There's no real network, and every city in Mississippi is so spread out, so it isn't easy to drive around and pass out CDs. So when an artist from Natchez or Gold Coast or Meridian breaks out, they already know exactly what kind of artist they want to be. The grind and the hustle is just so adamant.
Adele was introduced to me by a guitarist named Mike Hartnett that plays for a band called Rehab. We was just riding around, and he was like, 'Man have you heard this soul singer Adele?' and I was like 'Nah!' and we just rode to the whole CD, and it got to 'Hometown Glory,' and I was like, 'Man I have to sample that!'
Twenty-fourteen is all about growth musically and new agendas.
Where I'm from is humble, and people are mad appreciative of what they have.
Get to the point where the songs sum it all up, and creatively, I'm just like, 'This is it.' I've also learned how to be patient and not really try to overproduce anymore. I used to add instruments, keep adding instruments, but nowadays - I know better now. I know how to let the track breathe.
I always revisit duality because I think it's a conflict we all have. I think we all leave our house and go to work, and we put on the cape and become superheroes. That's what we do. It's how we move through life and handle negativity: you do everything you can to stay away from it.
Favorite cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
If you goin' to work, you gonna put my album on. If you happen to be makin' an hour-and-a-half drive, you gonna put my album on, because people spend more time in their car then they do in clubs.
I'm used to producing all of my projects, doing all the beats, and writing all the hooks.
It seems like music gets put in this hub where you have to rap about this, and the minute you do something else, it's like you changing. Nah, I'm being creative.
I'll say one of my all time favorite albums would have to be Willie Hutch, 'The Mack.'
People know, lyrically, I go in, and you should never take me lightly on any record.
Success happened for me when I dropped my first major label album for Def Jam, 'Live From The Underground.'
I would say when you're dealing with live musicians and musicality, the warmth of a live instrument brings a certain feel to a song that is really hard, sometimes, to get from synthesized instruments.
My grandmother introduced me to B.B. King. She wasn't someone who had a lot of posters, but there was a big poster of B.B. King on the wall as soon as you walked into her house in Meridian, Mississippi.
I think if I wanted to get to a point where I could actually grow in my music, I had to almost step away from sampling so much and start making the kind of music that people wanted to sample.
Sample clearances and roll-out plans is what separates mix-tapes & albums.
I worked on 'Cadillactica' with the mind to not sample as much and focus on creativity.
With some of the samples that I chose to use, tracking down the person that owns the publishing has become a task.
I love tearing people's speakers up.
