UTG INTERVIEW: G-Eazy

Anyone who thinks rock and roll is a hard gig to break into has never tried to make a living in hip hop. At a time when anyone with a smart phone is able to have a state-of-the-art recording studio ready to go in moments, the volume of aspiring talent is legitimately too large to be quantified. We do our best to feature those that we feel rise above, but even I will admit to not having anywhere near enough time to listen to every freestyle, single, remix, or mixtape that is sent my way. I do my best, as all writers do, but the sad truth is that it is simply impossible to give everything a moment of my time, let alone space on this site, but when we find someone who truly sticks out we do our best to make readers as aware as possible.

G-Eazy will release his new album, Must Be Nice, later this month. The album is G’s second, and its release follows a successful Summer alongside Mod Sun and T. Mills on Van’s Warped Tour, as well as a highly-publicized performance with A$AP Rocky in New York City. We’ve been spinning his Endless Summer mixtape since discovering his mix of old school pop and modern hip hop on Warped Tour, and could not be more excited to hear what he has up his sleeves with Must Be Nice. I was able to land a phone call with G-Eazy last week to discuss the release, as well as his plans for a headlining tour this Fall. You can read the interview below.

UTG: You just got off Van’s Warped Tour, a dream tour for most artists. How would summarize your experience?

G-Eazy: It was definitely tiring, but the whole thing was very exciting. It was a great opportunity for me, I think I learned a lot, and I had a lot of opportunity to mature as an artist. It’s really like boot camp for tour [artists], but it was great to be out there all Summer and I got a lot of exposure. Now I’m just focusing on what’s next.

UTG: Speaking of that, you have a big tour in September with Hoodie Allen. How did this tour come together? Will you be co-headlining?

G-Eazy: Hoodie is headlining, and I’ll be main support. We’ve known each other for a few years though, and you know, it’s always a good time to tour with your friends. My first real experience like that was with Mod Sun, and yea, it’s just good to be out there with good people.

After that, I will be headlining a run of my own shows as well. That’s pretty exciting as well, but it’s kind of a new world for me to be stepping into.

UTG: Will this be your first headlining tour?

G-Eazy: No. Early on we had a real DIY ethic. We’d pack up our van, our manager would book us shows, and we would just take whatever we could get. We did that for awhile and then thought, “okay, maybe we should change our approach.” That lead to the tour with Mod Sun, and that lead to Warped Tour, and now I have this run with Hoodie.

UTG: Will these headlining dates be on the East or West Coast?

G-Eazy: We’ll be doing two little, separate runs. So, both. It’ll be in October after the Hoodie Allen tour.

G-Eazy’s East Coast headlining cities. West Coast TBA soon.

UTG: So your next release, Must Be Nice, is out on 9/26. Would you consider this an album or mixtape?

G-Eazy: It’s whatever you want to call it these days. I think of it as an album. I grew up appreciating albums for their cohesiveness, being able to listen from track one to the end. So, in my opinion, this feels like an album. It has that cohesive feel to it. That said, depending on how you get it, if you download it or something, then it may seem like a mixtape. It’s whatever people want it to be.

UTG: How would you compare Must Be Nice to your previous release, Endless Summer?

G-Eazy: I think it’s a step forward stylistically. It’s a little darker, but it’s basically taking what I learned from sampling and remixing old 60’s songs, and then taking a step forward because all the production is original this time. No samples. So it’s like stepping away from that crutch, and writing my music for myself. So now if I use a chord progression or melody, it’s without a sample, so it’s more my take on everything from what I’ve learned. It’s going to be different, but no so far apart that people who liked Endless Summer won’t be into it. I never want to get stuck in one sound or style, I want to be sure I continue evolving and taking steps forward with my music.

UTG: Any features on the album?

G-Eazy: There are a few people that anyone familiar with me will recognize, but outside of that I’ll have a collaboration with Mod Sun and [pause] you know, we’ll see.

UTG: Alright G, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. We look forward to hearing Must Be Nice when it drops later this month!

G-Eazy: Thank you.

UTG brought you the first leak off Must Be Nice earlier this week. Click below (or here) to stream “Lady Killers.”

Conducted & Transcribed by: James Shotwell

James Shotwell
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