The Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut. All photos taken by Miguel Crespo for RESPECT.

Oakland rapper, G-Eazy, has been at a nonstop pace. Touring for the second time in 2018 alone, the success of his latest album, The Beautiful & Damned, has taken his talents to visit fans all across the country. This time, a joint tour with Philly native Lil’ Uzi Vert packed 20,000 fans in Hartford, Connecticut’s Xfinity Theatre. This is The Endless Summer Tour.

New comer, YBN Nahmir, is a young rapper who made his start by uploading his first song to YouTube and exploded on SoundCloud. The Alabama resident has a unique and energetic stage presence that is an immediate attention grabber to open the show. His hit song, “Rubbing Off The Paint,” peaked at #46 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 and is easily a fan favorite.

YBN Nahmir

Canadian super producer in the making, Murda Beatz, had 2 sets during the show. One is before YBN Nahmir’s set and the other was after. Murda Beatz has been one of the hardest working producers this year. He’s responsible for hits like Travis Scott’s “Butterfly Effect,” Migos’s “Motorsport,” and Drake’s “Nice For What.” His set consisted of his self-produced records and spraying water guns at the crowd. There may not be a producer in the game that artists are wanting to work with more.

Murda Beatz

Ty Dolla $ign was a great investment when Wiz Khalifa signed him to Taylor Gang back in 2015. Today, Ty is one of Hip Hop’s biggest names and one of the most recruited artists for features. It’s like anytime he sings on a hook, he can do no wrong. An excellent addition to The Endless Summer Tour, Dolla $ign played a collection of his songs and hooks that he was featured on. Dreads swung and water flew throughout the performance. His interaction with fans was unmatched. Burning down a couple blunts and passing them around the crowd.

Ty Dolla $ign

Considered to be the new generation’s leader, Lil Uzi Vert has climbed to stardom since releasing his hit song, “Money Longer.” His versatility and style of creating records appeals to young fans as well as older ones. The stage was covered with a blanket of ominous smoke that came out of the mouth of a giant skull. Bright lights flashed from an upside-down cross shaped LED screen that guided Uzi to the start of his performance.

The rapper ran through a set list of songs from his album, Luv Is Rage 2. There are many notable cuts on the project including “444+222” and “Sauce It Up” but Lil’ Uzi Vert made it clear that he also has songs buzzing radio airways. He proceeded to play his biggest song to date, “XO Tour Liife.” Fans sang word for word to the multi-platinum single. The performance would close with Uzi throwing his microphone into the crowd so fans could sing the song to him.

Lil’ Uzi Vert

“About 9 years ago, I was put on the bill for a festival right here in Hartford, Connecticut. I don’t think I was paid for anything other than my flight, but I flew out and I was here. When I got on stage there were only 8 people in the crowd. Tonight it’s 20,000 so imagine what 8 people looks like,” G-Eazy told the crowd as he took his position on stage. “I always said I would be back here headlining,” and he managed to do just that as the last performance of the Endless Summer Tour began.

Smoke shot up from the stage and the arena shook all night from the constant jumping fans did. An interesting stage set up made for visuals we had never seen before. A gigantic screen moved in different positions over the stage. It played a big part because it served a different function for every song. G-Eazy wasn’t selfish with the spotlight. He brought out YBN Nahmir to perform his verse from, “1942” and promote Nahmir’s upcoming album releasing in September. As the evening wound down, the energy only increased. The show closed the crowd filing out of the venue while simultaneously singing along to “No Limit.” New music was ensured and after the performance we witnessed, we couldn’t be more excited.

The Endless Summer Tour is still going strong. Make sure to get your tickets to a show before it’s too late.

G-Eazy

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In the same vein as De La Soul, G-Eazy was in the giving mood. The Bay Area rapper has released his entire body of work for free, in conjunction with BitTorrent. Fans will get both his Endless Summer andMust Be Nice projects, as well as mixtape tracks, art, and a sampler of These Things Happen. Watch an interview in which G-Eazy explains his reasoning for he move, and check out the bundle below.

