

“I don’t really let people in to my world. You’ve gotta save something for yourself. You can’t just let everybody know everything about you.”



Then how do you push your sound forward? Every record that I do, I try to reinvent myself. A different day calls for a different style. I record between three to seven songs in a day, and I don’t do the same style over every beat. I try to step outside of the box, add on different elements that weren’t there before. At the end of the day, four of those songs may sound alike, but three of those songs come out with something different. I take risks, because with great risks come great rewards. My music’s further away from rap now than it’s ever been, but rap is my home. I’m comfortable in my own skin and I’m comfortable with doing the music that I’m doing.

Is writing for other people, like Lil Wayne and Rihanna, different from working on your own? You try to bring the best out of everyone. I’m more of a show-and-prove guy. I can show you better than I can tell you how to do something. I don’t like to plan anything; I don’t wanna put that pressure on myself, working with someone who expects me to give them a hit as soon as we go to the studio. Collaborations have to come to me natural.

Everyone has to work around your flow? Yeah. Sometimes it might frustrate you. I have to go off the moments and the vibes of people. That’s what makes me open up more. I observe everything. I observe the way you might look, the certain tone on your voice. If you pay attention to everything, you can read people. That’s the way you stay ahead.

Can people tell that you’re paying attention? Nah. I always have on glasses, so people don’t know if I’m looking or not.

Up to this point, you’ve essentially been the sole character in your songs. But there’s a solid, recurring female character all over Honest. Is that a result of your relationship with Ciara? We get along; she understands me. We fit each other. I feel like we were destined to be together, and it happened. I wasn’t hurrying up and rushing toward something. I took my time and love came to me. We’re both Scorpios—Scorpios over-love. So we’re just loving each other as hard as possible. I had great relationships before this one. But it’s hard to find somebody you just wanna wake up to every day. Finding someone you really get along with—you wouldn’t even imagine it could be that hard, but it is.