In the name of Christmas spirit, Wale is dropping his new collaborative mixtape with A-Trak, Festivus, this afternoon. The DMV rapper released “Loyalty” featuring Dew Baby and labelmate Fat Trel on the Funkmaster Flex show. Over a trap beat filled with auto-tune, Wale raps “Where the f**k the loyalty at?”. The mixtape is to be the predecessor of his upcoming album Album about Nothing which will be released next year. Get into the track below and stay tuned for the release of Festivus.

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Photo by Trevor Sage-El

Shortly before midnight on April 1, DMV rapper Fat Trel dropped his newest mixtape, Gleesh. The eponymously-titled mixtape is Trel’s first release since signing to Maybach Music Group last November and a long-awaited one at that. It’s been almost eight months since the Slutty Boyz co-founder released his last mixtape, SDMG, and fans waited with bated breath to see what the Maybach rookie would come up with next. And Gleesh—thank the rap gods—does not disappoint. Trel still sounds like Trel, despite his upgrade from unsigned to signed artist. He still reps his hometown of D.C. and his love for the ladies hasn’t diminished in the least. Like SDMG, Gleesh is chock-full of guest artists with features from fellow Maybach signees Wale, Rockie Fresh, Tracy T, Stalley, and the man himself, Rick Ross. Trel’s iconic rough-around-the-edges, trunk rattling sound is still preserved in Gleesh, just with a little more polish and a little more pizzazz. Perhaps the The Washington City Paper put it best when they said, “Gleesh is like a new, upgraded model of the same vehicle.” RESPECT. talked with Fat Trel about the making of his latest mixtape and his relationships with fellow MMG artists. Read on below.

RESPECT.: Your newest mixtape, Gleesh, dropped yesterday. Have you gotten any feedback from fans or know how many times it’s been downloaded yet?

Fat Trel: I haven’t checked the stats recently. We dropped it at 11:35, so at about 12:35, we had 42,000. But other than that, I really ain’t too caught up on the stats, you know? I know my peoples was waiting. I know my fans was waiting. I know they wanted it, so I ain’t really caught up on the stats. We just gave the people what they wanted, you know?

Do you have a favorite song on it?

Of course. It’s “Rest In My Piece.” That’s my favorite song on there.

That’s one of my favorite songs, too.

Oh, really? Wow.

Is there a story behind how that song came about?

Yeah. I actually was done recording for Gleesh, to be honest. I was recording in LA and I just had some extra sessions on my hands, just bullshitting around and I found out that one of my friends was murdered in March, like around March the 25th, I think. And then the next day another friend was murdered, so I lost two friends back to back and I was kind of hurt, you know? And I felt like I just wanted to touch bases on that and I made the song. And then after I made it, I was like, ‘Yo, it’s gotta go on the tape,’ so it stayed.

I noticed that, as usual, you’ve got a lot of featured artists on this tape. You’ve done that with all your other mixtapes, but this time a lot of the featured artists are other Maybach signees. Was that a voluntary decision?

It was my decision. I just wanted to work with the home team and get used to brushing shoulders with my co-workers, or with my teammates, as you would call it. And that’s what made me go with those features.

Since being signed, do you think that your music has changed or been influenced in any way?

I think its definitely changed. I’m seeing a lot more. I bought my first home and I’m talking about a lot of different things. It’s still the same subjects, same content. I still want to reach the same people. I still talk about the same things, the same struggle. But, yeah, I think it’s changed. It has to change. Everything elevates. If I elevate, my music elevates. Plus, this is what? My sixth tape? So after awhile, you got to talk about what’s real. You got to talk about what’s going on. I got new problems, now. Just because I landed in money, don’t mean I’m not still stressing and going through old things.

Has it been hard to keep a connection with D.C. and the DMV area now that you’ve signed to Maybach?

Naw, naw. Not at all. I’m very in-tune with the D.C. streets and I know what’s happening. So it’s not hard at all. I am D.C. no matter where I go. And at the end of the day, after all the shows, after all the tours, after all the interviews, you’ve got to go home, you know what I mean? When I go home it’s always a breath of fresh air. I’m always in-tune with what D.C. got going on.

