Fat Trel

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A little late with the freestyle, Maybach Music recording artist Fat Trel delivers his version of Young Money’s “Truffle Butter” calling it “TrelFel Butter”  . Trel is set to release his mixtape, Georgetown at the end of this month. Listen Below:

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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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Fat Trel is gaining a lot of attention in the buildup to his latest project, Nightmare On E Street. First we interviewed and did an exclusive in-studio shoot with Trel back in December, and now we just did another interview with the Slutty Boyz head honcho this past week. However, the most comprehensive piece on Trel to date has come by way of The Washington City Paper. Ramon Ramirez spent a couple months researching and hanging out with the Slutty Boyz and now he drops this article on the front page of the paper. Check out the quote by RESPECT. contributor Peter Marrack at the bottom of Page 4.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

It’s shortly after six, and Trel’s 26-year-old brother Kel and I keep the engine running outside a warehouse bearing the unlikely name Catwalk Studios. We’re waiting for someone to show up. Trel and his crew arrive after stopping for Wendy’s. He’s detailing the plot of Contagion, with spoilers.

To understand Trel, you have to know his posse. V is Vance McDonald, the president of Da Company 1135. Ricky B. is Ricardo Jones, Trel’s personal assistant and driver, who talks fast and wears sunglasses at night. They also call him “Hol Time,” because he’s always around. “I always supported him behind the scenes,” Ricky B. says. “Trel calls me his uncle. I offer life advice. I’m going to be by his side whether he succeeds or fails. Hol Time: Everything is present.” Killa’s just Killa. He makes vague references to underworld know-how.

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Fat Trel is a fool, literally. It’s what him and his com padre’s call each other. After stunning the D.C. scene with his wild antics and raw lyricism, him and his crew are embarking on a trip to serve the rest of the nation with D.C.’s slice of hip-hop. On his most highly regarded tape to date, No Secrets,  Fat Trel managed to give a birds eye view to the side of the nations capital Wale didn’t expose… the streets. While in New York City, laying the groundwork for his latest project Nightmare On E Street,  Fat Trel managed to fit RESPECT. in his schedule.  We we’re able to talk about everything from Barack Obama and D.C. Culture, to O Cups and his brothers, the Slutty Boyz.

So, how did you get your start?

The Open Mic’s in D.C Maryland and Virginia. We went to all the Open Mic’s passing out a three track demo. We went to Howard University and pulled the speakers out the truck to perform. We went to Bowie State University. We went to all the high schools. Thats how the buzz really came about and Facebook. We wasn’t really big on the Internet so we reached out and got to the people personally.

Why do you think that D.C. identifies with your music so much, specifically the streets?

Because it’s whats going on and it ain’t sugar coated. You have certain representatives that think they representing but they never been there and they actually never went around there so it’s not being told right. I feel like since that’s what I have, thats why they identify with it so much because they know its the truth. They can understand it more coming from my perspective.

What’s the next move for your camp?

Just more shows and more progress. We got Nightmare On E Street, coming in March.

What’s the long-term goal for you guys. Major label?

We ain’t thinking ’bout no labels. The long term goal is the Grammys man.  The Grammy’s and the cover of XXL, and The Source and Vibe and Don Diva.  That’s the long term goal…and movies. When niggas turn into actors that’s the goal.

Being from North East D.C. can you explain the culture there?

North Face Wear. It goes from pants, shoes, coats, hats, ski-techs. Ummm O-cups. I don’t know if y’all heard of O-cups in Baltimore, where you from. It’s just basically Carry Outs, North Face, 30-shot Clips, and Bitches. That’s it.

Do You Feel Like Wale Put A Real Eye On The D.C. Movement?

Of course he did. He’s the only person here.

What’s the reason behind the split between The Board Administration Label and Fat Trel and what’s the relationship now?

The relationship is good. Black Cobain is my brother. Ms Sasha, we got some work coming out.   I haven’t really spoken to Tiara Thomas and I don’t speak to Fats. It ain’t really  no talks of getting back together but it’s strong. The reason behind the split, I don’t know man I guess I was anti-social to the label. It is what it is, which ain’t true by the way but I guess that’s how they felt. I’d rather be with my niggas then be with a whole rack of niggas I don’t know. It’s different when its business  but when it comes to a personal level I’d rather be with me and my niggas.

