Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary Watson.
Hi Gary, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Gary (aka Sivion), and I’m an artist/musician from the North Dallas area. Though I grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland, most of my time in North Texas over the past several decades has been in Lewisville, Denton, Corinth, Flower Mound, Coppell, etc. My primary genre of music is Hip Hop/Rap infused with elements of Jazz. I’m a tenor sax player as well, so I use it quite a bit in my music. My music exploits in Hip Hop started when me and my twin brother (Wushu) started a group called Phat KATS back in 1991. We were both in college at the time (he was at the University of North Texas, and I was at the University of Miami, FL). During school breaks, I would come home to Denton, TX, and he and I would write and record music with DJ Spinn Mo of Wild Branch Productions. During that time we met up with Keynote and Mysfit from Teknowledge (ADF at the time) and formed Lost Step Familia. Later on, we became more engrained in the greater DFW hip hop scene recording music with Silent Assassin who was the DJ and engineer for Skwod X at the time and someone that helped us develop our sound more during the mid 1990’s. After a long run of recordings and shows, Phat KATS disbanded as a recording group, and I began my solo career around 2001. I joined Deepspace5 as one of 7 rappers in a 10-person crew. We released an album on Gotee Records in 2005 and have had a few releases since then. But as a solo artist, I ended up releasing 5 studio albums between 2005 and the present, 4 of the albums on Illect Recordings (founded by Josh Niemyjski) and one album called Spring of the Songbird on Hip Hop IS Music, which is an iconic label within Christian Hip Hop that had an amazing run over the course of about 4-5 years (founded by Braille) but no longer exists. I do have another solo album produced by MALEX releasing later this year (2023) as well.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As more of a jazzy underground rapper, it has always been difficult to find opportunities to share my talents, music, my story, etc., as my musical style would not be considered mainstream or pop in any way. There’s no large crossover appeal, so it has been a challenge finding a stage. Luckily during the mid to late 90’s there were some spots in Dallas that had monthly/quarterly hip-hop events, so as long as I stayed connected to the local promoters, I was able to stay fairly active here in Dallas. Through connections with Krum (fka Playdough) and Freddie Bruno of Phonetic Composition, I was able to begin building a brand within the Christian Hip Hop scene which gave me a broader platform for my art and blessed me with opportunities to travel all over the US for shows and perform globally in lands as far as Sydney, Australia. The struggles remain the same, but I love this music so much that I just keep on pressing forward, knowing that people are blessed by what God pours through me in these recordings.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As I mentioned before, I’m a rapper, artist, musician. My music is more on the jazzy side of the spectrum with lots of jazz/funk fusion influence. I also sing a little and play tenor sax… both of which are used in my hip-hop. I’m known for a more conversational tone to my raps, similar to Posdnuos of De La Soul, Talib Kweli, or Yasin Bey. The thing I’m most proud of is the fact that over the course of several decades, I’ve remained very consistent in the quality of music that I write, record, and release. In this day and age, it is often noted how important it is to continue reinventing yourself. But from my perspective, I’m constantly growing, learning, improving, etc. So, I’m reinventing myself without having to try so hard to manufacture an unnatural reinvention of myself, if that makes sense. Allowing myself to grow and change organically over time has created change visible to my fans and supporters, but in a way that produces music that feels right and feels like Sivion. That to me is worth so much more than having a catalogue of projects that are so polarizing that if you love one album you likely hate several others. I think that is one of the things that sets my catalogue apart from others in the Rap/Hip Hop genre… consistency.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
The Bible is definitely my “go-to” source for wisdom, inspiration, entertainment (sometimes), and growth as a human being. I’m not a huge reader or blog/podcast person, but I do try to experience life through as many different lenses as possible. I love connecting with people, learning about them, what makes them tick, what brings them joy, what makes them angry, etc. Life is about people. Yes, there are things that need to get done, but without people, most things don’t get done, and even if you can do it without people, there’s no true fulfillment in doing things alone. Everyone needs community, and that comes through people. I wouldn’t call myself an extrovert at all, but I love learning from people, and that starts with genuine connection.
Contact Info:
- Website: illect.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sivionds5
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sivionds5
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SivionDS5
- Youtube: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UC_ltyxp-8ob6awtO3Zq5FAQ?feature=share
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/sivionofficial
Image Credits
Scott Alan Photography
Raymo and Rondo Estrello Photography
Jon Madison Photography
Samax Amen
Norm Bowman Photography
