One-of-A-Kind, Fayetteville Flava: Namialus Validity

Feature | the Cookout | Keyona Porshaà

Alchemy: Who is Namialus Validity, and where did the moniker come from?

Sulaiman Miguel: Namialus Validity is my first name spelled backwards, and validity comes from just being valid. It came from trying to find an original name and something that no one could copy. My regular nickname, S. Dot, was so easily found online, and I wanted to have something original. 

Alchemy: Who, if you can credit anyone, would you say was instrumental to the start of your journey into making music?

Sulaiman Miguel: If I could credit anyone who played an important role in me making music, it’d be, of course, myself. But I’d also have to mention my homies Snipes’ Uncle Zach. He was the one who really got me into recording. He told me which computer I needed. He said I needed an M-Audio interface if I really wanted to start recording myself and to protect my beats. He was the first one to push me, to be honest. I didn’t know about digital recording. 

He taught me about buying interfaces for your computer, different software to use, and that’s where I started. 

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Alchemy: What software did you invest in first?

Sulaiman Miguel: It might have been called Big Fish Audio. That’s where it started. I would download a whole bunch of software and just try it out. 

Then, I started using FL Studio, but he [Uncle Zach] was trying to get me to use Pro Tools and Logic, but I just stuck with FL Studio since I already made beats. 

I started making beats when I was around 11 or 12. It was a long time ago. 

Alchemy: As it relates to beats, who would you say you draw the most inspiration from?

Sulaiman Miguel: Kanye West, Pharrell, and those types of producers. Producers that make music and rap; they’re super melodic but also produce. 

Alchemy: What gives you the confidence to use rap as your style of expression?

Sulaiman Miguel: It's something that comes natural that’s why I do it. If it was like something that I had to force myself to do, that I hate doing and had to do it only for a certain reason, I probably wouldn’t do it anymore. But since I truly like doing it whether I’m making a million dollars or no money from it, I just love doing it, and that is where the confidence comes from. 

I naturally love making music. The fact that it comes naturally gives me confidence. I truly enjoy it. 

Alchemy: If you weren’t rapping, what would you be doing?

Sulaiman Miguel: I’d probably be doing the same thing. I would probably just produce and make beats. If I wasn’t in front of the mic, I’d still be doing music just behind the scenes, producing, executive producing projects, being an A&R, stuff like that. 

Alchemy: At what moment did you decide to be faithful to making music?

Sulaiman Miguel: I think it came later on. Around 2018 or 2019 is when I started taking it seriously. I was making music, but I was just doing it without a plan or strategy. I was just going with whatever. Around 2018 and 2019 is when I started creating a plan to have a certain procedure and certain steps I wanted to take. 

I would say 2018 or 2019 is when I started being faithful to making music. Before that, I didn’t take it seriously. I would do it, but I didn’t have a plan. I was just going with the flow. At that point, I started crafting a plan. If I dropped something, I’d put something with it: a video, a listening party. I added more structure. 

Going with the flow for me was just putting out music, with long breaks in between. When you’re trying to do something seriously, you should surround yourself with people who are doing it or do it consistently. I wasn’t consistent at that time, and I wasn’t thinking about the future; it was all just for the present moment. 

Alchemy: Can you think of a song that you’ve created that you feel is your best?

Sulaiman Miguel: The best song I’ve written is Go, Demarcus. It had the most positive response. It might not be my favorite, but overall, that’s the song. 

It’s based on the skit/clip on YouTube where a young kid is dancing in front of a girl, and his friends start screaming Go Demarcus, go, Demarcus. It’s talking about where I used to live and how I was raised. 

Alchemy: What’s a bar that you’d like to emphasize to your audience that may have gone over their heads or that you’d just like to break down for a deeper understanding? 

Sulaiman Miguel: I have a lot of bars that I like, but... 'In my hood, we play Monopoly with ghetto properties and lawless back alleys, just to show you niggas properly, life’s a dirty game. Righteous something change for material gain. The devil really got us. Everybody wanna ball like Stone Cold Steve Austin until they hit rock bottom.' 

In that bar, I’m just telling them how it is and how it be. Like when Jay-Z said, "We fight for building blocks.” It’s like a dirty game out here. 

Alchemy: Can you name any rapper, mainstream or on the come-up, that represents and is sustaining the true meaning of hip-hop?

Sulaiman Miguel: I got my favorites like Jay Z, J Cole, and a person that I’m a fan of because of their ability to stick to their own lane is Wale. Wale is not necessarily one of my favorite rappers, but he has always been a rapper who, from his style of rap to the way he dresses and makes his music, has always been original. He didn’t wait for people to catch his wave. If they caught on, cool. If they didn’t, cool. He’s one of the reasons I rock Nike boots. Wale is one of those people who are original and don’t try to force people to mess with them. If you know, you know. Kendrick Lamar. 