Are the Slutty Boyz Still With The Board? What’s Your relation to those guys?

Nah, they left when I left. Yea That’s Sandbox right their. That’s Sandbox. First-Grade Shit. All of em’

Seeing as how you live in the nations capital and there’s an upcoming presidential election, what are some issues in your community that are important to you?

I’ma keep it a ‘hunned dog. I don’t have a clue about the election. All I know is it’s a drought right now on everything. It’s a crazy drought on every drug in the District of Columbia. But other than that I don’t know.

When you walk out the door what do you see that’s not right?

Oh, you mean what do i see with my eyes that’s an issue? I see too many crackers making money and not enough niggas making money. I feel like it’s not enough black people getting money right now. Its not fair. You know what I’m saying.

Can you give me a run down of your tattoos and what’s the most significant ones?

I got my family names tatted on me. I got Slutty Boyz on me, those the most important ones, My brothers. I got my kids names. Loyalty on my stomach. That’s real important. I don’t know man, I feel like all my tattoos are really important. Somebody else would shit on they whole tatts. I definitely got mine for a reason. I got my father name on me. I got 202 tatted on me.  But I feel like all my tattoos mean something.

When It Comes To Music Who Do You Listen To?

Rick Ross is number one of course. 3 6 Mafia. Pimp C. Pastor Troy. GunPlay, Scarface. Just those type of niggas. Real niggas.

Can I do a word association with you?

Aight that’s cool.

D.C.
Dirty City

Baltimore
Grimy City

Fame
Fake

Love
Bullshit

Obama
My nigga

Life
Precious. Life is precious

Power
Everything. Power is everything.

Respect
Earn…meaning you have to earn it.

The post Interview: Getting to Know Fat Trel appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

introduced by @MrFarFetched
interviewed by @petermarrack

“Get me a whole tray,” Fat Trel said when his manager asked him how much Alfredo fettucini he wanted after he was done laying down the adlibs for an upcoming track off his next mixtape, Nightmare on E Street. A week before Trel crushed five pounds of Parmesan slathered pasta, he talked with RESPECT.‘s Toronto based correspondent, Peter Marrack, about his two-timing former manager, his family tree and how getting shot by his best-friend taught him an important lesson about how to make it in the rap game. We even got him to pick up the phone after the interview and call his pops to find out exactly where his great-grandma was from. Tatted from his cheek to the bottom of his belly, the Fat Foolio is giving NorthEast D.C. a reason to stand up. Fat Trel smells like the product Lil Boosie and Young Jeezy would cook up if they were stirring out the same pot. So yesterday’s release of TM103 couldn’t have been better timed for D.C.’s SluttyBoyz artist. After finishing off the Alfredo last Thursday at the photoshoot, Trel slipped us an unheard track – On Top of Your Girl – for you to bump while you read.

Catch the complete interview after the jump.

Awesome verse on “Rollin”, man, with Rich Hil. I’m a big fan of Rich, and you nailed your verse as usual.

Yeah, man, I appreciate it a lot. I’m a huge fan of Rich too. That shit was wonderful. I had to take my time and do what I gotta do.

I heard the unfortunate news about the Nightmare on E Street delays, as a result of your manager cheating some money from you. That’s fucked up. What happened?

Yeah, yeah, that’s correct. It happens all the time to be honest. Some people who know that they are smarter than others- and in my case my manager was smarter than me. I guess some of it was my fault. I put too much trust in him, and I did tell him I didn’t want to do too much of the business. Yeah, that’s how it happened, man. I fired him, and then of course he had most of my music, which was ready and prepared for Nightmare on E Street, the majority of it was in his email and he told me he wasn’t giving me my music, you know, go record another Nightmare on E Street, shit like that. It is what it is.

When you do release it, will it be the same music?

I got a couple songs back, but a lot of it will be new. It won’t be the same Nightmare on E Street that would have been released.

