Dreezy talks black excellence, looking up to black women, being more personal in her next album and more

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Dreezy is back like she never left. You may have heard her on hit records “Body,” “We Gon Ride,” “Close To You,” and more recently “Chanel Slides” with Kash Doll because her ability to spit continues to keep her name afloat in the rap game.

Last year, the rapper released her highly anticipated Big Dreez, the first project since her 2016 debut, No Hard Feelings. The 10-track tape featured standout features from Derez De’Shon, Jacquees, Jeremih, Kash Doll, and Offset. Moreover, her lyrics unveil her strong pen game, as she spits braggadocious bars over the hardest beats.

“Thought he was catfished, I look better off of IG (My pretty ass) / Let him slurp out the box like a Hi-C / I’m with my bloods and that pump like an IV, full course meal, your main n*gga my side piece,” she spits on Hitmaka’s “Thot Box (Remix).” Crazy part is, she wrote her verse in less than 30 minutes.

Rapping comes so naturally for Dreezy that she walks into every room with her chest out and head held high. In 2020, she walked the red carpet at The Grammys for her contributions to Dreamville’s Revenge of the Dreamers III. “Got Me” featuring herself, Ari Lennox, Ty Dolla $ign, and Omen is a certified banger.

REVOLT caught up with Dreezy on Grammy day to discuss black excellence, working with Savage X Fenty, and new music on the way. Read below!

What’s been going on in the world of Big Dreez?

Just working and changing my team around. I’m going through construction right now, getting some new members on the team and figuring out the plan for the next album. I want to put an album out this year for sure around May or June. That’s my goal.

Are we going to get a single soon?

I’m not going to rush it. If a single comes first, then I’ma put a single out and let it lead into the album.

Talk about being a brand ambassador for Rihanna Savage X Fenty.

I love Rihanna. I love the whole brand, what Savage stands for: being bold, confident, and fearless. I think she picked me because that’s what I represent with my brand. Whatever pieces they send me or that I pick out, I try to come up with dope concepts. Everything you see me doing with the photoshoots are my ideas. We just bring it to life.

When you first got to Interscope, were you able to be that creative?

I don’t know because when I first got with Interscope, I was so new to the label that I was probably a little scared to step out and do what I wanted to. I was 20, I’m 25 now.

Speaking of Rihanna, what does black excellence mean to you? 

First of all, being black. Being of the culture. Success. Intelligence. Entrepreneurship. Anything where you’re winning and you’re black, that’s black excellence. I’m going to hashtag that on whatever’s going on.

What strong black figures did you look up to? 

Females, definitely Rihanna. Definitely Beyonce. Michelle Obama, Oprah, Aaliyah, Missy Elliott. That’s around my way. As far as males, Lil Wayne, J Cole, Barack Obama, Kanye West.

How did they influence you?

Because of what they stand for in their career[s]. Leadership, what they came from, how they did it. What they’re doing to spread it now. All of these people came from nothing and turned it into an empire. They’re passing it along to the youth, which is inspiring to me.

Why is it important to celebrate black figures? 

Because we don’t get enough recognition as it is. They don’t really teach black history in school. When you’re growing up, it’s always World War II or this and that. They might sprinkle a little Dr. Martin Luther King in there, but there’s so many new black leaders even still. Of course, we still love and respect the older black leaders, but it’s still black excellence continuing to go on and it’s important that we recognize those people. Not only to celebrate their success, but so the new generation can know what’s going on and who to look up to because they’re praising anybody nowadays. When it’s successful people doing something good, they need to have the light shined on them.

Being a strong black woman yourself with a platform, how can you lead others? 

I’m just a regular girl from Chicago with a big heart and tough skin. A lot of motivation, a lot of passion. It’s something I had to learn over time. I used to get pushed over. I used to see how things weren’t fair for me and I had to make a way for myself. Being a bad bitch. Being a grown woman. Knowing where I came from and knowing it helps the family, but it ain’t who I am. I know I can be as big as I want to be.

What black history are you making? 

I’m giving girls a voice. In my next album, you’re going to really see the content that I’m bringing. I want to bring a message. I don’t feel like it’s a lot of females with a message that’s giving girls something to think about as far as real life — what they’re going through and giving them some clarity. I go through the same things they’re going through, and motivation. I’m giving a voice to females, trying to be a motivation for females. Just a good example. Trying to better myself, it’s not really always just about my fans. Of course, I’m trying to be good for my fans, but I’m really trying to better myself. If I inspire somebody next to me, that’s even better.

With music being your outlet, are we going to hear a more personal Dreez on the new project?

Yes, definitely personal. Definitely more heartfelt, more emotions. More stories. I’m still going to have the turn up. I’m still going to talk my shit, but it’s going to be a little bit of everything. Us as women, we got so many emotions. We can be turnt one minute, then be depressed another minute. We’ll be in love with a n*gga one minute, then be like, ‘fuck you’ the next minute. I want to have all of those emotions on the project. The real’s going to relate to it. Guys can relate to it too because some guys need to hear the female point of view to understand what they’re doing, where they’re going wrong or right. It’s just me being myself.

