With “TikTok Girl” out now, we took some time to hear from Empty Pinata. Read below to learn more about Empty Pinata, the story behind “TikTok Girl,” and what’s to come.
Hi Empty Pinata! Let’s start with how did you get your artist name?
I can’t remember exactly, but I do remember the feeling that I had when Instagram first started feeling impactful and important, haha. The cool kids had names like “John” or “CarrotRiot” or “PizzaParty” – sh*t like that, so it was imperative that I find a name that sorta felt like that and somehow I landed on Empty Pinata, which was probably a sleep deprived decision, haha. That’s been my Tumblr name since before I could remember.
What city are you from, and where are you based now?
I am from Brooklyn, New York, but I currently live in South Carolina.
At what point in your life did you decide to pursue a career in music? How did you get started?
I always wrote little poems and stuff like that as a kid, and I think late ’90s and early 2000s culture was leaning in an urban direction, so naturally my first few songs were raps since it was so closely related to poetry – just without the metering. I am still not pursuing it as a career though, it’s merely a hobby as far as my musical contributions go. But as an artist in a visual or literary sense, I definitely would love to do that full time, and this is sorta the fruits of that.
How would you describe your sound to readers who may not be familiar with you?
Cringey, but charming .
Do you have any hobbies outside of music? What do you do to stay creative?
I write constantly. It could be a one minute scene with three lines of dialog or it could be a whole d*mn plot outline complete with subtext descriptors and all that, haha. Writing is something that I would do in every scenario that you could put me in but sadly, on the hobby front, I’ve been slacking. No hobbies to speak of at the moment. I’ll sneak a little NBA2K in there or some Call of Duty, but for the most part, I’m legitimately busy right now.
Who are some of your main musical influences?
Hmm I don’t know anymore, haha. I think you can hear some Tyler The Creator in there or some Childish Gambino, but I don’t know. I’m super influenced by Michael Jackson and Charlie Kaufman, but I don’t know if you can hear that in the music, hahaha.
Who would be a dream to collaborate with?
Maybe someone like Frank Ocean. I would like to spend a week with him and show him some crazy movies and maybe we go jet skiing or some sh*t, and then he writes a beautiful song that I inspired and he lets me put (feat. Empty Piñata) in there or something.
What’s one of the proudest moments of your music career so far?
I built a stage for this video that I wanted to shoot. I flew my guy Min Soo Park to my house in South Carolina, and he shot a few clips of me on the stage and I was proud of that. In a weird way that was my ENDLESS by Frank Ocean, you know? So much of what we do is digital and kind of bullsh*t, but when you get into physically building something and relying on this physical structure, it’s actually really refreshing. I was super proud of that moment because I can’t even hang up curtain rods let alone build a stage that could support my fat body, hahaha, so that was sick in my opinion.
What would you say are the greatest lessons that you’ve learned so far?
The delicate balance of today just being a day, but also today is the most important day of your life. Not everything needs to be all encompassing with the magnitude of a planet, but also we can give a little more effort than we would at a baseline. That’s helped me so much in my life. I used to be a lazy piece of sh*t that didn’t even stop to think about others, but once you get a taste of what caring for others can do, you can just blossom. Try a little hard, but you’re good enough even if you don’t, haha.
Now onto your release, “TikTok Girl.” What inspired this song? What is “TikTok Girl” about?
Thotties…is that ok if I say that?
What was the creative process like when making “TikTok Girl?”
Daniel Paris made the arrangement, and he’s a wizard, so he did all the work as far as I’m concerned, haha – he and gamal. I was on an airfield in Jacksonville, and I was so tired of living on the road and my daughter was only a few months old, so I think subconsciously I was craving a little simplicity. I heard the instrumental and pretty much went with the first melody that came to mind. I laid the chorus down in the front seat of my car, but once I got back to the Airbnb, I wrote the verse and polished up the garbage, haha.
How long did it take to complete “TikTok Girl?”
Not very long. Maybe two weeks pre-mastering and then Hallie Melton did the mastering, and I think her turnover was like two days at most honestly. She’s a wizard too! Great peoples doing great work!
What is your favorite lyric in “TikTok Girl” and why?
Probably “on a date out, would you stay? Or running in place in your way on my brain now?!”
I like the idea of like are we going to take this further or are you just going to leave me with the same image and vision of you in my mind, haha.
As I type it, it sounds weird as f*ck, but I’m nearly certain that’s a relatable thing, haha.
What message or messages do you hope fans take away from “TikTok Girl” and your music in general?
Music in general – laugh a little and chill out. Let the wind be your guide type sh*t.
But, the song itself…the same message, hahaha.
What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming projects, or do you have any upcoming shows that we should be on the lookout for?
I don’t have any dates as of this second, but I do have some things that I’m planning in the relatively near future.
Where can we follow you on social media?
Those are the main two. My Twitter is for my day-to-day posts of my wife, daughter, and sh*t.
And, everything is monotonous bullsh*t posts of my music. The IG is kinda fun, and the Tumblr is beautiful, in my opinion.
Before you go, let’s ask you something off topic. What is your favorite food?
My wife’s cutlet pasta. She makes a chicken cutlet and puts it in farfalle, but it’s like a cozy home food.
Thank you for the great interview; wish you much continued success!