The post G-Eazy Releases Entire Catalog For Free Via BitTorrent appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Photo by Dan Folger

A lot can change in a year. G-Eazy went from a recent college grad, headlining his own show, to a 24 year-old living out of a suitcase, performing in front of disinterested crowds as the opening act on Lil Wayne’s America’s Most Wanted tour. The Oakland-native says that experience fueled him to take more creative risks and, ultimately, make better music. It also fueled him to sell off most of his worldly possessions and literally live on his tour bus. The risks appear to have paid off, as G-Eazy is currently in the middle of a two-month tour promoting his upcoming album, These Things Happen, which is slated for an early Summer release. The shows are a microcosm of the rapper’s life. Beginning with a smooth atmosphere, the concert ultimately ends in a party littered with confetti, balloons, and some beverage spraying for good measure.

While he is technically homeless, the man who is often referred to as the James Dean of hip-hop still manages to keep things looking cool. Sitting in the back of his tour bus, the Bay Area ladykiller is as put together as ever. Calmly sipping a cup of coffee as if he has nothing going on in the world, his trademark all-black attire remains intact, as does his slicked-back hair. The noticeable changes appear when he discusses his music. He comes off as far more passionate and confident, as well as excited for fans to hear what he has devoted his livelihood to for so many months.

RESPECT. sat down with G-Eazy to discuss his live show, upcoming album, living situation, and his future as an independent artist. Read on below.

I’ve heard that your old pre-show ritual was to have two shots of cheap whiskey, chug a red bull, and drink a beer. What’s your show ritual now? I assume the whiskey is no longer cheap.
The whiskey has gotten nicer. We’ve moved from Jim Beam to Bulleit Bourbon. I still drink a red bull and at least two or three whiskeys. I’ll have a beer earlier in the day, like an early IPA in the afternoon or something.

The show looks like you finally have your vision fully fleshed-out. You even have the neon sign and everything. What’s changed for you as a performer from the Must Be Nice tour to this one?
I think half of it is experience. This is my fourth forty-date tour. Anytime you’re out performing that much, you figure out what works and what doesn’t–from the daily routine to on stage. You just get it down. Also, there’s budget. I’ve been wanting that neon sign every tour. They always told me, ‘It’s too expensive and it’s too much of a liability because it might break.’ This [tour] was like, We finally have the budget to get stuff done [so] let’s get the steps, let’s get the sign and let’s give the people a show, something worth talking about so they come back.

How did the Lil Wayne [America’s Most Wanted] tour influence your show?
You learn through trial and error, what works in your show and what doesn’t, but you learn a whole lot from studying the OGs in the game and trying to soak up whatever game you can. Watching [Wayne] perform is always a learning experience. He’s somebody who’s toured pretty consistently for the last six, seven years. Ever since Tha Carter 3 he’s been in arenas and amphitheatres. At the arena level he’s a pioneer. You had Jay Z and then Kanye with “Glow in the Dark” and then Wayne with the “I Am Music” tour. They opened the gates for rappers to do arenas.

You recently called yourself a luxurious homeless person. What is that?
A luxurious homeless person lives out of two suitcases and lives on a tour bus and hotels. Technically, I have no residence. You know what? At this age, you really don’t need a whole lot in life. I’m just trying to put everything i have into this music. I don’t need many things. I have a suitcase full of clothes, a MacBook with my music on it and my Pro Tools, my studio that fits into a suitcase, and some headphones.

What was the hardest thing you had to give up?
PS3 was hard [laughs]. Because that’s part of my laziness. When I’m home, I’ll just kick it and play 2K. Oh, and all my sneakers.

You gave away all your sneakers?
Most of them, yup. I stripped down to what can fit in some suitcases, along with some black clothes. I was just like, If I get on, then I can just buy Jordans whenever I want to. But I’m not on right now so I’m working to get there.

All this had to affect the sound of the album, right? Made you a little hungrier?
Absolutely. Going into the Wayne tour and getting rid of all my stuff, that was the moment where I committed. We cut most of the record on the back of the bus for that tour. We would set up the mic stand right here in the back of the bus and have the speakers set up and just work every day.

I would get off stage and I would feel like, Man, that sucked. My little ten minute set that no one was there to watch and no one reacted to. Alright, go back in the studio and make some music that will put you on so you don’t have to do this anymore.

