Oakland's Philthy Rich celebrates 10th anniversary with "Hood Rich 4" release
The Bay Area’s “Gucci Mane” on evolving his sound, the hyphy movement, and not wanting to be known as just a local rapper.
To some people Oakland artist Philthy Rich is considered the Bay Area’s “Gucci Mane.” But for him, he is simply an artist trying to make waves beyond his city. And with consistent hard work, he’s been able to do just that over a span of a decade. To celebrate this achievement and the 10-year anniversary of his first album, Rich released his new project called Hood Rich 4. The album consists of features from acts such as Birdman, Young Dolph, and G Herbo, showcasing an array of artists from all over the country.
REVOLT TV caught up with the rapper to learn more about the project and the grizzly street tales that have influenced Hood Rich 4.
What message are you trying to present in Hood Rich 4?
My growth, where I came from, where I’m at now, what I’ve seen, what I’ve been through, what I want to do, just keep progressing. I’m not ashamed of my past. I just use that to motivate me to want to do better and push harder. My message in my music is basically if you believe and push, you can accomplish anything; I’m a proven fact of that. And especially where I come from. If you know me from the beginning and seen me take steps to where I need to go, you would appreciate that.
How have you grown as an artist?
Coming from Oakland, I’m probably one of the only artists that’s actually moving around outside of the city and seeing more things, as in coming from the street aspect. And in Oakland, my whole fanbase is there but they aren’t doing the same thing that I’m doing. That may sound different to them because I may be saying something that I saw in New York, they won’t know what that is and won’t understand it because they aren’t coming across those type of things.
But it’s all just me rapping about what I’m going through, my life and sh-t, it was new to me. Because I don’t want to be just known as the local rapper from Oakland. I want to do bigger and better things in different cities and states. This is the reason why I’m doing music with different artists in different areas and touching different cities, states, doing shows. It made no sense for me to be just a local rapper. I didn’t start rapping to do just that. I started rapping to better my family, my friends, and the people around me, and that’s not going to happen just in Oakland. So I have to do bigger and better things.
You have an array of artists on your project. When did you get to the point where you said to yourself, “I don’t want to be just a local artist”?
It was just in my mind, by me not wanting to be local. I came across these different artists and built relationships with them. I was recently in the studio up to six in the morning with Jim Jones doing records and working on his new album. Also, I talked to Birdman about going to Miami to shoot a video off of the album. Not too long ago I left Atlanta, shot a video with Young Dolph. It’s just about building relationships and coming together as one. By me being from the West Coast, it’s rare that people from the South or from New York gravitate to a West Coast artist like they are doing with me. I’ve done a song with everyone from the Bay Area, probably the only one I didn’t do a song with from the Bay is Mac Dre, but he passed away. Other than that, I did it with everyone, I don’t want to keep doing the same thing.
Do you try to diversify your sound and not have the quote-endquote Bay Area sound?
I would say that I don’t necessarily have the Bay Area sound that everyone is used to, because I have my own sound and everyone from the Bay may not sound like me. So, it’s not about trying to sound like what the Bay Area Sound is. I would think it would be the hyphy movement, what would be nationally televised as the Bay Area sound. But it’s bigger than just that there because a lot of people from the Bay Area weren’t part of that. So I’m speaking for those people, and nothing against the movement, that just wasn’t me.