Most of my motivation comes from those artists I mentioned that I look up to, but it is certain people that motivate me, like, rest in peace, my homie Kemar Flows. Artists like him push me to be better. 

Alchemy: Talk about your creative process as an artist with creative control over many moving pieces?

Sulaiman Miguel: I changed from making all the beats on my projects to only cooking up one or two. So now, as far as production, I focus on making sure I record what I feel and produce what feels natural for each project. Like making songs, I record depending on the deadline I set and push myself to get it done. It's past motivation. I’ve been doing it so long, I’m going to do it regardless. I don’t really have to be inspired. I do it because I love making music. 

I feel like with 24 hours in a day, and you’ve lived so long. I mean, I’m past the age of 20. An album is only like an hour long, so you have so many different things you can talk about. So as long as you’ve lived life to a certain degree, you’ll have something to talk about. I know this is what I do, so I keep pushing. 

Alchemy: Can you think of a song that you’ve created that you feel is your best?

Sulaiman Miguel: The best song I’ve written is Go, Demarcus. It had the most positive response. It might not be my favorite, but overall, that’s the song. 

It’s based on the skit/clip on YouTube where a young kid is dancing in front of a girl, and his friends start screaming Go Demarcus, go, Demarcus. It’s talking about where I used to live and how I was raised. 

Alchemy: What’s a bar that you’d like to emphasize to your audience that may have gone over their heads or that you’d just like to break down for a deeper understanding? 

Sulaiman Miguel: I have a lot of bars that I like, but... 'In my hood, we play Monopoly with ghetto properties and lawless back alleys, just to show you niggas properly, life’s a dirty game. Righteous something change for material gain. The devil really got us. Everybody wanna ball like Stone Cold Steve Austin until they hit rock bottom.' 

In that bar, I’m just telling them how it is and how it be. Like when Jay-Z said, "We fight for building blocks.” It’s like a dirty game out here. 

Alchemy: Can you name any rapper, mainstream or on the come-up, that represents and is sustaining the true meaning of hip-hop?

Sulaiman Miguel: I got my favorites like Jay Z, J Cole, and a person that I’m a fan of because of their ability to stick to their own lane is Wale. Wale is not necessarily one of my favorite rappers, but he has always been a rapper who, from his style of rap to the way he dresses and makes his music, has always been original. He didn’t wait for people to catch his wave. If they caught on, cool. If they didn’t, cool. He’s one of the reasons I rock Nike boots. Wale is one of those people who are original and don’t try to force people to mess with them. If you know, you know. Kendrick Lamar. 

Most of my motivation comes from those artists I mentioned that I look up to, but it is certain people that motivate me, like, rest in peace, my homie Kemar Flows. Artists like him push me to be better. 

Alchemy: Talk about your creative process as an artist with creative control over many moving pieces?

Sulaiman Miguel: I changed from making all the beats on my projects to only cooking up one or two. So now, as far as production, I focus on making sure I record what I feel and produce what feels natural for each project. Like making songs, I record depending on the deadline I set and push myself to get it done. It's past motivation. I’ve been doing it so long, I’m going to do it regardless. I don’t really have to be inspired. I do it because I love making music. 

I feel like with 24 hours in a day, and you’ve lived so long. I mean, I’m past the age of 20. An album is only like an hour long, so you have so many different things you can talk about. So as long as you’ve lived life to a certain degree, you’ll have something to talk about. I know this is what I do, so I keep pushing. 

Alchemy: How would you describe your sound and style?

Sulaiman Miguel: I think my style is original because it's funny, but just now, as an adult who's always talked very fast, I just started talking a little bit slower. I talk faster than I rap; most people rap faster than they talk. So when I rap, when I flow on the beat, it’ll always be different because I talk so fast. I rap slower, which gives me an original flow. 

I have an original sound, though. I’m inspired by a lot of different artists. It’s Fayetteville music, because that’s what all my stories are about, but it’s not typical. 

I’d describe it as original, hip-hop, melodic. 

Alchemy: Talk about Villemanji and what you want listeners to experience when they listen to the project?

Sulaiman Miguel: Villemanji is the second part of a project I’m working on. I want people to experience good music, hip-hop, R&B, and some nostalgia. A metaphor that represents Fayetteville. The ups and downs, the struggles. It can get wild sometimes, just like the movie. You don’t know what to expect, but that’s where Villemanji came from. 

I'd rather a listener not like my music, but like that it’s original, than them liking my music and it sounds like something else. 

Alchemy: Growing up, were you the kid that would perform for family?

Sulaiman Miguel: I was not that kid. I did not battle in the cafeteria. I thought it was corny. I liked computers, so when everything became digital, I was already in love with computers. So when it came to making music, it all went hand in hand. I used to download software, and one day I stumbled upon a beat-making program. I’ve been making music ever since. 

Alchemy: What’s next for Namilus Validity?

Sulaiman Miguel: Villemanji Part II is coming. I plan to put out more content and videos. I plan to go harder and be more consistent.