In 2016, Guapdad 4000 went viral for declaring he would “not [be] tolerating anything broke this year” as $100 bills rained down with Pokémon music blaring in the background on his 24th birthday. So, it comes as no surprise that he continues to manifest everything he wants.

The rapper, born Akeem Ali Douglas Hayes, was the perfect fit for “The Future of Independence” panel held during the 2022 REVOLT Summit x AT&T because when it comes to creating a lane of his own and on his own terms, Guapdad might just be the poster child. But, he notes hard work is just as important as having the talent.

“Where a lot of people go wrong — and where we see a lot of artists fall into these pitfalls or fall off in general is because they don’t get to develop,” Guap told REVOLT. “They get an organic hit or an organic moment that makes them feel like it’s a hit or that they are that caliber of artists and unless you really are…Most people aren’t. They haven’t developed.”

He added, “They haven’t done the s**tty shows in the museum, which is for security, you know, that’s the type of stuff to help you be a superstar, to help you perform at that level. So it’s important for people — whether you’re independent or not — [to] look at independent artists to see how we’re working, see how the journey goes because when you sign or get your TikTok hit or whatever works for you, then you’ll be wondering what’s next and you have a million streams, but can’t sell concert tickets? Who are you going to be looking at?”

For Guap, taking notes is what catapulted him to the path of superstardom that he is currently on and he advises other rising artists to do the same. “I’d rather take notes from somebody like me or adjacent,” he revealed. “Who’s doing the work and building it out? You can’t skip the work. You can’t no matter what. Being independent at least helps you not work in front of people because once you get the deal, you got to get ready [in front] of everybody. You saucy, right? You’re an artist, right? You got the million-dollar deal, right? Be saucy. And then when you’re not, you fell off. When you’re independent, you just want to come up the whole time. So you have your first win…It’s slower, it’s less money, but I’m happier than a lot of n**gas. And I caught up.”

Now, Guap says his only goal is to remain true to himself. “I’ve manifested enough, I just need to stay consistent because everything that I want is already here pretty much,” said the 30-year-old entertainer. “I just need to not f**k it up with myself and within myself.”