Today we’d like to introduce you to Genesis ” gen swindle” Denton.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
A young infatuation with the culture stemming from the Roc-A-Fella dynasty, high school dropout, junior year, I started managing artists and making merch. My first attempt in the music business was an intern position at a local indie Chicago record label where I acted as an intern A&R getting the practice I needed to manage my first artist.
While balancing lives and careers, I began to work my first lifestyle brand, Ambition Chicago, aka AmbChi. Leveraging relationships from childhood to the flourishing Chicago industry I began distributing my first couple graphic tees throughout the city. I admired the clothes and being behind the scenes so much as a teen because I never really liked the attention. Attacking the industry so young, we were still supposed to be in high school so upon graduation my business partner and graphic designer’s mom made him join the Air Force. I stepped away from everything totally and gave my heart completely to the streets. I can say honestly, in retrospect this is where I flourished. my experiences outside didn’t do anything but sharpen my eye and build my character. Not glorifying it or anything that came from it, but a lot of grown man situations help mold me at a young age. Block to block, burb to burb, turned into city to city, which quickly turned to state to state. At that moment that’s when I said, like f*ck it, I’m a rapper, people were talking about me for all types of other sh*t, if anybody looks my name up they need to see I’m a rapper or something, u know rappers be acting like they be outside lollll. Even then though, I wasn’t rapping for real I was just so accustomed to being around the studio and sent some emails before so I said it couldn’t be that hard, I already had a following just from being outside.
Between fast life and still finding myself as an artist, I found myself in jail after my second single release. I was on the run for a year and half at that time and was about to go fight for my life against the state. I was being charged with a Illinois “Class X” Armed Violence, 15-45 years at 85%, a charge given when you have a gun and drugs in your possession. sh*ts dumb as f*ck if you ask me, I literally had 5 Xanax and an xD .40, not justifying it, but anxiety is a b*tch and I had a gun card but I wasn’t 21 yet so in Illinois you can’t conceal carry a handgun until you’re of age, I sat in Cook County for 6 months fighting this case in front of Judge Hill in Room 700 the same judge that gave RondoNumber9 and Cdai all that time. Crazy part I caught that case at Rondo’s grandma’s house, that was like a week or two after he had the viral picture with the rocket launcher, so maybe I was just on my 25th hour or just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Luckily, I had a real support system, money on the phone, food in my box, letters and pictures in the mail, and high-paid lawyer saving me from hell. Stuart Goldberg, one of Chicago’s premiere attorneys, also known as Lamborghini Goldberg, got the state to drop the Armed Violence down with the removal of Xanax due to mental health screenings while in custody. With the Xanax removed I was only charged for the gun “Class 4” Aggravated UUW (Unlawful Use of Weapon) this case carries 1-3 at 50%, I was offered the max of 3 and took it.
With freedom in my future, I headed down the road, ended up at Illinois river corrections after sitting in Illinois Statesville nrc receiving center for 3 weeks. Stateville changed me alone, that sh*t dead ass death, like 24 & None. 1 Shower a week, 2 hots and a sack lunch per day, toilets with one flush every five minutes, sh*t was so real I made my cellie stop drinking milk. Moments of solitude when you have to dig deep help shape and mold your mind. Illinois River was literally a correctional facility cause no bap lol I’m never doing that sh*t again. I can’t say I had a terrible jail experience like some people see jail really like a church you’re supposed to come as you are, but people act like it’s the army and try to be all they can be that’s where they make their time hard. Upon release, I had a bench warrant for a petty ass case that would soon be thrown out upon my arrival in Houston. I was extradited from Illinois to Texas in the back of one of those lil white trucks chained up like deebo and his brother in the back of Craig daddy dog catcher van. Once back in the world, I wasn’t trying to be a rapper and clothing designer, I was just trying to find my way, 574 days behind in the marathon, I’m happy this sh*t not a race. I basically got back out on the same time I was on before, but less flexxyyy you know.
Playing in the studio not so much but around rap and finding myself more every day, I was shot and killed on September 7th, 2019. I know crazy right, SHOT & KILLED, died for like 3 minutes lost all the blood in my body due to a thigh shot hitting my main artery. They said I would never move my left foot toes let alone walk again, doctors can’t predict what Allah has planned for you all the time. Then I couldn’t even see the future, I stayed in Chicago outside sometimes never going inside until Corona happened. My entire move was solely based off of the first shutdown, my lil bro had a basketball game the night before and I lost my phone, I couldn’t buy an iPhone nowhere. Once situated in Atlanta, I did the summer in LA. Los Angeles is where I gained the confidence to actually do music. With the mixy scene of LA, and West Hollywood, I was regularly in rooms with some of my favorite rappers and they were telling me to pursue the music. When I got back to Atlanta, I called one of my contacts from a previous studio I used to work at, by that time he owned his own studio and started booking sessions. There I recorded “Big Difference” and “Yerk Man”. With happiness comes gloom, In January 2021 I lost one of my lifelines. I call bro a lifeline because during the times of just being outside in Chicago in 2019 I would sleep on his sofa.
