Q&A: How Greene County hip hop artists BayBay467 and Nick Capri became an unexpected duo

For decades, the thriving music scene in Athens has made it a destination city for talented musicians looking for opportunities and experience to further their careers, or just to have support they might not receive elsewhere. For a pair of Greene County hip hop artists, the Classic City served as a source of connectivity and inspiration that has resulted in new music and visuals that might not have existed otherwise.

For this interview, Siloam, Georgia-based Ricky Baugh, who records and performs under the stage name BayBay467, and White Plains, Georgia native Nick Capri spoke with Banner-Herald arts and culture reporter Andrew Shearer about how they both came out of their creative bubbles to produce the breezy summer track "Ocean" and its appropriately laid-back music video available on YouTube.

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Andrew Shearer: Did you two know each other before working on "Ocean" together?

Nick Capri: Even though BayBay and I are from different cities, Greene County is small, so they're only really like five minutes apart.

BayBay467: Nick has been basically like family to me for the past five years because his mom goes with my cousin. And yes, Greene County is small, but just because you might've gone to school with someone doesn't necessarily mean you're going to continue to see them after you graduate. Whether they acknowledge you or not, that's on them. Nick and I were aware of one another as artists, but we'd never worked together.

Shearer: What lead to the two of you working together to record "Ocean"?

BayBay: I'd already finished pieces of the song, but I never did anything with it because it wasn't exactly the type of sound I normally have. And, honestly, if I don't like something I'm working on, I throw it away and move on. I can't tell you exactly how the conversation came about, but somehow by the end of the night, I ended up sending Nick the song just to play with.

Capri: I'm gonna be real with you, I wasn't making music with anyone at that time. I was just sitting behind the scenes watching everybody do stuff. Yeah. BayBay was somebody who I knew was really getting the work out there, and he'd already released so much music. I was grateful when he said that when he sent "Ocean" over. I knew he didn't like it, but I saw it as a great opportunity.

Shearer: "Ocean" is very different from your individual styles, but no one would guess that from hearing it. Was there a degree of compromise, or did the track fit together naturally?

Capri: What you hear me singing on "Ocean" was the hardest set of verses I've ever recorded. The whole thing was a new challenge in my career, but it tested my vocal abilities as well. At first, I couldn't see how I was going to get all the words in the space BayBay needed them to go. It took me a couple of days to work on it, but the feel kind of hit instantly once I figured it out.

Shearer: You ended up performing "Ocean" together at Live Wire Athens for the Dare 2 Dream 2 concert back in April, which was BayBay's first time on stage in Athens. How does it feel to work as a duo?

BayBay: For me, there's more to it than making a song and a video. There's a visibility factor because Nick has a certain crowd that's there for R&B and I've got a certain crowd that is there for hip hop. But when you put those styles together, it sounds good and the visuals are really going to attract the people. I'm eager to see the reaction from people who haven't seen us together before.

Capri: It's hard for me to talk about stuff like that, because I still see myself as a fan of his, of all everything that's going on. So I'm just excited that we made something together. The song and the video are great works of art to me.

"Ocean" will be available to purchase on all music platforms on Aug. 24 as part of BayBay467's "Strictly for the Land 2" album. Nick Capri's latest single, "Shot in the Dark," is now available on all music platforms. BayBay467 is scheduled to perform in Athens on Aug. 25 as part of the 2023 Scrapstock Festival at Athentic Brewing Company located at 108 Park Ave. in Athens.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Q&A: How two Greene County hip hop artists created an 'Ocean' together