The Compton MC currently has the No.
1 song and album in America.
1 album in America three separate times.
Credit: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Has the crowd energy at your shows changed since you hit No.
1 on the charts?
My music always had organic, real energy, so when it came on itd be an event.
My people always go up, but now everybody knows the song, so theres no wallflowers now.
Before there might have been a couple, but now its like they know what Im [rapping].
Are there different types of fans coming to your shows now?
The diversity of my crowd has definitely expanded, for sure.
But now I see everybody, and its crazy.
Everybody is just showing love.
I turned my pops on to Kendrick, Young Thug.
I feel my mom made me play the Isley Brothers and real, real old music.
My pops [was who] listened to rap.
Do you think theres been a benefit to your career being from L.A.?
Did it feel like there was an established scene you were entering when you began taking music seriously?
I feel like I just carved my own path, honestly.
I didnt really pay attention to too much of what people did before me.
I just did everything how I wanted to do it, and then it became beneficial.
Your music is very melodic.
Does that come naturally?
Do you have any formal training?
Nah, it wasnt no formal training or nothing.
Was The Box ever planned to be released as a single before it hit big?
Everything that I did, I did it purposefully.
I just wanted to show that first before I presented what they already knew.
My last mixtapes were all me, so the songs with just myself were already a familiar thing.
I wanted to just come up with something different.
Did The Box feel like a hit when you made it?
Or was it just a part of the cohesive album?
We never were like, Oh, its a single.
I dont consider [anything] the single.
Like, I dont even believe in singles like that, bro.
I believe in full albums, and whatever comes out of those full albums will come.
I really just wanted to put out songs with people that I was rocking with.
Did you enjoy the immediate fan-driven reaction to the album that helped determine The Box as the breakout song?
Thats always good, to see the fans engaging in your music.
You get to just see them grow with it and understand it.
In about three [or six] months theyll be able to tell if my album is a classic.
Right now, its too early for people to even judge it.
Have you seen any of the memes for The Box?
Yeah, my family showing me the different stuff, and its funny.
Its all the wave.
Everything is advancing, technology and all that s, so I should just come with it.
Have you enjoyed the immediate feedback youve been getting around the album and what songs people like?
Has it helped you see anything about your album that you didnt before?
I overthink what I say every time not overthink, I just… its like a split-second.
Its kind of weird to understand.
Theres a real artistic intention or statement to it.
People misinterpret my lyrics sometimes too, but I mean, it is what it is.
What does it mean to you to have the first No .1 rap song of the decade?
I feel like its just Gods timing.
God just chose me to be a leader of the new era.
He chose me to do that, and Im thankful for it every day.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
