The Break Presents: ANoyd

ANoyd was ready when his big moment came calling. The Connecticut rapper showed up to perform on Sway In The Morning’s “Five Fingers Of Death” segment in March and put on a performance for the ages, quickly catching the attention of hip-hop fans all across the internet.

Quotables like, ”I’m a beast, the king of New York, and I’m from CT/You know its me, if we keepin’ it tall, Joel Embiid” and “Your girl knew she wanted me/After that one look like photographic memory/Like she was packin’ a 7D/My marble floors is all white, supremacy” are just a few highlights from a six-minute freestyle full of them. This was the moment for which ANoyd had been preparing since he first met Sway at a 2015 SXSW showcase. He did not let it slip from his grasp.

“Once I knew we was doing Sway—I think it was January—I started writing that same day,” he tells XXL. "I had the clip ready, every morning I would write like eight to 16 bars. Then I stop for a little bit, live my life, go outside. Wake up the next morning, add 16 more, add 24 more, wake up the next morning, next thing you know, the week over, I got my whole six minutes ready to go. Once I walked in that building, I knew.”

Interestingly enough, Anoyd’s foray into rap started when he was 16 years old, due to a friend’s random suggestion that they all start writing raps. “We was just chilling playing video games, and then my boy Gabe was like, 'Yo, let's rap,'" he remembers. "I'm like 'Aight, lets do it.'" Soon after, the crew met back up and put some available studio equipment to use. And Anoyd, the rapper, was born.

In November, Anoyd appeared on Statik Selektah's 8 album. He followed that up by dropping his tape Blame It On Jay Z—inspired by Jay-Z’s 4:44—earlier this year, in February. “Hov was touching on a lot of topics—relationships, race, social media—so I was just talking about a lot of that,” he says. Hov’s former rival also plays a big part in Anoyd’s love for rap; he walks around with a sealed vinyl of Nas' classic debut album Illmatic, ready for a chance meeting with the living legend.

Learn more about ANoyd on this week's edition of XXL’s The Break.

Age: 25

Hometown: Bloomfield, Conn.

I grew up listening to: "A lot of things. Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie, Tupac, Dipset, G-Unit, Wu-Tang, Killarmy. I was big on Killarmy. I went through a phase where I was just looking up everything on YouTube and then it shows you what's related on the side. Big Pun, AZ—the list goes on. Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill. I was just going through a phase where I was just listening to everything."

My style’s been compared to: "Big L is the one I'm getting a lot lately. After "The Five Fingers of Death," they saying I sound like Big L. But I been getting Big L since I first started rapping. Dudes was telling me, 'You remind of Big L!' I said it on Blame it on Jay Z: 'L reincarnated, check the Ebonics.' They was tryna say Tory Lanez [too], but I don't know."

Most people don’t know: "I can play the drums. I just started playing a few months ago. If you need a drummer, holla at me. I had a drum set at the crib, then I just started practicing. When I got writer's block, I go play the drums to some of my songs."

My standout records to date have been: "'Altitude,' 'cause it's relatable, it's struggle, it's just talking about life. Taking your lows and turning them into highs. Don't look down, keep your head up. I feel like everybody is going through that in life—you don't even have to rap. People told me it makes them wanna go back to school, finish school."

My standout moments to date have been: "Witnessing all of this. Witnessing everything up to this point, because everything played a big moment in my life. Performing at New Britain High and seeing the kids singing everything word for word, that's a big moment. I just posted something on Instagram yesterday where this lady teaches a class. She wants to make my song lyrics be a curriculum for the class. That's a big moment. I can't even pick one thing, because everything leads up to this moment."

My goal in hip-hop is: "To be unique. To be on everybody's Top Five. I feel like that's my main goal, because you know you got Jay-Z, Nas, Biggie, Tupac. When you talking about hip hop, those are probably the go-to, hands down, no matter where you at on Earth. Just being stamped as one of the greatest to ever do it—thats what I wanna do."

I’m going to be the next: "Anoyd."

Follow Anoyd on Instagram and SoundCloud.

Standouts:

Blame It On Jay Z

"Altitude"

"Blame It On Jay Z"

"5 Fingers of Death Freestyle"

See New Music Releases for June 2018