Arigon | ‘Want You To Know’, Paves It’s Own Way

It’s a pleasure to introduce Ariel Gonzalez, or more popularly known as Arigon. The 27 year old Chicago Native is doing the Hip-Hop hub of the nation real justice. He revitalizes tracks with straight bars and lyricism, but don’t get it twisted, he brings in the intricacies of combining that with dope melodies and wide-ranging vocal ability. That skillset is shown on his most recent drop, ‘ Want You To Know ‘.

On ‘Want You To Know’, Arigon clearly flexes his ability to sing beautifully and transition smoothly into spitting fire bars. The message in the song is clear as well. It is one of perseverance and acknowledging reality, as Arigon illustrates his dreams of being a superstar rapper while humbly reminding listeners that for the time being he is combatting the every day struggles of normalcy. This is not a message you normally hear in a song that is beautifully crafted to resemble a mainstream hit. The hook in combination with his verses deem as a way to educate the audience, while empowering them to coincide with the track. If thats not enough to engage an audience, the production is top notch. The breaks in production also provide an added sense of anticipation whenever Arigon is about to drop his next bar. The drum patterns were tastefully built in to arrive on certain cues as well. This brought the excitability factor where listeners can’t predict the next move, and are constantly being surprised with new sounds throughout the track. The vibe on this one was executed masterfully. A true gem to be appreciated in all aspects of hip-hop ranging from the radio side, into the clubs that spin records.

I’m dreaming but never trippin

Check out our exclusive Rap Fiesta interview with Arigon where he details how he transitioned from being a full-time accountant into a rap artist, and where the love for music sparked the fire in him to begin his dream. It’s not easy to give up the comfy and secure job of being an accountant in order to pursue the road less traveled, but that is exactly what Arigon did. Truly, a remarkable depiction from a success-bound artist.

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Hey brother, lets start with the basics. Where are you from and how old are you?

I was born, raised and currently reside in the Hermosa neighborhood located on the northwest side of Chicago, and I am 27 years old.

That name Arigon is dope. It’s definitely fresh and unique, I can’t recall another name like that. What does Arigon mean?

I wish I had somewhat of a deeper meaning for my name, but the name ARIGON is actually just the combination of the first three letters of my first name, Ariel, and my last name, Gonzalez.

At what age did you start to get into music and why did you gravitate towards rapping instead of pursuing another career? What makes you think you made the right choice?

Music has really been a big part of my entire life so it’s hard to pin point the age that I actually started to get into it. I have a sister that’s 10 years older than me and a brother that’s 8 years older, so they were always putting me on game when I was younger when it came to all different types of music. Also, I actually started playing the trumpet in 5th grade too, and played throughout all of high school. Doing that not only added to my ear for music in general, but also just to my knowledge and feel for how to structure songs.

The main reason I gravitated toward rapping was initially just my amazement with the art form and how naturally it came to me. Also, rapping is like therapy for me. There’s a lot of emotion I get to express through my lyrics. But when I was younger listening to people like DMX play different characters on songs like “Damien” or “Ready to Meet Him” had me feeling like I was watching movies in my head. Then growing up and listening to people like Twista, Eminem or Big Pun showing off their lyrical gymnastics on every track always just sounded dope to me, but made no real sense unless I took the time to really listen. It was like they were all putting words together like puzzles that not only eventually made sense, but had deeper meanings. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat there and rapped the part of Big Pun’s verse on “Twinz” when he says, “Dead in the middle of Little Italy little did we know that we riddled some middlemen who didn’t do diddly”. When I first heard the cadence of his flow I was just like, “What the fuck”.

So, fast forward to 8th grade when writing poetry was introduced to me at school and I realized that’s what rapping really was, that’s when I really started to lean toward rapping. Writing poetry came easy to me and I even ended up coming in 2nd place at a poetry slam my school held that year. That same school year we had to do a project for a music class, which ended up being my first song I recorded. I wrote some lyrics to a beat that one of my classmates made on GarageBand and the rest is history. I was hooked.

