BMP (Buffalo Music Players) Episode 32: Armani Power aka Waeko

Armani Power was on the BMP pod at the end of Black History Month, and he had a song for the occasion. A believer in communication and information, Armani shared his journey in hip-hop, R&B, rap, and even country in an overwhelmingly musical world.

But he didn't expect to be good at music, so maybe it's surprising he's getting comments like "fire" and invites on collaborations as he spreads his talent amongst the scene right here in Buffalo, New York.

If you've seen him, you know. He's expecting more performances in the near future and he's not to be missed. Hear him talk about it all right here on BMP.

BMP Sponsors are:

Captain Tom & the Hooligans

BUFFALO CREATIVE WORKSHOP

MAMMOTH CANNABIS

SHIANNE WAXING STUDIO

Theme for the Shianne Waxing Studio Commercial was Conducted & Composed by Philip Milman

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:08

It's the PMP park if you are just playing well. We're leaving a key, and we are gonna end this our way of helping us uh uh we uh you gotta park it. Everybody gotta be quite never I'm too crazy. If the rocking can do it, I sure can I've never fought the stall, so I got the upper hand. If the rocking can do it, I sure can. I've never fought the stall, so I got the upper hand is the BMP pocket.

unknown 1:06

It's the BMP pocket. It's the BMP pocket.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

This just then a double scoop of bad news. Man, life just isn't letting up. I feel like the walls are closing in, and I don't have a way to stop it. I wish there was somewhere I could go. Some place where I could just get away from everything, and just be creative.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

There is a buffalo creative workshop. Who said that? Spirit of creativity. I heard you're playing the healthy in the Great Arrow building on Elmwood Avenue. Use our space, our art supplies and equipment to your heart's content. Let us hope you beat back the stress and feel centered again.

SPEAKER_03 2:05

Wow, that sounds great. I'll check it out.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

Always remember if the world has your creative spirits in a rut, come to the Buffalo Creative Workshop for a pick me up. More about Buffalo Creative Workshop can be found at Buffalo.creativeWorkshop on Instagram.

SPEAKER_04 2:27

Hello, BMP listeners. This is the Buffalo Music Players Podcast. I'm Benjamin Joe. And I am Max. And we are with our guest, Armani Powers, also known as Waco. He is a rapper in the Buffalo area, though he's moved around a lot throughout his life. Umani, maybe you can introduce yourself to the listeners.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Hello, uh, I am Armani Power, also known as Waco. Um, I would consider myself an artist instead of a rapper, um, mainly only because of the fact that I make different genres of music ranging from RB to rap to afrobeats and etc. Um, and sometimes rock music. And also looking to do maybe a little bit of country music too in the future. Country music. But yeah, um I grew up uh you know many different places. Um most recently the Midwest Indiana, uh Michigan area, Michigana is what it's called over there. Um more specifically, uh South Bend, Indiana. Um I moved here around like five years ago. Um I started music around like two years ago and started mixing and mastering my own music at around like probably like around eight months ago. Wow.

SPEAKER_04 3:42

But you know, I'm glad to be here. What what brought you to the music? Like, you know.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Um honestly, I never really thought that uh I would really be doing music at all. Um what were you into as a kid?

SPEAKER_04 3:56

What what were you into?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

I mean, I I definitely liked music. I was always, you know, hearing like old older, you know, classics and stuff like that. Um but I never really uh considered myself like an artist at all, you know. Um I did have, you know, like little phase where, you know, like I was rapping and stuff. But then, you know, I stopped doing that. But I feel like that was more so just because of my um surroundings and you know, maybe, you know, like not good influences. Um and then it kind of, you know, chained off into people saying that I should do music and I should, you know, that I have a musical sense um about myself. And so I guess that ended up leading into me doing choir uh throughout high school. Great bass. And that's really where I started finding a passion for the love of music was when I was doing uh choir and show choir and stuff. Um and then COVID happened and I started writing music a little bit. And I had posted it one time. I posted one of my um one of my uh raps that I had rapped over a bee, a little freestyle, and then the people just started, yo, this is fire, you know, and started resharing my stuff, um, you know, and it it just took off from there. I was like, okay, well, I got the bug. Yeah, and uh and I really fell in love with it.

