G Herbo Says 2016 Is His To Claim

When it comes to bubbling Chicago rappers, G Herbo is undoubtedly one of the first names that comes to mind. Ever since the unveiling of his debut mixtape, Welcome To Fazoland, back in 2014, and a co-sign from Nicki Minaj, it seems hip-hop is patiently awaiting the inevitable, the rise of Herbo.

Formally known as Lil Herb, the rapper has spent the past few years learning the ins and outs of the business side of the hip-hop game, surviving changes in management and wavering in the uncertainty of the independent label lifestyle. Now, after recently inking a management deal with Cinematic Music Group, the acclaimed independent record label and management company behind acts like Joey Bada$$ and Big K.R.I.T., it seems the The Cinematic/Machine Entertainment/150 Dream Team Chi-town rapper is finally making the appropriate changes to take his gig to the next level. Now the Not to mention the boisterous rapper has kicked his extreme lean habit and after nearly two years of waiting, dropped his highly anticipated Ballin Like I'm Kobe mixtape, an ode to Jacobi D. Herring, a friend of his who was killed in 2013.

With so many adjustments made and his debut album on the horizon, XXL connected with Herb to get the scoop on what's next. G Herbo not only candidly spoke on his recent transitions and the many things he has in store, but he also expressed a desire to mentor the youth in Chicago in efforts to deter them from gang violence along with voicing a displeasure towards Spike Lee's upcoming Chiraq film.-Miranda Johnson

It seems like you made a lot of recent changes to better what you have going on. Do you feel like this next year is yours to claim?

Yea, I feel like that for a couple reasons. Simply off of the fact that I’m going to be touching my fans on a different level that I haven’t before. They’re going to get a lot of me that they haven’t been getting. They’re going to support twice as hard. It’s really just a matter of me getting my business in order and figuring out how to execute my plan properly. That’s really my whole focus for next year. I’m going to be getting a lot of music together and recording. I’m working on my album. I don’t know the name of it yet but I’m really just trying to get as much good music recorded as possible. Maybe I’ll throw a tape out in the meantime. I’m kind of all over the place but it’s in order.

With any artist it’s like that. It’s trial and error on that road to come up. You recently signed a management deal with Cinematic Music Group but before that you were going through some management troubles right?

With the whole Cinematic thing, it was really just me putting myself in the position to do more. I’m not signed to a label, ain’t no label situation. As far as production, I have a deal with Machine Entertainment Group. That was prior to a lot of my success. With Cinematic, I’m signed to Jonny Shipes, that’s who’s managing me. It’s really just about me putting myself in a position to expand to that next level. I’ve just been getting my business in order to present it to the world in a whole different way. It wasn’t really no problems [before], but if management and production are always not on the same page, it’s not good for the artist to grow. I want to build my brand independently but you have to have your business in order and the right marketing strategy before you get to a label because they’re not going to do it for you. I feel like if you got that already established, you don’t need a label.

Jonny is a mastermind behind the independent grind like with Joey Bada$$. Would you ever think about signing to a label or will you always be on that independent grind?

I mean for the most part, I’m really not focused on signing to a label. I feel like if I was to sign to a label situation, it would have to be a real good one because I’ve had label situations on the table before. I could have been signed already but I wasn’t comfortable with it. It wasn’t a bad situation but it was just a matter of me knowing that I want to be in control of my brand and have creative control. I want to get to a place where it’s a partnership with a label rather than me just doing all this. The independent game been treating me good and I’m comfortable with my team. That’s why I haven’t really gotten into a label situation. I don’t need to make any changes right now.

Speaking of changes, you recently changed your name from Lil Herb to G Herbo, why?

It really wasn’t that much of a name change. It was just like a Puffy to P. Diddy type of thing. It was really just a matter of me growing up and maturing. My homies and them really started calling me G Herbo. It’s a symbol of leadership. That G stands for general. All my homies [are generals] though, it’s not no one man above the pack. We all move like leaders. That’s really where the whole G Herbo thing came from and I just started pushing it. My fans fuck with me so they picked it up.

 Another change you recently made was you stopped drinking lean. You used to be a lean advocate. Why did you decide to leave it alone?

I stopped doing lean for a bunch of reasons. There’s a lot of ups to it. I always understood what I was doing. Lean is a real drug. I was doing lean before it was popular and before the rap shit. I was doing it before everybody was doing it. A lot of people been fucking with lean but how it’s popular now, it wasn’t like that. Actavis, the shit that’s banned now, that was $50. It can fuck you up and you can die behind it. It’s real addictive. I controlled that though. I never let it control me. I just stopped doing it because I didn’t like the way I was feeling. Like you said, I was a lean advocate. That’s what I used to love to do. I used to wake up and get high off lean but I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t doing it because of no wave and I knew it wasn’t good for me. I was just doing it. But, I just didn’t like how I was feeling. Like when you don’t have it, you’ll get sick and shit. I don’t like feeling like that. That shit don’t control me. You save a lot of money not doing it. It’s an expensive drug. I really didn’t like how it was getting the best of me. You gotta have self control. Now, I’m focused and I got so much shit going on. I’m going to stay focused. I like being off the shit.

