No Jumper - Star Bandz on Her Chicago Upbringing, Why She Doesn't Swear, Lil Durk, J Mane & More

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

Star Bandz talks about writing her first songs, performing with Durk, and more! ----- Shout out to all our members who make this content possible, sign up for only $5 a month    / @nojumper   Promote Your Music with No Jumper - https://nojumper.com/pages/promo CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE STORE!!! https://nojumper.com NO JUMPER PATREON   / nojumper   CHECK OUT OUR NEW SPOTIFY PLAYLIST https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5te... Follow us on SNAPCHAT   / 4874336901   Follow us on SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4z4yCTj... iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/n... Follow us on Social Media:   / 4874336901    / nojumper    / nojumper    / nojumper    / nojumper   JOIN THE DISCORD:   / discord   Follow Adam22:   / adam22    / adam22    / adam22   adam22bro on Snapchat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No jumper. Coolest podcast in the world. You know, I'm in here today with my man, Remo, and I'm very excited that we're having a conversation with one of the most promising up-and-coming talents exploding out of Chicago over the last year or so, I guess, star bands is in the building. What's up?

How you doing? Good. How you doing? Excellent. I mean, honestly, we interviewed so many kind of, like, older, more dangerous, crustier in some situations, people from Chicago. So it feels like this is, you know, an important link up.

Yeah. Because you've been killing it and you're not really relying on a lot of the stuff that a lot of people have used over the years to blow up out of Chicago. Yeah. Definitely. And I just got to meet your dad too. So it's a family of a fair in here, yeah. Yeah.

And cool people of it have. So how do you get your name? My name's Star. That's my first name. Then, like, shoot. Bands, that's just I like money. So I put Bands. It came from an Instagram name though.

So I haven't made an Instagram and I just put Stuy Bands. I never changed it. Then I just start rapping and I just kept the name now. Did you ever ask your parents why they named you star? No, but anytime it gets brought up, my mama said she always knew I was going to be a star. See, that's what I was thinking. Yeah, like I don't feel like you don't name your daughter's star unless you really want her to believe that she could do anything with her life. Exactly.

Yeah, for sure. Okay, and so what part of Chicago do you grew up in? The South Suburbs, I'm from Salt Village, Illinois. Okay, for sure. And what was it like growing up out there? Was it pretty chill or did you see a bunch of crazy stuff at a young age? I can't say that. But other than that, everything else turned growing up out there for real parties, all type of stuff.

But it was turned, though. I mean, yeah, though, that's how I can say. That's how I want to say. I mean, a lot of people tell us that the suburbs in Chicago are. pretty wild in their own right. Yeah, for sure. Things go on out there, just like the city. Definitely.

Yeah. But what kind of kid were you in school, elementary school and everything like that? Were you pretty focused on school and stuff? Or were you not? No, I went to school. I did my work. I was never one of those kids who would be disrespectful

to the teachers, though. Like, I never understood that. Like, why are you going to school to be bad? Like, just to your work. It's chill. Like, kids be tweaking right now. have been that type of kid, though. Right.

I feel that's like the difference between boys and girls. When I talk to parents a lot of times, they're like the girls tend to just kind of fall in line and the boys always want to be rebels. Yeah, it'd be like that, though. But you don't know what people got going on at home neither to why they act like that, so.

So are you still going to school right now, even with rap? I do online. Yeah, I don't go in personal move. So was it the thing where your songs started taking off? You're like, I can't keep showing up. Yeah, no, I wasn't even like that. Originally, last year, I blew up around April. And I was still in school, but then I started getting full out, labels flam me out.

So the end of the school, yeah, I'm really not in school because I'm flying out meeting labels and stuff. And I think I went to school for like the last week to do my finals. But after that, I couldn't go back to school because I'm so busy now. I was saying to a label. I got to go out of town. I got to work. So it was just, it didn't make sense. But even before you just became so busy, was it just kind of disruptive to be in school when your music was doing so good?

Like all of a sudden, everybody wants to talk to you and about you. you. No, to be honest, like, because I had a little buzzed at the crib and all that. So, like, kids would say hate me. Like, people want to be my friends, but it wasn't too big. It wasn't too bad. And I'm like that. And school wasn't really in the way I would say, but I can't say I wasn't really writing why I was in school or making music for real. But I was like, yeah, yeah, when that blew up, I was writing that during the school year, but it took me like a month to write the song. And I was in sports at school, too. So I got to go to basketball, I'll practice.

at the school. I'm tired when I get home. So I really don't got time to write no music. So it was kind of in the way, but it was still cool, though. When did you start really working on music? Like, when was the first time you actually made a song or got in the studio? When I was 11, I went to the studio to wrap my favorite song. I had wrapped a young boy song just to get the feel of the studio.

And then I had fun with it. And right after that, it was quarantine. And I was in a career board. And I had turned 12 at that time. And the guy who took me to the studio is my mom and my homie. He had seen an Emmy though. That's why I went to the studio in the beginning because he wanted me to get the field at the studio.

And I was in a crib board when I was 12. And I wrote a song, told him to come over, listen to it. And then that's how I got into it. Then I went to the studio. He took him to the studio like a few days later. And I just kept doing it ever since. Did you, was that always your dream, though, even when you were younger? Because I remember being a little kid and, like, picturing my head, like, how cool it would be

to be a rapper or to sing for a band? band or whatever and just like really being able to picture it but also having no clue what I would have to actually do to make any of that happen like like was this basically you kind of fulfilling a dream that you already had like I can't say I did want to be a singer I never really thought I would be a rapper I used to sing growing up that's what I used to do but I never used to rap but my mama homie he influenced me to do it like he's seen it in me because my mama she used to post me rapist songs when I was little like fat years old rapping Chief Keith in the car.

