Icewear Vezzo’s music hits your soul because he spares no details when bringing you into his world. You feel like you were “in the field, ain't have no pot to piss in” like he was on “Up The Scoe,” especially since he’s “just talkin' 'bout my life, I be hardly rappin'” like he proclaimed on “Dog Action.” That said, Vezzo understands the current climate in Hip Hop precludes him from being too honest in his music.

“Guys that are rapping about things they’re doing in the streets make it bad for dudes like me that got seven felonies and been to federal prison. They make it bad for guys like Young Thug, who are really from the trenches,” the artist told REVOLT.

In this installment of “Studio Sessions,” one of Detroit’s finest revealed which of his projects made him a millionaire, which rappers are on his Mount Rushmore of Detroit artists, and how getting off lean affected his music-making process. Get into the exclusive conversation below!

What do you remember about your first-ever studio session?

My first-ever studio session was at my stepbrother’s house. He had a D-I-Y studio in the closet in his room. Me, him, and my two other brothers all made a song when I was 12. They made me write my own rap. We made a song called “Thugged Out.” I still remember the verse, but I’m never rapping it. That changed everything. Once I did that song, I never wanted to leave the studio. That's all I wanted to do. Before that day, all I wanted to do was figure out how to be an actor, but that day changed everything.

After that point, what song or project helped you achieve a huge goal in your life?

Rich Off Pints gave me a fan base outside of Detroit. I made my first million dollars and became a millionaire off Rich Off Pints. That also led to my song with Future and Lil Durk. That project changed a lot for me.

Your songs feature vivid storytelling that seems to be pulled from your real life. Have you ever had to edit your lyrics to not divulge too much?

A few times. Before I got out of federal prison, there were a lot of times where I had to change certain bars because certain s**t was true. So, I took the s**t out. I’m more about rapping about s**t that ain’t really happen. I’m not really a fan of rapping about s**t that actually took place.

Even though some of the stuff that happened was years and years ago, I still try to stay away from that because I know how this all works. We’ve blurred the line way too much. I think rappers want their fan base to believe they live their raps so much. The unfortunate thing is that the first people who start believing every word that rappers say are the FBI.

Yeah, we saw how law enforcement used songs against rappers in court with the Young Thug trial.

See, certain rappers made it bad for guys like me and Young Thug to be able to express ourselves artistically. A coincidence and the truth look like twins. I may say, “I just saw a dude catch somebody at the gas station on Sixth.” Unfortunately, I didn’t know that three weeks before I released the song, somebody died at the Shell gas station on Sixth. I'm completely innocent of having that knowledge and information. It’s a coincidence that I just so happened to say those things.

So, guys that are rapping about things they’re doing in the streets make it bad for dudes like me that got seven felonies and been to federal prison. They make it bad for guys like Young Thug who are really from the trenches.

Who are some of the most surprising celebrity fans of your music?

Lil Durk said, “I throw on Vezzo in the mornin' when I wanna count it up” on his song “F**k It.” I appreciated that. Of course, Pluto [Future] knowing and respecting my music is big. When we first met, he ran down one of my entire videos. All of that type of s**t means a lot to me. Still, there ain't nothing better than a complete stranger saying, “I appreciate your music.” I was also surprised to see that I made JAY-Z’s playlist in 2023.

I heard you talked with Big Sean about him bragging more -- before y’all made your song “WORTH SOMETHING.” What can you speak on regarding that chat?

Out of respect for Sean, I’m going to hold that conversation between me and him. But you pretty much summed it up. It was basically me telling him, “Bro, you deserve to have fun with this s**t. You deserve to pop your s**t.” He’s so humble. Sean don’t be trying to flex or make n**gas feel like he’s trying to s**t on them. But Sean really up there with Dot [Kendrick] and Drizzy [Drake]. That’s a lot of people's opinion.

Also, congratulations – you were very public about getting off lean. How did recording music differ after you kicked that habit?

I realized it was a mental thing. For the longest, I've been trying to kick the cup. I still walk around with a double cup, but you've got to know it's water or one of the fresh juices from the company my wife owns, Fresh And Pressed Juice. I've been trying to kick that cup for years. Every time I went a minute without drinking lean, I felt like my rapping didn’t have that umph to it. The music wasn’t sounding the same. But going so long without it, now I realize it was a mental thing. I was telling myself prior to going to the studio that it ain’t gonna be right if I ain’t got no mud. But the music got better. It was just a mental thing. Back then, I was just drinking it so I wouldn’t go through withdrawal.

Have you ever had any emotional sessions?

That happened to me one time a long time ago. I did a song called “Ghetto Dreams” about my big cousin. I got emotional recording that song. That's the only time I ever got emotional.

You publicly met with Donald Trump during the presidential race in 2024. How did that affect collaborations with your peers?

A lot of the artists I deal with have a lot of common sense, and they have never seen me publicly support any candidate. Everybody f**k with me. I don't know what it would have been like if I had endorsed the president. I would have probably had a different experience, but I didn't endorse any candidate. I met with every single candidate except Joe Biden.

Who is on your Mount Rushmore of Detroit rappers?

Eminem, Big Sean, Blade Icewood. Can Aaliyah go on there even though she isn’t a rapper? If you’re talking Detroit artists in Hip Hop and R&B, she has to be there.