Photo: Dark PR
SCY Jimm is grateful to be alive after he survived a ferocious summer.
Four months ago, the budding rapper from Bunnell, Fla. was seated in a car at the Lake Forest Apartments with his friend Sean Howard when a trove of bullets were fired at the vehicle. Jimm, born Jimnirable Curry, was struck in the upper right arm while Howard was hit in both shoulders. The two were rushed to the hospital where they both were treated for their injuries. The sounds of 15-20 gunshots and the array of bullets that came flying toward him left him traumatized.
"I'm going to just keep that s**t real. At first, I felt like I was going to die," Jimm tells iHeartRadio. "I mean at first I felt like I should have died because it was the worst pain I ever felt. I had nerve pain, you know what I'm saying? So I was telling myself, 'man, they should have just killed me' type s**t, bro. Forreal, forreal. I don't want to deal with this pain no more. But I was like, you know what, f**k it. I'm going to just take this s**t and thank God that I am still here. I had to snap back into reality like, 'bro, you trippin. You talking about you should have died, but its just a blessing that you still here.' So I had to just take that s**t, dig down deep. But I still haven't found that fire yet man. For real. I'm still looking for that fire."
Jimm has been in recovery mode both physically and mentally ever since. At one point, he even questioned if he should continue making music after he already established himself as one of the most prominent rising acts out of Florida. He eventually overcame his doubts and continued to push through. He made his return to the stage for the first time since the shooting at Rolling Loud Miami in August, and hasn't thought about slowing down since.
Just 10 days after the shooting occurred, SCY Jimm released a two-pack "In Too Deep / Wrecked The Cat." The official music video for both tracks shows him recovering in the hospital, and documents what happened after he went home. You can see him recording the song while his arm is in a sling. He also released other songs off his latest project Highly Favored, which dropped at the end of September.
iHeartRadio caught up with SCY Jimm shortly after the album dropped. The Quality Control signee discussed the making of Highly Favored, the plans for the deluxe version, his recovery and more. Scroll below to read the interview, listen to the album andwatch his new video for "A-Z."
How's everything been going for you, bro? I know that it is been a crazy time for you. You've been dropping constantly all summer. So how are you feeling right now?
I'm feeling good, you know what I'm saying? I just got shot about four or five months ago. You know what? So that had kind of slowed me up, slowed a lot of stuff up, you feel me? A lot of motion I had going on. It stopped a lot of stuff. I was going through a lot within the last 90 days. From June, July and August, I was just going through a lot of crazy s**t. But as I was going through s**t, I still was working. I still was hitting the studio, still hitting the booth. I'm still going out and doing little side missions like Rolling Loud and everything. I ain't never let that stop me. So I'm feeling good.
You've definitely been through a lot over the past couple of months. How has the recovery been for you?
I'm still going through it. They told me, to be honest, it could take up to 18 months because the bullet, I got hit with a 5.56 and that's a big bullet. The bullet hit my artery and it burnt my nerve. So I'm going to therapy all that right now. You feel me? So the recovery good, but I'm still going through it. It's just a real slow process. But as I was going through it, people tried to bring my name down, you feel me? Blemish my career, blemish my name, blemish my image, just all type of stuff. So the recovery has been crazy, but through it all, God's still here. God keeps showing me that I'm blessed. So I just thank God for that. Everything's good though. I mean it could have been worse. They could have had to cut my arm off of something because it did hit my artery. So it could have been way worse.
I feel like you've been channeling all the emotions and everything that you've been going through into your music, especially this project, Highly Favored. Who or what are some of the key influences for this project?
I mean, really not any. But if I was say, I ain't going to lie, I'm saying Rod Wave, you feel me? I was on him. He got a n***a through times when I be feeling down and s**t, bro. I go listen to Rod and he help or, I ain't going to lie, like Boston [Richey]. He helped a n***a get through certain s**t, you feel me? That's really all the influences. Of course Lil Baby and Rylo Rodriguez. I be listening to them boys, but other than that just the pain and everything that I went through. That's really where everything came from. Just how I was feeling in the moment.
Was it recorded before or after the shooting?