 I can tell too. The new vibe.

[Laughs]

So, you finally dropped Ballin Like I’m Kobe. I remember we were talking about that for a while. How did it feel to finally have it come out? And what was the hold up behind it?

It felt good. It was a big chip off my shoulder getting it out. The hold up was really me getting everything in order and packaging it the way I wanted to. I wasn’t trying to just put anything together. With my first tape, Welcome to Fazoland, a lot of people considered it a classic. I wanted Ballin’ Like I’m Kobe to be as good or even better. So, it was just a matter of getting that in order. It was a bunch of songs. I record all the time so there was so much music to choose from. So I just did a couple new songs and [stuff] that I was feeling. It didn’t even hit hard like I wanted it to. With the right promotion and the proper plan behind it, it would have hit a lot harder. It just grew organically and I knew it was going to do that if there was the right material on there. It was a matter of me getting the right plan together of how to drop it and everybody being comfortable as far as production and management so when it does drop, there’s no hold up behind it. So I can do all the promo shit and tour. That was the hold up.

What part of your career would you say the tape represents?

As far as my whole career, the tape represents my life as of right now. Shed the success and it’s still the good, the bad and the ugly that I’m going through. It ain’t the same struggle that I’m going through in Welcome to Fazoland; me just being in the streets and trying to make something of my life, dodging bullets and all the crazy shit. It’s really just me maturing as a man and taking care of responsibilities. Taking care of my mom, my sister and my aunties, and knowing that I have a lot to lose and to stay focused. The whole concept of my tape is for it to be dedicated to my homie and let him know that I’m making something of myself. That’s the whole Ballin Like I’m Kobe concept. That I’m living the life that he wanted me to live and doing it in dedication to my homie Kobe, but still going through the day-to-day struggle of me being successful.

So the tape basically represents growth?

Yea, growth and my life right now.

I have to ask you because Lil Bibby recently went and got his GED. Speaking of growth, have you thought about going to get yours?

I’m actually thinking about going to school right now and getting my diploma/GED, really just to have it. It’s something that I want to focus on career-wise. If it has something to do with my music or the business, I can tune in and do whatever I have to do to understand what I have going on better. So, I’m really going to go back and get my diploma to not be a hypocrite when I tell kids to be in school and focus on school. That’s the type of kid I was, if a mother fucker tell me ‘Do this, do that’ but they didn’t even do it... You have to have the will to get it. Bibby just came out of no where with his shit.

I also noticed that you’ve been very vocal on your Instagram about Chicago issues lately. What inspired that change?

I always been like that but it’s just growing up and maturing. It’s just certain things, I didn’t care about. If it’s something that I care about or something I feel like I should speak on, I’m going to speak on that. When I was rapping before, I was rapping prior to me growing up and maturing. I was rapping about the shit that I cared about. I was rapping about the street shit and what was going on in the streets. If I had a problem I would say it and speak on my life. I feel like I’m one of the voices in Chicago that represent my city. So, you gotta be like that and not afraid to let people know how you feel. You have to let people know the real you. I’m big on that, letting my fans know my personality besides all the rap [stuff] and the pain that I’ve been through. I like to smile, laugh and have fun. I’m a big thinker, so I think about what’s going on around me and what’s going on in the world. Anything that I can speak on and make a difference just to help other people or clear something up, that’s what I’m going to do. That’s just how I am.

I know you kind of touched on what you’re talking about on Ballin Like I’m Kobe, but with your future music, is that something you’ll continue to do?

I mean I grow as I do more and see more compared to when I first started rapping. I’ve grown tremendously since then and I’m going to continue to the further I go in my career, the more I see shit and experience shit. The more I learn, of course my music is going to grow but I still want to stay the same. I want to stick to my core fanbase. I still want to talk about my life and what I’ve been through even if I’m not struggling anymore. Even if it was possible for me to live a life stress free, I would still talk about what I’ve been through and what it took to be living the type of lifestyle that I’m living. It’s just a matter of me seeing more and doing more. You’re going to be able to tell what I got going on. I rap about my life and I don’t sugar code shit.

Do you feel more rappers from the city of Chicago need to be more vocal about what’s going on there?

Yea, because we can make a big difference. We influence the people where a lot of the trouble is coming from. We have a big influence on that. So, yea I do feel like a lot of people in Chicago should voice their opinion more. There’s more to Chicago than what people see. It’s not just that everybody wants to be gangsters and kill. It’s certain shit that you go through and it makes you what you are. I say that a lot. I feel like if people would even just voice their opinion a little bit... I’m the type, I came up playing basketball so I’m real big on kids who play sports. If you’re good at it, I’m going to cling on to you. I’m going to come to games and all that. That’s the type of person I am. I’m going to tell kids if that’s what you want to do, just stick to it and focus on it. I wasn’t focused on what I wanted to do and that’s how I ended up doing other shit. God just really blessed me with the rap shit. It came out of nowhere. I was focused on being in the streets and other shit that didn’t really matter. As a kid, you think [the street stuff] is the stuff that matters but it’s not what matters. I feel like if there’s any rappers in the city that do feel like me, they should voice that because it means something. When kids look up to you and they know what you went through and you’re really trying to preach something else for them to not have to go through what you went through, it means something to them.