Yeah. So like people seeing that, they like, you know, she'll start this, this, and that. And I used to dance. That's when I used to have a little bopping going on in Chicago, all that. So she was supposed to be doing all that. And he's seen it in me. That's why he took me to the studio. So he really encouraged me to do it. But I never wanted to really make music.

But it just happened. I assume people might think that your parents kind of like are, like, that they're basically like controlling your career. or like, were they in any way did your parents kind of push you to make music when you were younger? Because I feel like some people might kind of assume that but you're saying that's not really the case.

No, they didn't push me to do it at all. I did it because I wanted to do it. Yeah. Because when I was little, I used to always think, like, what do I want to do? Like, my brother, he always used to play basketball. Like, he still played basketball to this day. He always knew what he wanted to do.

But it took me a minute to find out. Like, I wasn't really in sports. Like, I did basketball at school because, the basketball coaches knew who my brother was, and I left. So they would want me to be on the team on the girls' basketball team. So I was really trying to discover what I wanted to do,

and then rapping just fell in line with everything, for real. That's awesome. How long have you to take you to, like, master rapper? You said you went to the studio, you did the young boy song, and then you started going regularly. Yeah, I didn't really master it. It took me a while because, like, when I was, start to write music when I was 12, I didn't take it serious.

I didn't call myself a rapper. just did it when I was bored. And the day that I went to the studio to write, to rap my first song that I wrote, the same day I came back, I wrote me a whole song that same night. Like a whole song, it was like three minutes long. I wrote the whole song because I was so locked in with it. But I think it took me till I was like 14 to really lock in and call myself a rapper and just start going there for real, taking it real serious.

Yeah. Definitely. What's the recording process like? Clunching in or... No, I write. Yeah, I write. Some people like go out there down. Yeah.

So you're in there with the rhymes, like reading it. Yeah. I come up with the... Yeah, I do like how I do it at home. I just go in the booth and write. Then I tell the internet go back. Play the meeting again. So you don't record in the crib?

You just like write verses and then... Yeah, I used to write at home, but now I write when I go to the studio. That way, when I'm at home, I get everything done that I got to get done when I'm at home, but when I'm in the studio, that's time for that. You know what I'm saying?

Right. I was arguing in the studio a lot. A lot. Yeah, obviously, I'm 10. Is that because the label, like, really wants you to, or is that just because that's the main thing that you want to do with your time? It's both.

That's what I do. I rap. So you're having fun anyway. Yeah, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Because a lot of people, like, in the rap game, will tell you that they don't really care about rapping like that, but this is just how they're getting money right now. And then you have other people where rapping is like their passion.

Like this is their craft. This is what they want to be great at, etc. Yeah. You're saying that you care about the actual art form of rapping. Yeah, I like to do it. It's fun. I like, yeah. Like, I can't say I get tired of drill sometimes, so I go over to a different flow.

Like, I always switch to topics. Like, I love different beats, all type of stuff because I listen to all type of music. And I grew up listening to all type of music. So I know a lot of different music genres So I could do whatever to any beat that's rock Did you feel like you were a drill rapper when you started? Because you kind of rap with like a drill flow And you say little things that sort of remind me of drill rappers

But then at the same time you're not swearing You're not talking about any like actual real negativity Or anything like that So what's your perspective on that? I didn't ever want to say I'm a drill rapper But I could put myself in that category a little bit but I feel like I do my own thing at the same time. I just, the only way you call it a drill song is being aggressive

while you're rapping and talking stuff. But you could do that on a regular rap beat too. You could talk your stuff on a regular rap beat, but the drill beat, it'd go fast. You just got to write. Did you always know that you didn't want to swear in your music or was that your parents telling you not too early on or something like that? No, really, it's kind of dad.

But like when I said I had the young boy song at the studio, he was cussing in the song. But I just didn't feel comfortable. doing that. I was 11. It's adults in the studio with me. It was like two adults in there. And then I just didn't feel comfortable doing that. And then I want to take the song back home and have my mama listen to it and my grandma.

And that was saying her crazy. I'm saying her cussing on the song. Yeah, like, you know, it doesn't make you look at you. Like you crazy, especially if you were 11 years old and a girl. Now, boy doing it, it's kind of different. But like a girl in my age, you know. But still, like, we look at the little, like, 12-year-old rapper kids who are, like, swearing and smoking and doing all this bad stuff and like especially as you get older it's just like

bro this is messed up exactly there's something really foul yeah you just got to look at i'll be big on the image i just i'll be watching on that though sometimes i ain't gonna laugh because people look at you like you crazy you think it's harder since you're not cussing and stuff because you know i seen you do a song record they do it and they're all like cussing and then meanwhile you're not so like you feel like it's harder sometimes no i don't even be hard because that's just how rap so that don't be a challenge to me i ain't gonna lie I feel like music is all about the flow for real. Long as you flow hard, you got a good wordplay, that's really all that matter.

Because my daughter is four, and I'm always excited, like, when I see a video of, like, a young, like, skateboarder girl or, you know, whatever. Like, I just love to show her that kind of stuff to be, like, look, like, you might see dad watching videos of dudes most of the time, but, like, you can do it too. And when I saw your stuff, I was like, and especially with the no swearing because my wife is crazy about us not, like, presenting anything with performance. vanity in it to her and everything like that. And the realization that like, oh, I can just play star bands music in front of my kid and she'll just be hyped on it and I don't have anything to worry about. Because even like Sabrina Carpenter and, you know, Olivia Rodriguez, et cetera, like they do kind of swear like enough that my kid will notice and start repeating it.

