RESPECT. Interview: Dreezy Talks Coming Up & New Album ‘No Hard Feelings’

The Princess of Chicago is rising her way to the top. If you have not heard of this 22-year-old singer, songwriter and rapper – Dreezy, then you will surely be seeing and hearing a lot of her in the near future. Fresh off the release of her debut album No Hard Feelings, Dreezy has worked with many well known artists and producers such as Common, Gucci Mane, T-Pain, Jeremih, Metro Boomin, Wale, Southside and more.

I discovered Dreezy last year when her From Now On, EP came out in December. From then, I was sold. I instantly went to researching her and finding more music by her. Not only does this girl know how to sing and rap, but she is also an amazing songwriter. RESPECT. got to talk with Dreezy about her growing up on the south side of Chicago, her debut album No Hard Feelings, and much more! Check out the interview below:

RESPECT.: Hi Dreezy! Thank you for taking the time to do this interview for RESPECT Magazine and Congratulations on your album! I got it and I love it.
Dreezy: What’s up! Thank you.

RESPECT.: When did you first know that you wanted to become an artist?
I’ve been writing since I could remember. But I’ve been singing probably around 7. I started rapping when I was in my freshman year of high school and I really took it serious my junior year of high school. But I’ve kind of been doing music forever.

RESPECT.: There’s a lot of artists coming out of Chicago right now and for as long as I can remember. What’s it like to be raised on the south side of Chicago? Can you describe your childhood?
Yeah, it’s everything like what you think it is. You kind of got to grow up early. You get a sense of life at an early age. I just had to mature cause I’ve seen so much stuff going down like, my brother and just people getting locked up. My uncle getting locked up. People around me dying at a young age you know what I’m saying? You just get a real sense of life early. You gotta grow up quick and you learn how to survive on your own too. So I think that’s what kind of gave me such a strong mind set and tough skin.

RESPECT.: Who were some of your role models growing up?
Role Models growing up… I was a Michael Jackson fan, stuff like that. But when I started rapping and stuff, I was more like a Wayne head.

RESPECT.: Has song writing always come naturally for you?
Yeah, I’ve always wrote my own music. Cause when I was a kid I use to sing and I didn’t have nobody to write no music for me. I was just in my room playing around. Or I would go sing other peoples songs.

RESPECT.: How old were you when you started writing your own stuff?
Writing my own stuff, I probably was in 5th grade. I don’t know how old I was around that time, but yeah around 5th, 6th grade. That was when I was just singing. You know, writing little lyrics every now and then.

RESPECT.: I know when your version of Chi-raq came out, it became a huge buzz. Can you describe what it felt like when all that was happening at that time?
I was just real hype. That was some in the moment type stuff. Like, me and my best friend we was sitting next to each other and it was a surprise to the city cause everybody rocked with Lil Herb. You know, that’s bro. And just to see Nicki Minaj hop on his song and then she called it Chi-Raq it was just crazy for Chicago. You know that was a Chicago moment. I heard the beat and the tempo was hittin’ so hard, bars just started coming to my head. I’m like, ‘man, I gotta get in the studio tomorrow’ and that’s what I did. I wrote to that song right on the spot and I went to the studio that next morning and dropped my remix.

RESPECT.: When after that did you get a call from Interscope? Or how did that all come about?
After that, I got a tweet from Common. Yeah, Common the rapper from Chicago. He was just saying like ‘man I want you on the album.’ I flew to LA, I hopped on the album, and that’s when I met the guy who took me to Interscope. He was at Common’s session. He took me up to Interscope and let me meet his boss and everybody. I was just talking to him and he got to see me put my verse on Common’s album too. Which is actually one of my favorite verses.

RESPECT.: When your EP came out last December, Metro Boomin and Southside produced that project. How did that come about and what was it like working with them?
My A&R’s, they was cool with them on like some homie type stuff. Cause my A&R’s, I got some young A&R’s in my label. One of them from Chicago and one of them from L.A. so they kind of real rounded – they like around my age. So they cool with a lot of people out here. So they came to the studio, we met for the first time, we was just kickin’ it. You know, they turned on some beats, they made me just go in the booth and vibe right on the spot. You know, we just had fun like that. We just start laughing and joking. We exchanged numbers and then we was like man what about doing a mixtape? They was down for it. They flew to LA and we just knocked it out. I think it took like 2 weeks and did that project.

RESPECT.: I hear you live in LA now. It’s probably a huge change from Chicago huh?
Yeah, it’s night and day. Cause, Chicago ain’t safe. You know what I’m saying? There’s a lot of good people in Chicago though. I met some of the realest people in Chicago, but I met some of the fakest people in Chicago too. But I know compared to LA, the weather is perfect, the clothes is nice, the people are super friendly, they like moving in with strangers. It’s definitely more friendly and open than Chicago. Chicago you gotta stay on your toes… you can’t really be talking to strangers like that. So it’s just a different vibe. You can kind of let your hair down in LA.