The other day when Spike Lee’s Chiraq trailer dropped, it seems like all the Chicago rappers were going off. What were your thoughts on it?

I just saw the trailer today. I don’t really respect it now that I’ve seen it and I know what it’s about. I don’t fuck with it at all because I feel like they’re making our story and what we go through a gimmick or a joke. First of all, Nick Cannon is not even from Chicago. Respect to Nick Cannon but you can’t have people playing or portraying some shit that came from real life situations and shit that people really went through. I feel like they’re making fun of our story. When I saw the trailer, they got guns and they’re just shooting them in the air and [doing] all this shit that doesn’t mean nothing. It has nothing that has to do with Chicago. They’re not talking about all the families and the kids who passed away or the murder victims. It’s a musical almost and they’re making fun of our story and what we got going on. I don’t respect that at all. If you’re going to do something in Chicago, it should be to make a difference and to put a magnifying glass on what’s going on. Go touch those families and get real stories from people still in the struggle and going through the everyday life in the struggle. They’re not doing that with that movie. Yea, if you’re from Chicago, it would make you feel a certain type of way because it’s serious. This is for the youth, the people who are watching. The older people are going to look at the movie and not take anything bad, but the younger people in the streets are going to take it as a joke. It’s a joke, a real joke. They’re naming it Chiraq just for people to tune into it and sell tickets. Then they are going to go about their business and the problem in Chicago is still going to be going on. So, as far as the whole Chiraq thing, I don’t respect it at all. The whole concept doesn’t make any sense. It has nothing to do with Chicago violence at all.

It’s like go back to the drawing board?

Seriously, that’s some bullshit. I saw it less than an hour ago and it really made me mad. I stopped watching it in the middle of it because it doesn’t have anything to do with Chicago violence. If I was to make a movie, [the violence] would be what it’s about, not for attention or sales. It would be about the real problem and you would hear about the real families on why it’s like that and why people are killing. It’s not just cause somebody handed us guns and we want to go out to shoot and kill. It’s certain situations that you been through that made you what you are. People lost their loved ones. They’re never going to see them again and that’s all they got. They don’t resort to nothing but the streets and you’ve got to protect yourself. At a certain point, when you’re in fear of your life and you’ve got to protect yourself and people are trying to kill you for shit that doesn’t really mean nothing. A life can’t get replaced but the shit that [the beef] is really over can get replaced. I lost a lot of loved ones. That’s why I think a certain way. I have no remorse or sympathy in the streets. I lost all the sympathy or remorse that I can possibly have. That’s why I tell the youth to stay on the right path because the shit that I’ve been through, I’ll never think the same. At a certain point, I’m going to protect my life. I don’t know if it’s good to say I value my life over anyone else’s. To what’s going on in Chicago, I value my life over that so I’m going to protect my life and react to situations however as far as the whole Chicago shit. Chiraq isn’t putting a message out to the kids and letting them know it’s a reason why this shit is going on in Chicago.

I was talking to Lil Durk awhile back and he was saying that he has to be strategic about how he moves back in Chicago and almost has to stay out of the city. Do you you have that same issue?

Yea, that’s why I’m saying the way you think and react to certain situations, you have to be strategic about how you move in the city. I don’t let nobody know my actions or my movements anyways. Even if I’m in the city and the whole Instagram knows, there’s a certain way that I move. In all honesty, my music is the truth. That’s just the way I move. I expect the worst to prevent it from happening. I’m not saying when I leave the house everyday and I have a gun on me that I’m going to have to use it or everybody will know that I have it, but in the wrong situation or if something was to happen and I don’t have it; what am I to do? Those are the types of situations that really happen in Chicago and that you have to think about. There’s people that don’t know me or don’t know Durk but would love to do something to us. That’s what’s going on in Chicago. A lot of people ain’t been through what we been through and lost real loved ones. There are people who are seeking a name and what credit in the streets. That’s the type of shit that don’t mean nothing. You have to be strategic. You don’t even have to be a celebrity. If you’re in the streets and you know what’s going on, you have to be strategic. You have to use your head and really think about the future. Growing up in Chicago, you have to be like that. In LA, I just hop out the shower, leave the crib and go wherever.

You’ll be out of your city for a while as you’re about to headline your first tour. You must be excited?

It’s my first tour. I’m real excited. I go on tour Dec. 2. I’m real excited though, just to touch my fans, who I am and who really know what I’m capable of doing. That’s the whole matter of my tour. Just to show love and show them that I appreciate them too. I’m also going to be doing shit that I haven’t before like giving out merch. I’m excited to be on the tour.

 I know you have also mentioned that you were working on your debut album, what can we expect from you over the next year?

Over the next year my fans and everybody else can expect a lot of content. More tours, more videos, more interviews and more projects; really just marketing myself and pushing myself to another level. In the next year, my company 150 Dream Team, I’m going to have my homies under that and be pushing that. It’s just a matter of moving like the labels do but independently. It’s going to be looking like I just signed to a major.