Things are looking bright as fuck for the Cali-based rapper, G-Eazy. With his latest effort, These Things Happen, topping the iTunes and Billboard charts and top rappers like Rick Ross, A$AP Ferg, and legendary west coast rapper, E-40 jumping on his tracks, Sir Gillum's finally seeing the fruits of years worth of consistent grinding to fulfill his dreams unfold. For any followers of Audio Fashion, you know I've been down with the G-Eazy movement since "I Be In the Lab". Sophomore year of college, '08 to be exact.
A couple of years back, circa 2010, I actually reached out to G-Eazy for an interview to be utilized for an investigative journalism piece I wrote, "The Extinction of the 9-5" for a class I was taking. Being that he was already gaining success before he even received his degree, I figured G-Eazy would be a great person to profile for my piece. Keep in mind, this interview was done when he was a Junior in college, trying to balance his superrrr indie music career with academics, and had just gotten a sample of what making it tasted like after opening for Lil' Wayne. Even back then, you can see G had the keys to lead him to his current success: persistence, faith, and consistency.
Check out my interview with G-Eazy after the jump
Real name: Gerald Gillum
Age: 20
College/Current year/Major: Loyola University New Orleans, Junior, Music Industry Studies
Lil Wayne: I opened up in 3 different cities for Wayne on his 'Farewell Tour' right before he went to jail.
Originally from: I'm originally from Cali. I was raised back and forth between Berkeley and Oakland California.
What do you do for a living: When I'm not recording my own music, I let other artists come to my studio in my apartment and I work as a recording engineer. I record and mix their songs. I also have a job on campus in the media services department of the library. I also sell beats to other rappers, and sell verses to other rappers who want to collab. I also do other artist services like graphic design, some web design and photography.
Give me an overview of your journey as a rapper (i.e. how you started off, what you’ve accomplished, what you’re up to now, opportunities that have opened up for you).
I started rapping and making beats when I was a freshmen in high school. Writing verses was mostly something I'd do to pass the time in class really, I wasn't thinking about being a rapper yet. But I was going home after school and learning how to make beats produce music, so it didn't take long to put the two together. I bought a cheap mic from radio shack for like 20 bucks and I recorded my first song. I remember I burned it on to a CD and showed all my friends and thought it was dope. It was actually probably the worst song ever created lol. But I basically just stuck with it. I fell in love with music and it became my passion. Throughout high school I released a couple mixtapes and sold them at my school. That brought me to Loyola because my mom thought I was an entrepreneur and honestly I hated school and knew I couldn't see myself going to college for anything but music. So I got accepted into the program and just kept working once I got down here. I spent my first year recording, before I ever really performed live. Once I started doing shows is when I guess the buzz started to grow. At this point now, since being here I've released 5 mixtapes, an EP and a full-length LP, I've done shows with a lotta dope artists, I've traveled on tours. It's been fun.
How do you obtain the gigs/jobs you get?
My manager books my shows so he takes care of that. He does it by emailing the right people.
How do you sustain such a career that’s progressively flourishing while also going to school full time?
It's incredibly stressful. A lot of times I feel like I'm running on E and I just get exhausted. But then again I always try to remind myself that there are people that work 10 times harder than I do, so I just try not to give up. Honestly I hate school and I love music, so a lotta people wonder why I haven't dropped out yet. I just feel like it would be disrespectful to my whole family to drop out, because they've all sacrificed so much for me to be here, I just feel like it would be a slap in the face.
Are you happy with where you’re at in your career?
I'm happy and I'm grateful for where I'm at, but I'm definitely not content.
*Assuming that you do not need to go to college for your career based on your success* If you do not need to go to college for your career, why go? Is it something to fall back on?
Yea, I kinda just answered that. But yea, it's also something to fall back on. Music has no guarantees.
Do you think you will ever get a 9-5? Would that be a sign of being unsuccessful to you?
I hope I never have to get a 9-5. I guess from my perspective, it would feel like a sign of being ultimately unsuccessful. I've put in so much work to work the job I want to work... and to put in all that groundwork, just to end up working a 9-5 all along would feel like I failed.
What is your overall opinion of 9-5’s?
I don't feel like I have the attention span to work a 9-5. If it's not music, I get bored and antsy really quickly. I respect people that do it. But I feel like it's almost a last resort. If you want to work doing something you love, it takes laying down the groundwork in advance. A 9-5 takes no groundwork.
How important is networking in obtaining jobs/gigs in your field/career in?
Networking is everything in the music business. This business isn't about who's the most talented, or anything like that, it's about who you know. Who you know will get you somewhere in this business, your talent will do the rest for you.
Who wants to see an update interview with G-Eazy??????
Miz Kane