When I interviewed you last year, I asked you about leaving the Drake tour to finish school and why you did that. You said it was because nothing in music is certain so you wanted a degree. Now you’ve given up all your worldly possessions to chase it. What changed in your mentality?
Possessions, you can always get back. I can go to Walmart and buy another TV. I can get more Playstations. You’re only in school for this amount of time. I grew up in my grandma’s house when my parents split, with my mom and my grandparents, so I have this really strong connection to my grandma and she provided for me in a lot of ways. So, knowing that it was important for her that I finish [school], that she put away and saved and worked so hard so that I could be there, it was like, she provided for me when I was a kid, so this is my way to give back to her. She cared about that. I was like, I only have this chance now, and I’m gonna be on. You can’t tell me “no” with this music shit. I will be back here. And we were. I was just with Drake at the Grammy’s hanging out, talking shit.

Well now I have to ask. What did you think of that Macklemore text?
[Laughs.] Personally, I’m against any text messages being screenshot and shared publicly in any situation. I don’t know if the apology was the appropriate reaction. Like, you worked hard for that. You went from the internet to the Grammy’s, bro. But [Macklemore’s] a really good dude, and his story is extremely inspiring, especially as somebody going from the internet to the road to who-knows-where. Respect to everything he’s accomplished. I just think it was kind of a whirlwind with the amount of backlash that must have come with everything that was happening.

Your sound changed a lot from Endless Summer to Must Be Nice. What’s the sound of These Things Happen?
Aw, man. They’re not ready. It’s definitely a left turn. I feel like it’s necessary to take creative risks and push yourself and try new things and evolve. No one wants to hear the same album 10 times.

They don’t want “Runaround Sue” part 2.
Right? I don’t want to be pigeonholed as this guy who flips ‘60’s music forever.

Speaking of that, Must Be Nice had no samples on it. Are there any this time?
There’s one but it’s not used in the same way that I used to use them. I moved away from samples because I didn’t like using them as a crutch. If you take four bars of music from “Runaround Sue,” a song that was #1 in the ‘60’s, you’ve already kind of got a hit on your hands. You didn’t really build that from scratch.

You feel like it’s cheating.
Yeah, it’s kind of cheating. It’s a shortcut. But when you write something from scratch and then you use a sample to sit on top of what you made, it’s different.

Do you have a favorite record from the album? One you feel really shows your evolution?
There’s this track called “Downtown Love.” It’s probably the deepest, darkest song on the record and it’s probably my biggest creative achievement. I’m most proud of that record out of all of them. It’s loosely inspired by this kind of Edie Sedgwick character. This socialite, model girl in New York City. This kind of attention whore, party girl who I fall for and then her destruction spirals down into complete darkness. It goes from this big high to this really, really deep low.

There’s also this record called “Just Believe.” It’s the most introspective, personal record on there. Or the song I have with A$AP Ferg, which is just a banger.

So, basically the whole album.
Yeah, I’m hyped! There’s no hiding it. What we did with this album is, every time we thought it was done – like, okay, here’s 12 songs, send it in, it’d be like, Eh, you got six strong ones, but you got six fillers. This isn’t great yet. It was disheartening, but even if it stung momentarily, it was worth it to go back and when you thought it was done, spend another whole month creating. Then we’d end up with 16 songs and try and trim it down to 12. Then we’d say, Ah, these still aren’t there and these still need work. Then go back and spend another month working. That’s why it’s taken so long. This album is a fucking filet mignon. There’s not fat on it. There’s no filler. Every song can stand on its own.

Last time we talked I asked you about being independent and how long you wanted to do that. You told me you wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible, but that eventually you’d outgrow that platform. Do you feel like you’re nearing that point?
I’m beginning to, for sure. When the business outgrows itself, you move out of that small office in the corner of your house to an office building. Then, when you outgrow the small office in the building, you take over the whole floor. Then, when you outgrow the whole floor, you buy the building. Businesses grow and you have to have the resources and the platforms to continue that growth and not put a roof over yourself. I think it starts with distribution and from there you move to a major when the right situation and the right terms present themselves.

