I went to jail at 17. While I was there, I discovered that I could write. Once I started making some songs, other inmates wanted to know a little bit more about what I was doing, and they asked me to rap for them. They really liked it, and I made it a goal to come out and try to make something out of the music.
People have compared me to Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Eminem, and J. Cole. They bring substance and largely are all good storytellers, and those are two of my biggest strengths. It's dope to be compared to people who have longevity in the game because that's the most important thing for me: I want my name to live forever.
I'm from the DMV, which is D.C.-Maryland-Virginia - Prince George's County in Maryland, to be specific.
I wanna be the most successful socially aware artist: Grammys, number one singles, albums, overseas and internationally-known household name, all that.
I want people to understand balance. I might make a banger, and that's the way that I feel, and then I may want to make a song that's really deep.
There's peer pressure of not being respected of having a certain amount of money, but if you know who you are, then you see that and look past it.
I really like the Gorillaz and Arctic Monkeys.
In 2010, I attended Prince George's Community College in hopes of transferring to The University of Maryland. My major was computer science, and the goal was to one day work as an I.T.
'Robot Chicken' was one of my favorite shows.
When I started my writing process for 'Empty Bank,' everything had to do with money. It was at a time in my life where I started to see money differently.
I think the best artists find ways to reinvent themselves. They find new ways to tell their stories, or they find new stories to tell.
I'm definitely trying to be Number One.
There are a lot of things that money can't buy, and once you realize that is how you break free.
I try to take the foundations of what music is and add some type of twist to it.
I'm going to be the first rapper to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I don't know exactly what it would be for, specifically, but I want it to be a change I make in the world with my music.
Growing up, I wouldn't say I was poor. But my parents, although we lived in a nice, middle-class home, they had their struggles.
Financially, people always assume you're good when you're a rapper.
A lot of rappers lie about who and what they are.
My first year of high school, I attended Duval High, home of the Duval Tigers. It's located in one of most notorious neighborhoods in the Prince George's County, Maryland, area.
Everyone who watches Adult Swim knows there's a sound to it, a feeling that's nostalgic sometimes, but then it's also different and outside the box.