The idea of chasing my dream and actually pursuing a career in rap didn’t come until recently, after having already gotten my bachelors degree and working a couple years in my field. I just got to a point where I felt like I needed to be doing something more fulfilling with my life, and that I needed to put myself in a better position to help others in more ways then just monetarily. The feeling I get not only when I finish a song, but when people come up to me and tell me how one of my songs touched them or how they can relate to what I’m saying… that’s what makes me feel like I made the right choice.

You got an interesting vibe about you. It’s a little mysterious as we cant pin point exactly what ethnicity you are, and that ambiguous vibe brings more appeal. What background are you from?

It’s funny you mention that because I feel like people always have trouble guessing my ethnicity on the first try, but my parents are both from small towns in Puerto Rico. My mom is from a town called Vega Baja and my father is from San Lorenzo. My siblings and I are part of the first generation of my family to be brought up in the states. Given that detail, there’s also a lot of Salsa, Reggaeton and other music native to the island that has influenced my style of music too.

You drop a lot of freestyles on your IG. My favorite was the ‘All Falls Down Freestyle’ where you blend in a little singing and spit about a positive message about believing in yourself. When was a time that you really felt like you needed that advice?

That time is now. I actually feel like there never isn’t a time where I, or that people in general, don’t need that advice. I just feel like we as a people we’re so quick to give up on ourselves and abide by the limitations that are placed on us by people around us who are just too scared to pursue a vision that isn’t clearly mapped out. That’s honestly why I initially didn’t fully pursue rapping sooner, and instead just went the route of getting my degree and getting a normal job. Not that I’m knocking that route or the people that pursue that route because to each is own. But for me personally, that route was based on the insecurity and lack of support that I felt I had or needed for my vision. But like I alluded to in that freestyle, life is all about manifesting the destiny that you desire. People aren’t always going to see, agree with, or jump to support your vision right from the jump. That’s why it’s YOUR vision. Once you start to take yourself and your own vision seriously, no matter what it is, that’s when other people will start to take you and what you’re doing seriously. That’s when shit starts to happen that you could only imagine happening. I feel like I have to remind myself of that everyday in order to keep focus on my goals and to keep in mind that everyday is just another baby step in the process.

In your track ‘Want You To Know‘ you really flex your singing a bit and thats super dope, because you bridge that with bars too. I can really see that bumping at parties. What was the vibe you were going for with that track?

I really appreciate the positive feedback. Honestly, I was just going for an uptempo vibe that would catch people’s attention with the combination of the beat, bars, flow and style. Like right off the bat I felt like the beat was an attention grabber that makes people wanna move. So my approach was kinda like, “While I have your attention let me tell y’all some things about me I feel like y’all should know”. It kinda serves as a lyrical introduction to those who have never heard of me before, but also as a next level introduction for those who have followed some of my prior work. On top of that, the singing just works to get the hook stuck in your head.

In that track as well you said these bars, ‘Gotta keep it pushing, kicking it like I’m Lupe’. Really respected that nod to a Chicago native like yourself. Was Lupe Fiasco a big role model for you?

Yea Lupe was definitely a big influence. I was in high school when “The Cool” dropped and I can’t tell you how many times I played that shit out, and definitely took pride in him being from the Chi. But when I reference Lupe on that bar I’m actually referencing his approach to the rap game at the time. He prided himself on the potency of his lyrical content, like he speaks to on “Dumb it Down”. I kinda feel like I’m doing the same now with the hip hop game thats kinda saturated with a lot of artists trying to have the same sound and saying the same things. I’m trying to me sure you can feel the thought that I put behind my lyrics. Hence, “kicking it like I’m Lupe”.

You also mentioned in that track that you had a degree in accounting. Is that really true? If it is, are you still working as one? Are there any skills you learned from accounting that can be applied to rap?

Yea it’s true. I got my bachelors degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago. But currently I’m not working as an accountant. I’m actually a shareholder/dealer services representative at a transfer agency for a mutual fund company. I wouldn’t say that there are any accounting skills that I could directly apply to my rapping, but that background has definitely helped me budget my music expenses. Like I say on the track “Got my degree in accounting, but ain’t no mathematician. I just know money is money, and money be what we missing”.