Where did you produce the bulk of Gleesh?

Actually, the bulk of Gleesh was produced in Miami and California.

You did a remix with Rick Ross of “Shoot,” which was originally on SDMG. How did you decide to do the remix?

I just wanted to bring Ross back to that element. I feel like after listening to Mastermind, he’s definitely in a new bracket and in a new wave of the entertainment world. I just wanted him to snap back down to reality because he’s doing well—it’s the number one album in the world—but at the same time, he just signed a nigga that’s still in the streets, that’s still moving around and still getting it how he lives. So I just wanted to bring him to my world. I could have put him on any song, but that’s why I chose “Shoot.”

Do you have plans to remix any other songs from previous mixtapes?

Yeah, of course I do. I love my music, old and new, so I definitely have plans to remix some old records.

Why weren’t there any features from Meek Mill on Gleesh?

I’m a believer in the timing is right. I’m a believer in the right timing and I’m a firm believer that you can’t rush a good thing. And with Meek, it just so happened that the whole time I was working on this tape, Meek Mill was working on his album. But we definitely have plans to get in the studio. He just had his thing going on and I didn’t want to intervene. He was waiting for me to send him a song to do a verse on, but I ain’t want it that way. Like, I want us to get in the studio together and make something monumental, so that’s why you didn’t see Meek Mill on that tape.

And now my question about the cover art for Gleesh. Where’d you get the idea for it and what’s the message you’re trying to get across?

The message I was trying to get across, to be honest, was that I got a sense of humor. Bernie Mac is my favorite comedian and I love to laugh. I love laughing. Laughing cures the soul, if you ask me. I wasn’t really trying to make a statement towards the show—I’ve never watched one episode of ‘Glee.’ The music on the tape has nothing to do with the show. It’s just Gleesh been my name for years, long before that show came. So when it came about and it worked its way up to being number one, I was just like, ‘Whoa. That’s what I’m trying to do.’ My graphic designer just sent it. I never even thought about it, he just sent it to my phone and I was like, ‘Yo, we gotta run with this.’

I know you’ve been hustling for a long time, but recently it seems like you’ve been grinding more than usual—so much so that you were practically falling asleep in a recent video interview you did. Has your grind been a lot more intense recently?

It has. I’m taking a lot more flights and I’m getting a lot less sleep. I apologize to that person for falling asleep. I don’t know why they posted it, but I guess the point of posting it was to show the struggle. A lot of people see us having fun. A lot of people see us performing. A lot of people see us shopping and celebrating in the club. But you don’t see my manager trying to get me out of bed every morning. Man, that’s a struggle, for real. So my grind has definitely changed. I’m a hard worker. I want to be the best and, to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. While they sleep, you’ve got to be up working, so that’s what I do. And unfortunately, it just takes a toll on you. I think that when you’re passionate, sometimes you’ve got to push yourself to that limit. You’ve got to let the world know that this is how good I feel about my music and this is how hard I’m gonna grind.

What’s your relationship like with Wale these days? I know you guys have been through a lot and he shows up on “In My Bag,” so does that mean things are little less chilly between you two?

As far as our relationship, that’s my bro. That’s big bro. He changed my life. So all praise due to him. We knew each other for years, grinding on the scene as artists from the DMV. We’d been working real hard at what we do before the bright lights and all that came, so the relationship was squared away. We’ve got a lot more music to be released, too, to be honest. We’ve got a lot of music. Wale’s real specific about what’s being put out with his name on it, so that’s why I couldn’t go crazy and put a lot of Wale records on it because he likes to save it. Everything’s much more special to him. Me, I just look at it like free crack. Like, let’s just make some more free crack for them. But he got different plans for it.

Earlier today you tweeted: “Ross just called with some good news.” Care to share what that good news is?

