The Art of Getting Up And Stepping Out [tonyxtrotter Interview]

It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for tonyxtrotter. Since bursting onto the scene and earning a spot as a Rapzilla Freshmen, the West Coast native has been moving at a breakneck pace. Fresh off the release of his powerhouse album, The Art Of Getting Up, and a surprise selection for the highly anticipated Holy Smoke Cypher, Trotter is proving that his gritty, East Coast-inspired boom-bap sound is exactly what Christian rap needs. Luc DiMarzio chatted with him about stepping into the CHH space, finding genuine community, dealing with an accidental album drop, and why he’s completely unbothered by taking the biggest stage in the genre without a single live CHH show under his belt.

The last year of momentum

It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been trying to set up something with you for probably a year. I think it was right around the Freshman stuff, wasn’t it? This last year has been kind of a crazy year for you.

Yeah, a little bit. I feel like this year is crazier, but yeah, this definitely has been.

You had just started dropping stuff, then you got nominated for Rapzilla Freshmen. Now, fast forward a year, you got picked for the Holy Smoke Cypher, you just dropped your first big album, The Art Of Getting Up, and you’ve got a lot of opportunities coming up. What is that like? When you first dropped, I think you said you were just going to try it out, and everybody caught on right away.

It wasn’t really “trying it out.” It was very much a step of obedience for me. I wrote for a really long time and released music as a secular artist, and then I took some years away after I got saved.

I had one record I put out in early 2021 on SoundCloud. No mixing, no mastering. I loved it. It was the first time I had let myself do that since being saved again, and I realized, “This is what I’m called to.” Then I took some years away again. I stayed down, worked, got married, and adjusted to all of that.

Then, in 2024, after some crazy stuff, God called me closer to Him and rebuked me kindly. It felt like He was saying, “I want you to take this seriously and pursue it.” So I said, “Okay.”

It took more sacrifice than I intended to be willing to give at that time. I had no intention of paying for engineering, distribution, or any of that. I thought I would just put stuff on SoundCloud. But God made it clear in my heart: “If you’re going to do it, do it right. Invest in it.”

So I dropped my first record in September 2024. I did a little EP in fall 2024 that was super rushed, but it had the first track Rapzilla posted in one of their playlists. I think that was probably you. I’m pretty sure I was up in the tree stand deer hunting, and I remember seeing it. I think I messaged you on Instagram like, “Yo, this is crazy. Thanks for the add, man.”

Then I dropped an album in February 2025. I still love that album, though it maybe wasn’t as polished. Then came Rapzilla Freshean, obviously, after just a few months in the game, even though I hate when people call it that [laughs].

So I think it was God using the obedience and blessing it. There was a lot of preparation behind it in other ways, and God made it happen.

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Finding community in CHH

What was it like stepping into the CHH space?

It was really hard for me at first. I felt super isolated. I still talk about it because some people act too cool and famous. It’s not CHH as a whole, but some people act that way.

On this newest project, in the intro, I talk about how CHH is weird because people act too cool and famous. We’re broken people, so not everybody’s perfect.

The Rapzilla Freshmen thing helped a lot because I met friends through that. I got to know Yung Drew really well because of that. Drew and I are super tight, and I’ve met a lot of people through Drew. Drew is a fantastic connector of people. He’s a good dude and has been an answer to prayer. I prayed for friends in this scene, and he’s definitely been a good friend.

Connections through Young Drew and the Holy Smoke Cypher

You mixed up with Drew pretty well. I saw him comment on your stuff one day, and I was wondering how that happened.

He heard my song “Days of Old,” I think, and shared it in his story. He said, “This Tony Trotter guy is a problem.” I was like, “What the heck? Thanks, man.” Now we’re super cool.

I just did a feature this morning for a song he’s also featured on, and we’re talking about doing more work together. Through him, I’ve gotten to know C4 Crotona, Bill B, and some other guys.

I’ve got like four homies in the cypher. Bill B is the homie. YakiTheKid is the homie. I just did a feature for him this morning. JJL is my engineer and close friend. He was on the project. The only one I don’t know is Cole Pierce.

Why this year feels even crazier

You said this year feels even crazier. What has been happening for you?

It feels similar to last year, but on a bigger scale. When I first got saved, I was only listening to Christian hip-hop. I thought some of it was corny, but I found stuff I could actually listen to. I was listening to people like Datin and Selah the Corner.

Now Datin is commenting fire emojis on my reels, and Selah the Corner hits me up like, “Yo, let’s rap one day.” I’m like, “What are we talking about? This is crazy.”

C4 tells me people are hitting him up, asking if he knows who I am. Then the album came out a week early by accident. People thought it was a marketing scheme. Close friends asked, “That was just marketing, right?” And I was like, “No, it was an accident.”

