Shaboozey is an anomaly in hip-hop. He never does interviews, barely releases music and, when he does, it tends to defy genres. His biggest hit, “Winning Streak,” is somehow both a hip-hop record and a rock ballad, complete with a guitar solo, and even though it (and he) doesn’t adhere to norms, with nearly three million streams on Spotify, the track is proof that Shaboozey is getting a lot of love.
His recent performance at Day N Night Fest—which he managed to book with only three songs released—marked his first public performance in two years. In typical Shaboozey fashion, his set toed the line between hip-hop and rock, exciting and confusing festival-goers at the same time, and consisted of unreleased tracks from his upcoming project Lady Wrangler. REVOLT TV caught up with the young genreblender to chat about his performance.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19142549/bhqefydttiu4hrnidda1.jpg)
How do you think your Day N Night Fest 2017 performance went? Hopefully, I changed somebody’s life out there. Hopefully, I touched some kids [laughs]. Hopefully, I gave them an experience. That’s all I really hope to do every time I come out on stage.
How come you didn’t perform “Jeff Gordon” or “Starfoxx”? I mean, I like to keep certain sets to a certain aesthetic. I like to tell a story. This was my first show in a long time. I wanted to set myself apart from everyone that would go on before and after me. Set a precedent, you know what I mean? Every song that was played, there was live instruments involved.
Before you went on, you said you’re trying to make rock-and-roll history, but I feel like the crowd expected hip-hop. So, what genre was your set? That was kind of, very metal. I always call it progressive rock, just leave it in that realm. It’s not my job to put a title on it.
Did you perform Lady Wrangler in its entirety? No, I only did songs like “On My Way” that has a breakdown at the end and turns into a metal song. I wanted to showcase a lot of that. I wanted people to be like, ‘Woah, this guy isn’t regular.’
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19142551/r5neta7pyzafmtuszwpp.jpg)
During your set you went from super-turnt to literally crying then back again. How do you do that? I feel like I was really, really born for art and expression. I feel like I’m a true artist all the way down to the very core. So, I don’t think there’s any sort of fakeness. Seeing all those people, man, it’s touching to be able to touch them and directly gain fans.
Speaking of fans, you had people in the crowd that knew every word to “Winning Streak,” but that’s it. Everything else that you played is new. How did you deal with that? I have a lot of confidence in my performance, my delivery and that I can come in and tell a story. I’m not coming to perform to have people sing along to the songs. If I’m playing music that nobody has ever heard, they’ve gotta shut up, listen, and figure out if they like it.
Any word on a release date for Lady Wrangler? I can’t say yet. We’re probably shooting a video for “Winning Streak” very soon. I mean, I’m aiming to have the greatest everything, every time. It’s a process. It’ll come when it comes and every time I come out with something, it never disappoints.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19142572/gqzadylm6avb1xin8n9k.png)