Studio Talks sits down with legendary artist, rapper, and songwriter CyHi for a focused conversation on craft, his creative process, and where music is headed as he readies his highly anticipated album, The Story of Mr. EGOT. A Grammy nominated writer and revered G.O.O.D. Music alum, CyHi is a close writing partner with Kanye West and Travis Scott, with credits that helped shape culture defining projects. In this interview he traces his path from choir and marching band to elite lyricist, explains how he builds records around a concept, and previews what fans can expect next. This interview was conducted over video by Rudy Manager on November 3, 2025.
“I start every album with a theme. Lock in the concept first, then write the records around it.”
- CyHi
How did you first get into music, and when did that shift into becoming an artist and songwriter?
I’ve always dabbled in music. In the urban community, you usually start in church or by listening to what your parents play in the car. I played in the marching band too. I snuck into the high school band in eighth grade because a friend of mine was the tuba section leader and got me in. I did that for a year. I always liked singing in chorus and playing in band, so my foundation was chorus, band, and church choir. Around 14 or 15 I started hearing guys rapping in the hallways, and that pulled me in. That was my real introduction.
What was your process for improving your craft back then?
First I listened a lot. I’d study different artists and pay attention to how rappers rapped. Then I’d write my raps so I could memorize them better. In high school, a close friend had a makeshift studio at his house. He had it in the garage with a mic and a basic recording setup. This was around the time Pro Tools first came out, maybe even before that. I started recording myself, getting familiar with the process, learning song structure, and figuring out the little details that make records work. It grew from there.
How do you like to approach working on a new idea from scratch?
I’m different from most artists. A lot of people just go in and see where it takes them, but I like to start with a theme. If I’m writing for myself, I figure out what I want to talk about, what I want to call the album, and how I want it to feel. Then I go into the writing process with that direction in mind.
When I’m writing for other artists, I take time to get to know them first. If you brought me in for a week, I’d spend the first two or three days hanging with you, meeting your girl, your parents, your siblings, and your friends, and getting a feel for who you are. We’d talk about what you want to say so I can understand the message I’m helping you deliver, and we’d think about what kind of production supports it best. I like to lock in the theme and concept before I start writing because I can’t write the right thing if I don’t know who you are.
Do you have a creative schedule or a set routine for writing, or do you keep it more natural?
It can be both. When I’m writing for someone else, I’m mostly on their schedule, which is why I gather information first and get my tools together. For my own work, ideas can come at any time. I might be watching a movie, driving, or on the phone and hear something that makes me think I should write a song. It varies for my own work.
With other artists, I try to get up early and spend the first two or three days with you, getting a feel for where you’re going and talking through what’s on your mind. Then I usually approach the record in the studio on the third or fourth day.
Do you have a creative schedule or a set routine for writing, or do you keep it more natural?
It can be both. When I’m writing for someone else, I’m mostly on their schedule, which is why I gather information first and get my tools together. For my own work, ideas can come at any time. I might be watching a movie, driving, or on the phone and hear something that makes me think I should write a song. It varies for my own work.
With other artists, I try to get up early and spend the first two or three days with you, getting a feel for where you’re going and talking through what’s on your mind. Then I usually approach the record in the studio on the third or fourth day.
Do you have a creative schedule or a set routine for writing, or do you keep it more natural?
It can be both. When I’m writing for someone else, I’m mostly on their schedule, which is why I gather information first and get my tools together. For my own work, ideas can come at any time. I might be watching a movie, driving, or on the phone and hear something that makes me think I should write a song. It varies for my own work.
With other artists, I try to get up early and spend the first two or three days with you, getting a feel for where you’re going and talking through what’s on your mind. Then I usually approach the record in the studio on the third or fourth day.
How do you see this moment in music, and where do you think it’s headed in the next few years?
I look at the current moment in music almost like the revenge of the nerds. I don’t mean that in a bad way. People who grew up as fans now have the tools to create, and the power’s shifted toward the listener becoming the maker. The difference is I’m talking about working on the craft itself, not just promotion and marketing. With so many people able to make music, it’s gotten a bit diluted because there isn’t a real standard like there is in other fields. If you want to be a lawyer, you pass the bar. If you want to be a doctor, you earn the degree. If you want to be in the NBA, you go through the combine. Those paths demand a high level of skill. In music, you don’t have to clear that kind of bar.
Because of that, everything’s become more subjective. You hear a lot of people making the same record, sounding the same, and chasing ideas that aren’t authentic to them. I feel like the overall quality has dropped a little, and the club is overcrowded. So the challenge now is figuring out how to stand out.