At least you can take out some of that frustration and channel it into your music.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s the plan. That’s how the world works, so it’ll be coming soon.

You never know who you can trust. Do you think the dude deceived you from the beginning, did he change, or did you detect any warning signs?

I detected the cockiness. Things did change, but I thought it came with the lifestyle and moving on up. Because he discovered me and I discovered him at the same time. When I first started rapping it was new for me from the beginning, and when he started managing me it was new for him too. It was his first time that he ever managed an artist. I figured we both got the same amount of shit to lose if it all falls down, so I figured we’d be good together, but as soon as the money came he started dipping. It just got ugly.

That’s unfortunate. With Nightmare on E Street, what kind of sound are you bringing? It is keeping with your previous mixtapes, or are you switching things up?

I mean, just because it’s called Nightmare on E Street doesn’t mean the whole tape will be about nightmares and shit. Basically I’m describing my life through this tape, and how I feel my life was a nightmare, even when good things were happening or even on a night when I had a Kool-Aid smile, I still felt like I was walking down a nightmare. That’s basically what it is. Everything that’s happened in my life, up to this point, will be poured out on Nightmare on E Street.

I thought it was funny that it was named after a horror movie, because you don’t like horror movies. [laughs]

Yeah, I don’t, I don’t. That’s the truth right there.

What’s your heritage? Not so sound weird or anything, but you have pretty unique eyes, green with a yellow tint…

It’s funny. I have to be honest, you’re the first person who’s asked me that. When I say it to people they think it’s ridiculous, but my father’s grandmother was actually Indian and white, not black at all, and my father’s grandfather was 100% black. A lot of people don’t know but I’ve got blonde hair in my hair, I got blonde hair all over my face, and I got these crazy eyes because my great-grandmother on my father’s side was Indian and white.

It comes down that far in the family tree, huh?

Yeah, yeah. Dude, if I were being really honest, I’d say I’m Indian, black, and white.

That’s interesting. Going back, where does your family come from? When did they come to D.C., or where were you born?

Honestly, my great-grandmother on my father’s side- that’s funny you ask me that, because it’s going to make me call my father when I hang up to actually find out where my great-grandmother’s from. I honestly don’t know. I never asked that question. It never even dawned on me to ask that. That’s a good question, so I’m going to ask that. I was born in Danville, Virginia. I think when I was about four, maybe three, my mom moved to D.C.

Why did you guys move there?

My mother has a soul of a go-getter. Down in southern Virginia, Danville, Gretna, Blacksburg, Chatham, all that, it’s filled with people who graduate from high school and then stick around. My mother couldn’t do it. The money wasn’t enough for her, and I think she had a girlfriend who stayed in D.C., and she was telling my mom how the economy was up here, and how easy it is to get a job. As soon as my mother moved to D.C. her first job was at KFC, you know, then she worked at CLC, Computer Learning Center College, and she graduated from there and then never looked back. She never ever thought about moving back home, and I’m glad she didn’t.

When you came do you remember being a little bitter about the move, leaving friends behind, or how old were you again?

Naw, I don’t even remember that. Like I told you, I moved here in first grade. The friendship situation didn’t even dawn on me. I just remember growing up here and then we’d always go back home for Thanksgiving. I would always go back home for the summer, my birthday in the summer, the Easter holiday, and family reunions. I would always love to go down there to visit my family, but I always wanted to get back up to D.C. as soon as possible.

Switching topics a bit, you like to walk around shirtless, and you’re very open about sex, the Slutty Boyz thing, and you have all these tattoos. Have there been any moments where you’ve frightened someone?

Unfortunately I do. I do scare a lot of people. That’s part of the reason I like to go out and I like to talk to people because a lot of people have the wrong perception of me, by listening to the music and taking a look at me. They think I’m like this 100% douchebag, this ‘don’t give a fuck about nothing’ type nigga, but that’s not the case. I do like to go out and let them know. That’s part of the reason people love me so much, because it ain’t what they see, it ain’t what they thought it was going to be. I like it that way.

You think that’s ever helped you, maybe in business, people are afraid to say ‘no’ to you?

