I’m ngl when I saw someone called Suicide Factory had messaged us at the magazine I thought hmm interesting name there hahaa. First coming across suicide factory he looks like he would be in an indie band or be what people are categorising as an ’emo rapper’; he turned out to be the latter. I caught up with Suicide Factory to get to know him better.
Name:James Oliver
Age: 19
City: Tunbridge Wells
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
“I’ll introduce myself as James Oliver, however, that’s not actually my real name haha. I usually say that due to the fact my last name is very easy to mispronounce. I’m a rapper from Kent in the UK and have an obsession with Skateboarding. I can also strangely speak Swedish! I also go under the name Suicide Factory on Soundcloud.”
Suicide Factory is an interesting name, how did you come up with it?
“Originally I had no idea what name to go under. I had an upcoming EP called ‘The World’s A Suicide Factory’ which my old friend picked up on and hit me up like “Yo, Suicide Factory would be a cool name!” I then started using that and renamed the original EP ‘Pink Alley.’”
Have you always been into rap music?
“Since very small I’ve always loved Eminem and Lil Wayne, but I went through a period of time where Rap didn’t interest me at all. A lot of people pick up on it when they see me in person and mention how I used to be a little emo kid with my metal shirts and weird bracelets. It wasn’t until I found the likes of Gothboiclique and other rappers where I realised rap music can be for anybody.”
How did you get into making music?
“As a whole, I’ve been playing guitar for around 8 years so I’m guessing it kinda stemmed from that. I was also in a metal band quite a while back which never really took off. Rap however, I got into making it through a meme I created with my friends where I’d go under the name Lil Emoji and created strange Lil Uzi Vert style music in a meme sense. My first single ‘Emoji Flex’ actually got 17k views on YouTube. Madness.”
Who are your biggest musical influences?
“My musical influences change so often. I’ve been through periods of time where I’ve been really into classic boom bap rap like Nas then suddenly switching it up and changing to the likes of Peep & Tracy. Right now, I’d say Post Malone and Jesse Rutherford are my biggest influences, due to how diverse they are.”
What genre would you say your music comes under?
“Previously I would have classified it as emo rap however, as time’s gone by I’d rather not restrict myself to a singular genre as it would limit my creative thinking. I love to make all types of music. On my Soundcloud you’ll find anything from classic hiphop to rap with metal routes (screaming and what not). I’m currently working on a mixtape that features genres such as DNB, Grime and HipHop, alongside an acoustic EP which is mainly singing.”
I know you’re part of a collective called ‘Hellraisers’ how did that come about and which other artists are included?
“Firstly, I’ll quickly name all the members as it’ll make it easier to explain the story haha. So there’s: Lil Jetpack, Vee, Toko, Mute Static, Ed and the two newbies Spaceboy & Hatachi. It started as a little idea of Jetpack and I’s. We weren’t too certain to begin with and kinda let the idea drift for a while; but as time went on we decided to just go for it. I convinced Mute to start rapping and so he joined which kinda kicked it off as the collective had structure and from there we’ve been hiding making plans for big things. Hellraiser’s are gonna take over the world man, just you watch. Shout out to all the guys too, I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for them.”
If you could collab with anyone who would it be?
Anyone? If we’re talking alive or dead I’d hands down choose Kurt Cobain. However if we’re talking alive currently I’d probably go for either Jesse Rutherford or Post Malone. If any of you are reading this right now (which I highly doubt it) hit me up on tinder xoxo.”
What’s next for you?
“I’m planning to drop a mixtape and 2 EP’s this year with countless singles. Right now, getting the acoustic EP finished and out is my number one priority. Oh and I forgot to mention, Hellraisers will be live sometime in summer. It’s going to be mental so make sure you stay tuned! x.”
I love how diverse Suicide Factory is and how he can produce music within different genres. I will definitely be at right at the front of any gigs him and Hellraisers do.
https://www.instagram.com/thesuicidefactory/