He was just talking about a tour situation that could possibly be coming up. I definitely want to surprise you, so you have to stay tuned for me to break that news, but I’m gonna break it soon, as soon as its official. Like the day that it’s official, I’m gonna break it. It’s real big though.

I know that you’ve had some shitty things happen to you in the past, like when you were dropped from Board of Administration and no one told you or when you were cheated by your ex-manager. Is trust still always in the back of your mind? Has it been an issue with Maybach Music Group?

No, not at all. I stayed independent this long for a reason. I turned down X amount of deals this long for a reason. I feel comfortable about the situation we chose with Maybach Music Group. So now that we’re here, that’s not an issue. We’re only about working. What we got set in stone is already set, so we’re just building and making a legacy now. All the paperwork and all that stuff, that’s small beans compared to what we got planned.

A few years ago in an interview, you were talking about how shocked you were to learn that you had such wide-ranging fans and supporters. One of the examples you gave were the white guys in Ohio who were getting “Slutty Boyz” tattooed on their legs. Have you had any more discoveries about who your fans are and where they’re from?

Of course. I get a lot of followers from South Africa. A lot of followers from Canada and Nova Scotia. There’s Slutty Boyz in Europe. There’s Slutty Boyz in Paris. There’s Slutty Boyz in Turkey. There’s Slutty Boyz in Greece. There’s Slutty Boyz in Rome. Everyday it’s a new surprise and I love it, man. We started this on the corner in D.C., you feel me? Just bored, talking. And look at it now. It’s crazy. So everyday I’m finding out about the new fans. A white man just walked up to me in Manhattan, late thirties, early forties, and he walked up to me and told me I was the man. So you know, everyday it’s a new surprise.

You once said you thought you had more female supporters than male supporters. Do you still think that?

Yeah, no question. The Slutty Boyz lifestyle has definitely, fortunately, brung in more women supporters than male supporters. But, you know, that’s the lane we wanted to go with. Everybody knows niggas they follow the women anyways. Whatever the women listen to, that’s what the niggas are gonna be listening to if they’re not already. I definitely pride myself in having more female supporters than male supporters. Who wouldn’t want it that way?

One of my favorite songs from your previous mixtape, SDMG, was the reggae-inspired song, “The Latest,” which coincidentally featured Magazeen who’s also signed to Maybach Music Group. So I was just wondering how that song came about because it’s so different from the type of music you usually make.

When I was little, when I was about maybe 10 or 11, my mom used to date a Jamaican, who was later murdered in the streets of D.C. So I always knew about that Jamaican lifestyle, that reggae lifestyle–the music, the dreadlocks, the food (of course), the slang, the lingo, the way they dress. And I was always intrigued by it. Growing up a young black American, it was that fantasy. You wanted to go to Jamaica and meet a plug and go crazy. So when it came to that, me and Magazeen got a lot of records. He works just as fast as me and that’s me honestly speaking. So as far as that kind of music, me and Magazeen got a lot of those reggae-inspired records in our emails just sitting there and waiting to be released. Shout out to Magazeen, too.

Other than Jamaican and reggae-inspired songs, do you have plans to make any other crossover songs in the future?

Yeah, of course. I’m a music lover, not just hip-hop and R&B. I’m always down to try new things, I just believe that everything happens for a reason, so I want it to happen at the right time. I don’t want to rush a pop record if it’s not meant for me to have a pop record. If I reach the level where it’s like, ‘Yo, I think you need to do a pop record,’ then I’ll run with it. But everything happens for a reason and you can’t rush a good thing. So in due time, I’ll be switching up the lot.

This is random, but I’m just really curious: how long have you had your dreads?

[Laughs.] I’ve had them for about seven years now, maybe eight.

And no plans to cut them I bet, right?

No, not at all. Not at all. Not ever. Nothing in life could make me cut my hair.

You’ve talked before about how you feel the hip-hop industry overlooks a lot of emcees and artists coming out of the DMV. Do you still feel this way?

