NigelRigel: Hey everybody! It is NigelRigel, and today I am interviewing editor BillyTootell! Now, to start off, how are you today?

BillyTootell: I'm good thanks! What about you?

NigelRigel: Well, I am great today! A little tired, but nothing I can't get through. Thanks for asking!

BillyTootell: Me too, but it's nearly the weekend so there's something to look forward to!

NigelRigel: Nice! Is there something you usually do on the weekends? I'm personally looking forward to the WandaVision Finale on Friday.

BillyTootell: Besides watching football (soccеr) not much! I just enjoy the break aftеr a week of school hahaha.

NigelRigel: Same, school can be such a pain sometimes. Can't say I really watch soccer, or any sports for that matter, but it seems like you have some things you in your free time. What else do you do?

BillyTootell: Besides football my main things I do are pretty much just listening to music (which I do all the time) and watching TikTok/YouTube/Netflix, I spend a worrying amount of time procrastinating instead of doing stuff I should actually be doing lol so those three apps were made for me!

NigelRigel: Nice, we are so alike. So you are an editor on Genius, and I think you would have to spend an awful lot of time on the site to get to that position. How exactly did you stumble upon this site?

BillyTootell: Hmmm good question! I've always been interested in the lyrics of songs and if I remember correctly my first interaction with Genius was correcting a lyric on "Return of the Rucksack" by Stormzy. Then from there I started annotating lyrics mostly by Aminé and Trippie Redd until eventually Ewok reached out to me about becoming an Editor!

NigelRigel: I see that worked out well for you! So was Ewok your mentor?

BillyTootell: Yep! Ewok took me under his wing for a good few months before passing me on to @M4L4 who pushed me over the line a few weeks after that!

NigelRigel: That's pretty neat. So do you have any advice for people trying to become a mentor? (Like me?)
BillyTootell: Well, without going too deep into the mentoring process all I can say from my own experience is don't give up! There were times when I was being mentored by Ewok that it felt like I wasn't getting anywhere and I'd make a tate that I thought would be my best one yet, and then Ewok would get back to me with a whole list of improvements! It was frustrating at times but Ewok knew exactly what he was doing so I just stuck with it, and I'm glad I did!

NigelRigel: That's some pretty nice advice! So people on genius have a obvious love affair with music, what kind of music do you like the most?

BillyTootell: Well I've been on a huge journey with music really, growing up I always listened to Rock and Roll and Pop music more than anything, whereas now I pretty much exclusively listen to Hip-Hop and R&B. I'd definitely say overall though Hip-Hop is my favourite genre, although I will give almost anything a chance!

NigelRigel: Nice! I see we share similar interests! Do you happen to have any favorite artists?

BillyTootell: Naturally my favourite artists change on a weekly basis, right now my favourites are Frank Ocean, Brent Faiyaz, and slowthai. However, my favourites of all time are Kendrick, Kanye, Drake, J. Cole, Tyler, The Creator, and JID just to name a few!

NigelRigel: I see you have taste. So much like these artists, have you taken interest in writing or making music?

BillyTootell: Hmmm, like anyone else who enjoys music I've obviously considered it, but my creative juices just don't work in that way unfortunately. I think I'll just leave the creative aspect to the people who are good at it and I'll appreciate them for what they do!

NigelRigel: I can respect that. So in what way do your creative juices work? What are your aspirations for the future?

BillyTootell: Well, like yourself journalism is my absolute dream, especially in the field of music ideally! I take a lot of pride in my writing so it's definitely something I'd like to continue to do as I get older, hopefully in a few years time I'll have graduated from University and can start pursuing a career in that field!

NigelRigel: Journalism is one of my biggest aspirations as well, (if the music career flops) which is the main reason why I'm doing these interviews, it also helps to get to know the community better.

BillyTootell: It's the main reason I wanted to do this interview as your passion for journalism is infectious and definitely something I can relate to!

NigelRigel: Hehe! To end this interview, I want to know something interesting about you, like if you have any hidden talents, etc.

BillyTootell: That's a tough question hahaha and not one that I can really answer seriously, as I don't have any interesting hidden talents, I do however have a couple stupid hidden talents. For example, I can wiggle my ears, I can move my eyes separately from one another, and I'm really good at FIFA ahahaha. I'll have to try and develop a serious talent or two in the near future in case someone ever wants to interview me again!
NigelRigel: That may be a good goal, lol. Well, I want to appreciate you for your time! Thanks for taking this interview!

BillyTootell: Thank you for taking the time out to interview me! It was fun 🙂

NigelRigel: Alright, take care Billy! See you soon.

BillyTootell: 👋