SPEAKER_03 5:36

What um what made what happened that made you feel like um being a rapper or an artist was attainable? Because before you said that um you felt like you didn't see yourself as like an artist. Like what would what happened that made you f realize like okay, I can do this? Because I can. That's good enough answer. You feel me? Yeah, I'm doing it for now. You feel me? Um it really starts. Sometimes you guys just jump off the porch, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Yeah, it really exactly. It really starts with the mindset. Yeah. If you don't believe you can do something, you're not gonna do it. Hundred percent. You know what I'm saying? Um belief and also words hold very great power. Um and you know, um I like to say that I'm a little spiritual, um as more so as opposed to when I was younger, but even then I still had a spiritual aspect of that I know I seen the vision and I could just I could just do it just because I said I can do it, because I know I can do it. Yeah. But it's even more it's more than that. But I'm you know, yeah, you know, it's just certain f you know, frequencies. If you're on the right frequency of success, then you're gonna be successful.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

Yeah, and even when you talk about words, like the words that you use, like how you talk to yourself is how you see yourself. You know what I mean? So if if you have like a negative thought line, you're gonna see yourself in a negative light. If you talk to yourself in a positive light, you know, you're gonna see yourself positively.

SPEAKER_04 6:58

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

Absolutely. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 7:01

So in the lab, I heard I've heard clips of it, persona, uh old school. Yes. We just talked about that off mic. Really you said it was uh the laffy topsy song inspired by that. Yeah, yeah. Oh the classic. The classic laffy tap.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

So so yeah, um, when I made old school shit, um that was essentially I heard the I heard the beat. Um and I'm very picky with beats, and most of the time when I'm when I'm looking for uh beats, I like to be very unique um and pick. Yeah, I can I can see that that uh number one just sonically fit right with me. Um so I don't like I there's a lot of beats that I just don't use. Um but also I like beats that are not mainstream. I don't want to rap over a beat with a hundred thousand views. I wanna rap over a beat with a thousand views. You feel me? I wanna rap under more niche, more underground uh beats. Um and beats with just like different sounds in them that is not just mainstream sounds, like you know, like uh I don't just wanna rap over a a tight beat. Yeah, you know, yeah. Um so when I found that beat, I was like, yo, this really sounds like some old school like 2000s, you know, uh early 2000s type. Um so I'm like, okay, let me do this. Um but it was actually more so of a newer underground artist type beat called Osama Song. So, you know, it had elements of that in it too, but I just made it my own. Yeah. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_04 8:39

Yeah, it's not it's not where you where you take it from, it's where you bring it to.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Yeah, so uh, you know, I made some music over that beat, and a lot of people like multiple generations was definitely messing with that track. Nice. Um I had my my unc bumping that track. Nice. You know what I'm saying? I had my older brother bump that track, you know, he like 10 years older than me.

SPEAKER_04 9:03

I liked it. When I was listening to it, I was like, I was like, Persona, uh I think some a couple other songs, and I was like, oh, this is this is interesting. This got a beat to it, it's got some like yeah, you really do a good job of uh bringing lyrics into the uh forefront. I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_03 9:17

You're uh you're lucky that your family is like supporting you because it usually your family are the last people to support you.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Absolutely. Um I wouldn't say it's my you know biological family, but it's the family that I made along the way. It's the family that I chose. You feel me? You choose your family. I never really think that blood is thicker than water. I really think that you know, sometimes the water, if you mix it up a little bit, it can definitely deteriorate the blood, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, it's um you know what I'm saying? Um so um it's definitely some of my family members that do support my music, but most mostly it's um my brothers that I made along the way, you know what I'm saying? Um those is my real family, you know what I'm saying? Um I definitely had a hard time uh growing up. Definitely had a hard childhood, so my family not really, you know, um break through that. You know, they they not really the best. Yeah, but I still love them though. You know what I'm saying? Um, I still try and, you know, do my best mm, you know, by them. I'm a very open and forgiving person, you know. It's cool. That's good. Stuff happens.

SPEAKER_04 10:23

But how how you been with the public of Buffalo? You've been here, you've been doing music for like eight months, anybody I I know a lot of people have like said you're really good, like, but I'm just wondering, like, when you do your shows, like what's the reaction here? Like, what are you seeing here in Buffalo? Like, as as where you are.