One day they shared that George Clooney gave all his friends who used to be there for him like a million a piece, I always promised bro I was going to do that, that’s why I am who I am today. He used to tell me every house I step into play my videos on YouTube, push my sh*t everywhere, I still don’t be doing that for real, not the way he wanted me to do it, but I’m actually rapping now. After his passing in 2021, I did one song the entire year, I couldn’t even come to words, that’s when I started selling merch. Swindle trucker hats hit the scene summer of 2021 and became an instant must have amongst the community. I converted my then finsta, @foreverswindle into the business page. While baiting sample pieces, I got back in the fight hearing lil bro voice in my head, shot the “Big Difference” video and started working on an entire merch collection as part of the rollout. That practice leads us to here present day, Gen, Genesis Swindle, Gen Swindle, whatever you want to call me. Just released my first EP “Never Alone” streaming on all platforms working on my debut mixtape, “You’re Never Alone”. I named the EP “Never Alone” based on the release, it was a birthday offering, my bday being 11/24. I just randomly looked up angel numbers 1124 to see if the universe was f*ckin with it. It instantly told me You’re Never Alone and gave a deeper meaning, I instantly felt affirmed because due to my life journey, story, I already knew this.
With the season change and release of Drake and 21 Savage “Her Loss” I knew the universe ears were just reset, so me and my producer/engineer MaineeStreamm did our own young underground version of “Her Loss”. We completed “Never Alone” in 4 days, I recorded 7 songs and pulled 4 from my catalog that fit the sound. I’m currently shooting visuals from the EP including the intro, “1OfNone produced by Tay Da Monstr” completed Sunday night, in Sandy Springs, GA at Performa Atl it’s going to be fire, can’t wait for everyone to see it. Out of 11 songs, I will probably shoot 4/5 videos. I also have been shooting visuals for songs on the tape as well, I’m really trying to find more time in the day these days between recording, designing, and being a regular person. A new merch collection is also amongst us in the thick of this rollout, It’s up with us right now for real, I can’t wait to show the world the persistence, consistency, and growth through both music and clothes.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Everyone’s answer will be different, me personally I don’t really trip off sh*t for a real gang like it’s going to take a lot to get to me. Even in my situation when I feel like it’s a speed bump or something in the way, it really fuels me and I just dig deeper and work past my situation. So I feel like mine has been smooth because I’m also turning into the street sweeper you know, at this point I don’t feel like no one can save me but me so everything just feels that much better, you know?
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Music. Writer. Orchestrator. Artist. Clothing. Designer. Creative Director.
I am known for making songs people like to listen to and making clothes they want to wear. I am probably most proud of the music at this point, just because people genuinely reacting and listening to your music and knowing your lyrics word for word is flattering for real. Like the clothes too, but when it comes to merch, I just make stuff I like so the fact people embrace that is cool, but when someone can play me in the mix with their favorite artist, I’m flattered and that makes me want to keep going. I feel like what sets me apart is I have walked many different lives so when I present my art in many forms, it speaks from a blue-collar, general urban perspective. Like one of those nice ass traps in a penthouse. When you walk in you be like damn, am I supposed to be here right now, I don’t know, but I wanna come back type vibe you know? I feel like that’s what people are getting from the music, like who’s this and where has he been, but this is fireeee. The merch as well, like even when I look at it, it’s like a lot of potential energy you can literally see, it’s only a matter of time.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Favorite book is probably “From The Browder Files” “Quaran” “The 369 Method” & “The 12 Week Year” ummm that’s like it for real, I’m so busy day in and out that I don’t really follow blogs or podcasts. I’m a YouTuber for real like I’m going to watch the news on YouTube for real lol no funny sh*t. Or like if it’s something going on in popular culture my instagram explore page will tell me about it. My TikTok is showing me like hella conspiracies and sh*t lolll like reading is more leisure for me. I watch hella interviews, but not like based on platforms more on artists or entrepreneurs. I just try to stay connected to all walks of life and that’s what inspires the general ideas I display in my art. I try to learn from everything I experience on the daily basis.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://unitedmasters.com/gen1626
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/genesiswindle
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/genesiswindle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@swndlbobngreg2114
Image Credits
@moneyshotD
