Interview: Rockie Fresh - Driving 88 - RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture

Rockie Fresh is a Chicago rapper on the verge of gaining nationwide acclaim, for a pair of mixtapes, The Otherside, and The Otherside: Redux, and an upcoming mixtape, Driving 88 – named after Marty McFly’s souped-up DeLorean from Back to the Future.

When I got on the phone with Rockie, I was immediately impressed by how he handled himself, humble yet confident, assured while still remaining genuine. Coming from a city which branded an egomaniac like Kanye West, Rockie Fresh still has a long way to go to convince us Chicago isn’t just about Mayor Daley’s spineless agenda or more brainless electro-house-hip-hop-fusion music, a la Na Palm. That being said, some of us truly believe Rockie Fresh could pull it off in a city so cold as Chicago.

Interview after the jump.

You just dropped the video for “No Fear”. It’s on all the blogs. What were your expectations dropping that record?

Everything I release, I want to do better than what I dropped before. Seeing how I’m a growing artist, I like to see an increase in my fan-base every time I drop something. I wanted “No Fear” to be the most successful video that I dropped, even if it was just by one view or a million views. It turned out to be the most views I’ve ever had for a video, in like two days.

“No Fear” is on your new mixtape, Driving 88, correct?

Correct.

When’s that dropping?

It should be dropping at the end of October, or early November. I haven’t picked the exact date yet because I still have a couple more records to finish up. We’ll see.

You said Driving 88 would be a lighter project, but “No Fear” is pretty gritty. What can we really expect?

It’s definitely a brighter project. I wanted to drop “No Fear” first because I felt it would re-introduce me back into the scene, as far as me releasing records. I felt like it showed a little bit of progression. It had some of the same sounds as my other mixtapes, but it was more crisp, a higher level, you know? With the next releases, people will definitely be able to see a difference though.

What about the title?

The title of the mixtape, Driving 88, is based off of Back to the Future, the DeLorean had to go 88 mph to reach the future, so I felt this project was going to be the one to put me in the position I want to be in. That’s why I wanted to name it Driving 88.

The Otherside, your first project, it was partly put together by DJ Ill Will. Ill Will claims he’s extremely gifted when it comes to identifying talent. What does he see in you?

He’s from Cali. I got the Cali sound going. I feel like it’s pretty refreshing for him. Ill Will has definitely helped me out a lot as far as insight into hip-hop and promoting my music. I got a lot of respect for Ill Will. Just off the strength of the music he’s posting, I totally agree with him. He knows talent.

He knew Drake would blow up, when he put out Heartbreak Drake.

Yeah, I remember that. Yeah, definitely. [laughs]

You also have the track “A.C. Green”. Do you think you look like him, or was there another reason for the title?

Naw, naw. I’ve never got that before. That’s crazy. I got to check again, see if I look like him. I named it that because the hook says, “This is what you’ve all been waiting for, ain’t it?” It took a long time for me to drop The Otherside. That project took a year to make. We were just doing a little satire, being funny by naming it that, telling my fans it was worth the wait.

You rap, “It’s important to be absorbent when advice is given”. Who are some of the people responsible for having shaped your perspective, both musically, and in terms of your business sense?

For me, musically, I’ve taken a lot of advice from regular people, because that’s who I make music for. I like to expose people not in the music biz to my music, when I first make my records, because that’s the most realistic opinion I get on them. That’s where I get a lot of my inspiration from. On the business side, my dad, he works for the Chicago Board of Trade. He has an incredible way of going about things, business-wise, and he’s planted some things in me that I’ve been able to use in my rap grind, which is unexpected.

When did it click that hip-hop could put food on the table?

When I did my first mixtape release party, it was also my first rap performance period, really. It was at a 500 capacity venue, and we sold it out. At that point, when I realized people appreciated the music enough to come to a show, it motivated me to stick with it and realize this could possibly be a career for me.

You recently tweeted a photo of what looks like Cap’n Crunch cereal and pancakes. But I also noticed the Jay-Z Decoded book in the background. You a Jay fan?

Oh yeah, 100%.

What did you think of Watch the Throne?

I felt Watch the Throne was a really good album for me as a fan of Jay-Z and Kanye. I could see why people wouldn’t like it of course because a lot of their subject matter wasn’t the most relatable stuff in the world. But at the same time, those two dudes, they gave a lot of rap fans some of the realest albums that you could have, so I felt they deserved to have fun on the joint, and that’s what they did with it. I liked it though.

They had some incredible sounds, production-wise.

Yeah, the production was amazing.

You have unique sounds on The Otherside. Which producers do you like to work with?

I have two producers out of Chicago, who produced the entire first mixtape. Those guys have like five records on my new project. I’ve been working with these other producers, Oak & Pop, they produced “Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay” for Big Sean, and “Your Love” for Nicki Minaj. I’ve been reaching out to a lot more producers, accepting more beats while still trying to stay true to my sound, but take it to another level.

You’ve got some Chopped & Screwed on The Otherside. Kids these days love Chopped & Screwed. Why do you think they like it?

I don’t know, man. It just sounds really cool to me. I was definitely a fan of UGK. Even when I was coming up, there was a time when you had Mike Jones, Paul Wall, and Slim Thug doing it more commercial. With me being from Chicago, I didn’t get into the deeper aspects of Houston rap until I was much older. I always felt like it sounded cool. When I find something that sounds cool, I want to pay my respects to it, while still adding the Chicago feel to it.

Do you still live in Chicago?

I’m currently in L.A. right now. I bounce back and forth. Chicago is always going to be my home. As far as getting music done, being in L.A. is a way better setup for me. I’m back and forth.

Where’d you go to high school in Chicago?

I went to Homewood-Flossmoor. It’s in Flossmoor, Illinois, like 30 minutes out of Chicago.

I ask because I went to school in Madison, Wisconsin, which is only like two hours from there.

Ah, that’s tight. I did a show there earlier this year. It was really crazy.

Will you work more with Rich Hil, or was that a one-time gig?

Naw, that’s going to happen again. I don’t know if it’s going to be on this next mixtape, because he’s busy working on his album, and we haven’t crossed paths in a minute. That’s one of my closest homies in the game though. I talk to him a lot. Once I find something that fits him, or if he finds a record for me, then we’ll definitely get it done. That’s something you can expect.