In this exclusive interview, we had the opportunity to delve into the creative mind of emerging artist and performer, Braydon McGill, also known as Gilldavinci. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, McGill's music is heavily influenced by his life experiences, including growing up in poverty, the passing away of family members, and seeing the world through a binocular lens.

McGill shares his musical influences, which include Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott, and his friend and collaborator, FIOCATI. He explains how his sound is a unique psychedelic approach, utilizing synthesizers, bouncy 808s, soul samples, and strange and unusual sounds. Fashion plays a significant role in his artistry, and he directs most of his music videos himself, ensuring that they align with his artistic vision.

The interview also explores McGill's strong social media presence, where he uses his aesthetic, pictures, short films, and snippets on his story to connect with his fans and promote his music. He also shares strategies and techniques that he's found to be particularly effective in building and engaging his fanbase, while balancing the need to maintain a strong social media presence with the demands of his music career.

McGill shares the experiences and challenges that have shaped him as an artist and performer, including the passing of his best friend and brother, going broke while living on his own, and ending relationships with fake friends. These obstacles have fueled his creativity and his desire to keep moving forward, while never losing sight of his vision.

The interview takes a deep dive into McGill's creative process for his latest album, As Above, So Below, which he released in 2021. He explains how he and FIOCATI locked in, working on track after track, with FIOCATI playing with new sounds and instruments for hours. Production was immaculate, and the album explores different themes and concepts, showcasing his growth and evolution as an artist.

McGill also shares his upcoming projects and collaborations, which include a new album with FIOCATI. He emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself and being different as an artist, while also exploring new sounds and styles.

Can you tell us a bit about your background and upbringing? How have your life experiences influenced your music and creative process? Were there any particular moments or events that inspired you to pursue a career in music, or that helped shape your artistic vision?

My name is Braydon McGill, Kansas City, Missouri born and raised. Basically my whole life experiences from poverty, family passing away, and just seeing the world from a binocular lens. Me just being interested in music my whole life at 18 one day I just decided to give it a go. Watching A$AP ROCKY growing up made me very inspired.

Who are some of your musical influences, and how have they impacted your creative process and sound? Have there been any particular artists or genres that have had a significant impact on your music? How do you draw inspiration from these influences and incorporate them into your own unique style?

Kanye West, A$AP ROCKY, Travis Scott, and my friend and collaborator FIOCATI all have inspired my music. My sound is more of a Psychedelic approach using Synthesizers, bouncy 808, sometimes soul samples, and just a lot of strange or unusual sounds. Fashion plays a huge part into my artistry too, as well as my videos that I would most likely direct myself.

How do you approach using music to express your emotions and personal experiences? How do you navigate the line between being authentic and vulnerable in your songwriting while also maintaining some privacy and protecting your personal life?

Music is my getaway, I don’t keep anything private anymore. With everything I have gone through in my life people need to know 95% of everything they are hearing in my music is real, what I lived, and how Im feeling. 2 of my brothers passing away, everybody having opinions, and not believing in the vision.

Your music videos often feature unique concepts and visuals. How involved are you in the creation of these videos, and what is your creative process like for them? Can you talk about any videos that have been particularly challenging or rewarding to create?

9 times out of 10 I direct, and have my own vision for my videos. “Save Her” is the only official music video I have out on YouTube because everything I do has to hit the vision a certain way. Color grading, angles, concept, and execution all maters to me. Cinematic Is the best way to describe my visual taste. Traveling to different states or spending hours to get a perfect take also plays a huge part in this.

Your music has gained a large following on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. How do you use these platforms to connect with your fans and promote your music? What are some strategies or techniques that you've found to be particularly effective in building and engaging with your fanbase? How do you balance the need to maintain a strong social media presence with the demands of your music career?

Aesthetic plays a huge part when you’re and artist. Once I found out that I could give the fans something to latch on it was golden. Pictures, short films, even showing snippets on my story. Running ads has been a go to for me for the last 2 years, even if it’s small $5 ads every single dollar will count.

