Exclusive Creative: prettyinpink Talks Day Zero, Artistic Frustration, and Finding the First Step

For our inaugural UpCrib Exclusive Artist interview, we tapped in with prettyinpink following the release of his new 7-track EP, Day Zero, which dropped May 1.

Sitting somewhere between emo rap, jerk-esque bounce, and the raw feeling of the SoundCloud era, Day Zero feels like a glimpse into smaller scenes of a larger backstory rather than a polished, fully established narrative. It is emotional, energetic, and personal, but still loose in a way that makes it feel real.

The project is the culmination of years of influence: childhood trauma, early musical obsessions, fascination with internet culture, and the moment of finally deciding to stop overthinking and take the first steps toward a long-sought goal.

Across the EP, prettyinpink leans into frustration, lack of ambition, late-night inspiration, and incessant rumination. It is the sound of someone who has wanted to create for years finally putting that energy into motion. We talked about what made him start music, the artists that shaped him, balancing normal life with creativity, and why Day Zero feels like the beginning of something bigger.

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What made you get into music initially?

"That's the ultimate question, honestly. I've wanted to make shit my whole life, but one day it hit me that people are really out here doing it and living that life. I was like, maybe I could do that too. But it took years of inner trials and tribulations to actually motivate myself to take that first step. I bought my mic and audio interface in 2019, which is crazy, because I didn't even plug them in until years later."

What do you want to make people feel when hearing you?

"Fuckin'... I guess I'm not really trying to make people feel per se, but I am injecting my feeling into it, and I hope that it resonates with those who relate. I guess I want people to feel what I'm conveying, essentially, in any given song, you know? That would be the ultimate fucking success in my eyes. I really hope people are like, bruh, you know what I mean?"

What separates you from other people? What makes you, you?

"I don't know. That's a hard one... I think I'm just like everyone else."

Who are your biggest influences?

"I've had a lot of influences. Eminem was my first big one. I was full Stan mode as a kid. I used to listen to a shitload of '90s and 2000s old-school hip hop. I was also really into bands like Killswitch Engage, Staind, Alice in Chains, Slayer, and more."

"Then I went from old-school hip hop and metal and rock bands to Future, Gucci Mane, Travis Scott, and Yung Lean. Hearing Dirty Sprite 2 changed how I looked at newer rap and music in general."

"Later on, I got into Lil Peep, Lil Tracy, all of GBC, Lil Lotus, nothing,nowhere., Corbin, and the rest of that SoundCloud emo rap wave. That mix of rap with early 2000s metal and emo nostalgia still inspires me a lot."

"Now I listen to pretty much everything. You name it. I figure if people fuck with it, then there's something I can learn from it, even if it's not my favourite genre. Nothing is off the table."

What was the inspiration behind making this EP?

"My inspiration for this tape is really just years of wanting to make music and finally doing it. I don't even know if I'd call it an EP. People get technical about that shit, so I just call it a tape.

"But the main thing was wanting to make something that felt like me while still trying to push myself and attempt to innovate a bit."

How does it feel balancing normal life with your career?

"Feels fucking impossible, gang."

"I don't know. It's just like, you know what I mean? It's like just fucking sitting there bullshitting all day, but I have to. And it's like, what the fuck?"

"And then sometimes I'll be sitting there and I'll feel inspired. But it's like, damn, now I got to do this work shit instead. I just feel like it erases a lot of inspiration."

"I feel like you got to capture moments, you know what I mean? And I feel like it's just an invasion of my free will. Life is so short, and I feel like I've wasted so much time, both by and against my own accord."

We know you enjoy video games. Can you describe your relationship with gaming?

"Gaming was my first love. Music was my second. As a kid, I wanted to make video games so bad, but as I got older, I realized I'd rather experience them than actually make them."

"I've been playing games since day one. Somehow we had everything: original Nintendo, Nintendo 64, all that shit. To this day, me and my family still don't even know where half of it came from."

"Pretty lucky, as I had many different ways to escape my own hardships for as long as I can remember, for better or for worse. I still game like a motherfucker to this day. I feel like I'm one degree away from being a neckbeard, honestly."

Closing

With Day Zero, prettyinpink is not trying to act like he has everything figured out. That is kind of the point.

The project feels like the foundation for a first real step: years of ideas, influences, and frustration finally turning into something tangible. prettyinpink gives listeners a quick look into where he is coming from and where he could take it next.

Day Zero is out now on all digital platforms.