Jimmy Wopo Drops “First Day Out” Video, Talks New Project ‘Back Against the Wall’

On June 28, rising Pittsburgh rapper Jimmy Wopo was arrested for a probation violation. He'd been sentenced to three years probation for felony drug conspiracy back in October 2015, and his probation violation was due to the fact that he'd skipped out on a meeting with his P.O. But this past Saturday, he was released from Allegheny County Jail, and today (Aug. 31) he releases his first new song since getting home, "First Day Out." You can watch the video, directed by CatchRec Media, below.

The first day he got out, Wopo went right back to the projects where he lives on Chauncey Drive in the Hill District to shoot scenes for the video. A day after that, XXL spoke to him over the phone about his time behind bars and what he's got planned for the rest of the year.

The 20-year-old MC says he wrote about 10 songs during his two month stunt in jail, and his producer, Stevie B, who was behind the piano stabs on Wopo's breakout hit "Elm Street," will craft beats around the songs Wopo wrote behind bars to make sure the rhymes aren't forced over pre-made production. Those songs will go toward his new project, Back Against the Wall, dropping Oct. 11.

While he was locked up, Wopo, who says he's a big fan of C-Murder, got a taste of just how strong his movement is at the moment. "I got to run into a couple of my niggas that I ain’t see in a while, cleared my mind," he says of his skid bid. "A lot of niggas told me down there ain’t nobody else like me. There’s a lot of love down there, a lot of support. And if you can go to jail and all your people rockin’ with you, that’s when you know that your movement is strong." He also kept hearing the local radio station WAMO 100 shout him out on the airwaves.

Wopo had been talking to a couple major labels before he was locked up, and though he says he was most tempted by Atlantic's offers, he's deciding to stay independent for now. Wopo says producers like Bobby Johnson and Hit-Boy have reached out to work, but he's also got an entire project produced by Sonny Digital in the stash, though he says it probably won't drop until "the end of this year or at the beginning of next year."

For now, he's focused on finishing his new project Back Against the Wall and keeping his head on straight. "I’m gonna do everything the right way," he says. "I’m gonna’ be clean, I’m gonna take care of the drug and alcohol programs. Whatever they want me to do so I can leave when I want. Get approval from the judge and I’m out."

Watch the video for "First Day Out" below. Much like Gucci's song of the same name, Wopo often adheres to the pattern Guwop used in his original track ("I'm starting off my day with a blunt of purp").

New Music Releases for September 2017