So it kind of becomes a problem. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. But that's one thing. But then it'd be what you talk about too while you're doing it. That's another thing too. because I was listening to you

did a song with a baby face E that was called No Profanity Yeah And he didn't use any profanity But he was kind of like talking about like very adult subject matter without using any profanity And I was like I almost feel like this is kind of going against the purpose of the no profanity theme

Yeah But I don't know I tell what should I say Yeah for real For sure with Babyface E and one of the teams I see they you got multiple songs with them. Yeah, we just like getting locked them. Me and one of two, we made a song last year, last summer.

And then he had came to Chicago. They sent me a verse, and then he came to Chicago, we shot the video downtown. That's when we all had first met. He brought his people with him. I had my people with me. And it was just good vibes. Like, Detroit, they got good vibes out there. Me and Babyface E, we just locked in, like, a few months ago.

So, yeah, but they both cool. I rock a both for them, no cap. No, definitely. I love that you got a V's on that, yeah, yeah, remix too. Yeah.

He killed it. And I, I, it felt like he really co-signed you in that, too. Like, he said you were, like, the biggest MVP or biggest upcoming artist or something.

Yeah. I had, that's why I had, on him on the remakes, because when me and went up to, he dropped our song last summer, he was in the comments, and he was like,

you were my favorite rapper. He had told him, I was his favorite rapper. I'm like, I was, Yeah, especially coming from just blowing up. You see everybody rock with you getting out of these coshen. I was like, yeah.

It was tough. What was your favorite cosine that you got so far? That's, what you know? Herb. Mm, let's see. I think Polo G said my name before too. Him, JT. There's a lot of people. It's a lot of people. Herb tap in.

Herb, when did I meet Herb? I met Herb, like, last year, like May or June. but I just know we follow each other but then I had met him through this label and stuff like that that I was trying to send me and they was cool people over there but he had said my name in an interview

they had asked like who was the hottest people young as growing up in Chicago he had said my name but yeah that's dumb because a lot of like more established artists like Herb like they don't really want to co-sign some random dude that they don't have any kind of connection to but I feel like people like him V's. They're looking at you and they're seeing you being like super genuine

and positive and talented and they just want to get behind it, you know? Yeah. That's amazing. Um, some rappers that you were in the phone was about, like, who were you looking at? Before you started rapping, you were like, all right, I could do this too. Young boy. For sure.

And then, what girl rappers, I don't know. To say that, I don't know, I'm laughing. Like, baby Kaylee, I grew up listening to baby Kay's when I was little. She was like, I wonder if y'all right don't know what she's from? No, she's from. Nah, I don't know what she's from.

But she used to be like a little fat girl. She used to make music. And I was like four listening to her. Yeah, like she used to make music and I would try to do it or just sing songs. I don't know. I just, I just did it. Like when you say you love young boy, it's like, are you like, especially when you were younger, are you just a fan of the music or are you watching the little like YouTube videos about the beef and everything like that?

or do you just stay focused on the music and you don't really care about all that. I don't too much care about it, but I'm sure everybody tuned in to all that stuff. Because that's, like, interesting. You want to know what's kind of going on. But I don't really care about that. I really rock with his music, though. I ain't going to lie. And, like, other people from the city, too, like, Derek, Her, Chief Keith, Queen Key,

like, people who made music from the city. So, yeah. No, definitely. That's just, I wonder that sometimes because there's a lot of artists that I grew up listening to that when I read stuff about them now, I'm like, oh, I was completely oblivious when I was a little kid about what they were actually talking about or what kind of drama they had going on. Exactly. Yeah, it's like, you know, ultimately the music is the important part, yeah. Yeah.

Definitely. How did you and Rukai get a song? I didn't know he rap. You made him do his first song or? No, he had made up. No, look, I had went on stream with him like two days before we did the second stream and we had made a song. but when we was in the first day when we had did the stream he had said something about

now he played a song it was him and Wes Califa his first song was a Wiz Khalifa oh that's crazy your first song Wes Califa that's that's right and then he had said something about making a song I got my Aunt Janette with me right now we can make a song right now it da-da-da-da-da-it.

It was like we can go to the studio because I was supposed to go to the studio out there was something like that but I guess their stuff was I don't know. It wasn't going this plan. So we had came back like two days later. And then my engineer, we had all the stuff, all the equipment.

And we just did it like that. And you were ready to just hop in the studio and make a song? Or do you kind of need some time to write your verse once you were the beat? No, I was ready. I was just there. And I didn't take it too serious. So I was just saying whatever came up to my man. You filmed the video on stream?

Yeah, we was on stream. Yeah. We did everything on stream. We made the song on stream. And we shot the video on that. That's shame. That's dope. How do you feel about, like, streaming culture and, like, all the streamers and...

I think it's cool. I think it's cool. I rock with it. I ain't gonna lie. I ain't gonna lie. I don't know. It's kind of surprising, almost, the extent to which, like, rappers are now just completely embedded in that world, whereas, like, five, five, four years ago, it wasn't

really like that. Yeah. Times do change. I ain't gonna lie. It's a lot. Now, you gotta do content now. Like, rappers back then really didn't have to do all that. They just drop music.

Yeah, probably going to tune in. But now, it's a lot. Like people attention, spend, shirt, you got to do content. You got to stare at their face now. Like, man, you could just drop a music video. Yeah, everybody's going to tune in. Definitely. Do you think you would have blown up at such a young age if it wasn't for COVID?