Of course. That’s a true statement. I don’t know why, but it’s true. Unfortunately, we’re just not a place that produces a lot of rappers or produces a lot of producers. But it is what it is and we’re working on it as a city, as a congregation. I’ve got a few releases of artists that I want to share that come from my city, so I’m real big on that. We’re working on it.

And do you think your come-up will help future emcees coming out of the DMV?

Yeah, I hope so. I think it’s already helping. But like I said, everyday I hope more and more artists shed light on D.C.

Last we heard, your daughter was singing in a talent show and your son was getting fitted in a North Face outfit. How are they doing?

She sings and she acts and she’s doing good. I actually just saw her teacher the other day and she told me that she’s a straight ‘A’ student, listens in class, first one to line up, first one to have her book out. It’s crazy because I was not that kind of student, but I’m glad my daughter is. And my son is an angel, which is crazy. Both of my kids, they’re the opposite of me. They’re not bad at all. My son don’t curse. He don’t hit people for no reason or throw toys. He cleans up, he talks nice. It’s crazy. He’s the opposite of me but they’re doing great, they’re doing wonderful.

What’s going on with your record label, Da Company 1135?

Da Company 1135, yeah, that’s my dream. That’s my baby. I’ve got to hold onto that because I believe in it more than anybody else, so DC 1135 is definitely still in effect.

Got any future plans or talks of a debut album coming out?

Naw, we’re not even focused on a debut album. We’re just focused on Gleesh. That’s the main priority. I’m a rookie right now to the team, so my number one priority is sitting back and listening and learning and watching Meek do his thing, watching Wale do his thing, watching Rockie, watching Stalley and most of all, watching Ross. Just sit back and learn and wait for my number to be called. I’m coming off the bench and I’m dropping bench points, but we’re working hard to get that starting position, you already know.

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Photo by Trevor Sage-EL

“Everything that I’ve put into my debut album is going to be with the intent of competing with the best albums that I know,” Rockie Fresh states as he reflects on the success of albums like Kanye West’s The College Dropout, Jay Z’s Reasonable Doubt and Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city. The optimistic Chicago MC has his bar set high for his debut album and, interestingly enough, he’s already shown promise of one day being able to compete with such legendary albums. His mixtapes, Driving 88, and Electric Highway were both well-crafted and received positive reviews–so much so that Driving 88 inked him a deal with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group in 2012.

Photo by Trevor Sage-EL

RESPECT. spoke with the young Chicago MC about his recent collaborative mixtape, Fresh Veggies (with Casey Veggies), his interest in blending alternative music with rap, unreleased records with mega-producer Hit-Boy, working with MMG label mates, an upcoming tour with G-Eazy, and constructing his debut album.

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RESPECT: On your collaborative mixtape with Casey Veggies, Fresh Veggies, you two seem to have great chemistry. Can you describe your friendship with him?

Rockie Fresh: Me and Casey met in ’09 or ’10, during the first time I went out to LA. A friend of mine from Chicago, who previously moved out there, produced a song for Casey’s mixtape and put us on the same song. That was our first time hearing one another as artists and we finally got in the studio and did a song called “Duckin N Dodgin.” The chemistry was just crazy and we knocked the song out real fast. We just found out that we were young dudes trying to achieve the same goal. Throughout our climb as artists, we just, you know, stayed in contact, ended up getting booked for the same shows throughout the past year and just built kind of like a brotherhood. He got his situation with Roc Nation, I got my situation with MMG and we’ve both been super proud of each other for those moves. What I really think was the icing on the cake was both of us getting endorsement deals with PUMA. Once we saw all of the stars beginning to align, we realized that making music was just easy for one another. That was just a thing where we decided to do a project. PUMA really got behind us and gave us the opportunity to do what we wanted to do…and yeah it was a real easy project and it came together real smooth. Since finishing Fresh Veggies, we knocked out some more records that we are going to be dropping for the people.

Will you be releasing those records soon or whenever you guys feel that the time is right?

