Rich Homie Quan Is Looking For A Label That Believes In Him

It's difficult to have one hot song in a year, but two? That will make you feel some type of way. After breaking through on the Billboard Rap charts as an independent artist with the undeniably catchy "Type Of Way" over the summer, Atlanta's Rich Homie Quan hit radio hard again this fall by providing the inescapable chorus to "My Nigga," the Jeezy-assisted, DJ Mustard produced single off YG's upcoming debut full-length. Hoping to build on the buzz of two hits and give back to his fans, Quan dropped his latest mixtape yesterday, I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In.

Before making a surprise appearance at Yo Gotti's star-studded album release show last Tuesday, Quan stopped by the XXL offices in New York to discuss his new tape, his complicated relationship with fellow ATL crooner Future and what it feels like to have two hot songs in one year. —Dan Jackson

How did "My Nigga" with YG and Jeezy come together?
Shout out to Jeezy. Me and YG would've never met if it wasn't for him. That was the first time I ever met YG. He was down in Atlanta working on his album and I went to the studio, Patchwerk, and it was pandemonium. DJ Mustard was there and he was like, "Get Quan on that song." So he played me the beat and told me how he wanted it to go and I put my own twist on it and it was murder she wrote. After I left the studio, I didn't hear the song until it dropped. I was like, God, that song turned out hard. Then we shot the video a few weeks later and the song just took off.

How does it feel to have two big hit songs in one year?
It feels good but it's just the beginning. I feel like my career is gonna have a lot of big songs. There are a lot of songs that people still need to hear. [My] new mixtape [is] filled with a lot of new bangers and you can hear the maturity, how I've grown since my last mixtape.

What can you tell me about the new mixtape?
New mixtape has 17 songs on there. I have production from DJ Spins, Metro Boomin', 808 Mafia. I have some features—not a lot cause it's my mixtape and I gotta tell my story—but I've got a few. It's really like life after Still Goin' In. You can hear the fun I'm having now. Like I said, it's some of my best work. On my first mixtape I didn't have a lot of money so a lot of my stories were about being broke. Now I've got a little money so in my stories I'm having a little fun and I'm enjoying myself. I want you to come into my world.

I've got ask you about the Future diss track that showed up online earlier this year. How did that come about?
It's not a diss song. I didn't leak the song. I don't know who leaked the song, but it was recorded long ago. It's not a diss song and I didn't diss him in the song, not once. You can listen. The bloggers make it a diss but it's not a diss. I was just being real.

You think people twisted the story?
Yeah, 'cause I never leaked the song. I didn't diss him. People just want drama. That's what sells. Me and Future have no beef. I ain't in his lane and he's not in mine. I salute him on what he's doing.

What about the Trust God Fuck 12 project that came out with Gucci Mane?
I did some songs in Gucci's studio and the songs that Gucci put on his mixtape were done in his studio. I didn't even know we had a mixtape together. I hadn't even heard the songs in so long. But that's Gucci. Big shoutout to Gucci still. I woke up one morning and I saw the hits from Twitter, like, "Yeah, Gucci Mane and Rich Homie Quan mixtape," and I didn't even know it. I was like, "I didn't even know I did a mixtape."

So what's the next step after you release your new tape?
I wanna go on tour and after that get ready for my debut album. Before all that I want to have found a home and signed to a major label. By then I'd like to have signed a deal. It's fine being independent but at some point... I was the number one searched artist on LiveMixtapes for I don't know how long, so I've surpassed my goals in the streets. It's time to take it to the next level and make the fan base bigger. Hoepfully I sign a deal soon.

Have you been meeting with labels?
Yeah, it's been going good. I just want something with longevity. I want something that's gonna last. I don't wanna be here this year and you don't know where I am next year. So I'm just trying to make the right decision and make sure all my i's are dotted and my t's are crossed. It's not even about the money because I know in the music business you accumulate money so many ways. It's about being the best throughout my whole career. Five years from now I wanna be on top. 10 years from then I still wanna be on top. I wanna make sure that whatever label I sign with believes in me the way I believe in me. That's it really.