Artist Spotlight: Diving Into the Deep End with Fi$h
- Jaeqwon Suarez
- Mar 18
- 7 min read
BY: JAEQWON SUAREZ / MANAGING EDITOR
The rapper Fi$h is not new to these waters when it comes to performing, collaborating, and songwriting within the music industry. Part of the graduating class of RocNation at the Long Island University Brooklyn Campus, Seawanhaka had the opportunity to catch up with him as he reminisces on his four years here, and what’s next for the Brooklyn-raised artist.
Starting from when he first fell in love with music, Fi$h stated that music had guided him throughout his life. He also shared that his mother influenced his passion. Moments like those, he describes, only planted the seed.
“It wasn’t until later in High School when I gave it a try for the first time. That’s not including the cyphers or rap battles me and my friends would do from time to time. High School is when I attempted my first song,” He recalls.
“All my life, I felt like I was looking for that ‘thing’. I was the type to try everything, but I was never good at them. When it came to making my own song, it came to me in a way that I never felt before with other things.”
With the support of his friends and family, it gave him enough confidence to put that song out, and the reaction after releasing it shocked him.
“I never felt what it was like to be recognized/acknowledged ever in my life for something. Even after that, it wasn’t until later that I started to consider taking it seriously. Before it was to feel that acknowledgment and I wanted that more than anything. Although valid, it’s not a pure intention to me,” He explained.
The Making of Fi$h
When it came to his artist name, however, he always knew that it had to be his last name, Fish. In high school, he discusses the many variations that his friends would call him, such as “Young Fish” “Lil Fish” or even “Big Fish”.
Although many still call him “Lil Fish”, he gives Seawanhaka a peek into the future, stating that his motto will be “Big Fi$h, not the little one”, describing it as a funny phrase he and his friends came up with. He has decided though, that it will only be Fi$h.
His inspirations came from a variety of influences growing up as he felt more drawn to R&B and has since tried taking elements from his inspirations.
However, not all of his inspirations come from music, and he gives the interviewer an example as he expands on that idea.
“A lot of my inspiration is also how people hold themselves as well. It’s less sound/music-wise and more of it being topics. What I’m speaking about is more of an inspiration to me rather than the artists I idolize and watch,” Fi$h stated.
This also bleeds into his songwriting, in which he states that he always tries to write from an authentic place.
“I feel like that’s what separates me,” he starts off. “For so long in this journey, it was me trying to be something else or a different character, and the beauty in these last few years was figuring out that I didn’t need to do that and that I could just be myself and tell my own story.”
The most prominent example of his statement would have to be the song that he released two years ago titled “Mentally Tangled” featuring Guru Chris. He describes how during this era a lot of what he wrote was what he needed to be telling himself.
“I didn’t necessarily believe in those things I was saying at the time. Still, I found myself going back to those songs and thinking to myself that I got to take my own advice.”
Many artists, especially ones that are just rising up, deal with the mental struggles of producing work and then thinking that it’s not good enough, a fact that Fi$h resonated with.
However, he’s still proud and takes pride in the fact that something he created could carry some ounce of inspiration for his audience, or to himself from time to time.
Fi$h recognizes that many lessons he learned when he was a kid have helped him carry around positive energy whenever he meets new people.
“Leave whatever is going on at the door,” a lesson that he was able to share with Seawanhaka about the key to bringing more positivity into your own life.
“I’m big on that. Things could be going on in your life at home or at work, but I choose not to bring those issues into school or any room I walk into. It’s a key part of my character that I pride myself on. I can step into a room and bring that positive energy.”
It’s not only for himself, he continued, but it's also his preference to keep the mood in any given room bright, leaving whatever negativity that may have happened to him at the door and dealing with it around close friends and family.
Seawanhaka also discussed the features in which he’s singing, showing off a hidden talent that the world has yet to recognize.
Tracks such as “The Lost I” or “T!NK” will have many listeners shocked the first time they hear Fi$h, as it’s a drastic change from previous work.
He confesses that he is still trying to find his sound, defining it as something he hasn’t quite discovered yet.
Learning how to use his voice was just one of the ways he ventured out to see what he likes and what defines the artist Fi$h. He also states that he loved that era as it was one of the more experimental phases when he made music.
“I was in a place where I had just gotten here [LIU] and Aiden was one of my early friends that I had met here. A lot of those projects are essentially me stepping into his world, which was something I was doing a lot of at the time, especially with other artists,” Fi$h explains.
“I didn’t know how I wanted to sound or present myself at the time yet. So it was trial and error in seeing what I liked and didn’t like as far as sound and vibes go.”
He also states that another huge reason for many not being able to recognize him is his lack of material for audiences to listen to.
Something Fi$h is trying to get into more is songwriting because he feels that his previous work did well because of how he wrote what he felt in the moment, encapsulating that experience.
“Now I’m starting more introspective, conceptual music. Though I would love to continue experimenting, that’s not the focus now. I’m looking to build more of my sound and hone in on myself.” Fi$h ended.
Another trivia learned about Fi$h was his dislike of producing beats, as he prefers to write on tracks. Producing is an entirely different world compared to what singers and rappers are in.
When it comes to writing on the spot, he explains that many of the songs he has out are perfect examples of his writing abilities. He expanded, saying that although he produces a lot of tracks, he doesn’t necessarily have that “feeling” for many of them.
“When I do have that feeling, it becomes something that I feel like I would put out because it’s naturally coming to me,” Fi$h starts off. “That’s usually my indicator of whether I want to move forward with a song or not. My thought process is, is it coming right to me? Or am I prying out these lyrics and forcing myself?”
“It takes a tremendous amount of respect to be entering this culture. These genres and styles were developed before my generation, so it’s like you have to show respect to the creators and ancestors of these styles.”
The Future of Fi$h
Fi$h was also able to discuss his relationship with the group Blank Canvas and perform with them. Blank Canvas is a collective full of creatives who perform and have recently gained traction within the New York music scene.
Fi$h first performance with Blank Canvas was in April 2024, starring in the SOBs performance.
“That became a huge success and I felt like I fit into the mold of the Group in my own unique way,” Fi$h stated. Since that initial performance, he joined the group as they began to make appearances on the radio from WNYU to WKCR.
He performed a demo of a song that he had been working on for a few months, though he didn’t confirm whether or not he’d release the track just yet.
The conversation switched over to a transitional period in his music, as he describes that a lot of his early work was dark.
“Those early songs were what actually helped lift me out of that place I was in before. Maybe that's why some could see it as inspirational,” He states. “Moving forward from that, I’m not longer in those places mentally, so I feel like the music or the song we’ve been referencing this new era where I want to be more upbeat and energetic.”
While he says that he likes to make more playful songs currently, he also recognized that he’d never completely move away from his inspirational lyrics, as that wouldn’t be authentic to himself.
“I want to do it in a way that's cool. I don’t want to be known for that necessarily, but I definitely want to be able to put out an album and say ‘ok, this is that record. That's the motivational record.’ I don’t want my whole discography to be just that, but I would love to have a few stands here and there for people who need to hear that.”
As the interview came to a close, Seawanhaka asked him what he wanted to improve as he began to move on from school, to which he immediately replied by releasing more music, along with headlining his own show with a full setlist of new material and being more active online.
“I have so many ideas that I need to believe in and see through. In order for growth to happen, it has to start from somewhere. Growth doesn’t happen ‘til you plant that seed. I need my starting point and that comes with putting out music.”
To keep up with Fi$h as he begins to make big splashes soon, you can follow him on Instagram Thefishtape.
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