THE VERCETTI WAY INTERVIEW

20 year-old Chris Inacio is working on making his brand international. Raised in Westchester, New York, Chris called in from Spain to chat about his journey. From throwing free shows for 50 people to sold-out dates, cultivating multiple bustling Instagram pages, and directing music videos for artists like Your Stepdad and Herb4K. With all of his hard work, it’s safe to say Chris is embodying the ‘Vercetti Mindset’ in order to manifest his dreams. 

What inspired you to start the Vercetti Mindset?
My biggest inspiration is Lil Tecca and his nickname is Vercetti. Seeing everything that he’s done so far, from such a young age motivated me to have that same mentality. From sold-out shows, to having the biggest song in the world, he made sure that the whole world knew his music. I would go to every show and sing every lyric word-for-word. His concerts inspired me to start throwing shows of my own and I was just trying to think of a name, so I came up with The Vercetti Way because his hustle was the inspiration behind it all.

I started The Vercetti Mindset because I never want to stick to just one thing. I love everything I do–the shows, videos, management. With the promo page I see how big they can get and the impact they can have. When Rap, Our Generation Music or Underground Sound comes to your event it’s a big deal. I want my platform to be a big deal… And I can also promote whatever I want. I just post whatever is on my mind. It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it. I really don’t have a team. I do everything myself.

How long did it take before you started seeing money from the IG page?
In the very beginning, I would just ask for reposts or story tags in exchange for promo. Then I changed it to 10 new followers for a post. And then I started charging $10, and then $15 and so on and so forth. Now I can finally buy shit. Before, I never copped shoes. I’ve been chillin’ with the same pair of Forces for maaad long. Once I started seeing some real money, I bought my first pair of Ricks. 

Do you have a favorite promo campaign you’ve ran?
My favorite posts are Vercetti’s top picks or Vercetti Way exclusives. I’ll run those every couple of weeks and post those on my Soundcloud. Skaiwater just sent me a couple songs to put on there, same with Your Stepdad. I got some songs from Che and Tana as well. The slideshows are great on those posts because they usually have clips from their music videos.

Was it difficult developing relationships and trust with artists? 
I would just text the rappers who came to my shows. We’d become cool and they would just send me like 10 songs and let me pick whatever I want to post on my Soundcloud. Next week I’m actually going to their office.

Soundcloud’s?
Yeah , they invited me over. I don’t know what for yet, but hopefully we can work out some sort of sponsorship. I need that Soundcloud blue check. I need an official Soundcloud playlist. I need to get my other account unbanned too. Someone sent me a Dom Corleo song and I thought I could trust them (that was the only time I ever posted something that wasn’t directly from the artist) and for some reason I got a copyright strike. Before I knew it, they took my whole account down. I’m gonna get it back though. I’m not worried. 

Do you have any tips for creating an effective marketing campaign?
For story posts, Trillers always get the best engagement. For permanent posts, send a Triller or a visualizer–not just a screen recording of the MP3 file. People want to see what the artist looks like and get to know the artist. Lazy marketing hurts the engagement– so a good cover photo is also super important. Don’t be afraid to show your face. Fans want nice, clean photos–not blurry ones. I know that’s some people’s aesthetic, but not everyone can be Carti.

How do you navigate working with independent artists as opposed to major labels?
I’m open to working with people. If they can’t afford a post, I’m willing to trade promo for a really good song. If we’re cool and you want me to cover something, you can just hit my DMs. Usually labels reach out through email and we work out the details to their marketing campaign. I’m always open to making deals.

Is it weird working with labels and having to deal with that whole bureaucracy?
Not really. This was always the route I wanted to take. If I have to email labels, I have no problem with that. It’s crazy that they’re even contacting me for a service. 

That show looked like so much fun.
That was such an iconic day. I gotta do another one. I used to do shows like every three months, but I haven’t done one since the Kompany x Vercetti Way show because at this point I don’t want to do another show if it won’t be better than the last. For my last show, I got a lot of the artists to agree to perform right before they blew up. 

