Moneybagg Yo Draws Songs on His ’43va Heartless’ Project

It takes time to gain momentum and to get respect for your craft. For Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo, he's put the time in and has surely arrived as one of the more respected names in street rap. With his latest 14-song project, 43va Heartless, out now, Moneybagg swung by the XXL and got a little artsy, drawing some of the songs featured on the effort for our Masterpiece series.

The first song Moneybagg Yo decides to highlight is "Drais," produced by Drum God and D-Mac. "Me and Blac Youngsta, I think we was in Miami doing a show together, and Gotti had hit us," Moneybagg explains of how the song came together. After that, Yo Gotti sent a plane to scoop up the two friends and labelmates and bring them to Las Vegas, where the well-known club Drais is located. To set the scene, ’Bagg draws the outside of the club, complete with palm trees. While Blac Youngsta doesn't appear on the song, he was in the studio during the process and actually shows up on the song "Blac Money," also featured on 43va Heartless.

’Bagg called on fellow down South rapper Gunna to give an assist on the project too. "It's like a swag song," he shares. "So, I'll kinda draw a T-shirt or somethin'." The 27-year-old rapper starts the illustration off by drawing a Dior tee, then adding some details. "I used to be able to draw when I was in like, the seventh, eighth grade. I got a little rusty when I started rappin'."

As for how he linked up with Gunna for the track, the two hit Texas to record. "We was in Dallas, Texas, just vibin out," Moneybagg reveals. "He came up with the chorus. We actually were in the studio together." An XXL Masterpiece of Moneybagg Yo's 43va Heartless project wouldn't be complete without him drawing Gunna, Cartier frames and dreads included.

Later in the video, ’Bagg draws "Toxic," his song about the darker side of dating. "I'll draw like a man and a woman because it's really explaining a toxic relationship," he says. "Everybody in the world go through that...It's real life, this what goes on." Using a green marker, he draws the frowning couple.

43va Heartless serves as the final installment of Moneybagg Yo's Heartless series, following 2017's Heartless and 2018's 2 Heartless.

"This the last Heartless," he confirms. "This the last of the series. The first Heartless, that really broke me to the whole world. The whole world got on me off that. I had projects before that but they really got on me because of the Heartless series. Once I seen the world like draw to that, I was like OK, I gotta keep going with it. Then I made 2 Heartless. Reason why it's name 43va Heartless, because, of course, it's the last one and I'm letting them know I'm forever like this. As you can see, this supposed to be a three, but it's turned the other way. It's the third version of 43va Hearltess and it's the last one." Expect "pain music," as Moneybagg calls it, as well as turn-up records on this final effort in the series.

Catch the rest of Moneybagg's drawings, including a quick self-portrait, in the video at the top of the post.

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