It’s a whenever we feel that the time is right kind of thing, but I definitely think that that’s gonna be soon. You can tell by the producers on [Fresh Veggies] that we really weren’t concerned about saving records for our albums or nothing like that. It was just a thing where we really wanted to give the fans quality every time we drop and we also feel that we should be able to make quality with the quickness every time we are around each other. We definitely don’t have a problem letting the records go so it should be sooner than later, honestly.

Speaking of producers for Fresh Veggies, you worked with Hit-Boy on “I Been Workin’” and “Circle”. Was he someone you were a big fan of before hand?

Definitely. I remember doing shows with Hit-Boy before he started working with Kanye. I first met him at a show in Chicago where we were booked together. All of a sudden, I saw that he was producing these hit records and it was just a thing where it really showed us that it was possible to go from one level to the next. His beats are obviously top-tiered, but one thing that I noticed from being around him is his work ethic. Every record that I’ve ever done with him, we’ve made it from scratch. I’ve never came into the situation where he had records pre-made. I’ve got about, I would say, probably 7 records with Hit-Boy that people haven’t heard yet. We were able to do maybe between 30 minutes to an hour and half each song and finish each to its entirety cause his energy is crazy. So, I’m definitely a big fan and I think he’s always gone win because he really enjoys doing what he do and works hard to take it to that next level.

Photo by Trevor Sage-EL

In an interview with Peter Rosenberg, you mentioned that moving from the city to the suburbs gave you a greater appreciation for alternative rock music. Will you continue to add more rock influenced production to your music?

For sure. I think it’s going to be a lot more relevant now than ever before, you know, with me going into my first album, I have the resources to really do it professionally. The hardest thing for me coming up as an independent rapper was having these big ideas and big plans for my music and not necessarily knowing the people to go to that could really bring it to life. A few people that helped me get past that was Good Charlotte and my homie, Patrick Stump, from Fall Out Boy. Now it’s at a point where, you know, with me working on my album, I’m able to make a few more calls and pull a few more players in to make the music sound how I always envisioned it. I feel like people are going to [get a chance to] hear the beginning of the real way that I want the alternative sound to be blended with the rap music and part of it was just having live instrumentation. I really didn’t want to use a lot of weird sounds in my music, but more so using old school kind of vibes— real guitar, real piano, real drums— and things like that and really making things from scratch. Instead of sampling, I want to make music that people want to sample from me. So, if anything, now I have the ability to really do that and I think alternative music is definitely going to shine heavy by the time I drop my first album.

Kendrick Lamar performed with Imagine Dragons during this year’s Grammy Awards. Do you foresee alternative rock being intertwined into hip-hop music more going forward?

I think it’s just really about the artist and what story they are trying to tell. I think one reason why I did get into it was because the artists that I was a fan of coming up, they were always hinting at those kinds of vibes whether it was Nelly who was one of the first artist that I got into. His song, “Over and Over” featuring Tim McGraw, displayed a different side to hip-hop. Kanye worked with Chris Martin from Coldplay on his song “Homecoming” and Jay Z did the same thing for “Beach Chair” on his Kingdom Come album. A lot of big players in hip-hop have always been moving in that direction. I’ve always been makin’ moves in that direction and I wanted to hone in more instead of having one song like that, but actually having that vibe on an entire project to give people a different feel all the way through. I think with what Kendrick is doing is something that a lot of great artists do, which is take rap to a new level. So, if anybody wants to get Grammy recognition, I feel like that is something that they’re going to have to get into because it’s a lot bigger than what the surface shows you.

Photo by Trevor Sage-EL

What has your experience been like working along side artists such as Meek Mill, Wale and Rick Ross?

It’s definitely a learning experience— really by example. I always tell people, because I’m 22 years old and I’m turning 23 in April, I look at Meek Mill and see that he’s achieved a lot at such a young age. It really motivated me to get on my hustle in a different way. We both share similarities in that we both have endorsement deals with PUMA so it’s just a thing where I learned a lot from him on a business level, and the same thing for Ross. With Wale, it’s how he approaches his music. He takes such a serious and caring approach to it. His records are very successful and he’s been able to drop a lot of platinum singles and things like that. So, I’ve just really been learning from example and taking their grind and really implementing it into the different ways that I want to push my music. We have a lot of new music coming, but using different ways and strategies of releasing it. I’ve learned how they do things. It’s gonna be dope.

