on SoundCloud and it went viral in the town of 1,000 people that I lived in. Took it from there, kept putting stuff out and it wouldn’t do well. I said “one day! It’s gonna workout.” It hasn’t yet, but I hope it will.
**How did it feel to go viral?**
In a town of 1,000 people? Wasn’t that hard. I got 100 streams, first song. “Oh, I’m famous!” It was cool for about 10 minutes, which is still the same thing with putting a song out even now. It’s really dope, for 10 minutes.
**Why only 10 minutes?**
Because it’s that initial rush, then it’s gone. To be honest, with the way the fuckin’ world works now, you drop a song and 10 minutes later they’re like, “alright, where’s the next one?”
**What brought you to Seattle?**
Right after I put that song on SoundCloud, it was a couple months later. My mom had been living in Washington since 2016, she moved when I was 14. When I was 16, I was tired of being in Oklahoma. At that point, I started to commit to music and figured it wasn’t going to work if I was there. Too much going on, so I moved to Seattle and did homeschooling. I went to 2 different schools for one day a piece. Both times I said “fuck it.” I did it online, trapped myself in my room and made music.
**Do you love Seattle?**
Yeah. People in Oklahoma are going to get mad but yeah, it’s so chill.
**“break your heart” was a big record for you, what was 44phantom like then?**
I was a lot different. I genuinely feel I’m 10 years older than when I put that out, which was only 2 years ago. When I put that out, I had this whole idea of what this type of life was like and who I was. None of it was right. I went through a lot since then. Right after I put that out, I started coming out to LA. At that point, I’d been locked in my bedroom for so long that I had no life experience. I was what, 16? But I was 16. Now I’m 19, but I’m 45. It’s a whole different outlook on the world, music, life, and the business side of everything. Completely different.
**How’d you find your way to RECORDS/Columbia Records?**
I had met James (manager) after going out to LA for 8 to 10 months. He emailed me and my old manager at the time, said he has a distribution company he started. He was an exec at 300, left it. Wanted to do his own thing. I said “that’s pretty fuckin’ dope,” I like that because you’re not jumping straight into a huge company without any idea of how everything goes. From day one we started, I was working directly with him. I wasn’t working with an assistant or somebody through \[him\], that never happened. It was always working straight with him so it was nice. He started pitching our stuff to Spotify editorials, all of that. Almost exactly a year ago, I dropped a song called “let’s be friends,” which I personally hate. It happens. I don’t like that song, but it was my first ever one to get playlisted. It got put on New Music Friday and Fresh Finds.
**Did that make a huge difference?**
A bit. Honestly, I was right about that song because it didn’t make a huge difference. It was a difference, but not a big one. That’s not the right song to be put in that position, I still stand by that. I put out this song called “all figured out” which still didn’t get placed on anything. I didn’t figure that one would, it’s a slow acoustic song. In January, I dropped a song called “Sound Off.” I thought “this is the perfect song to get playlisted,” and it did. That made a big difference.
I started to get a lot more fans. What else did I drop after that? I dropped a song called “gray!” which was the craziest song I’ve done still to this day. It went crazy for a solid month straight. I became the cover of Teardrop on Spotify, which was cool. I always fucked with that playlist, that’s dope. My girlfriend’s friends would say “oh, we saw your boyfriend on the cover of a Spotify playlist.” Since then, it’s been grinding.
**How would you describe your sound?**
I feel like I coined this term, I call it grunge pop. In interviews they’ve labeled me as it, and I like it. There’s anti-pop too, but I wouldn’t say I’m that. It’s grunge pop. It’s a pop song at heart, but with a lot of heavy drums. Especially all the new shit I’ve been working on: heavy drums, heavy distorted guitar. It’s grunge pop.
**_die sometime,_ _it’s good for u_ out now! How are you feeling?**
Um, good.
**Why just good?! Your new album is out!**
‘Cause I’m ready for the next one. Ironically the same thing I was hating on people doing, I did myself. To be fair, I worked on that one for so long that although I love those songs, I was tired of them by the time they came out. Even though I might perform 3 of them tonight… You can’t get too caught up in what you did, otherwise you’ll make another project that sounds just like it or you’ll try and outdo it in a way that’ll make it worse.