RESPECT.: For your debut album “No Hard Feelings,” how long did the process take from start to finish in making it?
I kind of been working on it since I got signed, I just didn’t know it. I was just making music since I got signed and then around this time we put “Body” out and “Body” got such a good review, it’s like man, let’s put out an album while we got everybody watching. Let’s just do it. It ain’t nothing to come back with another project, but we already been working this long, we got some nice records, people gotta hear it so we just put it out.

RESPECT.: Do you have a favorite track off of the album?
I think between “Wasted” and “Spazz,” those are my favorite records. That haven’t dropped yet. That don’t have like videos to it and the ones you gotta go to the album and listen to it.

RESPECT.: The songs that your wrote on the album, were they all based off of real-life events?
Yeah, mostly everything I do relates to me. And even if it don’t, I try to make it relate to me.

RESPECT.: I was listening through and even your skits like “Thats My Cousin” and “Jamal vs. Sean,” I was wondering if that was all based off of real events.
Definitely the situations from it were real but not the shooting part.

RESPECT.: You have a lot of artists featured on your album like T-Pain, Wale, Gucci Mane and Jeremih. Who are other artists you would love to work with in the future?
Definitely gotta get a song with Wayne. I’m here to stay you know what I’m saying? I plan on being in the industry for awhile so I wanna do a song with all the OG’s. Anybody that deserves recognition to be in this music – Jay-Z, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj – like I wanna do music with everybody… we got a long time.

RESPECT.: I saw on Instagram that you were with Gucci Mane in Atlanta. Were you filming for the “We Gon Ride” music video there? And what was it like to work with Gucci Mane now that he’s a free man?
Yeah, we’re shooting the video. It was fun working with him. He’s funny as hell and he just cool. He uses all big words. He be using big words to describe stuff. He a character, he’s funny. He’s just how he acts like in his videos on insta. He cool though, he in tune with the music – I can tell he still just hungry.

RESPECT.: I was at the HOT 97 Who’s Next Event recently and I saw you perform. You did a great job. You were the one that brought up the back-up dancers! How comfortable did you feel performing on stage and was it a new feeling?
I’m getting pretty comfortable with being on stage. It just depends on the prep I have before the stage, making sure I’m good and comfortable with the set up and stuff. I don’t have problems with it now. It’s good when people start knowing your music and knowing the words. It makes you want to go out there and just have fun, instead of the pressure of having such a perfect performance. I can just go out there and freestyle and have fun with my fans.

RESPECT.: Is dancing something you want to do more of when you perform?
It’s hard. But you know, it’s definitely a lot more work. I like doing it but it is hard. Hopefully I could get good at it. I wanna get good at it enough to where I can just catch on and have it come easier to me. But I know practice makes perfect, I don’t expect to get out there like Beyonce. She put them hours in.

RESPECT.: Speaking of performing, will there be a tour coming soon?
We talking about a tour, it’s definitely in the works. So we expecting a tour soon, we gonna see who it’s with or if it’s solo or whatever, that’s just what we’re trying to figure out right now.

RESPECT.: As a rising artist, what are some advice you would give to other artists trying to make it in this industry?
Man, stay consistent, stay true to yourself you know what I’m saying. Eventually people are gon’ catch on and they gon’ see your work. Just have a passion for it. For whatever you do, whether you rap, dance, do art, anything, just have a passion for it and know what you want and go in and get what you want. That’s the mentality you gotta have. You can’t give up, you can’t listen to other people, you just gotta know it and you gotta feel it and do it.

RESPECT.: Are there any specific goals you’ve set for yourself now that you’ve released your debut album? Cause it’s kind of like an endless thing now right? There’s always the next project, the next thing.
Yeah, I was just telling my people like I feel like every time I set a new goal it’s almost as if it wasn’t my goal in the first place cause now I’m looking at the next thing. Cause I always wanted to have my first album out and now my first album out and now I want a Grammy. It’s like I’m never satisfied, but I think it’s just going to keep me going, keep me pushing, so I’m just ready for it.

RESPECT.: Is there anything you’d like to add to any of the listeners in the hip hop community?
Man, just get the album – ‘No Hard Feelings,’ iTunes, iTunes, iTunes! And follow me @DreezyDreezy, QueenDreezy on Snapchat. And just be on the look-out, we comin’ strong!

You can get Dreezy’s debut album No Hard Feelings on iTunes now. Make sure you pay attention to this rising star!