Today we’d like to introduce you to ICON
Hi ICON, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Harry Fontenot but you may also know me as ICON. I was born in Salt Lake City in December of 2006. I started writing music at the age of four it wasn’t anything close to decent but it was a great way to get my feelings out. of which i had a lot. Growing up i felt a lot like an outsider. I didn’t carry the same religion as the people around me which led to me in a lot of ways being on my own. I was alone for a long time, but when i was thirteen years old i discovered that place in the world where i could call home.
i had recently been gifted my first cell phone for my thirteenth birthday and having my own phone meant i could choose my own music. One morning on the way to a baseball game in Weber County i checked what was trending on social media that particular day for whatever reason people were talking about this album “2014 forest hills drive” by J.cole. I had never heard of this dude in fact i had not ever heard of many people that were talking about how good this album was. I would later realize that these people that were talking were like internet rap critics like Anthony Fantano, Blackyspeakz and so many others, but in the moment i just decided to give it a try. I can’t explain in words to you how this album grabbed my soul and ripped it out of my chest. I got sucked in, i fell in love with the sound. the choppy flow of Coles voice mixed with incredible poetry and ear crunching instrumentals. Rap / Hip-Hop hit me like a ton of bricks dropped from the Empire State right on my head. In a lot of senses of the word i was born that day. My eyes were forced open to see this beautiful grimy, unperfect world full of people who weren’t accepted anywhere else. These Rappers, beat makers they were outsiders like me. I was catapulted into the world of hip-hop and it changed my life. every day since then was a exploration into this new universe and i was discovering planets. Kendrick lamar, J.cole,Joyner Lucas, Jay-z, Nas ,Tribe called quest , the wu-tang clan, Y.G , N.W.A, eazy e, ice cube, Tupac, biggie, erykah badu, Dr. Dre, metro bommin, future, migos, Three Six Mafia, Juciy j, project pat, logic,Rakim, most def, Timbaland, Pharell, the legendary J dilla. I mean that’s just off the top. I fell into an obsession with Hip-Hop and that obsession eventually led to me saying “I can do this”
i was right, but it would take me six years of working on it every day to get good. so i started making Hip-Hop music and it made garbage look like a decoration you would hang up in a mansion. it would be a massive understatement to say it was bad. Although the music i was making was not in any sense of the word good i still loved hip-hop more than anything on the planet and i was willing to grind every day for as long as it took. It took a long time. 6 years of working everyday. countless amounts of songs, countless horrible projects, countless bad releases but now today i feel like i am making music that has a place in the average persons playlist
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In December of 2023 i was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid gland. It causes the body’s immune system to attack and damage the thyroid, leading to an underactive thyroid. Now you might think that there is no possible way that the thyroid controlled so much in your body but it does, height,weight,hair growth, energy, memory. you could name something that you feel or something that happens in your body and i bet you the thyroid has a part to play in it. Hashimoto’s made me tired it made my muscles tense up for hours and hours, it’s delayed my growth, it’s caused a massive hormone unbalance in my brain. It got to the point where i couldn’t make it through a day without taking a 3 hour nap right after school. it was rough, but after that nap i worked on music, still pushing to level up my abilities both my lyrics and performance. i worked hard through that, and that final push through the hardest obstacle i had faced in my life led to me making the best music i ever have.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Hip-Hop artist that can do anything. i rap on break beats, boom bap, trap, old pop songs, 2000’s Pharell beats, whatever i can get my hands on i rap on. A big part of my most recent album that people are really enjoying is the integration of guitar in my song “Dress To Impress” which started the whole album “By Any Means”. i take great pride in the ability to rap on anything i can, to kind of bring about that versatility in myself and my style. My lyrics are versatile, I’ll talk about how i feel about a girl then I’ll talk about my issues with law enforcement and police brutality. I just let what wants to come out through my pen when i’m writing come out. I don’t restrict myself or box myself in.
What does success mean to you?
Not by making money. I know that might drive people away in some way or sound privileged but for me it’s completely all about the art. i want to make good art, i want to preform it well. If what i do one day pays well then that’s awesome, but i would do this if i was working a regular job for the rest of my life. i just love Hip-hop.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/iconmusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/icon____iconic___/
- Twitter: https://x.com/harry_icon_77
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk7Pw73ykttMs1TTVhR6SXA