Do you ever run out of content to cover or run into a creative block?
One day I felt like there was no news, but then a few hours later Iayze went on live and the rest was history. Everyday there’s something new and you can either be the first person to post it or the fourth. News is news and it spreads fast. Every media page covers–it’s not the same thing—

It’s the same thing from different angles.
Yeah, exactly. I never really get a creative block. If I’m stuck on a music video, I’ll just hit up Karl with a K and he’ll just pull up to my shoot and help me out. For posters I always hit Raeusi–he’s a rapper and he also makes clothes–or W0nHunnid–who does all the posters for Hyperpopdaily and he’s done cover art for DC the Don and a bunch of other artists. I have a really strong support system but I haven’t built a team yet. I do everything dolo on the social media side. I used to take a lot of pride in that but if I want to compete with Rolling Loud, Matt and Tariq don’t do it all alone. They’re definitely some of my biggest inspirations. Cole Bennett too. And Lil Tecca, of course. I just met him a couple weeks ago. I was in line to buy a shirt and Tecca’s manager Giuseppe was like “Yoooo, Vercetti Waaay.” I used to go up to him at Rolling Loud and I’d tell him that we’re gonna work one day. Once Tana performed at the show that put me on his radar. I told Tecca that I’ve been a fan since “Tokyo” and talked about my shows and he knew who I was! I used to fan out when I met someone who inspired me but I just tried as hard as I could to maintain composure. If I ever meet Playboi Carti, I will probably break down.

Same, I have no idea what I’d even say to him!
I would be like, “Bro, ‘Long Time’ is the best song I’ve ever heard in my life.” That’s the best song ever made. Bruh, “Over.” When I heard Whole Lotta Red for the first time, I opened my gifts, was like “thank you guys,” and I ran upstairs and I started bumping it on my Beats. I fell in love as soon as I heard “Rockstar Made.” By the time I got to “Over,” I was losing my fucking mind. It was like “Long Time” Part Two. 

That album changed everything. The underground would be completely different without Whole Lotta Red.
If he actually starts dressing in all white, everybody’s gonna start dressing in all white.

I really hope he doesn’t.
Like bruh, I just got all my black shit. Chill.

Everyone’s Opium now!
He’s the reason I got Ricks.

The Ricks will always be in style.
I want the big ones with the laces but I’m not dropping two bands on some shoes. To buy a chain I’d need such a ridiculous amount of money that it wouldn’t even matter. I want to buy an apartment complex, rent it all out, and then stack bread from that forever to buy other cribs. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. I could just workout and worry about The Vercetti Way.

I’m really glad you’re thinking of this stuff. A lot of people our age aren’t. They just want the car, they just want the chain, but they aren’t trying to build generational wealth.
Don’t get me wrong, I definitely want a chain. But I’m not gonna get one at the moment. For now, this chain from my grandma will do.

You gotta get that Lil Tecca chain one day. 
Word. I manifested all of this. I was the biggest Tana fan. I loved all of his music. I saw him in Buffalo, New York and he signed my shirt and dapped me up–I was losing it! And then I went to a Tecca show and he recognized me and even sang me “Happy Birthday.” The day of the Kompany x Vercetti Way concert, he just showed up and told me he was proud of me. He said he was gonna do three songs if that was cool. My whole plan was to ask him but I didn’t even need to. I never know who the special guests are going to be until the day of. 

Was Yung Fazo one of the first artists to show you love?
I met Yung Fazo at my second show ever. The artist I’m the booking manager for Raeusi has been best friends with him since like third grade. So on the day of his show, Yung Fazo popped out. My shows were really small at the time. So, Raeusi brought him out and the crowd went stupid. He always showed mad love after that. He always comes to my shows, we went to LA together–that’s my guy. 

What about Kanii? How did that studio vlog with him come about?
I always knew Kanii was going to make it. My friend Zane Bird, who does music videos too, was telling me he was about to link up at the studio with Kanii and I just asked if I could vlog the session. He showed me everything. This was before “I Know” even came out, I was bumping his music from the archive. He was showing songs with Riovaz and Skaiwater and he has a lot of inspiration from Michael Jackson. The way he makes music is so effortless. He’s so talented. He’s so young. He’s so humble. He deserves all the success he has coming to him. I’ve been talking to him and his team and he’s definitely going to be on the next lineup.

Do you have any more behind-the-scenes videos on the way? 
I got one with Zayskillz, one with Fazo, and one with Zuko on the way. I just need to finish editing them.

