BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Rapper Felix “Spillz716” Cuevas-Rodriguez recently moved from Buffalo to St. Louis, but he’ll be back in Western New York on Sept. 20 for the annual Music is Art Festival.
The annual festival, hosted by Robby Takac-founded nonprofit Music is Art, showcased over 200 acts, most of them local, at Terminal B on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor last year. The festival will be returning to Outer Harbor again this year.
Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac discusses new album, Music is Art Festival
“It’s my fourth year,” Spillz said. “I’m excited, I’m so excited every time. I just drove [to St. Louis] from over there, and I hate that drive, but when you mentioned Music is Art, man, I’m like, ‘All right, let’s pack up, I’m ready to go.’ So I’m excited for that. I know it’s going to be even bigger than it was the last four years — this is my fourth year. So shout out to Robby, shout out to Sara [Elizabeth], shout out to Music is Art Festival, GCR, all of them. And whoever takes a part — all the artists, all the DJs, all the creators — shout out to them.”
Spillz said his first year at the festival, he played on the Buffalo RiverWorks main stage, a high he has been chasing since, though he understands the importance of parity.
“Now, every time I go to Music is Art, I’m like, ‘I want to be on the main stage. I want to be on the main stage,’” he said. “Obviously, you know, I’m not the only artist, so we need to rotate, there need to be other artists who go on the main stage as well. I’m just blessed to be on any stage, to be honest with you… I’m just excited, man, to just be there, period. I don’t care where you put me — put me in a parking lot, I’m going to make it happen.”
He said his favorite part of the festival is the community, with people coming together to celebrate local music and to have fun.
“Everybody’s literally there for love, music, peace,” he said. “And I just — I wish I could have that every single day, for sure.”
Spillz said since his move to St. Louis, he’s had the opportunity to showcase his music in front of new audiences and a new music scene.
“Buffalo kind of laid the foundation for me,” he said. “There’s people out here who know me already, and I never would’ve even thought somebody would know who I am out of Buffalo. But that’s because they have worked with other artists from Buffalo, so they they know who I am.”
Recently, Spillz opened for Krayzie Bone of the hip-hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony in the group’s home state of Ohio. The show marked the second Bone Thugs member he’s opened for, the first being Bizzie Bone, whom he’s opened for twice.
Outside of performances, Spillz is winding down his schooling, as he said he’s about to graduate, and can’t wait to be finished. He said the additional time will allow him to work on more music.
Spillz said he’s also looking to freshen up his set by adding a guitar to the act, as he’s been practicing rapping and playing guitar at the same time.
“I think this year I’m going to show [my fans] another side of me,” he said. “I’m going to play this instrument and — I got that going on, I got school going on, I’m just working, writing songs and putting them in a vault. If you know me, I don’t really like to release my music.”
He said a lot of people ask him when he plans to release an album.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Whenever God is ready. I’m not forcing nothing, you know? I’m not forcing nothing.”
The full interview can be watched in the video player at the top of the page or streamed on Buffalo Jukebox on Spotify and Apple Podcasts on Sept. 12.
Adam Duke is a digital contributor who joined WIVB in 2021. See more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