Like, that kind of opened the door for you to have enough time to actually make a lot of music and stuff? I think I had to take my time with it. So, I don't know. I don't think I would have blew up at that time, though. Because I didn't even start posting my music till, like, 2021. And I started making music. 2020. I start posting my music for my music, 2021. I dropped my first

sound in a good 22. So I wasn't really dropping nothing, posted trillers, really I wasn't really doing none of that. What was the first time you dropped? What was it? It was called no hook. I had dropped it because I made a trailer and I had dropped it on my birthday and everybody was going crazy. I got my first thousand likes and I had like 700 followers at the time.

And I think I had got like 2,000 followers after that. But I had literally just the first time I made a trailer. I was like, I just wanted to tell and that was my birthday. And I was having a birthday party like two days later. And we had a cameraman coming anyway to film the party. We wasn't even going to shoot a music video. But everybody was going crazy.

And then they seen my party flyer. And it was at the Skater Ring. They seen my party flyer on my page after everybody liking it. All the Chicago blogs was posting me and everything. So when my birthday party came up like two days later, it was over deep enough. And I had shot me. I mean, I didn't shoot nothing. I had performed like two of my songs that wasn't out.

And then I had performed. not specific song, no hook. And everybody on the flow, they came out on the flow I was performing on the skating rink. Everybody came out running and they just crowded around. He was all rapping the song.

And I had dropped the video because everybody in the video my first song, I got a thousand views on it. That's hard. I ain't gonna lie. Because some people did have like 100 just trying to do it. So my first song got dropped

I had a thousand views. Yeah. And then how far or how soon after the label started reaching out? What song? That's on the radar with the label on? I'm talking about.

Yeah, yeah. Now, that song specifically, was the one that got the label. Yeah. Yeah. It took me a minute. I was grinding, for real. I was taking my time,

you know, perfecting my craft and all that. So it just happened. I was granted. Because the, yeah, yeah, song you wrote for on the radar? Yeah. All right, so break that story now.

Yeah, how did you get tapped in with them? Um, I didn't even get tapped in with them for real. I just remember them following me in the beginning. I'm not, it was like the end of 2023. I was starting school, my sophomore year.

I was starting my sophomore year, and they had followed me, and it was crazy because I was in class one day. And like, like I said, a lot of people in the school knew I wrapped and stuff like that. So I was in class, and this dude, he was like,

you should go on a radar. I was that. Then, like, a week later, they followed me. And then I had, I was like, yeah. And then that's when I seen everybody on that, like Drake was on there and all that. And at that time, when they first started coming out, everybody who was going on the radar going viral.

So I was like, yeah. And then my mama had told me she was like, for your birthday, we're going to try to go to New York and you could do it on the radar. And I was like, okay, back. So I was on YouTube scrolling, found me a beat. That was, yeah, yeah. I had found me that beat. And I just started writing to it as soon as it came on. But it took me like a month to write it.

But I had reached out to On the Radar too, but they never hit me back. So I just left alone. And then I had a birthday party for my birthday. So I just recorded the song like two days before my party Posted a trailer the day before my party And then I shot the video at my party So that's just how it happened And then they saw the video and tapped in

Yeah, but I had wanted to make sure the song was hard That way If I did go on the radar, it would go viral Because everybody goes viral on the radar So I had just put my outlet to that song And then I dropped it on my birthday And it just went viral As soon as I posted it, it was crazy.

I ain't going. Is that the long as you ever took on the song? You said you wrote it for a whole month? Not really. I don't know. I ain't go lie. I'd be saying, come on. I would do what I feel right.

I got to just be in the move for her. So every time I'm in the mood to write, I write. That's how I used to do it. You knew that one. So you're like, I got to perfect this one. Yeah, I ain't going to laugh. Yeah. And at that time, like, I would be writing, like,

three songs at one time. I'd be like, I'm tired of writing this song for the tone on this other beat. Write this song. I'm tired of this one. I'm tired of this one for right that one. That's how I used to do it. But yeah, I knew the song was hard, though. Yeah, I start rapping it to everybody when they come around.

Hey, listen to this song, I wrote. So your management also manages a couple of other rappers that we see you with. Is that, do you tap in with them before the label? What are the artists? Well, actually, I don't even know 100%, but somebody told me that you had the same management as D.D. Osama and stuff, or is that not true? Oh, okay. No, that's not true.

I've been with my management, though, like, for like a year going on, too. Okay. But, like, other than that, like, my mama, she's my manager, too. My step did he help out. Everybody play a role. And then my manager, he was my ANR at first.

And when I got sand, that's when we started calling him my manager. But then my mom, he's like my co-manager, my mom, she's my manager, manager. Okay. And so having your parents be a big part of it, does that feel, like, natural to you? Or is there ever times where you're like, God,

Like I wish that I was traveling and doing all this stuff without my parents around. Like, what's your relationship like? No, it's not even that bad because they're cool. And, no, I don't really be doing much anyway. I just hit a rap and get where I'm trying to go. So, you know, it's not like I'd be trying to go out and party and they be like, no, you can't go. Like, wherever I go, they're going to slap with me. And they don't be on my heels for real.