What made you start directing music videos?
I needed an excuse to get out of my old school–I hated that place. So, I told my parents that I needed to transfer to a film school so that I could learn to do music videos and photography full-time. I did that, but then my parents wanted me to get a different degree. As a kid, I always wanted to record tours and festivals. That’s what made me start directing music videos because I took a lot of inspiration from Cole Bennett, Tycho Burwell, Nick Welch, and Karl with a K. He was one of my biggest inspirations at one point, now he’s one of my best friends. Our shows are unmatched.

What made you start putting on shows?
I had this one friend who made music and I wanted him to perform. But he was saying it was too hard. I told him to just get a venue and invite some friends. He said it was too complicated and if it was so easy then I should do it. So, I found a small venue and DM’d all the smaller artists that I would listen to. I didn’t expect any of them to answer but they were all down and I had to get a whole different venue in Jersey because of it. Then people were asking when the next one was so I kept doing it. 

Did the artists ask for pay or were they just happy to be doing shows?
The first show was completely free. I was out two bands. I dropped two bands on the venue and it was a free show. 

For the audience too?
Yeah, bro it was FREE. I dropped all the bread I had at the time on it. In my head, I didn’t think people would pay that much for an underground show. A cool 50-70 people showed up in total.

What was the biggest lesson you learned from doing your first show?
The first thing I learned from my first show was to promote it more. At the second show I learned that you need a good sound guy. From the third show, I learned that you need a lot of security. Good security, not whack security. For the fourth one, I learned that you need an assistant. All the security was only listening to me, so I told my friend to tell them what to do so that I could run the rest of the show. And from then on, he was my assistant. 

But there’s a lot that I learned. Be patient. Everything happens for a reason. Never give up. People are going to talk crazy. People are going to hate on whatever you do. But if you have a passion and a vision that others can’t see yet, just prove them wrong. People are going to be negative. It can even be family, it can be friends–people are going to doubt. But as long as you believe you can do it, anything is possible. I did all this in less than a year. If I can do it, anyone can.

What was the most memorable moment from one of your shows?
Damn. There’s a lot. For my Black Friday show, it was definitely when Yung Fazo came out. For my birthday show, it had to be when Che did two songs as a special guest. It’s always the special guests. For the Kompany show, it was when Tana, Skaiwater, and Rich Amiri came out. When Soundcloud showed up and gave me a box of shirts to throw–that was insane. Crowd surfing with OsamaSon was crazy. 

Selling out the first time was the craziest shit. The show capacity was 450. We oversold the show. So, I checked the website and we had 606 tickets sold. I was freaking out–everyone fit though. It was supposed to be split between General Admission and VIP but everyone wanted to be in the pit. Then the rappers wanted to bring their entourage and I had A&Rs asking to come.

Do you have any concrete plans for your next show?
I want to sell out Irving Plaza. It’s like a thousand capacity venue. We can definitely do it. That’s on the way.

What was it like putting the Vercetti Tape together?
I wanted to do a tape for every single show from the artists that performed. I just asked everyone if they could send me a song and they were all down. Now that I’m doing more Vercetti Way exclusives, I’m definitely going to do more tapes. 

Vercetti Mindset started as a fashion brand, right?
It all started because I wanted to do clothes. It was going to have merch from the shows and the beanies that I used to make were gonna go on there too. Used to make beanies. And then eventually I had the idea to do the promo page. That’s so crazy actually– I just realized that’s how it started. VRCT is gonna be its own brand. It’s gonna be tuff bro.

How did you come up with the [v]?
Ooooh that’s a good question. Lil Tecca had this collective called the 1stClassAngels and their symbol was </\>. I was inspired by that and wanted to put my own little spin on it. 

What makes you put that on all your posts?
It’s just my own little stamp. Vercetti’s been here.

What would you tell yourself a year ago?
It’s all gonna be worth it. Keep going. Don’t let anybody stop you. The path you’re going down will lead you to success. The only thing I wish I could have done is start earlier, but everything happens for a reason. 

What are your plans for 2024?
I want to launch my clothing brand. I want to launch the website/blog. I want to reach 10 thousand followers on the Vercetti Way instagram. I want to hit 50 thousand on theVercetti Mindset instagram. Most importantly, I want to sell out my next show. And I want to go on tour again and record the whole thing. I love tour life.