I got a couple songs on there that was recorded before the shooting. "No Smell" was recorded before the shooting. I recorded "Kick the Door" right before the shooting. "Bound to Hit" was recorded after the shooting. I say four songs on there was recorded before the shooting. All the rest of 'em was recorded after. But I had to find myself, I feel like I had lost myself at first. Dealing with all this s**t. I don't know. I felt like I was losing it. I would asking my dogs like, bro, 'can I rap anymore? Should I stop f**king rapping?' I swear to God I was going through it. But that's just me being in the house, not doing no shows, bro.
I'm used to doing shows every weekend. We was booked up but s**t getting back in motion now. I'm booked up right now, but before, bro, I'm talking about I was booked up. So it's like me sitting in the house for months and months. I'm just telling myself like 'man, this s**t ain't it.' I had to stop smoking so I wasn't smoking. I'm a Gemini so I overthink, I overthink everything already, for real. So me being in the house, that s**t ain't make nothing better. It's like my head was f**ked up from that, but for the most part I just told myself, 'Just take this s**t and run with it. You know what I'm saying? Take this shit and run with it. Don't take this s**t for granted.
It's crazy to hear what really inspired that. I'm glad that you're recovering and we're glad that you're still here. You've got a lot of people that support you. You've actually got a couple of dope collaborations on this project from people that support you too like Gloss Up and BLP Kosher. How did you get those two collaborations on the project?
BLP, it's so crazy. I had somebody hit me up about BLP a year ago before he blew and they was like, 'bro, should I do something with him? He hard.' I was like 'WTF?' I put the laughing emojis but also fire emojis too. I was like, that s**t hard. It was funny, but I'm like, that shit hard. I already knew he was gas so after I got shot, he hit me up and s**t. He reached out. I got his number and s**t. We FaceTimed and I was like, 'bro look, I'm finna drop a project. I need you on that b***h.' And he got on, sent the verse back that same night. And I was like, 'you snap bro.' He was like, 'I f**k with you. You a star and keep going' s**t like that
And then Gloss Up, she real. She already on QC so she a real genuine person. She don't be showing no fake s**t or none of that. Me and her cool as f**k. So she was just like, 'I got to get on something with you.' She sent that b***h back the same night and then we was just like, 'we going to drop that b***h like this.' I was finna have more features on it, but I was like, I ain't trying to push my s**t back to wait on them. I wasn't trying to push my s**t no more because I had already pushed it back like two, three months.
Save them for the deluxe man!
No lie, me and Claudia was just talking about that. The deluxe going to be crazy. For real, for real. Three months from now it's gonna go crazy bro.
So who are the artists that you want to work with in the future?
I f**k with Rob49, you know what I'm saying? I f**k with Lil Durk. He gas as f**k. Moneybagg Yo. He gas f**k. Billie Eilish, Coldplay. I'll do a song with Bad Bunny bro. I'll do a song with Central Cee. He hard as f**k. Even Ed Sheeran, I do some s**t with Ed Sheeran, you feel me? I want to do some s**t with Rod Wave bro. I got a lot of artists I want to do s**t with.
That's dope man. Anybody in Florida you're trying to work with?
Everybody. Oh yeah, of course. Kodak, I want a song with bro. I swear to God I want to song with Yak. He a Florida GOAT. It's a lot of Florida artists bro. I ain't did nothing with Lil Wet yet. You know I want to do something with him. I ain't did shit with Bossman Dlow yet. I want to do something with him. C Stunna, he gas as f**k. Know what I'm saying? It's a lot of people I want to do something with. It's really everybody in Florida. I ain't got no problem with nobody in Florida.
As far as plans for the rest of 2023, how do you plan to close out the year?
I just dropped a tape so I'm really just trying to figure out what I'm fixing to do next. I want to do something different though. Definitely try to do something different to stand out. I really been thinking out the box about a lot of s**t. Me and Claudia trying to come up with some s**t. I was talking to P. Me and P finna come up with a plan. But we going to most definitely finish out the year strong as f**k. Just trying to see what I want to do and when I want to do it.
I got a lot of stuff on the way. We ain't stopping no time soon. We going 10 times harder. I got a deluxe coming. It's going to have some features on it. It's going to be gas. That b**h might be harder than the whole tape itself. I might just drop a whole other tape. Other than that, man, I appreciate everybody for that support. I appreciate everybody that sent their condolences when I got shot. I appreciate everybody that even care about me enough to even hit me up about it. I love all y'all.