Can we talk about your hard ass verse on the ‘Thot Box’ remix?

Okay! Let’s talk about it because they ain’t talking about it enough.

They’re saying the female version is better than the males’!

It is! I love the female version. My guy Berg (Hitmaka) hit me up and asked me to hop on the song. I went to the studio the next day. I know everyone calls him Hitmaka, but that’s bro. That’s Berg for life. He is a hitmaker though. I booked my own studio session, he just sent me the instrumental of it. I didn’t even hear their verses when I laid my verse, it was just the instrumental. I wrote to it, laid my verse, sent it right back.

How quickly did you write it?

I did that verse kind of quick, I’d say 30 to 40 minutes. I was just feeling it. I did it quick, but at the same time, I wanted to take my time because I know it’s all girls on the track — I gotta pop my shit. He told me Young M.A. was gonna be on there and Dream Doll. I didn’t know Chinese Kitty or Mulatto were going to be on there, but I’m cool with both of them. I forgot how we linked up, but me and Chinese Kitty were already cool. Me and Dream Doll had just started getting cool. Me and Young M.A. had did a couple shows together. When I seen Young M.A. was on there, I said, ‘I’ma hop on there’ because I know that she raps raps.

What was your favorite bar?

I got a favorite bar from every verse. Surprisingly, I like Chinese Kitty’s verse. That’s my shit, just how it comes on: ‘Wack bitch call and said she want her boo back / Send that n*gga home, pussy juice on his durag.’ That’s it!

What was the best memory from the shoot? It looked lit.

Me recording my verse because I had so much fun. They had a director on the set that hyped you up. He’d be yelling the whole time like, ‘Turn the fuck up! You stepping on these bitches’ neck Dreez!’ He was going crazy, making me get on the floor and everything. That was the most fun part. Taking shots with everybody was fun. The group shots with everybody was fun, it was just cool.

People know by your hits, but they forget you can actually spit. Is the new album low-key a comeback?

Yeah, it’s definitely going to be a side that the public hasn’t seen from me yet. My core fanbase has definitely seen the vulnerable side of me, just the real, raw me. But, I haven’t given that to the fans yet. I want to really resonate with my fans this time because like you said, I got a lot of hits, but the songs that work the best for me are the songs where people are really singing with their heart out. Knowing all the words because they feel it. It changed their [lives]. They remember a moment in their [lives] when they heard this song and it helped them get through stuff. I’m getting back to that, especially because I want to go on tour. Those are the fans that are going to come out and cry to your songs. So, I’m getting back to the personal.

What was that song for you that made you cry?

I got an unreleased song that hurt me. It’s about my best friend that passed, I had put a little heart in there. ‘Invincible’ might be one of my favorite songs, too. I don’t know if I cried when I made it, but I was definitely feeling like ‘fuck everybody.’ I was hungry when I made that song. So, I need another type of song like that, too. I wish I would have shot a video to it.

How was it being one of the few women at the Dreamville sessions?

Man, it was like survival of the fittest. It was definitely a dope experience. I’m so glad I did it. I just went to Atlanta, I was there for two or three days and they did that whole album in 10 days. They had artists coming in rapping, singing… making beats! It’d be 10 to 15 n*ggas in the room — straight n*ggas. Everybody’s trying to get a verse on a song. Everybody’s writing, so when you walk in, it’s like dang. Not only do I want to have the best verse, but I want to be quick because everybody can’t fit on a song. It’s only four or five people tops.

It was competitive, but it made you bring your A game. It was a good experience for me because when I’m in the studio by myself, I overthink a lot. When I went there, it kept me on my toes. (Snaps twice) ‘Let’s see how raw you can be in this amount of time,’ and it came out. It brought the best out of me. I got two verses on the album, I was only there for two days. Outrapping n*iggas!

The song with Ty$ (‘Got Me’) is my shit!

Thank you, that’s my favorite, too. And that’s the first song they put out for the project. I’m like, ‘Alright, I know J. Cole heard this one.’ Now, I’m in my Grammys dress.

How’s it feel? Everyone on that project went platinum and is Grammy-nominated.

It feels good! I just saw them at the carpet. We all pulled up at the same time. It’s like family. Especially Smino and BJ the Chicago Kid, we’re all from Chicago. We’re just lit, we feel good.

What are those conversations like with Cole?

We done had talks, like hour-long talks. Just him giving me a piece of his mind about where he is mentally and the industry, about the internet. He ain’t really big on the internet. He’s a real down-to-earth type of person. He’s like a big brother. He was there at the Dreamville sessions, too. He was coming in and checking out, seeing who’s doing what. When he comes in the room, you write extra hard. He’s like big bro. He’ll go around and drop gems on people, I respect people like that.

Perfect timing for Black History Month, too.

Yup, that’s why I name Cole as one of my top [artists] because he deserves that.

Anything else you want to let us know?

Album on the way. it’s gonna be No. 1!