Let’s talk about The Story of Mr. EGOT. Do you have any updates you can share with fans about the album?
Yes. I know a lot of people are asking what’s taking so long and why it hasn’t come out yet. I’m making something that will revolutionize music. What used to be a pastime for me, a way to get my thoughts and feelings out, has become a calling. I feel a responsibility to deliver something that resets the market. I’m bringing back the true essence of storytelling and artistry, with focus, vulnerability, and a concept I stick to throughout the album.
We’ve had a long run of the mixtape era, where you just rhyme the next thing that rhymes. I don’t make albums like that. My album needs to be meticulous and make sense as a whole. It’s taking a little longer, but I guarantee once people hear The Story of Mr. EGOT, you won’t have heard anything like it in any genre. So get ready for it.
What’s your ideal timeline for the release?
We planned to start rolling it out in the next month or two, but we needed clearances on a few key records we didn’t want to leave off the album. So we’re planning to kick things off at the start of 2026. You can expect it early in the year.
How do you see this moment in music, and where do you think it’s headed in the next few years?
I look at the current moment in music almost like the revenge of the nerds. I don’t mean that in a bad way. People who grew up as fans now have the tools to create, and the power’s shifted toward the listener becoming the maker. The difference is I’m talking about working on the craft itself, not just promotion and marketing. With so many people able to make music, it’s gotten a bit diluted because there isn’t a real standard like there is in other fields. If you want to be a lawyer, you pass the bar. If you want to be a doctor, you earn the degree. If you want to be in the NBA, you go through the combine. Those paths demand a high level of skill. In music, you don’t have to clear that kind of bar.
Because of that, everything’s become more subjective. You hear a lot of people making the same record, sounding the same, and chasing ideas that aren’t authentic to them. I feel like the overall quality has dropped a little, and the club is overcrowded. So the challenge now is figuring out how to stand out.
Let’s talk about The Story of Mr. EGOT. Do you have any updates you can share with fans about the album?
Yes. I know a lot of people are asking what’s taking so long and why it hasn’t come out yet. I’m making something that will revolutionize music. What used to be a pastime for me, a way to get my thoughts and feelings out, has become a calling. I feel a responsibility to deliver something that resets the market. I’m bringing back the true essence of storytelling and artistry, with focus, vulnerability, and a concept I stick to throughout the album.
We’ve had a long run of the mixtape era, where you just rhyme the next thing that rhymes. I don’t make albums like that. My album needs to be meticulous and make sense as a whole. It’s taking a little longer, but I guarantee once people hear The Story of Mr. EGOT, you won’t have heard anything like it in any genre. So get ready for it.
What’s your ideal timeline for the release?
We planned to start rolling it out in the next month or two, but we needed clearances on a few key records we didn’t want to leave off the album. So we’re planning to kick things off at the start of 2026. You can expect it early in the year.
How do you see this moment in music, and where do you think it’s headed in the next few years?
I look at the current moment in music almost like the revenge of the nerds. I don’t mean that in a bad way. People who grew up as fans now have the tools to create, and the power’s shifted toward the listener becoming the maker. The difference is I’m talking about working on the craft itself, not just promotion and marketing. With so many people able to make music, it’s gotten a bit diluted because there isn’t a real standard like there is in other fields. If you want to be a lawyer, you pass the bar. If you want to be a doctor, you earn the degree. If you want to be in the NBA, you go through the combine. Those paths demand a high level of skill. In music, you don’t have to clear that kind of bar.
Because of that, everything’s become more subjective. You hear a lot of people making the same record, sounding the same, and chasing ideas that aren’t authentic to them. I feel like the overall quality has dropped a little, and the club is overcrowded. So the challenge now is figuring out how to stand out.
Let’s talk about The Story of Mr. EGOT. Do you have any updates you can share with fans about the album?
Yes. I know a lot of people are asking what’s taking so long and why it hasn’t come out yet. I’m making something that will revolutionize music. What used to be a pastime for me, a way to get my thoughts and feelings out, has become a calling. I feel a responsibility to deliver something that resets the market. I’m bringing back the true essence of storytelling and artistry, with focus, vulnerability, and a concept I stick to throughout the album.
We’ve had a long run of the mixtape era, where you just rhyme the next thing that rhymes. I don’t make albums like that. My album needs to be meticulous and make sense as a whole. It’s taking a little longer, but I guarantee once people hear The Story of Mr. EGOT, you won’t have heard anything like it in any genre. So get ready for it.