SPEAKER_03 10:37

Yeah, I've seen you more like in show stuff, like doing stuff like performances-wise. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Most of the time when I perform, I feel like um, if it's few people in the room, I feel like that's when I start getting nervous. But if it's a bunch of people in the room, I don't be getting nervous. Like, I that just hypes me up more. So I feel like I'm really just backwards in that aspect. So, like, all of my shows with like mad people at them, like I really turn the crowd up. You feel me? Like, I'm like it, I don't know, maybe it's a mental aspect. Like, I'm like, yo, this is a crowd I gotta turn up. Like, you feel me? Like, it's too many hasn't here, yo. And I feel like my energy is contagious. Yeah, you're like Goku with the spirit bomb. Yeah, yeah, exactly. No, quite literally that. Yeah, you feel me? I'm like, yo, give me your energy. You feel me? Like, yeah. Um, and so I do that, and I get up there and I really show off and show out, and you know, I got the crowd moving, bumping their heads. Um, I got shorty shaking ass. Very good. You know what I'm saying? Like, I got arguing for me.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

That's truly the parameter of success, even though I'm saying, yeah. Can you do that?

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Yeah, um, yeah, and you know, we all have a good time. That's really what it's about, too. I like I like to, you know, have other people have a good time.

SPEAKER_03 12:03

You know, yeah. I saw you um at the last Amy's place event, and it was a small room, and you did not seem nervous at all at performing.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

So I definitely was nervous.

SPEAKER_03 12:14

Um Well, you didn't show it, so you got a good poker for this.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

I I appreciate you. I appreciate you. I definitely was nervous, um, and I definitely could have done better that show. Okay, in my opinion, in my opinion. Um, but that's something that I take into notation and I tell myself I'm definitely gonna do better, and that's never gonna happen again. You feel me? Um, and mostly the only problem that I had was just um me um forgetting my lyrics, you know what I'm saying? Happens. And I feel like I didn't um rehearse as much as I should have that day. Yeah. Mainly because of the fact that I had just made one of the songs for Black History Month, like two days prior. Okay, so you were just like hyper focused on that. Yeah, so I was really hyper focused on that, and I feel like that messed up my flow. I got you. You know what I'm saying? So I should have just, you know, really uh not thought of it too much. I feel like I was just in my head for that too much because, you know, I cared about the song. You know what I'm saying? Sometimes you just gotta not care, and that's the best thing that you know, just you know, go with the flow.

SPEAKER_04 13:17

Yep. That's awesome, 100%. What is your work ethic like? You practice every day, or like is it more like once a week you can do a rehearsal for yourself or like um like when I'm doing sh like for a show? Yeah, if you if a show is coming up, it's just regularly.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

I mean I'm sure you can. That's the one thing that I'm gonna start working on, and that's what I told, you know, told myself um is that I'm gonna start rehearsing more and I'm gonna get I'm gonna give myself a week of rehearsal time before a show instead of you know like the same day. You know what I'm saying? Or a day before, or a day before, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. Because that's what was working for me uh most of the time, you know what I'm saying? But it could always be that one performance, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, you never know who's watching. Exactly. So I I had a I really thought about that and I took that into account, and um that was something that was a learning experience for me.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

Well, you're doing it more than a lot of people, because like how most people practice before they get on the stage is they take a few shots and just hope for the best.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Yeah, no. Um I actually I don't drink or smoke before I go on the stage, and I say that until right after I'm done. So like a celebration that you got. Yeah, like a little drink. Yeah, I like to celebrate. Definitely like to celebrate, you know.

SPEAKER_03 14:33

After the work is done though.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Yeah, after the work is done. Um never before the work is you know, you know what I'm saying? I can't do that. Yeah. Now, if I just so happen to, you know, have you know, maybe I was smoking or something, I mean that's fine. But I'm definitely not gonna be drunk on the stage. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely not gonna be drunk on the stage. Um, and for the most part, I really do not smoke before I go on stage. That's probably like only one time that that happened. Um, and it was it wasn't like I wasn't even smoking for real. It was like an Eddie. Yo, I got you. And I'm you gotta be careful with those of them. Well, I'm an Eddie trash can. Yeah, I can really I yo, I'm really good with the Eddies. Yeah, I I can really take some Eddies and be straight. I'll be high as hell, but I'll be straight. You know what I'm saying? Um, and you know, I that day I was preferring to do that over than smoking because I like I like my diaphragm and you know my wing my lung capacity to be, you know, on point. Yeah, I don't want to be out of breath, you know what I'm saying? When I'm on stage or anything. I really take that into account. I really think a lot about that type of stuff.

SPEAKER_05 15:40

That's good, man.

SPEAKER_04 15:41

How's he uh the songs are do you come from like the freestyle um background? Like, cause I know some rappers they'll be writing down all their stuff. Other rappers are like, you know, I get in the studio and I try a couple things, then song just gets built over that way. Like, where where are you where are you camped at?