You typically keep an overall positive message throughout your lyrics. Why is that so important for you?

I think it’s important because that’s just the way that I got introduced to music, you know, as far as with Jay Z, he was talking a lot about things that he was going through as far as his life as being a drug dealer and different things like that. He was showing the pros and cons. I definitely never want to come off as a perfect person in my music because I’ve made a lot of mistakes that I had to learn from and I feel like, as far as me being an African-American male with a voice, I just really want to motivate the culture to be more than what we’re expected to be. I always talk with my friends and we are always so surprised when we see a person [we know] graduate from college or we see somebody out here doing something good with their lives. By the time I’m old I really want that to be the norm for my race and for people that’s coming up under me. In Chicago, there’s always young people dying and killing each other and I think a lot of that just has to do with the fact that they really don’t have any good examples so that’s why I try to be a good example through the music. You’re going to go through stuff, but it can be a positive outlook on the other side of the fence if you keep grindin’.

Photo by Trevor Sage-EL

Ok, switching gears for a minute, let’s talk about touring. Your mini-tour with Casey Veggies has just ended and you’re about to join G-Eazy for the These Things Happen Tour, what can fans expect from that show?

The fans will get the best Rockie Fresh performance to this date. A lot of times that I’ve been on tour, I’ve been opening for artists that have been much bigger than me and with that it’s about winning their fans over. With me being able to have my own shows, people who are already familiar with the songs and with what’s going on are starting to come in the masses. With that, it just adds a different comfort level to my performances. I think it’s going to be a lot more fun and a lot less pressure due to the fact that it is more so me going in front of my family versus me going in front of complete strangers that don’t know what’s goin’ on. I’m really excited about the tour, it’s going to be my longest tour to date and yeah it should be a good time.

How did you and G-Eazy link up?

I’ve been doing shows for a long time and before I was a part of MMG, me and G-Eazy performed together for an event. We got the crowd rockin’ and that’s when I first really got introduced to his music and found out that he was a fan of my music, as well. The tour opportunity presented itself and me and him knew that we represented the same things, but we also have very different approaches to getting to that point and with that it could make for a very interesting show and so we decided to go on tour together. Me and him have been kickin’ it a lot together recently and outside of the music he’s a super cool dude. So, yeah, that’s how it went down.

You’re also performing at SXSW this year.

Yes, I’m going to be there for 2 days.

You’ve been performing there since 2010. What makes SXSW so special?

It gives a lot of people a stage to get their music out to different tastemakers in the United States and throughout the world. It’s a lot of people that come through SXSW. I first started getting my out-of-town shows during my first year at SXSW. There were a lot of promoters there and they were able to hook me up with some different opportunities after they saw me perform, but also it’s cool to link up with other artists. I got a lot of relationship started at SXSW, you know, just crossing paths with other dudes who you may have seen their name on a blog or whatever, but having that face to face contact takes things to another place. So, that’s why I like SXSW. It’s a real chill opportunity in different ways. I think it’s definitely something that all new artists should really be a part of.

Photo by Trevor Sage-EL

We hit on your debut album a little bit, but let’s talk about that more in-depth. Are you planning on going for what the fans expect or are you going to switch it up and do something different?

