Lil Reese has plenty of reason to feel great. The 19-year-old MC recently signed to Def Jam and he’ll be releasing his very first mixtape, Don’t Like, today (July 4). The compilation includes the street anthem “I Don’t Like” and the buzzworthy cut, “Traffic.” Add that to the fact that he’s a part of an exciting youth movement in Chicago—along with other young Chi-town MCs like Chief Keef, King L, and fellow Def Jam-signee Lil Durk. Here, in Seven Minutes With Lil Reese, the raw rhyme slinger talks inking a deal with Def Jam, being part of Chi-town’s new youth movement, his mixtape and friendship with Keef. That’s that shit, we do like!—Mark Lelinwalla

On Signing To Def Jam:

I mean, signing to Def Jam is big, you know? It’s basically like where I wanna be since I was a shorty, you know what I’m sayin? Def Jam is all I knew.

On Chicago’s New Youth Movement:

I mean it’s big, you know what I’m sayin’ like, ’cause we holdin’ down for our city right now, and we all young. We young, real young. It never happened before, in our city, with all with us. I mean, we all add our style to the game, you know? It’s all we doing, just adding our style to the game. King L, Chief Keef and Lil Durk, and myself…just adding our style to the game.  Just being ourselves. It’s great.

On Getting Respect From Older Chi-town MCs:

It feels real good, ’cause we got respect for them, so, they ain’t got no other choice, you know what I’m sayin’, but to have respect for us.  That’s about it, you know, we see eye to eye…we from the same city.

On Don’t Like Mixtape:

It’s the first mixtape I’ma put out. I never put out a mixtape…this will be the first mixtape. “Traffic’s” a joint on there. “I Don’t Like” gon’ be on there. My fans, they really waiting on it. They going crazy right now. That’s all they talkin’ about, ‘Where your mixtape? Where your mixtape? Where your mixtape?’

On Chemistry With Chief Keef:

That’s like our little brother. He’s like 16. [We been friends] since we were kids, yeah. We was shorties in the projects, kids running around in the projects. We all from the same projects. Me and Keef and them, we just doin’ us, like we always been doin’, you know what I’m sayin’? Me and Chief Keef…it’s a big movement right now, you know what I’m sayin’? Everybody tryna’ rock with us…everybody tryna’ rock with us. I mean…and we’ll be on top real soon.

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