Big Wic Turns Pain Into Purpose With “Cheesecake,” A Story of Survival, Redemption & Growth

From the streets of Church Street South in New Haven, Connecticut, known locally as “The Jungle”, Big Wic’s story is rooted in survival and ambition. Growing up surrounded by drugs, violence, and limited options, he also witnessed something rare: rappers like LL Cool J and Big Daddy Kane moving through his neighborhood, then appearing on television. That contrast made the dream feel real early. Big Wic’s connection to the late DJ Kay Slay runs deep, going back to when he was distributing Slay’s mixtapes throughout New England. That relationship later led to Lost Files, a project completed shortly before Slay’s passing, with Big Wic donating half of the proceeds to Slay’s estate. A second installment is in motion, set for release around Slay’s birthday. With an autobiography, Apotheosis Analogy: How Two Worlds Became One, and plans for a documentary, Big Wic continues to build beyond music, with “Cheesecake” standing as a statement about growth, survival, and coming back changed without losing momentum.

Big Wic has built a catalog of over 100 songs across digital platforms, grounded in experience and regional pride. His latest single, “Cheesecake,” focuses on redemption, pulling directly from setbacks—including time spent incarcerated—and the clarity that followed. “I got the same face but a changed soul,” he says, a line that gets to the center of the record and the life behind it. Produced by Gee Rock, the track came together through a long-standing relationship with DJ Whiterock, after a beat originally meant for an R&B artist took a different direction once Big Wic stepped in.

That shift speaks to the mindset behind the record. “Cheesecake” is built around an acronym—“Celebrating Hi-self esteem, Excellence, Empowerment, Strength…”, but the meaning lands through lived experience rather than concept alone. The record balances reflection with forward motion, framing success as something close enough to see and reach for without losing sight of what it took to get there.

The video, directed by Prince Produced It, carries that same pride into the visuals. Shot across major New England landmarks, including TD Garden, Foxwoods, and UConn, it frames the region through scale and presence, using wide, cinematic shots and slow-motion sequences to match the weight of the record. The video is designed to translate the song’s message visually, giving audiences a clear sense of both the story and the scope behind it. Big Wic is proud of his origins and carries the torch for all the musical creatives who feel they have been criminally overlooked and severely underappreciated.

1 Big Wic, coming from New Haven’s “Jungle,” how did that environment shape your mindset in music?

 It’s like coming from there is beyond coming from nothing. It’s almost like being born in a deficit. So when you finally get something, you automatically go harder than anybody else you know because you come from a negative.

2. What did you take away from your time working with DJ Kay Slay?

Kay Slay once said to me in a conversation,” Make yourself a believer“!

And the reason why is that I was asking him what he thinks about my music.

His response was I put you on my CDs, don’t I?

Of course, I believe in you, but for you to ask me that question, maybe you need to make yourself a believer, so from that point on, there’s nothing that could make me not believe in myself

3. “Cheesecake” feels like a turning point. How did your experiences leading up to it shape the record?

 I had just come off of a very dark time in life and had overcame a 10 year obstacle of darkness in prison and lies and slander so it was those experiences that helped shape the record because in the face of adversity I was still able to accomplish a 4.0 GPA in college graduate in business become phi Thetta kappa honorary make the deans list every year earn a paralegal degree with Blackstone career institution become OSHA certified in construction and become a certified PCA I had become Cheesecake.  the greatest version of myself, and that all helped shape the record.

4. How did the “same face, changed soul” idea reflect where you’re at in life now?

it was a line that was a testament to how God has affected my soul, and how changing in my life made me a greater person, made me meet what I defined as Cheesecake. I exemplify that in my own being now because of what I’ve been put through and what I’ve come out of, so the same face but a change, so just explains that I might look the same, but I’m not, when you’re talking to me

5. What made that beat from Gee Rock stand out to you?

 It had all the elements I wanted: a beat that sounded relevant to the times now, and that beat had the fast snooze, high hats, and drums in it that allowed me to be witty with the flow, but that also captured a soulful and gritty sound as well, and that allowed me to insert a certain level of depth into the storyline. It had the thundering base blended with the soul sounds of Tiffany Gouche

Which brought a certain level of drama with it, and allowed me to dramatize the lyrics with lines like

“ I got God with me in the spirit, too. It’s healing me, but it’s killing you“

6. How do you balance the meaning behind the acronym with keeping the song natural and real?

 Balancing the acronym with keeping the song natural and real was a task for me because normally, people create a song with an acronym, and that’s all you hear throughout the song. I tried my best to, instead of talking about it over and over again in the song, I tried to beat it in the song if that makes any sense.

In other words, I didn’t wanna say the words over and over again to the acronym; instead, I want to be the definition I want what I say to be the definition of the acronym and let the people put it together.

7. What was the goal behind the visuals showing those major New England locations?

The goal behind those visuals was just to say in New England, we are champions. We are great. We are Cheesecake.

And to also let fellow New England know or to remind them of how great they can be just look at your neighbors, hopefully there could be some type of marketing or branding or sponsorships between the New England Patriots and Big Wic, or the Boston Celtics and Big Wic using their brand and their logo well hopefully spark some business ventures in the future thereby providing a larger platform for independent artist from New England

8. What keeps you motivated to keep recording and building your catalog?

 There are a few things that motivate me, one being God, rest his soul, my brother and partner. Kay Slay and I never got to finish what we were planning as far as our work, so I must forge ahead in his name and his honor, but number two, I feel as though 10 to 15 years got stolen away from me, so when I got the chance to do this again, age didn’t matter, time didn’t matter. Only thing mattered is success and taking back what’s mine and number three I feel as though when and if I ever start making music that I no longer care about or that I no longer think is hot then I put my microphone down, but as long as I’m getting the reactions that I’ve been getting i’m going to do this because I love breathe sleep eat, and shit hip-hop

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