Can you talk about any experiences or challenges that have shaped you as an artist and performer? How have you grown and evolved over the course of your career so far, and what lessons have you learned along the way?

Working with FIOCATI he taught me EVERYTHING about music. Learning and getting better at writing songs, even understanding production, and my entire sound. Without FIO I wouldn’t even be here as an artist. Starting off as a “Rapper” one day I woke up and decided I wanted to transcend into a real artist, and expand my entire sound. CATI even taught me how to use different keys of autotune, and how to hit certain notes to make it really sound good, and as somebody who can’t really sing he say there and used many hours and days to get me to this point.

My best friend being killed, and months after that my older brother dying in a car crash put that battery in my back to keep moving forward while never looking back. Going broke while living on my own really showed me that time doesn’t slow down for anybody. Even today I’m still going through what we might call “The Beautiful Struggle”, just patiently awaiting my moment.

Can you walk us through your creative process for your latest album? How did you approach the songwriting and production, and were there any specific themes or concepts that you wanted to explore with this project? What sets this album apart from your previous work, and how do you see your sound and style evolving in the future?

“As Above, So Below” which is my last album I released in 2021 was one of the best creative processes I’ve ever had. FIOCATI and I locked in his house damn near everyday working on track after track. Production of course was immaculate every-time. We would come up with all these hooks and verses, going back and forth with ideas. FIOCATI would sit in the studio for hours playing with new sounds, or instruments.

Can you talk about any upcoming projects or collaborations that you have in the works? What can fans expect from you in the coming months, and how do you plan to continue building your career and expanding your audience? How do you balance the need to stay true to your artistic vision with the desire to explore new sounds and styles?

As of right now I am currently in the finishing stages of my new album. For right now I won’t really say the name of it, but everyone can expect a whole different sound, and an entire storyline within it. Production, mixing and mastering of course will be even way more advanced than ever. Everything done by FIOCATI of course.

What do you hope to accomplish with your music in the future, and what kind of legacy do you hope to leave behind as an artist? How do you see your music evolving and changing over time, and what are some of your long-term goals and aspirations as a musician and performer? How do you balance the demands of your music career with your personal life and other interests and passions?

Whether I become as big as I would like to or not, I know at the end of the day we make top tier level music, and stuck to my true vision no matter what. So far everything thing I have done has been based off of my true ideas, never letting anybody change my mind or how I express myself creatively.

Can you talk about the process of collaborating with other artists? How do you choose who to collaborate with, and what do you look for in a collaborator? How does collaborating with others impact your creative process and sound?

Usually I don’t really collaborate with other artists besides FIOCATI, but if I do it’s either because I can use their voice as cool adlibs, or if they can sing I’ll let them throw some harmonies, a bridge, or some background vocals on the track. Artists with a more interesting sound, or voice is usually what I go for. If not me and CATI will do it ourselves.

How do you handle criticism and negative feedback from fans or critics? How do you use this feedback to improve your music and grow as an artist?

If your music, or creative content isn’t even near the level of mine, I don’t even want to hear what you have to say majority of the time. Only people that know what they are talking about and can really help or inspire i feel can even have a say in what I do. It’s more like who’s opinion would I really care more about, Cardi B, or Kanye west. Nowadays people just talk to make it seem like they are really giving good game.

Can you discuss any challenges or obstacles you've faced in your music career, and how you overcame them? Are there any particular moments or decisions that you feel were pivotal in your career trajectory?

Going broke, brothers dying, having to quit college and dedicate the rest of my life to this craft. Ending relationships with fake friends also were very hard important decisions

How do you stay motivated and inspired to create new music? What do you do when you experience creative blocks or feel uninspired?

Watch live performances, watch architectural videos, or recently I’ve like to watch mike dean in his studio make tracks live. Sometimes I’ll listen to artists that inspire me the most such as FIOCATI, A$AP ROCKY, KANYE, etc

Any Last Words?

Stay true to yourself, and be different.