It has its pros and its cons. Off of my music alone, certain people won’t allow me to perform at their venue. Let’s say for instance, I put out the No Secrets tape and I had shows booked, shows booked, and by the time I dropped April Foolz, when they heard that type of tape they weren’t expecting that, so when they heard that a lot of people cancelled. It is what it is, you know. I knew it was going to happen. We roll with the punches, man. Like I always say, this line about a bitch, either you gonna fuck me now or you gonna fuck me later. That’s how I feel about shows and shit like that. You going to book me now or you going to book me later. I never worry too much about it.

I wondered about the flip-side too. Does anyone frighten you? Does LT [Trel’s publicist] whip some fright into you ever?

Oh yeah, most definitely. That’s what she does. That’s the role she’s playing, and I need that. I guess she could feel the vibe that we can all speak how we feel, like, “Let me know what you think is best, why I should do it, why I should not ignore it.” I listen, you know. I listen. Like I said, I’m not a douchebag, it’s not, “It’s my money and I need it now and I want to carry it this way and this is the fuck how I’m going to do it, and if not then fuck it.” It ain’t like that. Because it’s bigger than me. It’s bigger than the artist at the end of the day. Out of all the people who’ve helped me, it’s bigger than me. I have to think about a lot as far as everyone else is concerned, how they can benefit off of it, off my music. It works both ways.

Growing up in your neighborhood, who were some of your mentors, not so much role models, but people you dealt with everyday?

A lot of people don’t know this, because music-wise people think that I was a mentor to the Slutty Boyz, but to be honest, when I was out in the streets the Slutty Boyz were my mentors. Of course my big brother Kel, he was my mentor, my mother, and the OGs in the hood. You look up to them, you listen to them. They tell you what’s right, they tell you what’s wrong. They might not say, “Man, go to school, listen to your mother.” They might tell you to go to school and then skip out. They told you ways to go about it without hurting your mother’s feelings, and that’s what it was about, because they knew we were going to do what we wanted to do at the end of the day. They just showed us how to do it in a better way, to cause less harm to your parents, because your parents don’t want to know about the shit we’re doing. Shit gets ugly, and that’s how parents get evicted off not even knowing what their children were doing. It’s honestly not fair, but as knuckleheads we didn’t really know that that was possible. So the old heads would let us know how to do it, because they were doing it since we were babies.

What about enemies? Have there been people you’ve had beef with, but then they taught you something valuable, something you couldn’t learn from your friends?

Of course. I was shot by a friend I grew up with in my hood. That lesson alone taught me so so much. I never understood the saying, “people who smile in your face are your friend”, because around my way that line don’t exist. I loved them, and they loved me, and we’d do anything for each other, but as time went on and we got older and older and older, certain people were deceiving and certain people were suffering. That’s where it all came out. You knew who your man was because muthafuckers stopped helping each other, and niggas started robbing niggas they grew up with. It got ugly. So my best friend shooting me taught me one of the biggest lessons in the world, period.

Speaking of getting shot, you have a lot of Twitter pics of guns. Recreationally of course, what’s your favorite gun?

Yeah, I do have a favorite gun. My favorite gun is a .40 Smith and Wesson. I love .40’s. I love all .40’s. I like .357’s, but I love Smith and Wesson .40’s. That’s my favorite.

Why?

Growing up in the hood, before I really started rapping rapping, Lil Boosie always rapped about .40’s. I was always like, “Why does Lil Boosie love .40’s so much?” The bullets were big. The bullets were big, if not as big as a .45, they were like bigger. In the hood everyone wanted extended clips on their guns, so you might have been the shit in the hood if you had a .40, but if you had a .40 with 30 in it, you were like ‘that nigga’. In a certain neighborhood, if you’re in hostile territory and you had a Mustang you’re the shit, if you’re in my hood and you had a .40 with a 30 you were that nigga. That’s why it’s my favorite.

It’s too bad about Boosie.

Yeah, yeah, man.

Why does a rapper need to have guns around?