And I don't be really doing much for real. But I rock with it, though, because a lot of people get in the industry and they'll just meet a random person who want to be manager and they might be trying to you know be on some whole other different type of time and so we've seen that a million times exactly so I'm just glad my team genuine you know and everybody know each other we all you know what I'm saying

like we ain't no random people yeah everybody there seems like because I was talking people I'm saying everybody there for you exactly trying to get something out of it exactly it's all genuine we family so and as a dad though you always kind of think that at some point your kid is going to turn 16 17 18 whatever it is

decide. They don't like you anymore and that they just like, you know, want to rebel and do their own thing or whatever. But then I also assume that if you're good enough at fostering your kids' creativity or helping them in whatever kind of journey they're on, that your kid's going to see you as an ally and not somebody that they kind of have to like defeat to make it in this world. Exactly. Yeah, I don't feel like that at all. I ain't going to lie. It's all genuine. Yeah. They believe in me, feel me. And I got where I'm at. So it's not even like, um, not going to school and I'm not popping and I'm just trying to do something. You know, it's actually working out.

So they believe in me and all that. They've been supporting me since they want. Is it ever hard to like take yourself away from, you know, traveling around or being in the studio to just focus on doing your schoolwork and stuff like that? Is that ever a weird balance? Yeah, it is. I ain't going to laugh. I be trying to do it, though.

And I got people who be trying to help me too. Like my sister, she'd be trying to help me. She'd be trying to help me. She'd be trying to help me and all that. she'd be trying to help me in our last. So I'm glad I got people who trying to help me because they understand. Like she understands my time schedule.

Like I could be saying I don't got nothing to do tomorrow and I wake up and they'll be like, you got to go do this tomorrow. And I'd be like, dang, I was going to do some schoolwork. So it do be kind of hard to balance, but I do want to finish school. So I'm going to do it. I do it whenever I can do it. Is online school harder than doing school in real life? I don't think so.

But what I can say is at school, you don't have nothing to do. but your work. So it's different because you could just go there and get your work done. And you got a teacher and everybody on the same thing. But like online, you got to do it when you can. You at home, you can get distracted so easily. And then you're not even working with a class. And you got other stuff to do when you at home.

You at school is way easier because you could go ask a teacher for a question if you need. But also like when you're in school, there's so many other little things that you're dealing with. You're worried about. There's kids bullying each other. There's, you know, I like this boy. This boy likes this girl. Like school is just this crazy fishbowl experiment of just like all these different personalities coming together. Whereas it's like doing the work on your computer.

It's probably hard to like find the time to really just focus on that. But it's also kind of simple in a way without. Exactly. It is simple when you lock in like because I'd be like that too. Like some days I'd be at school. I don't do my work. But you got to do work. And then like every day, like, yeah, I'm from a lock you in a day.

Let me put my headphones on. listen to my music and just do my work. It'd be like that. Everybody got those days, though. Because if you don't need to be that. So it's like pros and cons. I ain't going to lie. Because I could do my work when I want to do my work,

not when I have to do it. You know what I'm saying? I could work at my own pace, but I'm still going to get it done. Yeah. How often do you come to California? Is this a first time out here? No, I came out here.

The last time I was out of here, I don't even remember. I ain't going to lie. It had to be like before November, though. So this is my first time back this. yeah. What do you got playing while you're out here? I had a show last night.

We had started our tour. We're on a new wave tour right now with Didio Osama and Shikil D.Di. Today, yesterday was the first day of the tour. Yeah. Hell yeah. What's that like opening up for them? It's turned. I rocked with it.

I like, the kids was lit, though. I ain't going to like. It was turned up. It was turned up. Was it nerve-wracking the first time you had to go out in front of a big audience, especially when like the audience might primarily be there for the other artists? and you're kind of like on the bottom of the bill? We was all on the tour.

So they was, um, it was kids there for me. Did I and Did he? And then you know we got my baby that song. Yeah, but you know that song. So we said that song. So did you guys just,

you just went in the studio and made that song? Or did somebody help you out with a hook and stuff like that? Because that song sounds like super professional and like really, really catchy. His part, it was, he had it out already. I have done.

remakes like a year later and he had they had sent me the verse and then one day I was at the studio it had took me a second at first because I was like I never hopped on no song like this never made a song like this in my life but the day that I went to the studio to do the song

I had told the engineer to mute my mic so can't nobody hit me so I can't really like yeah I don't feel nervous and nothing like that so yeah I just went in the booth for my song and I didn't want to sound like I dated him and I last so before I did go in the booth me and everybody we had like kind of brainstorm how I was going to come on the song so I'm almost

started talking about like other old school songs like they'll sound like they're trying to reject the dude so when I went in the booth I just did my own thing everything was natural I wrote it out by myself my whole verse that's got to be awkward that everybody just assumes that you're dating anyone you do a song with probably right yeah it is but you know people gonna think what they want to think man you're already kind of getting used to that that there's all kinds of rumors and stuff that you don't have anything to do with and you're just like, okay, whatever. Yeah, I don't really care.

I ain't gonna laugh. I don't really care. Because I know what I know. People are gonna think what they want to think. You were dating sugar here and I'm like, I seen it and say she wasn't. Yeah, I'm gonna say that thousands times, but you know the rumor gonna be bigger

than the response. So I just leave stuff alone. Because if you were, you would probably still deny it. Exactly. Just because that's just what people do. It's denied everything. It's a day and age, right?

No, it's funny. how do you know little r t low r t i don't really know him we just met at um this 20 versus two it was a 20 versus two they had both of us be on it and that's just how that went that was crazy so all right i did see a little bit of it so it was it uh you were helping

yeah it was like yeah it was like i popped the balloon or it was something like that like i tell the girl if she's good for him or not then he'd tell the dude if i'm good for if he good for me that's what i was Because wasn't this the one that we were talking about that went viral? Because it's like, why is an 11-year-old doing a 20 versus 1 or whatever? Didn't they try to say that it was trying to find friends?