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Yeah, so uh, well, I'm always trying to be diverse, I'm always trying to learn new things and do things different. Um, I'm a firm believer in never doing the same thing because, you know, like sometimes, you know, like how you gonna see different results if you don't try something different? You know what I'm saying? 100%, yeah. Um so for the most part, I really like I don't I don't freestyle in the aspect of people normally freestyling, like off the dome, just back to back to back freestyling. But I do when I'm practicing and I have my like daily sessions of me rapping, I do freestyle when I do that. You know what I'm saying? So like when I'm practicing my my uh my flow or my wordage or uh just practicing, you know, being an artist in general, I do freestyle for that.

SPEAKER_04 16:49

How does that feel? Yeah, if you're gonna like come up with it.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

It's nice, it's nice, it feels good, it feels good. Um, but for the most part, when I'm recording music, I just punch in. So basically punching in is you'll say a bar or two and then you'll cut it off and you'll continue with the next bar or two, and that's how I usually carry about myself. Um when I first started um doing artistry, uh I was writing my lyrics, but I stopped that like almost immediately. But now I'm gonna go back to um like do my own like little personal workshop and try and you know write something down and see how that goes. And um really just kind of trying to uh my my main problem with writing music down is I like there to have a beat, but if there's a beat that I make in my head, then now it has to be a whole separate song and I can't just find a beat on YouTube for that. You know what I'm saying? So I'm I'm trying to, you know, manage.

SPEAKER_03 17:51

You're very particular about like what you want to hear.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

Not not even not even just that, it's just uh maybe, maybe that is it. Maybe. Um, but I don't know. I feel like I'm so musically sound that I feel like maybe I should start producing my own music too.

SPEAKER_03 18:04

You should. I mean if you already make some of the things.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Or working with my producer that I have, um and trying to see if we can come up with something there. Yeah, who's your producer? His name is Kanje. Shout out to Kanye. Yeah. Um, yeah, he a W producer. Um, and you know, I've been working with him for a bit.

SPEAKER_04 18:25

Um that's that's great. Hey, um, you mentioned a song that you've just been working on for Black History Month, and it is Black History Month, it's February now.

SPEAKER_05 18:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:35

Um why don't we take a second and uh listen to a little bit of that? Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

After a long day, it's hard to turn off. That's why I go to Mammoth Cannabis on 212 Ohio Street. Their stuff I'll have you laid out flatter than a mammoth foot. From flour to pre-rolls, vaporizers to concentrate. You can rest assured that something big is waiting for you at Mammoth Dispensary. Just keep in mind, if you smell cereal from the General Mills factory nearby, they can't help you. You have to go home and get a bowl yourself. It's a dispensary, not a eatery after all.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

Don't be a bit more than a little bit. I know the one my hand, I don't think it's don't make a finger in my air.

SPEAKER_04 20:13

Welcome back, VMP listeners. That was quite a song. Um, can you tell me a little bit about what that song's about?

SPEAKER_01 20:20

Yeah, so um, so pretty much, um, when I was making that song, I really I wanted to talk my shit for Black History Month. Um, and also I wanted to address certain issues, um, especially certain issues that people might not know about um or might just be brushed under the rug in the community. Um so for an example, like the beginning of the song, um I kind of brushed up on um I said they try to take us down with fake VPs. They say they back again. You're not a Black Panther, you a Colonel Sanders, you fucking Coon. That's essentially like they was going around on TikTok saying, yo, we we the new Black Panthers. This is a new I don't know if you guys seen that at all. They was like, yeah, they were like, oh, we're the new Black Panthers. You are not the new Black Panthers. They are not associated with the Black Panther Party at all. They were using the name of the Black Panther Party to um be aggressive and you know, like try and defend immigrants, which I don't have a problem with, but that's not what the Black Panther Party is for. And also too, I feel like that was more of a psyop to, you know, have people be more aggressive towards ice so that they can kill us more. You know what I'm saying? Um I really did not appreciate that at all.

