1. What’s your name?
My Name is Shaun Darryl Duncan, AKA Phyzikal or people just call me “Phyz.”
2. Where are you from?
I’m born & raised in Chicago’s South Suburbs, but I stay in the city now.
3. How old are you?
I’m 26 years old, I’ll be 27 this year.
4 .When did you start making music
I started playing the piano at age 3, & the violin at Age 11. My mom had me in music lessons since I was younger, but I never saw music as a serious career path for me until I started making beats in College. My Father is an award-winning composer, producer, & songwriter. He worked with names like R.Kelly, Chaka Khan, Jeffery Osbourne & more. Watching him have sessions growing up & him beginning his company as well as making music for video-games made me wonder if music was passed through to my genes as well.
It wasn’t till about 18-19 when I started experimenting making beats. Eventually I’d go on to try my hand as an artist as well.
5. How serious are you about your career?
Frankly speaking, I think I’m one of the most hardworking underground artists in the scene, also hidden amongst the undiscovered. The real know. I wake up in the morning thinking about this & go to bed on the same thing, every night. I have put in too many hours & sleepless nights in the studio for the past 7 years to throw it all away now. I really think my time is coming if I don’t let up on the gas one bit. Many of my musical homies complement me on my hustle, grind, & tenacity coming out strong in an over-saturated game.
6. Have you ever thought about quitting music?
I have thought about quitting music many times. It’s a thought that still haunts me even going 7 years strong making beats. It took me about 4 years to get to that ‘baseline’ of proficiency that I think being a good producer, engineer, & artist requires. I could be in love with this journey one day, & want to throw it all away the next, but I’m trying to keep centered & keep my head on a swivel. I kinda see myself as an artist, producer, & “A&R” all rolled into one. I hear what’s hot & want to find who it is & work with them. It doesn’t matter how big the artist is, as long as they’ve got it. How I translate my own artist efforts into life & on the mic comes from just that; Living Life. I freestyle mostly all of my material in takes. I don’t really write much in a way where I am visualizing what I am coming up with. I just find a mood/groove & run with it depending on how I’m feeling.
7. Who inspires you the most?
My Father. For being a mentor to me not only with my music, but as a Father in general. Definitely Juice Wrld, our Dad’s were friends actually. Denzel Curry, Ronny J, The Weeknd, TroyBoi, WondaGurl, MurdaBeatz, The Underachievers, TM88, Lil Peep, City Morgue, the list could go on & on if I let it. Also, I inspire myself. Every song I make is a chance to understand more about who Phyzikal really is. & there’s only one way to find out!
8.What got you into making music?
In college, I began DJing campus parties under the moniker “DJ Phyzikal” because I was an intended Physics Major & I love astronomy. It was around the same time that a friend of mine had handed me a cracked version of Logic Pro X, the software I use to this day, & it was over from that moment forward. My style has altered, ebbed & flowed much since then. It’s continuing to evolve as we speak.
9.Who is your favorite producer?
Without a doubt, Ronny J AKA RonnyJListenUp. I knew of Ronny J when he had only a couple thousand on twitter, & was just beginning to live & work with Denzel & XXXtentacion. I’ve been a die-hard fan ever since. The guy’s basslines & approach to music is next-level. He was when I started seriously “following” producers & being clued in-to all of the artists that are related to them. He was really my first introduction into the underground scene as it stood & is standing today.
10. What is one of your best songs/beats?
One of my best songs in my opinion is this chill banger called “PGMO.” It stands for “Please Get Me Out” as in please get me outta my head. It’s really how I was feeling at the time. It was the start of the pandemic when I was recording that, & everyone was cooped up inside. I have many different flavors of music. my 808 Rockstar series is good for ear splitters & melodic bangers. Projects like “CLOSR” & Feeling Well are more memoirs of my feelings & thoughts at times and events in my life. Literally every song has a story, whether it be specific lines I spit, or the people who were around me when I recorded them. Music is like a sandbox. You can put thoughts in people’s heads, talk about the past, the present, & even how you envision your future. It’s a powerful thing for sure.
11. Are you signed to a record or label?
I’m currently Independent. I’d sign the right deal if it was presented in-front of me, but I’m not rushing to pick a side. The biggest achievement I’ve probably gotten has been scoring a placement producing for a world-wide Kit Kat advertisement. This just happened this year, actually. The spot should be released this year, & I’m anxious to see how it does!
12. Have you ever performed?
Yes, a few times! I opened up for Austin Skinner & BIGBABYGUCCI in El Paso last summer, & doing more shows or even organizing a mini-tour with some of my people is one of my goals for next or even this year.
13. Who would you most likely collaborate with?
As far as Dream Collabs, I’d love to collaborate with DaBaby, SoFaygo, SmokePurpp, Travis Scott, & Trippie Redd to name a few. As far as underground artists go, I’d wanna work with Flex Sinatra, Stacy Money, BIGBABYGUCCI, Austin Skinner, OnlyBino, HeyGwaupo & many more names. I have my frequent collaborators, Stav Z & Saucy, they are my producers when even I’m lookin’ for something different. Part of the gang. I also have a lot of work coming with producers & artists I see things in.
14. If you could open for any artist who would it be?
I’d love to open for Nav!
15. What’s next for you?
The next thing on my plate is securing a few major placements to get my name buzzing, then focus on the rollout of my next project, ‘Feeling Well.’ Building my branding & website more, & shooting visuals. Once I have those buzzing, the focus is shows to network & to release merch, then see how things develop. I’m trying to be more consistent with releasing music. I used to drop every week. You won’t know what to expect from me, though, even I get tired of doing the same old music over & over again. Beyond excited for the future!
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