The post Interview: G-Eazy Talks These Things Happen Tour and Album, Luxurious Homelessness, and Independence appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

G-Eazy is a unique individual. His blend of doo-wop and hip-hop made him an early stand-out in the rap game. Who else do you know who could flip a Beach Boys song and a Crystals song on the same tape?

His newest album, however, is completely bereft of samples. The Oakland-native challenged himself to create everything from scratch and the end result was a more mature, fleshed-out sound. He may look like an extra from the Pleasantville movie, but he’s making his stamp on the music industry and he’s doing it all independently.

His 34-city Must Be Nice tour kicks off January 30, and now G-Eazy talks to us about tour life, musical influences and maturation.

You’re being called the James Dean of hip-hop. James Dean was always a very put-together, cool dude, so do you feel the need to be awesome 24/7 now?

I think that comes with music in general. You kind of have to become the character that you embody with the music 24/7. If you see somebody in the streets or if you see somebody at a party and they expect you to be that character, it just kind of comes hand in hand with the music.

Your albums flow very well from track to track. Does it bother you at all that a lot of people probably don’t listen to it in sequence anymore and just check out select tracks? Does that take away from the experience?

Yeah, [but] that’s just something you’re gonna deal with. To be honest, I’m an album kid. I grew up listening to Illmatic front to back and if you’re gonna put it on you’re gonna listen to it all the way through. 2001, just classic albums you can listen to top to back like that. That’s the way I like to listen to music and that’s the way I like to create projects. Whether or not people are always gonna listen to it like that, obviously you have no control over that, but that’s the way I like to design them.

On “Reefer Madness” you talk about Illmatic inspiring you. What were the albums that you heard growing up that really made you want to become a rapper?

That’s tough. It could have been 2001 by Dr. Dre, to be honest. That album had the biggest influence on me. Just growing up in California, on the Westcoast, that album was definitely massive and that was a classic. That made me want to get into making beats and then just rapping from there.

Can you tell our readers the story of having to leave the Drake tour early for school?

I got this opportunity, which was amazing for me at the time, to go out and open up on Drake’s tour. I was still i school at the time so I had to negotiate with my teachers on how to miss about two weeks of classes and to be able to just send in my homework and try to stay on top of everything while I was on the road.

The whole crew out there really liked us and they offered us a chance to finish up the tour and do the last few dates. It was only an extra couple of days, but I emailed my teachers to make sure I could do it and all but one of them was okay with me missing the days. Then one of them told me if I missed another class that I would fail. So, we had to play the show then drive straight back to New Orleans to get back to that stupid class.

That feels like it would be a crossroads moment. I think a lot of artists would choose to stay on the tour. How hard was it for you to not do that and not drop out altogether?

It was definitely tough. But, to be honest, one thing that always hit me was nothing in music is certain. Ever since I was old enough to work, I had a part-time job all through high school. I had friends that didn’t go to college and just worked part-time jobs and lived paycheck to paycheck. So, I knew what that could be like.

Sure, music was showing a lot of promise but there was no guarantee that music was ever gonna work out and my mom had always preached since day one, “If you want a chance to do something, you’re gonna have to get your degree and it’s safer to have it.” And I think that was like my junior year or something like that, so I had already invested so much into college that it felt foolish to just walk away from that and not just finish it out.

In the first verse of “Must Be Nice” you talk about wanting to get your chance and seeing rappers you know you’re better than getting on before you. Coming from The Bay, where there’s been groups who were never taken seriously but got media attention, how frustrating was that to watch?

It’s always frustrating. I think a lot of artists go through that kind of experience. You see the gimmick rappers come up and get one and if you’re somebody who takes their craft seriously it can get to you. You’re like, “Man, I should have had that opportunity.” But that’s just the way of the game. That’s just the nature of everything. The old cliche is true: the good things come to those who wait and work hard and stay consistent.

You went to school in New Orleans and that seems to have had an effect on your music, especially with the artists you’ve worked with or sampled. From Johanna Fay to the Generationals, how much has that city influenced you?

It’s definitely influenced my music a ton. I think wherever I lived I would have soaked up whatever was around me, but New Orleans is definitely an interesting place with a rich culture and a rich history with music so it’s a cool place to be.