It’s there, it exists. It’s doing its thing, it’s for other people now. When I made the songs, they were for me. When I’m the only person I know that has the song, that’s when it’s my song. That’s when it's mine. When you put that shit out, it’s everybody else’s. Y’all can have it, there it is. I’m on to making new shit.
**What’s the significance in the title?**
Oh, I don’t know if it’s changed too much, I was not in a great place mentally. I make a lot of jokes about killing myself, a lot. They’re funny, I like them. When I’m having those thoughts, it makes me feel better to joke about it. Everybody would always tell me: “don’t do that, don’t say that. Don’t say that! It’s bad for you to say that!” If I did die sometime, it’d be good for myself.
**Why would it be good for you?**
I was telling myself it’s okay to feel like shit. So many people, my family, my friends, random people: the way to get through your mental issues is not to ignore them. They do that so much, that’s when you honestly end up fucking killing yourself. For me, it was more when I’m thinking about dying or want to die, I let myself have that thought. 10 minutes later, I don’t have that thought. _die sometime, it’s good for you._
**What do you do for self-care? What do you do for your mental state?**
I make music. Music has always been my therapy. Before, I do not know what the fuck I’d do if I could not make a song if I was feeling some shit. I play MLB: The Show, it's a video game. Probably not great for the mental health, it pisses me off more. I smoke and watch a movie with my friends. That’s fun: get high and get freaked out by a comedy movie. Honestly in terms of therapy, music’s about it.
**What’s the meaning behind the cover art?**
Can I be honest with you? There isn’t one, it just looked cool.
**What were you going through recording “gray!”? The fans love that one.**
This was December of last year. I know this is so corny and it happens to everybody, but you really don’t understand a situation until it happens. Especially at the time I’d just turned 19, everybody tells you the stories about their friends switching up and being fake. “Aw yeah, that sucks. That happens.” Then that shit really happens, you’re like “damn, that’s some fucked shit.” That really gets to you. ‘Cause when you stop talking to someone, they might as well be dead. They’re not there anymore. They’re not in your life, it’s the equivalent as if they died. It’s like all my friends are dead.
In my head, it was more like I was causing it. Even in the song you can tell there’s this weird contradiction intentionally where they switched up, but then the hook comes back saying “but it is my fault.” I wasn’t making time to hang out with them. I was caught up in the music shit. I have that line, “I drown them in my excuses.” Nah I can’t do this, I’m not going out to do that. I lost all my friends from back home because I was so caught up in this shit. I love them but they’ll never get it. You’re never not working. There’s always some shit, you don’t have hours. You may wake up at 10am and go to a session until 2pm, but then come back at 4pm and do a photoshoot. Then right before you go to bed, you have to knock out a vocal.
**Do you love it though?**
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I love it and I hate it at the same time, which I think is healthy in my opinion. I don’t think you can love anything too much, it keeps you grounded.
**One thing you want fans to get from the project?**
I want it to make them feel something. Whether it’s good, sad, angry, happy. As long as it makes you feel something, that’s all I was trying to do.
**How would you describe your fashion sense?**
Oh shit, I just got one. Let me put it this way, I grew up around a lot of my brother Jessie dressing like rappers and shit. The shoes, I always try to be clean like the rappers. I really like the oversized sweaters, oversized things in general. I like pants that are not baggy, but not squeezing your legs so hard you can’t move. It’s a mix of hip-hop, punk, and a grandma.
**What outfit do you have on now?**
It’s a Reckless sweater, I think that’s the brand. I’m pretty sure, my stylist got it. Ksubi jeans, I fuck with Ksubi.
**Where do you usually shop at?**
Ksubi. I go to Dover a lot, this place called the Bodega. They hid it and made it look like an old grocery store, you walk through it and they got a bunch of dope shit. This is a Ksubi sweater too actually, I think?
**Goals for yourself as an artist at this point of your career?**
You know I used to, but I decided against goals. Everybody tells you your whole life you gotta have goals. To have a general goal is something you have to do in your life. For instance, I want to be successful. For sure, but I don’t put a number on it. If you do that, you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. There’s already so much pressure from this shit. They always say “you have to have a goal to have something to work toward.” In this shit, I like to just do it. It’s there, it is what it is. I make it, I have fun doing it, I want to keep it that way. So goals? No.
**Anything else?**
Listen to my new project _die sometime, it’s good for u_ on all platforms.
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