I always asked parents to you. It was cool. It wasn't really too big for me. It was just kind of like, okay. But do you worry about, like, what is it going to do to your image if you're doing, like, stuff like the 20 versus 1 and the pranks and the live streams and interviews, etc? Or like sometimes I feel like an artist can kind of get put into this like weird name category rather than being viewed as like an artist. Yeah. And it did get to a point that I started seeing like I really don't want to do content no more because I don't want to get put in that box.

Like I really want to be a rapper. So it, but like I said, you got to do a lot more than what you had to do back then. Just they rather than. You got to do some content. Exactly. To show them your personality though. Like you do have to do that because people want to see how you act outside of music. just so they feel like they have a relationship

or they could connect with you because they see what type of person you is. Like you're a funny person, you're a cool person. You know, you're trolling. But then it's also almost like if you give them too much of yourself,

then they are not going to be able to take your music as serious. They're not going to be able to hear you talk about your pain and really process it once they've watched you on a bunch of 20 versus one doing weird, goofy little skits and stuff like that. I feel like that's like a big consideration for artists now. Yeah, that's definitely what I'd be thinking about. I just be trying to be.

be a rapper. But you know, I don't know. But you did tell J-Mayne you wanted to do skits. Yeah, I would do skits though, because that seemed fun. I'd be trying to do skis like, I did like two skits, but if I do a skit, it's to promote me. Like, I did a skit, I had through a birthday party, me and my

friends did a skit to promote the birthday party. And then I did another skit to promote my deluxe to my mix tape. They're the only skits I did. And I was in like a query video, like it ain't nothing wrong with showing up sometimes. You feel for sure because people want to see that and there's other stuff to get posted but I definitely

give it to me when there's too much then it'd be like they put you in that box and you're not going to take you serious like an artist doing interviews is definitely like part of being the artist but when you see an artist who's just seeming like they want to do every interview and they're just constantly doing interviews over and over and over it's just kind of hard for people to necessarily be like oh they got an album out I want to hear what they got to say because I already heard what you got to say over and over you know right definitely um Okay, in terms of female rappers, who do you look at as the ones that have influenced you the most or giving you influence? A lot of.

Because she was in a rap game when she was a shreddy. She's a new school goat. Yeah, and now she, you know, it took a minute, but she was she at now because she started when she was young. That's, that's inspiration for real. Yeah. That's dope. I bet she'll be hyped to hear that. What about, like, you know, Nikki Minaj,

From my perspective, like the most successful female rapper of all time. Yes, Nikki Minaj. Yes, Nikki Minaj, she got some good music. And she's Nikki Minaj and she has a great image. So I went to her concert before. This was like right before I blew up to, that was like, I'm going to be like her one day. I'm like, I'm going to be on a crowd like that. Like, it was filled up in there, like the whole arena was singing her songs.

It was very inspiration. What's the music your mom was listening to? That might have influenced you. She listened to, like, Janette. AI Eco. She listens to a lot of people. A lot of R&B, all that. She listened to a lot of music.

You ever tried to make that kind of music? Yeah. I'd be trying. I want to do a whole lot. That's why I'd be trying to see what I could do. I'd be trying to expand my craft. I'd be getting like a little boy doing the same thing of another again because I'd be like, you know, let me try something new.

I'd do whatever feel right. When I was watching the video with U and V's for a second, you pull out a guitar and then you smashed it, but for a second I was like, oh, what? Like, she's about to play guitar on the song. And I was like, okay, never mind. But is that, like, are you into any other genres of music outside of rap and R&B? I'd be trying to get into, like, just, like, you know, like, how it's sharing is.

Yeah. Yeah, like, stuff like that. Because I grew up listening to that type of stuff. My cousin, he used to play the guitar. And like I said, I used to sing when I was little. So he'll play the guitar. Then I sing like a. Ed Shearing song or Sean Mendez song or

Justin Bieber Like stuff like that So I definitely tell myself I want to learn how to play The guitar Yeah I'm gonna how to do that I think that'll be fun to learn Yeah

So before you signed your deal What other labels were reaching out to? It was a lot It was When you said they were flying out back and forth Yeah it was back and forth What can I? Who can I remember? I met QC in her scope

I made Atlantic Records. I meant a lot. I can't even think about it on top of my head. I met 300. I met a lot of labels. I met a lot. What made you choose the label that you went with? It was a good deal.

And the people was genuine. And I met the teams and all that. And they seemed like good people and people I could connect with and get along with. So I went with them. Yeah. It's like a lot of times it's kind of hard make the decision too, though, because you go meet with these labels and you base your

decision off of who you like the most and who you get along with the most. But the truth is is that some label employees, they might not be there a year from there, et cetera. So you kind of have to make the decision based on like whose business seems like it's the most on point, which is kind of hard to decipher, especially when you're young. Exactly. Especially when you're young, but when you never did it before, too. So you really like, you know, coming from where you come from, this time, you ain't never seen before. So now you're mad kind of. racing, you're like, hold on. What's going on? You got to like observe

everything that's happening because we ain't never seen I like that before. But it was good though. It was good though. I went good. Definitely. Who's better? Cardi beer Nikki Minaj. I like both. There you go. That's a good media training right there. Hell yeah. What was it like performing at Little Dirk's last show?

It was turned. I really loved that I ain't going to laugh. Like, just having dirt. I look at my Instagram dirt hit my line and he's like, I want you to open up for my birthday badge. That's awesome. I always say October 21st, something like that. I'm, what?

Dirt? That's crazy. So I really liked it though. It was turned up in. That was my city. So when I came on the stage of course they knew my music. It was turned up and that was like the biggest arena the first arena I ever performed in all type of stuff.