The way it panned out was a lesson for me. I can and should plan everything to the best of my ability, but if God wants to take the timing outside of my timeline, I have to trust Him. I could have easily gotten mad and told Justin to take it down and re-upload it the next week. But it may not have performed as well as it has.

Justin (Sarachik) told me, “This has never happened before.” I said, “If I’m the only one, I’m going to choose to believe God chose me for some reason, and I’ll let the chips fall where they may and control what I can.”

The album did really well. A lot of people have been tapping in. I made rap for rap fans, and it has connected with people. Then, literally four or five days after that, DJ Mykael V had my name on a paper saying I’m going to Holy Smoke. I was like, “Yo, what is going on?” It was a crazy week. April 3 to April 7 was bananas for your boy. I was tweaking and selling insurance at work at the same time.

Submitting for Holy Smoke

Had you been thinking about Holy Smoke before that? Were you trying to check it out in any way?

Not really. I had heard about it. Last year, Drew was in it, and I thought, “That would be cool to go.” But I didn’t really want to fly out there and do all that. I kind of had the attitude of, “I’ll go when I’m in it. I’ll go if I rap there.”

You’ve been rapping for a minute. Have you done a cypher like that before? Is working the crowd something you feel prepared for, or is this going to stretch you?

As a secular artist, I did a couple of little shows, like house shows and small group things, but that was probably eight years ago. It’s been a long time. I’ve never done a single show or performance as a CHH artist, and now I’m at the biggest festival there is.

I’ve been telling the homies, especially Q-Flo, that I’m honestly super nervous about it. But when I’m doing what I’m doing, I think I’ll be in that mode. My confidence in my ability will kick in because I’m not going up there to give a presentation on paleontology. I know nothing about that. I’m rapping, I rap every day. So I think I’ll be all right.

I’ll definitely be super prepared as far as the raps. I’ll rehearse a lot and be polished. I want to represent Christ and hip-hop and show that we’re not just dope for Christian rappers. We’re dope because we’re dope.

What’s next musically

What else do you have planned for this year?

Collabs. I might have a little EP later on. I’ve got some features from some dogs I want to get out this year. I’ve got a joint with Selah in the tuck. I have got a joint with Aable in the tuck. I’ve got some work to do with Q-Flo. YakiTheKid and I will have some stuff coming.

I’m not trying to oversaturate my own discography, but I want to stay vigilant and keep pushing the sound. I just want to keep creating.

Do you think features help widen the fan base?

Yes and no. I don’t think about it in a black-and-white way. It has to make sense. I could pay nobigdyl. whatever his fee is and get a record, and that record might get 100,000 streams. But I wouldn’t want to do that just for people not to listen to the next song.

I love to collab. It’s fun. But I want to work with people where the chemistry makes sense. Yaki and I have crazy chemistry. Drew and I have crazy chemistry, and we’re good friends. JJL is great, and we’re good friends. So I do think it makes sense, but I don’t think it automatically grows a fan base.

West Coast roots and East Coast sound

You’re from the West Coast, but you’ve got this sound that’s more East Coast. Have you ever tried to sound West Coast? Have you ever thought about that?

I have a couple of songs I’ve written over West Coast-ish beats just for fun, but I’ve always preferred the East Coast sound. Even living in the West, I was never a big fan of the hyphy sound. Some of it I love, but a lot of it feels repetitive and boring to me.

I always preferred gritty boom-bap flows, punchlines, Big Pun, Big L, Jay-Z, Nas, that kind of thing, over the West Coast guys. That’s just my preference. I just rap, bro. I’m a pretty simple guy. I love it, I take it seriously, and I’m committed to it as an art form.

Outside of that, if I don’t have a creative streak, I don’t force myself to do things I don’t feel led to do or don’t want to do. If I don’t feel like having a single ready for a month, I just don’t. Besides that, I play fighting games, Street Fighter and Tekken. I like baseball and hoops.

Signing with Rapzilla Distribution

What was it like deciding to sign with Rapzilla Distribution? This isn’t a commercial for us, but for the artist who might be considering it or might be jaded. What gave you the confidence?

I was relatively apprehensive about the proposal when it was sent to me. I asked a lot of questions, and I’m glad I did. Not because I was worried, but because asking questions allowed me to rest and trust it.

The most valuable part has been my relationship with Justin. Justin is extremely helpful with everything. Lately, I’ve talked to Chad a little more about social media, editorial stuff, and other things.

It has been valuable because it means I don’t have to pay for my own distribution anymore. I still technically have DistroKid, so I still pay for it, but having Rapzilla back me has been big.

The relationships have also been valuable. I genuinely feel like Justin believes in me. I don’t feel like a cog in a wheel. Especially after this album drop, he told me that certain people put him onto me, and he paid attention.

*tonyxtrotter signing announcement.*