SPEAKER_05 21:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Um, and also too, a member of the Black Panther Party came out and said that they are not associated with them. So that's one of the um topics that I wanted to touch upon. Yeah. Um and I touch up on various other topics, you know, if you listen to the song and hear it out and stuff. Um, and one of the main topics that I uh touch on too. Is um Jihad Vasquez. He was a 16-year-old boy living in Southern, Indiana. And his white friends took him up. His white friends, quote unquote, took him up to an electrical tower and hung him. And nobody was charged. Nobody, you know, nobody. It's a code case. You know, they dropped, they dropped everything. And the man is, you know, still working free to this day. You know, um, nothing was done about it. You know? Um it was terrible, a terrible circumstance, ter a terrible, you know, um terrible events that happened. Um and so I kind of touched up on that and how, you know, white people like to say the word nigga. And so I was like, um He think he he thought he could say nigga cause his great granddaddy black. I mean his great great great granddaddy black. If you can't pass for lynching in this citry, then I don't want to hear it, and then if not, I'm putting Bell to ass. Yeah. The rest in peace of Jihad Vasquez, one night they took him and they hung him on top of a tower. With big dreams, he was only 16 looking to get cream and soon become the man of the hour. You feel me? So I really wanted to, you know, talk about that. And, you know, like when I'm rapping, you know, my staple statement is that I fight the power. You know what I'm saying? I'm always fighting the man, anything that I do, even including music. Yeah. And so that's why I really made this track.

SPEAKER_03 23:22

No, I commend you, because like you made your style. It's very abrasive, but like you're talking real shit. It's almost like you're a reporter. Yeah for this one. Yeah, you feel me? And I still wish I'd very hip hop, you know, when it comes to it.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

And it was it was about making it fun to hear though, too. Yeah. At the same time, like to make it digestible or no baseball lesson. Exactly. So it's fun to hear, but it's also I'm talking about some real shit though.

SPEAKER_04 23:42

Yeah. Yeah. Listen, um, I I was thinking just uh what you said a little while ago about your family, like your real family, the one you chose. I wanted to know the thing that includes people here in Buffalo and like how they've shaped and how maybe you shaped them, how you, you know, you've broken the mold um to be the guy you are today. Like I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about those people that have been your supports.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Um, yeah, for sure. Um, so you know, I love my brothers, you know what I'm saying? Um, especially, you know, my brother Dave, he really helped me understand uh the musical aspect of certain things. He enlightened me on, you know, certain music aspects of how you're supposed to move move in the music industry and how to be uh mature and professional in the music industry. Um and especially because you know he used to be an artist, he used to, you know, uh um make music and stuff. Um and I have I have other family members that also make you know make music. Um Breeze, shout out to Breeze, Breeze Fiend. Um Breeze. Yeah, he in the community too. Um and you know, I always, you know, I get support from them. Um, you know, those is my biggest support.

SPEAKER_04 24:53

Um What do they do for your support? Do they just give you like, you know, fire or do they do do they like it?

SPEAKER_01 24:58

You know, yeah, I'll you know, I'll uh share my music with them. Um and they definitely they they love it, you know. They encourage me to, you know, keep making music and do better. Um and to, you know, go even a step further, you know what I'm saying? They m you know, they'll give me real advice and real criticisms to my music, you know what I'm saying? You're not gonna get that from everybody. No, they want to see me grow. Yeah, yeah, and just just overall in life supporting me too, you know what I'm saying? You know, those is my real real peoples at the end of the day. I love them to death.

SPEAKER_04 25:31

Awesome. Good, man. Awesome. Well, that's about all we have time for today. Thank you for coming on.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Absolutely, anytime. Pleasure talking, you're absolutely, absolutely. I appreciate y'all having me.

SPEAKER_04 25:43

Alright, BMP listeners, this has been another episode of the Buffalo Music Players Podcast. We'll see you in the next one.

SPEAKER_03 25:49

May the sauce be with you guys. The bringer of life, the bringer of unimaginable joy, the cause of catastrophic destruction. Knowing that you have something so powerful, wouldn't you want the best to take care of it? Pardon me for saying this. I am just a humble announcer. But if I had a Guji, I'd probably get it waxed at Cheyenne's waxing studio on 830 Elmwood Ave. You have power in between your legs. So why not have it taken care of by the best? If you are there's no meta discipline or you're welcome. We're leaving gatekeeping, we are gonna eat, and this is our way of helping us uh uh we uh you gotta podcast everybody got the quick I'm gonna come up for the pod. I'm too crazy. Um finical if the rogue can do it I sure can I've never fought the stall, so I got the upper hand. If the rooking can do it, I sure can I've never fought the stall, so I got the upper hand.

unknown 27:37

It's the BMP pocket. It's the BMP pocket is the B and B pocket.