So it was a new experience. But it was Celebrities there. Who are all you meet behind the stage of you? Who did I meet? Um, I met like the people he'd be with. I met like duty low. That's who I can remember that I met.

I think in LA Chapa, I met him now. Oh, no. No, no, I met him at Big Jam. Um, that's all I can remember.

I don't know if everybody else, like the big people, I didn't even know they was there until they came out after him. When Dirk came out and then all the big people started coming out. Or they came out before him. It was something like that, but I didn't know. know that they was that all.

Like, little baby came out, sexy red. It was a whole lot of rappers. I did not see them backstage, though. I was going to ask you before how nerve-wracking it is just performing live in front of a couple hundred people or whatever, but performing in front of a huge stadium like that. Right. Was that, like, was you sick to your stomach beforehand?

I was kind of nervous, but I be like that, though. But when you get on a stage and you know, when I get on a stage, my song, come on. You just go for it? Yeah, it just be whatever. I just do what I can. to do. Definitely. Yeah. So when you rap about your ops, who are you talking about?

Um, I don't know. Does anyone who's against you? It's not like a specific group of people. Exactly. People hanging on Facebook. Yeah. Is that real? Because I feels like everybody I know is like a big supporter of you and everybody

seems like they want to get behind you and stuff. But does it feel like there is like a group of people out there that are kind of against you just because maybe they grew up around you? and they don't like to see you winning? I don't know. I ain't really too much weird about them, though. Sure. That's a good answer.

I feel it. How you feel about the Chief Keep comparison? You know, you started at 16. Uh-huh. When you're 16, I'll be seeing people in comments. You sound like, all this girl salsa. Yeah, I rock with that, though. That's a good way to put it, too.

I ain't going to lie. Because I grew up listening to Chief Keeps. So it's like, I think a lot of that, though, like, just people who blew up young and still got it gone. That's real inspirational. Just to that just show that you could do it, you know what I'm saying? So I want to show kids that to be a good inspiration on them and a good influence at the same time. What will be your dream feature if you can work with any artists?

Young boy. It's your dream like out of everybody to jump with. What about female artists? Nicky or not or Cardi B or female? I don't know. Lowella. lotto that's really

yeah there's a lot of big artists that's real hard so many like girls popping up these days yeah how would you do it would you want to like be in the studio or you just send the records over like you got songs I feel like I make better songs when it's in person I think I do because we both feel what type of Vab

we on like that's how I was with one of T and baby face E like we in the same studio and we all on the same Vab like I could send you something, but you might not be on that type of that. But when we together, we could just brainstorm what's going to happen. You know, we all feeling the same beat that come on. You're like, yeah, let's hop on the beat.

So the No, profantity song, though, was that like you were in the studio with him? No, that's the first song I got with him. So that song right there, he had sent it over. He had told me he got a song that was for me. But was that like a conversation between you and him like, hey, I don't do music with swearing in it, like beforehand? Or did he just? No, he just sent it to me. We ain't even follow each other at the time.

He just had sent to send me on Instagram. He had texted him on Instagram. He had told me he had a verse from me, and I told him sending through, so I carry it. And then the beat was hard to kind of sound like, yeah, yeah. So it was like a good, you know, but then like no pro-friend dude was all in the studio.

We all picked the same beat. Like, it was just, everything just felt like. Yeah. This song was a little taller? Yeah. So that one of the songs where it was sent in? Yeah, I sent that song through. I sent that song through.

Y'all shot a video too. Yeah, we shot it in. Miami. It was turned. I rocked with it. And it was just in Miami. I don't know. It was cool. What's your favorite cities to travel to now that you can travel and you can travel? I like

Vegas. And I like Miami. I don't know. Vegas is hard. I never went out of business, though. So let me scratch that out of the list. That's kind of funny because she likes Vegas, but you can't really do any of the Vegas things. I don't take interest in all that stuff.

though, if I'm being honest. It's pretty out there. It's hot out of. You could go sysse in. You could walk on a strip. You could still see everything that everybody else see. They got like wax museums out there. That's really route to me how they do that because it looked like a person for real.

That's crazy. That's so dope. But honestly, like gambling, huge waste of your time. Yeah. Drinking, huge waste of your time. The further you stay away from all that stuff, the better your life. Yeah, I was just thinking about the day. I'm gambling, bro.

You're gambling your money, bro. like you might not even make it back and what is your point of doing that? No you are not like in the long run you are not going to make it back because every single game in the casino is set for them to have a big ass big butt advantage the big advantage

where they like they want you they're not like they don't run this huge operation to just like kind of maybe win a little bit you know it's set so that they win in the long run and it's just like a huge waste of time that I see people get into you know. Yeah definitely. Definitely.

But okay, the J-Maine connection. What was it like doing an interview with him and stuff? Was it weird meeting him after I assume you had seen him all over the internet for years? No, I wasn't weird. It was just like, I don't know. That just had me though now because I was just watching this person on YouTube. Now, they're in my face and they know exactly who I am. But other than that was all cool that.

We had, me, my team and him, we had went to go get some food after the interview too. We had went to the soul food restaurant. We were just sitting out there chopping it up and stuff like that. But it was a cool interview. Yeah. That's dope. You don't get starshrking around anybody? No, not really.

Uh-uh. Nothing I could think of. But when I'm around, people know that I never met before and I know who they are. I just be sitting back chilling at first. Like, some people, they don't. Some people be like, hype and stuff and be like, what's up? I say what's up, but I chill. Because, you know, I don't be doing too much.

