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I’m happy I’m in a position where I can tell and share these stories with the world. I look back and think I’m glad I survived. How do you feel reflecting on your past has helped you grow as an artist? Nostalgia is another big theme explored throughout Rudebwoy, from the good (“Rudebwoy,” “Block Party”) to the bad (“Barrel,” “Jooks”). You gotta consider those things as factors. A lot of times, when you’re a starving artist, tryna make it out of the hood, you don’t think that far ahead you’re not always wondering what you’ll be worth in five years. When Master P was talking on Solange’s album about knowing your worth, it made me rethink my perspective.
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That’s something I wish I knew coming into this. A lotta kids take a $5k deal when they’re worth $10 million on their own. I have a lot of work to do to get where I wanna be, but you need to know your value coming into the game. Like, if I know I’m worth $2 million, I’m gonna find a $2 million deal. If you know your value, it allows you to move a certain way.
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On intro track “GOING THRU,” you say, “ I’m living check-to-check and yes, some people claim they want this life.” As an artist who’s been in the game for almost a decade, what are some aspects of the music industry you weren’t prepared for when you first came in? Shout out to them because they saved me almost $100k on sample clearances. Dreamlife and his team played all the instruments over at Vintage Vandals, who recreate samples with a live band. When sample clearances came up, we had to go live with it and it just wound up making everything bigger and better.
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That wasn’t by choice, though the album was originally full of samples, like 80 percent. This is his first fully live album, no samples. You’re rapping like crazy here, but I’ve never heard Statik beats with this many live instruments before. I might come in the booth and sing, and Statik would say, “Stop singing so much, go back in there and rap.” Working with Statik was an amazing experience. I didn’t know a whole bunch first coming into the game, but Statik treated me like a family member and took care of me. Let’s make this real special.” Everything came together within the last two years or so. One day, we were kickin’ it, and I said, “Yo, we should do a joint project. He was one of the first people who wanted to sign me. I think he was a fan of mine from “Hardknock.” After “Hardknock,” we did a couple more joints, and he became like a big brother to me. Walk me through the process of creating the album with him. Photo Credit: Levi Turner Pro Era affiliate Statik Selektah entirely produces the album. Aside from embracing your heritage, what did you feel was missing from Flytrap that you wanted to address on Rudebwoy? You’ve never shied away from the personal in your music. Shout out to Tribe and Phife, rest in peace. For me to be able to meet him years later and work on my first mixtape with him made me realize I needed to rap like myself and put on for people like me. Phife Dawg was the first person I ever heard put patois in the vocals, and I was like, “What, you can do this?” Hearing Phife do it in English and tell his story was so special to me, man. You just named my two biggest influences. It reminded me of how Busta Rhymes and Phife Dawg used to flex their West Indian roots in their songs. A lot of people not from the culture capitalize off it, so why can’t I show love to my roots? My first love was reggae music and soca and calypso. Knowing that made me mindful of being sure to bring this full circle and represent the culture properly. Kool Herc is a Jamaican man who brought the DJ system that was being used at parties out there, which eventually transitioned into hip-hop culture. People might not like to read that, but it’s a fact. The album has a distinctly Jamaican flavor, from its title to the cadences of songs like “BARRELL.” Why was it important for you to embrace your West Indian roots across the album?