What’s your ideal timeline for the release?
We planned to start rolling it out in the next month or two, but we needed clearances on a few key records we didn’t want to leave off the album. So we’re planning to kick things off at the start of 2026. You can expect it early in the year.
If someone is hearing your music for the first time, which song should they start with?
I’m an interesting artist because a lot of my notoriety came before digital streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Early in the 2010s, artists like me, Nipsey, Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean, Big K.R.I.T., Yelawolf, and Kendrick Lamar were building through the mixtape era. We were bubbling in the blog and early social media era while labels focused on their top tier artists, so they didn’t view our music as commercially viable. We turned to platforms like DatPiff, LiveMixtapes, and Spinrilla, and built real momentum there. That wave helped shape what streaming became. In a way, that group of artists helped end the CD era and pushed the culture toward streaming because our labels weren’t going to press physical copies for artists they felt weren’t known yet.
So if you want to know who CyHi is at the core, go to YouTube and dig into my mixtapes. If you want something on the platforms, start with my album No Dope on Sundays. I dropped it in 2017, and COVID threw my schedule off after that, but that project gives you a clear sense of the kind of music I make.
Is there a project you worked on that’s especially close to your heart?
A few, especially the albums I worked on with my big brother, Kanye West, or Ye. Yeezus and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy were two of the best moments of my career, and I loved being part of those albums.
Is there a moment from those two albums that stands out most to you?
It wasn’t just one moment. It was a feeling of camaraderie from a time when music didn’t feel political. Kanye was at his zenith, before he got on the radar of the powers that be. People hadn’t started picking at his empire yet, and everybody was still together. You’d see Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, the Clipse, RZA, Daft Punk, Paul McCartney, and Nas come through. I saw some of the biggest artists of my life in those rooms. That stretch shaped the culture and how I look at music. It was a special time.
If I had to pick favorite moments, seeing Paul McCartney play acoustic guitar was surreal, and being in the studio with Rihanna was too. She made you feel like you’d made it, even if you were just sitting there or delivering coffee. I remember watching her roll a blunt and thinking, “Dang, Rihanna really knows how to roll,” like a girl from the projects you grew up with, sitting in a Cutlass. That vibe was one of those moments I’ll never forget.
What advice would you give to the new generation of artists building a career in music?
I’d love to see artists care about humanity again. It feels like we’ve reached a point where making money can matter more than the people we affect. Early on in hip hop and music, we cared about the audience and the community. We didn’t want to put out anything that could be harmful to fans or to the culture and the people who love it.
So my advice is to think about community and humanity first. Don’t do things just for shock value or because they worked for someone else. Avoid pandering, trendy moves and get back to originality. Make work that lifts people up and affects humanity in a positive way.
What music do you listen to in your free time?
I’m an old school hip hop guy. If I’m listening to something, it’s usually from my past. I’m not too deep into new music because I like the influences that shaped me and I keep building from there.
Lately I’ve been mostly listening to my own music so I can critique it, tighten it up, and memorize it. I still tap in with younger artists, but most of the time I’m running old school records like Group Home, Grand Puba, and early OutKast, or I revisit the first Trick Daddy album. I’m always trying to understand the fabric that shaped us and made us fall in love with those artists.
Are there any new artists you think will blow up soon that you’re listening to?
I like a guy named Southside Vic. I think he’s from Houston. He has a great outlook on music. I also like what GRIP, an artist from Atlanta, is doing. I think JID is really making his name and still building. Akeem Ali is another one. I like some of the new lyricists and rappers who are showing themselves in this era.
Other than that, I listen sporadically. When you’re engulfed in music, writing for a lot of people, and working with major artists, sometimes in my free time I don’t even listen to music. I need to live life so I can come up with different ideas when people need me or when I need them for myself. So I’d say that’s where I’m at.
Where do you see yourself a year from now, personally and in your career?
I see myself on a major tour, and I want to move into the executive space where I can help other artists. That could mean doing A&R, executive producing for artists who want to reinvent themselves, or working with new talent I think is dope. My biggest goal is to curate and help revamp the sound of music for generations to come.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I’d like people to be patient with me. We’re wrapping up The Story of Mr. EGOT, and you’ll get it soon. We’re figuring out creative ways to market it and put it out in the middle of an influx of releases. I think you’ll enjoy it, and I believe it’ll be a sonic experience unlike anything you’ve heard. Get ready for it.
Follow CyHi on Instagram: @cyhi