Rappers need guns because it’s a certain kind of music we make, I mean, you got 100% knucklehead assholes who have nothing to prove at the end of the day. It’s just hate. It’s just hate, for real. Like I told someone the other day, I’ve met a man, a man who I knew was older than me, he had to be between the ages of 25-28, asked me was I Fat Trel, I told him, “Yeah.” We in the club mind you. He was like, “Ah, man, I love your music. He bought me a drink.” After that he asked whether I could take a picture with his girl. I said, “Yes.” Two hours later, I’m leaving the club, that same man tried to rob me at gunpoint. So if you’re in the club and you meet a huge fan who tells you they love your music so much, buys you a drink, and then they got so much pride that they ask you to take a picture with their girl, but then they don’t have the courage to do it, and you leave that same night and they try to rob you, it’s like, “Who do you trust?” At the same time on the outside looking in, the dude’s looking at it like, “He got it. I don’t. When I get it from him he’s just going to do another show tomorrow and get it right back.” So I feel it’s very urgent, and I let people know that I’ve been rapping for about four or five years, and during my first three years I was riding nowhere armed, and with no armed security, but after some of the new music dropped shit started rolling around. Shit got real. My birthday on June 26, 2011, I got shot at, going into the parking lot of a club for my birthday.

You never know.

Yeah, I’m always on the defense, man. I mean, our job is to perform, our job is to take pictures, our job is to do interviews in front of the camera, in the V.I.P., that’s our job. People who are less fortunate, not being funny or anything, but people who are less fortunate, or those 9 to 5 workers who look at our lifestyle as so glamorous, they’re like, “Fuck that, what does he got that I don’t? If he can do it I can too, fuck that. I need that. You see that pinky ring he worked so hard to get, I need that. I need that bracelet, I want that. Those shoes, I want that.” It’s just ridiculous.

Defense is the important factor, right?

Yeah, most definitely defense. For judges and police to not look at it in that type of manner is just crazy. I’m good here and in Virginia, but if I’m in Miami, I’m fucked with a gun, technically-speaking. I had a show in Nashville, I was fucked. Ain’t no way around it. I can’t even 100% know that I’ll be safe. I can’t trust an arms officer to shoot for me, I don’t know what the fuck he’s going to do. I didn’t grow up with this nigga, I don’t know his background, I don’t know if the promoter’s setting me up for something. I don’t know if you know it or not, but a long time ago Biggie and E40 had a slight problem. A lot of people don’t know that E40 booked Biggie for a show in Oakland and when Biggie got there there was absolutely no show, period. Shit like that, you just never know. You’re trusting a promoter with your hotel information, address and the hotel room. That shit is risky. People don’t know the risk that we take.

You have a daughter and a son too, right?

Uh-huh.

How are they doing?

They’re doing wonderful, man. My daughter is actually participating in a talent show at her school today. It’s crazy, my daughter’s four years old and she can really sing. It’s crazy. The first time she sung for me I cried, but they’re doing fine. My son, I love him to death, his name is Harlem. He just got all the swag in the world. He’s just like his mother. He’s adorable. I love him. I love him to death.

You got to get him a pair of those lime green North Face pants. [laughs]

Yeah, I know, I got him the whole blue North Face suit. The North Face letters are written in the lime green, like the pants that I got, so it matches what I got on. He’s good money. We’re going to take more pictures of him, because all of the Slutty Boyz have kids.

He’s got to be the flyest kid at school.

He is, no question.

All the labels are coming around now, trying to sign you and shit, which is great. It’s great to know you’re in demand. What kind of contract are you looking for, or waiting for? What would do it for you?

I always say this, the kind of deal I’m going to get is the kind of deal that I deserve. I won’t settle for less. I know what I’m worth. I’m not going into the offices of all these labels with the attitude that this is what I want and this is what I deserve. I let the numbers speak for me, the amount of shows, the fan-base, everything counts, and I feel like I’ll get what I deserve. I can’t really tell you what I’m looking for. I’m looking for an equal chance, an equal opportunity to do great without being fucked, just because you think I’m a hood nigga who doesn’t care about the business aspect of it and the money situation. I just don’t want to be fucked, that’s all. If I’m going to go into a situation and give you my 100% as an artist, and I’m going to rep this label, then why not be fair?

– By @petermarrack

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