Tour Tales | Westside Boogie on fatherhood sacrifices he’s made to perform around the world and much more
Westside Boogie has performed around the world — even Australia with Eminem. That comes with the price of not always being there with his family.
Westside Boogie has performed around the world — even Australia with Eminem. That comes with the price of not always being there with his family.
“It’s tough, but my kid is understanding. I think me showing him to chase his dream instead of settling matters more than a lot of stuff,” the rapper told REVOLT.
In this installment of “Tour Tales,” Boogie explains how he prepared for his live show battle with Shelley at Red Bull SoundClash, why he got in trouble with Eminem after a show and more. Read below.
You battled Shelley with song performances as part of Red Bull SoundClash in Atlanta. How do you prepare for a show like that?
It’s really about making sure I have all of my words together. I smoke a lot of weed. I hate when rappers perform on top of their own words. For that show, I had to make sure I knew some of Shelley’s songs because we were doing a Takeover Round. It’s a lot of rehearsal. I drank a lot of tea. I said I wasn’t going to eat no fried food.
What song gets the best reaction live?
For live shows, fans love jumping up and down, and I know “Self-Destruction” is probably my most uppy-downy jump song.
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What was your first ever show like?
It was so bad and I thought I was doing so good. I was doing little shows in LA before I got signed, but when I really started doing shows, my first event had about 20 people there and my manager told me afterwards, ‘You were yelling the whole time.’ I thought if you just get up there and give all energy, you can just yell and you don’t have to control your voice. This was around 2014/2015.
How has your live show improved since then?
Oh, a lot. I’m like the greatest live performer now. My voice control and stamina got better. I practiced on it a lot.
What are your most memorable shows?
I have a couple of shows that stick with me forever. I remember performing at The Observatory in Santa Ana. I was opening up for Tyga, and I remember in the middle of my set, his DJ walking up to my DJ and telling us, ‘Y’all using the wrong equipment. Y’all have to stop your whole set.’ A good memory is Eminem bringing me out in Australia in front of 80,000 people in Australia.
What was it like performing with him there?
I was excited. I wanted to know how much I was getting paid because I still got a kid. The thought process is the same because I love performing and touching the people. Whether it’s 100 people or 80,000, I’m still going to give 100%. We did a few Australia dates… I actually got in trouble after the first time performing with him because he raps so fast, and I didn’t know he wanted me to catch certain words. So, I was missing every word on my song. Afterwards they were like, ‘Marshall wants to see you.’ He called me to the back and said, ‘Yeah, get your shit together.’ So, I spent that night practicing his verse so we could have better chemistry.
Are there any songs you’ve made that were inspired by your live show?
I’ve always said I’m going to make that conscious decision to do that, but I haven’t done it yet. It just seems so forced. I just like doing whatever comes natural. After I make a song, I’ll tell myself, ‘Oh, this is going to be great performing live.’ But, I don’t think about that before.
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What was your first tour?
My first tour was opening up for Tory Lanez [on the SwaveNation Tour in 2015]. It was tough because everybody come from their own rap crew. In my crew, I’m the rapper and I was used to getting the attention. I got humbled when I got on tour with Tory and was just part of his crew because I have to be on his bus and follow his rules. It was an amazing experience every artist should go through so we don’t get too big-headed too fast, or not at all. It was super humbling and I’m grateful for Tory forever. We did argue and I did want to fight him, but that’s my dawg.
What’s on your rider?
My rider is more so for the people around me. I just want to make sure I have a bottle because I don’t drink until after the show. I guess the bottle is for my people in the green room. I just need water. I don’t really need much.
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How have you balanced fatherhood with touring?
It’s a never-ending battle. I’m better at it than what I was at first. My kid’s mom and I have a great friendship, so I know she’s going to always do what she needs to do. Today, she called me saying he got in trouble in school, but I’m here and have to do this. So, I can’t really yell at him over the phone because I have to keep my brain in this. It’s tough, but my kid is understanding. I think me showing him to chase his dream instead of settling matters more than a lot of stuff.
Are there any life moments you’ve had to miss in order to perform?
Yeah. Every time I miss a basketball tournament, I’m sick. I used to want to be a basketball player, so I think I’m living vicariously through him when he’s on a basketball court. I hate missing his basketball games. He just had a tournament in San Diego, but I’m out here.
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How did the pandemic affect your live show schedule in 2020 and 2021?
The pandemic showed me I took the road for granted. Sitting in the house for so long and not being able to go see my fans was so frustrating. When I was on the road I would think, ‘Man, I just want to go home. I don’t want to leave the house anymore.’ But, being forced to not leave the house was tough.
What’s your favorite fan reaction you’ve seen at a show?
Usually I do this thing where I bring fans on stage with me, and I test them to see if they could do a whole verse with me. Eighty five percent of the time, they mess up and get a few words wrong. But, this one time, this dude killed every part of my verse. There was also this dude who drove eight hours to come to my show. He had a disease and was in a wheelchair, so it was special for me to see him come.
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What do you have planned for 2022?
I’m dropping my album and then another album, hopefully. Then, I’m trying to have another kid. I just have to find my next baby mama (laughs).