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S1 E31 | Young Dolph
00:54:55
DJ Scream and Big Bank share nothing but “Big Facts” in their podcast, as they chop it up with today’s popular figures in the entertainment industry.
DJ Scream and Big Bank return with another episode of the “Big Facts” podcast. The guys sat down with rapper G Herbo — who perhaps might’ve been the most requested guest on the show to date. The Chicago native stopped to talk Nicki Minaj, music, and his Swervin’ Through Stress organization.
Last month, while celebrating the release of his fourth studio album, 25, the “Cry No More” rapper took the time out to give Minaj her flowers during an interview with Tidal’s Elliot Wilson. While discussing his introduction to rap, Herbo expressed gratitude toward the Grammy award-winner for collaborating with him on their 2014 track “Chi-Raq” and subsequently giving him his first big break.
He noted that regardless of gender, Minaj “still like, the hardest ever. And she harder than a lot of male MCs.” He added, “For me to be able to get on a track with her and hold my own, it just gave me confidence to keep going.” While talking to Big Bank and Scream, Herbo acknowledges the power of her co-sign and offered his own list of acts he believed held that “life-changing feature” ability.
“Drake, for sure. Shit, a couple artists. It just depends on what you do with it and how you do it,” the rapper explained. “Hov! That could be a life-changing situation. A lot of people… Meek, Future, Thug. A lot of that shit could change your life. It just depends on how you position it, you know what I’m saying? The record for real. I feel like the right co-sign will definitely take you over the hill for real.”
Herbo reflected on how his artistry has evolved over the years, especially from his third studio album PTSD, which cracked the top 10 debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart to his most recent, which debuted at No. 5 — making it his highest-charting drop yet.
“I just feel like I stay solid through everything ‘cause when I dropped my first project, Welcome to Fazoland, I was 17-year-old or some shit like that. I was really in the streets more… more than anything,” he said. “There’s a lot of shit behind the industry… adversity and a lot of shit you got to overcome, especially with you being independent. I’ve been independent the whole time I’ve been an artist. I feel like I took the long route.”
He continued: “The more I went through shit and overcame it, the more I grew as a man. And the more I grew as a man, the more I grew as an artist. So, I feel like that was really the difference, and it reflected in my music. I never had like one record, a big record that just blew me up to this big star overnight. No shit like that. You know I always did good business and weathered the storm.”
Herbo also revealed that it was those very same experiences growing up in the streets that inspired him to create Swervin’ Through Stress, an initiative started in part with Audiomack in order to “connect Black young adults with therapeutic resources that help inform and improve their mental health in pursuit of a better quality of life.” The rapper said getting young kids to do the right thing in life isn’t the easiest and believes the key is in the messenger.
“ I did that (the organization) because I feel like kids listen to me, especially in Chicago ‘cause they know I really come from there,” he explained. “I already made a name for myself in these streets before I was an artist. A lot of people really know me out there. So, for me, to be able to come back and they see I got shit that’s tangible. I got property in Chicago. I got a school in Chicago, and I’m 25 years old and they seeing me like, ‘Damn, it’s possible.’ I’m like, I only wanna come back here to come motivate you ‘cause I was once you, and you could do the same shit.”
With everything going on in the “Demands” rapper’s life, including the birth of his second son and first child with fiancée Taina Williams, he appears to be confident and laser focus on the next steps toward expanding his career.
It’s well known in the hip hop community that everything is a competition. As an artist, if you’re not putting out content as frequently or acquiring the same luxury cars or jewelry as your peers, many may begin to question your status. However, Herbo seems to have a fool-proof way of avoiding the urge to keep up with fellow artists. His explanation further displays the rapper’s maturity.
“You got to avoid that just by being solid — ain’t no competition. You gotta have your own style, and it be no competition,” he said. “At the end of the day, it depends on what type of nigga you is. I come from literally nothing. I come from the real ass trenches like I ain’t even probably suppose to be here for real, but I’m supposed to be here ‘cause I worked to be here. So, any room I’m in, I’m supposed to be in. But, what I was up against, I wasn’t supposed to be here.”
He added: “So when you think about shit like that, who is [you] to tell me I’m not winning ‘cause I ain’t got this watch or this car? My momma got a million-dollar house. I got a multimillion-dollar house. I got six cars… How a nigga gone tell me I ain’t winning ‘cause I don’t got the same amount of shit that he got.”
If you like what you heard, be sure to stay tuned every week for new episodes of “Big Facts.” Also, don’t make sure to watch the latest show above!