I think the fans really expect something different every time from me anyway. I feel like all my mixtapes have so many things as far as comparing and contrasting between the future and the past and different ways that affect your life and so that content I’m definitely going to stick with that. I’m going to go more in-depth into the storytelling as far as using real life example and certain family names and things like that that I’ve never really spoke on in my mixtapes. I’ve been kind of saving it for this [debut] album moment. Musically, it’s definitely going to be a higher quality of things that I’ve done before and it’s going to be more orchestrated. Everything that I’ve put into it is just going to be with the intent to compete with the best albums that I know, such as The College Dropout, Reasonable Doubt and good kid, m.A.A.d city, different projects that have really impacted the culture. I really want to give people something different that can stand along with those same albums and that’s really the mentality behind it, so I think the only different that people are going to get from it is how focused I am on making a classic. It’s just something a mixtape will never do. I think that it’s going to be a crazy album and it’s definitely going to be something that people are going to appreciate just because I am taking into consideration the lifestyle of my fans versus the lifestyle that I’m living as a rapper.

Will the album be released this year?

I don’t have a set time, but it’s going to be coming out this year. I like to work on music in different states and with me going on this tour, I feel like a lot of new content is going to come out on the project and so I really want to give that some time to grow into what it’s supposed to grow into.

After looking back over the past year, what is one thing that you hope to achieve this year?

I think it’s just definitely putting out a successful album, you know, with the tour, that was one thing I had going into this year and just making sure that I was at a place with my fans where I could really turn out shows on my own and things like that. Now it’s coming to life, so with that being said, the focus is going to be on making sure that I have an album that could last 20 years from now. I think it was so cool that The College Dropout had its 10-year anniversary. I want to look up 10 years from now and say that in 2014, I put out a project that will last the same way. I think that’s pretty much the goal right now.

Photo by Trevor Sage-EL

Speaking of Kanye, have you had a chance to interact with him on a musical level?

[When I met him] I really didn’t get a chance to talk to him too long on that. It was just a quick thing. I really want to do things on my own, but I think it will eventually get to that point due to where I plan on taking my art .I think what made The College Dropout so dope is that, it was so much of Kanye put into the album and it makes you really have to respect where he was coming from as far as making beats, rapping and utilizing the different ideas he had for features. I really don’t want people to interfere with my mindset of where I want to go with this project and so it’s really just a thing where I want to take on responsibility on my own and make it something dope from where I’m at as an artist. And yeah that’s really the mindset, but at the same time if Kanye happens to hear the album before it comes out and he wants to throw something on it, I’m definitely open to that.

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The song is merely a celebration of these artists’ careers thus far. Over the Tone P instrumental, Wale and company illustrate how their hard work has brought them to this point in their careers. Watch the video below.

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Last night, MMG/Atlantic’s own Stalley returned to his old stomping grounds at the Alife Rivington where he hosted a special listening of his upcoming project, Honest Cowboy. The Ohio native extended the invite to his biggest fans via Twitter because he wanted to treat listeners to a sneak peak of the all the cuts that made it onto the final Honest Cowboy track list.

Honest Cowboy drops August 8th, and Alife, along with Nice Kicks, hosted the celebration. Stalley previewed his fan’s favorite tracks. Joints like “Samson“, “Swangin“, “Nineteeneighty7“, and “Feel the Bass“, were some tracks that particularly showcased how the rapper’s talents have grown since signing with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music label. Honest Cowboy is Stalley’s 5th mixtape in six years and artists like Schoolboy Q, Scarface, and Crystal Torres threw down ill guest verses for the project. Beats were supplied by Block Beataz and Rashad, among others.

Also in the house last night were Atlantic Records up-and-comers Justine Skye & Dusty McFly, who showed up to support their label mate. The excited fans and A Life staff definitely turned the event into a party, proving that Stalley‘s Ohio sound is well-respected in NYC. Check out photos from the event in our slide show above and the album art below. We also have an interview with Stalley coming soon, so stay tuned.

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Maybach Music Group is gearing up to release the third volume of its Self-Made series. The king of the crew, Rick Ross, took to Twitter to inform the world of a minor change. The album was initially slated for an August 6th release, but now the date has been pushed back to September 17th. Perhaps a trifle, perhaps not, this release date happens to coincide with the release of Nothing Was The Same, Drake‘s upcoming album. Does this mean that another sales battle is coming soon?

Check out the blinged-out cover art for Self Made Vol.3 below.

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