But, like, once I get used to people of being around people, it could be anybody. Then I start. You know, yeah. Definitely. What, um, like, are you famous enough at this point that you are careful about how you're moving around? It doesn't not really feel like that yet. It don't really feel like that yet. I still going to the mall by myself.

I ain't going to laugh. But I picked the right time, though. And I put on a mask or something if I need to slat to the mall real quick. I put on a mask or I'll go to the mall when they're fresh open up and I'm taking notes if you'd be at the mall. Don't me try and look at me. No, that's real. Because, like, I'd be going on the mall like it's super normal. And then recently, like, we had to go to the mall

on like a Friday night. And it was definitely a different vibe. I was like, there's way more no jumper fans in this place right now. Yeah, be like that. Then it'll be people who notice you. They don't say nothing. They want something.

One person says something that everybody's going to come like, yes. I'd be like, bro, let me get out of it. It'd be like that, though. It's just happy. Definitely. So, what's your Chicago? This is normally a question of Remo asked.

I'll just, I'll let you do it. What should Chicago not have to put three, well, four to five people on there, like, best artists to ever come out of Chicago. Dirt. Herp, Polo G, and two key. That's a solid four. Okay. Especially for your generation. You know, Kanye feels like a very long time ago.

Yeah, back down, bro. He's had a few weird career twists and turns since then. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely. Okay, so where do you see, like, what do you see yourself as needing to do to get your career to the next level? Like, do you feel like you're kind of chasing a big record or from your perspective, you're just getting the studio and just see what happens? I be trying to, I noticed every song that I got that's a big song.

I didn't overthink it or track too hard on it, you know? So it was just having fun, being myself and not really thinking too hard on the songs to be like, I want this to be a hit. I want this bit hit. But I make songs. I don't just be making songs and they be sounding bad, but I do what feels right. So I don't be trying too hard, but right now I want to make a hit album or something.

Like, that's really something on my list. I really want to do that. But make some big songs, too. I want to get, like, um, plaques and stuff like that. I want to do out of that. Some trophies. What you're dropping an album? I'm going to drop an album in summer.

Yeah. Not yet. I'm still thinking about it. Any features? Um, We're getting now. We get now. Yeah, we're working on it.

Last night, I added, yeah, yeah, yeah. And, or yeah, yeah, and four deep to the playlist. Yeah. In part because I really want to play them from my kid next time I see her. But in general, they made it to my actual playlist, which is very rare that I interview somebody where the songs make it to the playlist. I ain't going to laugh. Foh deep.

Like, what are my favorite songs I got out. That was my favorite song. Like, as soon as I made it at the studio, I was listening to it every day until it came out. And I probably had it like two months before it came out. That was my favorite song that I got. Do you consider that song to have a hook? Like when you switch it up and your voice kind of changes and you change your flow? I feel like that was the hook.

Okay. I just did it because it felt right. And I was like, just put it on it again. I was listening to it. Like, this is hard. I wonder if there's going to be a hook. And then you did it, but you did it in kind of a different way. Yeah.

I was just trying to see what I could do because the beat kind of changed like that. So I just deal with it felt right. I'll see it. I thought, and just put some auto tune on it, and I had started harmonizing. And then I just came up with that little hook. Definitely. Oh, I wanted to ask this. You're half Mexican and half black?

Yeah, and I'm white, too. Oh, a little bit of white, too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you feel like that makes you have a wider fan base, or do you think it just doesn't really matter? I don't think that really matters, but, I mean, it might. It might.

I don't know because I got like like white cousins, black hud and Mexican cuts all that and they stay in different areas so like they'll like tell their friends that I'm their kids and they won't believe it out but I kind of feel like that does reach that I feel like it kind of does

I feel like if I seen a rapper who is mixed with all three things or whatever like that I would want to tune in to that because that's just they relate to you somehow Mm. Definitely. FaceTime you, making them making you prove

that's your people exactly something like that I don't know though so what race do you consider yourself like which one do you feel most closely affiliated with I think I'm more black than anything

I am I'm 50% black 25 25 so definitely that yeah for sure okay where do you see yourself in five years I don't know

I'm gonna see what it takes me but I'm gonna be way big to what I am now way more successful food than what I am now. I'm gonna be where I want to be at. And like, bad years, that's enough time. That's enough time.

Good show. Anything else? I feel it's pretty good. I see the potential. I think you're gonna be a huge star for a year. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, we do.

We gotta come back. For sure. You guys coming. Yeah, keep the music going. I really, I can't wait to show my kid your music when I see her later. But it's very, it's good to have something kind of wholesome coming out. And especially with the no swearing. because that's a big thing in my household.

My girl was really on my case whenever I'd be playing music with swearing around her. Yeah, yeah. It's good, though. I really like making music like that because you can go to schools and play my music and all that. Because I would just have my little sister. She had a sneaker ball at school. All the kids seen me. I had went to school with her until she could do her little sneaker ball.

We was all matching. And then as soon as I walked in the dog, kids started running up to me. Then the DJ started playing my music. We just all turned up in now. So I like it, though, the kids can listen to it, the dogs can listen to it. It's just everybody could listen to my music. But there's going to be one day where you just, you're like 20 and you're just like, you know what, I'm saying the F word on this song.

I just, I got to say it. I don't know. Probably not. We're going to see. Yeah, it's probably a good idea. All right, yo, star bands, we're all very proud of you and the moves that you've been making and everything. Definitely a good influence on the youth.

Shout out to you. Anything you need from us, just let us know. and just keep going up. Thank you. Appreciate you. Appreciate you. Thank you very much to Remo and my man, Donnie, on the boards. No jumper, star bands, coolest podcast in the world.

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