How challenging was it for you to do all the producing and mixing yourself on Must Be Nice? With no samples.

To be completely honest, when I make beats using a sample, it’s kind of like using a crutch. It’s like, I don’t really deserve all the credit because I’m using something to build off of. Having to sit down in the studio and just come up with something from scratch is really different. But, I’m always trying to challenge myself and evolve and mature as a person and as an artist. It was just the next step for me creatively, learning how to get out of my comfort zone and learning how to make tracks from scratch.

You made a really interesting point in the past about how the ceiling is higher without a sample, too, because you don’t have to divvy up the money.

Yeah, at the end of the day it’s more gratifying to look at a song and say, “I made that from scratch.” And, also, the paycheck is better.

You’ve gone from doo-wop to a more hard-hitting 808s style, especially on your new track, “Jack Skellington.” Do you feel like you’ve truly found your voice and style yet?

I think that’s a process. If you look at anybody’s career, even somebody like Kanye, who’s probably my favorite artists who I look up to the most, album to album he’s always evolving. He didn’t stay making sped-up soul samples his whole career. He kept pushing things forward. That’s the motto that i want to take after: never getting too comfortable in one spot. You want to keep pushing things forward and wanting to keep trying new things and keep getting better.

“Acting Up” talks about feeling the need to grow up now that you’re in your 20s but still feeling like a kid at heart. How hard is it to come to the realization that you’re out of school, nearing your mid-20s, and fully in that adult world now?

It’s crazy. I think most people’s careers, they get out of college and they maybe work a part-time job for a while and then they get an opportunity doing something that they really want to do. Then their career builds then they gotta work their way up and maybe by the time they’re in their early-to-mid-30s they’re getting into a groove and they’re doing what they want to do.

Whereas, me, I literally hit the ground running as soon as I was out of school and all of a sudden, I’m thrown into this world where I’m becoming a professional in my field. So, it was crazy. It all happened so fast, but it’s important to mature with it and learn how to pace yourself and take care of everything.

Say music hadn’t worked out, what do you think you’d be doing?

Man, that’s a tough call. That’s something that haunts me everyday. Because, in my mind, it’s still not like it’s worked out. It’s not like I’ve made it. I haven’t arrived yet or whatever. So I just try to keep that thought in the back of my mind. I don’t ever want to go and work in the mall and work at some Apple store or something like that. I want to be able to wake up, drink coffee, and make music all day.

The Must Be Nice tour is coming up in a couple of weeks. How’s it shaping up?

Man, I’m really excited about the Must Be Nice tour. Headlining my own tour has been a dream of mine for a long time. Ever since I first went out on my first tour ever, I realized instantly how bad I wanted to be out on my own run. But it’s necessary to pay your dues and go out and open up for other people and get that exposure and put your time in. But the whole time, I was thinking in my head, ultimately, one day I want this to be my show. And this is the first real tour where I’m  headlining, tour’s built around me, so it’s really exciting.

I think it’s just gonna be a lot of fun [to] go out there and just travel the country and play a lot of good shows.

You said the tour is finally built around you. How much pressure goes along with that to put on a good show?

There’s definitely pressure that comes with that, to sell tickets and put on a good show. But that’s kind of what I want. Say James Harden wanted to go to the Houston Rockets and lead a franchise. At the end of the day, if they don’t win, the blame is on his shoulders. Whereas, if you’re playing with other superstars the blame is spread evenly.

At the end of the day, I want to go out and I want to work hard to sell out these shows. It’s just like my philosophy with music, it just feels so much more gratifying when you did it your way. You’re headlining your tour off of music you made yourself and it’s working.

Is signing to a major on the horizon for you or do you want to keep it independent?

I want to keep it independent as long as possible. We all share that philosophy. We like how we run the business and me and my team want to keep it that way as long as possible But, at a point, you begin to outgrow the small business platform.

My studio’s at home. I have all my merch here that we ship out from home and drop off at USPS everyday. But, even that is outgrowing my house. We just had to move the merch to whole new room and get a bunch more shelves because we couldn’t hold all the inventory. So you get to a point where the business starts to outgrow itself, but until that point we want to keep it independent.

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