IN CONVERSATION WITH INFERNO

At just 22, Western Sydney based hip-hop artist Inferno (birth name Karlo) has already played the music game for almost 10 years. His first taste of the microphone was at 13, when he performed at his school’s talent show. He is now performing on bigger stages, in front of much larger crowds.

INFERNO (Image: @dannyobn)

His artist name, Inferno, wasn’t generated overnight - it was actually a few years in the making. He started out as Generation Blaze when he was about 13, after his friends described him as ’setting the mic on fire’ and ‘burning through this new generation’. 

‘I’ve always had a love for music at a younger age, and I’ve always wrote music at a younger age.’ Inferno admits. 

Inferno’s sound can be described as mellow, which is influenced by his ‘kick-back’ nature. Through his mellow sound, he expresses a lot of his real life experiences. He met his producer Pax a few years ago, who has helped him build on his sound. However, he does have a few other versatile voices that have yet to be released. 

If Inferno could collaborate with anyone in the world - he would definitely mix with J.Cole. While J.Cole may be his first preference, he would love to collab with anyone that fits his sound. His inspiration comes a lot from the old school vibe of hip-hop, and draws from artists such as NAS and Big L with his story-telling vibe. 

His latest single My Way was the tail end of his writer's block, when a burst of creativity came upon him. By the time he created the song, he had cut off a lot of the negative energy that was around him and by doing so, his creative juices were able to flow. 

‘Coming from a dark place to that, means a lot. I’m trying to bring a lot of my real life experiences into my lyricism.’ Inferno describes.

INFERNO (Image: @dacshots)

For Inferno, the ‘breakthrough’ part of being an artist is one of the difficult stages to get to. Compared to the rest of the world, Sydney’s hip-hop scene is only just emerging internationally.

‘But once you make it, it’ll be an amazing feeling.’ Inferno says. 

Inferno works closely with SwankyArray - an artist based event that is thrown throughout the year. He has had his music video for My Way featured on MTV Australia. Stay tuned for his next performance and check out his socials below.

Instagram / Twitter / Spotify / SoundCloud

INFERNO (Image: @shotbygrechie)