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Im at the next level of the game, he says, and Im sharing it with people.
You signed with Def Jam in 2021 after more than a decade as an independent artist.
So their reach is further.
The process runs a little slower.
Its more hands in the pot.
But theres more brains thinking collectively toward my project.
How could you be mad at that?
I just stay prepared to give them the music, and theyre gon do the job.
So I love it.
And another thing I was thinking about this when I woke up I chose to be here.
Everybody I work with, from Roc Nation to Griselda to Def Jam, I choose.
From what I heard, you passed on Def Jams initial deal.
Snoop did that for me.
I guess thats why they introduced me to him, so he could speed it up like that.
You know, Snoop was in my position before.
Its easier to maybe talk to an artist than talking to managers and lawyers.
I love my managers and I love my lawyers.
But I mean, were rappers.
Snoop just put it in a language to me that I can understand.
He aint gotta do that.
He could have been doing that for somebody from the West Coast.
When I first met him, he had a beat playing as Im walking in.
I know Im going to meet Snoop, so Im gonna kill his beat.
Im about to impress this nigga.
So I had that on my mind, too.
That oneended up on hisalbum,on a songwith Kiss and Busta Rhymes.
And Im not even saying the cosign.
Im saying that knowledge that I got from him.
The conversations that we had.
Hit-Boy and the Alchemist producedEverybody Cant Go.
Whats it like working with each of them?Theres a lot of similarities.
Both of them a lot of producers, really will sit in the studio and smoke.
Those guys really dont say too much besides the direction that they give me at the beginning.
Sometimes I dont see them until Im finished with the song.
Theyre doing other shit, running back and forth, poking their head in the studio.
I get in my own world, and theyre like, Hes off in the clouds right now.
My favorite song on the album is TMVTL, which stands for trust is more valuable than love.
It features three separate stories over three separate beats.
I wanted to re-create that vibe.
I was just trying to write something that would intrigue me.
I think the three different beats, that was Als idea.
Thats that old Griselda feel.
I wanted to overdo it.
Another highlight is How to Rap, where you drop a lot of knowledge for other artists.
You tell them to search for other sources of income and stay around people who will keep you focused.
But to be honest with you, I kind of knew a lot back then.
It was all aboutwhoI knew.
I wish I knew the players who were moving and shaking who were on the front line.
I wish I would have met some A&Rs earlier.
I didnt know none of them.
I was just staying in Buffalo, and all my hardest work just landed in the streets.
People were fucking with it, but it really wasnt moving me toward the game.
It was keeping me stagnant.
You recorded with Drake a few years ago.
How did you two end up connecting?Torontos not far from Buffalo.
When he shouts out the radio station 93.7 on his albums, thats like our Hot 97 back home.
Torontos only an hour away, so they share that radio station with us.
I maybe knew about Drake earlier than everybody because Im a little closer.
And Im pretty sure that he got the Griselda wave when it was going on.
Hes a bar spitter, so hes got respect for the art and for the culture, too.
I think I hit him up after hisRap Radarinterview, since they spoke about us briefly.
He sent the record a few months later.
Why is the Drake record not onEverybody Cant Go?
This is your Def Jam debut, as much of an occasion as ever.
[Chuckles]Why is the Drake record not on it?
I dont know, I dont know.
Well, Idoknow the answer, but I dont know why thats the answer.
This is the music business.
Maybe well have another chance.
I know people wanted to hear that.
You got into two small controversies recently I did?
Yeah, on Twitter.Oh, okay.
Twitter controversy aint really controversial to me.
I be in real shit outside.
I thought some shit happened!
[Laughs]
You said fans todayshould appreciate the music moreand be less critical.
Ive been sitting back witnessing people being ungrateful for the music.
I know its a lot of bullshit artists out there.
You hear people say all the time, Theres no real rap now.
And then people get to tagging me and tagging everybody else where they feel like Wheres the real rappers?
Like, what you mean?
Youre not looking for it in the right way.
So Im just saying, enjoy the music.
Anybody who does their craft at the top level, we respect your opinion.
But if your opinion dont got credit behind it, whats the opinion?
Thats really the harsh reality of it.
People feel like, Damn, my opinion dont matter?
Of course your opinion matters.
But its a different thing to weaponize your opinion.
Ive been seeing that a lot, because its been cool to shit on rappers lately.
Basically, thats what Im saying.
I think people need to dial back on that; theyre doing too much.
The other Twitter controversy I love Twitter controversy![Laughs].
People were surprised when youtweeted support of Donald Trump.
What made that something that you wanted to share?
I learned something that day.
Thats all you have to say about it?Thats what I learned that day.
West just texted me an hour ago and sent me a beat to do.
Hes like, Yo Bugs, I need you to go crazy.
You know how you went onthis?
you gotta take this direction onthat.
Thats what makes me better.
Having direction makes me better.
I love having direction.
Thats why anybody I work with, I let them do their job.
It makes the job easier, actually.
Conway definitely helped me like that while working on my albums.
Rap how you rap.
Dont feel like you cant be you, talk that slick, dope boy talk on these beats.
That definitely helped me be better.
Three years ago today.
There are obviously going to be adjustments that you make in your day-to-day life when something like that happens.
How do you cope with it?I deal with it physically, every day.
And I definitely watch the circles that I be in.
Its not like I was in a circle where that happens.
Theres a lot of things that the old me would have fun doing that the new me cant do.
I learned a lot of lessons like that.
That was a wake-up call.
How crazy is that, right?
Mufuckas expect to get shot.
Everybody around me has been shot.
My wifes mother has been shot before.
So it was like, I felt like I escaped.
But in all actuality, you never escape.
Its about protecting yourself and thinking smart.
But Im good now, trust me.
I learned how to walk.
It took me a while to get back on my feet.
I walked with a brace, I had a wheelchair, I had a walker.
I bought all those gadgets.
My therapist put me back together.
Im good as new, almost.
But its really notthathard.
You go on tour and when its time to record, you record.
Thats what I signed up for.
I have fun doing this shit, waking up and running around every day.
Rappers, we love to be in recording mode.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
