It’s 2025, and BBY GOYARD is living alone in the woods. His life is simple, almost monk-like, built around making music and spending time with family. It’s an unlikely arrangement for an underground rap luminary who first came to attention around 2019, when his early SoundCloud tracks earned him a cult following and eventually a record deal, but it works for him. Now independent, he’s already five albums deep this year alone, with his sixth exclusively on Nina for a short window. You can stream and purchase S-FILES: CHAPTER TWO below.

Naturally, we were curious to learn more about one of the underground’s perennial talents and true talent scouts. Even from the sticks, GOYARD stays two steps ahead of the underground and three ahead of the mainstream. A feature from a pre-Opium Destroy Lonely on GOYARD’s 2020 album Secret Lies with Charlotte is one of many early calls he got right.

We gave BBY GOYARD a ring to talk about how he stays ahead of the curve, his come-up, his musical influences, and a whole lot more.

Nina: You’re living in North Carolina right now. What’s good down there?

BBY GOYARD: I’m in North Carolina. Cackalacky. We’re in the middle of nowhere. I moved here when I was 21 because my mom moved here, so I just followed suit, but I’m born and raised in Maryland. East Coast guy through and through. My mom actually moved here without even knowing what this place would be like. It’s literally the sticks. Middle of nowhere. It’s not the best. But family keeps me here. I just try to be around family as much as possible. And it’s easy to get to New York, and Atlanta.

What does a day in your life look like out there in Cackalacky?

I live a very simple life. Wake up, get the coffee going, brush the teeth, do the regulars. I’m unemployed and music’s my job. Maybe play some Fortnite for a few hours. Maybe watch some basketball. I’m always listening to music, always trying to find the cool shit, making mixes. I like to call myself a DJ. I don’t have any friends here. All my friends live in Atlanta or New York or LA. So I just stay by myself.

Where do you make music?

I make all my music here at home in my bedroom. Super DIY, still after all ten years. I’ve tried everything. I’ve been to major studios and all that. It just works best when I have full control. For probably 12 years, I used a cracked FL 9. About a year ago, I actually purchased it for the first time in my life. I’m not a genius with mixing or engineering. I really only know how to mix my own stuff. I’ve grown accustomed to the presets I’ve used over the years.

I don’t need to push it anymore. I’m 30 now. When I was 22, 23, I was trying to push out like 15 songs a week. SoundCloud every day, new song. But now I just let it come to me. Quality over quantity. I’ll light a candle, smoke some weed, maybe drink a little bit.

Classic formula right there.

Yeah, can't be beaten, right?

Let’s rewind for a sec. What were the early influences for you growing up in Maryland?

I grew up with classic rock. My mom saw Led Zeppelin and The Who in the 70s. “Smashing Pumpkins” were some of the first words I ever said. My first intro to rap was my sister buying me the Eminem album when I was like six. Then I listened to Common, Lupe Fiasco. Real rap shit. I had a scene era, too. In ninth grade, I was big into the screamo scene. All Time Low. Skinny pants, Cookie Monster hat, green glasses, trying to be Christopher Drew.

Then sophomore year it goes like this: Acid Rap comes out. 1999 by Joey Bada$$ comes out. I was a big DatPiff head. Sorry 4 the Wait, Dreamchasers, all that. Then I found Chief Keef and Young Lean. That was it. The whole world opened. I was the first one at my school listening to that shit because nobody knew about it. They were still listening to Good Kid, Mad City. I love that, but they weren’t expanding. For me, it was Chief Keef and Yung Lean.

How did you start actually making your own tracks? What pushed things forward?

I always rapped as a kid. I’d write on the “Make Her Say” instrumental when I was like 10. When Chief Keef and Young Lean came out, I was like, “I think I can do this.“ I downloaded Audacity, I used the Rock Band mic, and made some of the worst music ever. It didn’t become everyday until 2015 when I got rid of the Rock Band mic, got the cracked FL, and looked up mixing tutorials. My goal was: if I’m going to do this, I’m going to the farthest extent. 25 songs a night, push them all out. I knew eventually one would gain traction. “Run Shannon Run” gained a little traction and labels noticed. I did the whole New York label run. 300, Atlantic. They basically just want to listen to your unreleased music and then say, “alright thanks, bye.”

Then you got signed young. What was that experience like and how did it end?

I was able to sign a deal when I was 21 with Ultra. Let’s get this straight: not Ultra the dance label. Under Payday, DJ Premier’s rap label underneath Ultra. Pretty terrible deal. I’m not gonna go into the advanced analytics behind the deal but it was bad. I was a broke 21-year-old, so I took it. 

I put out one album. It didn’t do too well. Didn’t really care. Then they wouldn’t accept any of my new songs. I realized I was being shelved. After a year of me bugging them, they went out of business. They went bankrupt. So I got out of my deal because they literally went bankrupt. Now I’m fully indie. Just got done with a distro deal with Too Lost, but now I’m fully independent. Less bread but more creative control. They don’t tell me to make “Run Shannon Run” every time.

You’ve always had a knack for finding new artists before they pop off. How do you find collaborators?

I’ve always thought of myself as like an A&R. I was chronically on SoundCloud for years. I was on SoundCloud before people were rapping on SoundCloud, and it was only beats. Like DJ Smokey, I knew him back in high school. He made phonk, bro. He's one of the innovators. But he did an album with Yung Simi, which I loved because I was a huge Raider Clan fan. So that's really what got me on. It's crazy how it goes ten years later, he hits me up and the rest is history. Good friends now.

I had Destroy Lonely on one of my albums before any of this, before Opium. He was managed by one of my best friends. I knew Yeat for years. We were in a little rap group called 1500 based out of Nashville because I lived in Nashville with Big Baby Gucci. Yeat was 17 when I met him. He had glasses and looked nothing like you would expect. The glow up hadn’t happened yet. We’ve got tracks out there somewhere. Summrs, RXK Nephew, RX Papi are also people I worked with early. I’d never say I put them on. I just liked their music and said let’s collab.

Who are some dream collaborators?

I’ve always wanted to collab with Chief Keef. I think it will happen eventually. I’d love to work with Bladee. We would make a really good song. WORLD BRAIN, who I’m working with now, is one of my favorite artists. And maybe a Deftones thing. I grew up loving Deftones. But yeah, the dream collab I had forever is Chief Keef.

What do you think about the current state of underground music? Do you pressured to evolve your sound?

I feel like the underground is always gonna be in a healthy space. There’s a lot of imitation now, but that’s just because the kids are getting younger. When you’re young, you don’t really have your own material to pull from. I was the same way. My whole aesthetic is tied to one of my favorite quotes. It’s the Henry Ford one: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Nobody knows what they want until it’s there.

I’ve never tried to reinvent the wheel, but I do feel like reinvention is a form of living. You reinvent until you die. I’m 30, but I don’t have that old-head mentality where your ears stop picking up new music. I try to stay in the loop. I like a lot of the new stuff, especially the new dance world. I’m always listening for the next wave.

What keeps you going creatively after a decade in the underground rap grind?

Being able to create. Being able to give the world something new. Living life with the purpose of creativity is all I live for. Everything else is whatever, but my whole purpose is being able to make something unique that hopefully people can understand or relate to. A lot of it is niche, nerdy stuff. Video games, sports, and pop culture. It’s for the tastemakers. A lot of people won't get it. It might go over their heads.