Big Homiie G is one of the artists with the future of Memphis riding on his back. Thankfully, his shoulders are broad, and he’s ready to go the distance. “I want to go far,” G says when speaking with HollywoodLife at Sei Less in New York City. The “G Next” rapper met with HL after making his way to Manhattan from Queen, and from the sounds of it, G was ready to head to the Bronx, Staten Island – and beyond. “I want to go as far as it’s going to take me. I want to crossover. If I’ve got to crossover – wherever this music takes me, I want to go with it,” he says with that undeniable charisma.
G chatted with HL days after releasing his video for “Don’t Wanna Be Famous” and right before dropping the deluxe edition of Speak Up G, the 2022 project that helped establish him as one of the bright stars rising in the hip-hop galaxy. The project adds nine impressive new tracks, giving fans who may have slept on the release a chance to catch up and die-hard supporters another reason to stream the project.
When they listen to Speak Up G, they’ll find the honest voice at the heart of it all. “I didn’t want to have on no fancy clothes,” he says of the video for “Don’t Wanna Be Famous,” arguably one of the realest songs on the project. “I didn’t want to have on a lot of jewelry. I wanted to show my kids, to show the real me because I put this on for it’s like a costume,” he says, indicating the expensive chains and drip he’s wearing for the meeting.
Putting out a song called “Don’t Wanna Be Famous” as his fame continues to rise is a bold choice. But, if Big Homiie G is anything, he’s honest. With lyrics about the world changing around him after finding some success and how he’s trying not to “let that sh-t go to your head / what if I ain’t had a brain,” it’s a vulnerable statement that shows there are layers to Big Homiie G’s art.
“It was natural. It was honest truth,” he says about the song. “I’m working to get the money or whatever, but I don’t like a lot of attention. You can’t go nowhere. You can’t do nothing. Rap people say, ‘Hey’ and stop you and –whatever, whatever, whatever. I like minding my own business, basically.”
How does he plan to navigate this as his fame continues to grow? “You’ve got to know your moves,” he says. “You’ve got to know what you’re going to do, what you’re about to do. Okay, I know if I’m going to go into a crowd. I know this is what they’re going to be asking for, so I got to prepare myself for it, basically.”
While G might keep his guard up when he’s out trying to live his life away from the stage, don’t expect him to leave those walls up when he gets in the booth. “If you’re going to rap, you’ve got to tell the truth,” he tells HL. “So, you know I’m going to give you me. I’m going to give you all of me. I’m going to give you everything. I’m going to give you the good, the bad, the ugly. I’m going to give you all of it.”
What he’s giving fans on Speak Up G (Deluxe) is “energy songs,” he says. “I got a lot of energy on there. I’ve got one song, something like ‘Don’t Want to Be Famous.’ It’s called ‘Hear Me Now.’ Actually, that’s my favorite track on my tape.”
“I got BIG30 and KCarbon. Those are some of the features I have on there, and it’s lit. It’s lit. You’re going to like it,” he says with a smile. “You know me. You know G. You’re going to like it.”
Big Homiie G has been getting the world to know him since signing with Nless Entertainment. It was the latest chapter in his story, which began when he was in a rap group with his cousin, Moneybagg Yo, and Blac Youngsta. But, the group split up, with each focusing on their individual careers. Like Moneybagg and Youngsta, G concentrated on his music and built a buzz around his native Memphis. That buzz reached a fever pitch when he teamed with Yo Gotti, Moneybagg Yo, and 42 Dugg for a remix of “Tick.” The song turned heads, and suddenly, eyes were on G.
Before releasing Speak Up G, Big Homiie G said his intent with the project was to get people to take him more seriously as an artist. ” What I meant about that was people always saw me with Moneybagg,” he tells HL. “They never knew I rap or anything. They always see me with him as a Hype man and with him on the stage. They knew I never did my own thing. So that’s what I mean by them taking me seriously. Look, this is G the artist. This has become G the artist. Not the one you all used to see on the microphone, hype man, and this stuff.”
While Speak Up G is meant to introduce him as a serious artist, he still manages to have fun with it. “You have your serious moments. You have your moments when you write you’ve got to crack a joke in there, sometimes,” he explains. “You can’t just be always mad or serious, or you’ve got to play with it. You’ve got to have fun. This is what you do. You’ve got to love it.”
If there is anyone who will make sure he doesn’t get too serious – or take himself too seriously – it’s his kid. G is a proud father of a daughter and son, who he shows in the “Don’t Wanna Be Famous” video. “Fatherhood pushed me to go hard,” he says. My kids, I cherish them a lot, and I want to be the cool dad. I don’t want to be the dad who can’t do it or ain’t got to do it or next time. No, whatever we got to do, we’re going to do it. We’re going to buy it, and we’re going to have fun.'”
“My daughter, she just had a birthday,” he shares. “She was just telling me she has her sleepover this weekend. But obviously, I’m not going to be there because I’m out of town working. And she was telling me, she’s like, ‘Dad, just don’t be a dad at my sleepover.’ And ‘I’m like, I’m going to be cool.'”
When asked if his daughter has a favorite song of his, G says, “She most definitely does. But, my son? Every song. He even listens to my features. If I’m featured on a song, he’ll go crazy. The love is real, so I appreciate that more than anything.”
G’s son is going crazy because his father told HL that Speak Up G (Deluxe) is not the only music he’s releasing this year. “I’m just ready to go and drop [Speak Up G (Deluxe)], move to this project because I’m already working,” he says. “I already started on my next project. I just don’t know the name of it’s going to be. Like, I’ll get this out of the way and go to the next project.”
At this point, Big Homiie G is focused on the future. “I’m definitely [thinking] legacy,” he says. “I want a platform, lead my platform. Let them know this is me. This is who G is and the people that come behind. I’ve got a team too. It ain’t all about me. I’ve got people behind me, and I’ve got artists, myself. You know what I’m saying? I want all types of acts and all artists – I’ll help with artist development and, with my legacy, I’ve got to do it all.”
While some lesser artists might crack under pressure, Big Homiie G isn’t buckling. “I know what I’m doing, and I know where we’re trying to go with this,” he explains. “As far as when I say we, ‘we’ is my label and me, and I know what we’re trying to do. It’s like with other artists — we’re trying to build a platform and take it all the way to the top. So I know we started from the ground, and I know we’re right here. I know we can go to the next level with a little bit of my help from other people around, we’ll take it to the top.”
In an industry that is cutthroat and pushes how it’s “every rapper for themselves,” where does this nature come from? “I always played the back row. You know what I’m saying?” G explains. “I never was in front or whatever. I was always trying to stay back. Make sure he was straight. Make sure everybody was straight. And now, it’s like I’m still doing it as I’m making sure myself straight too. But now, I’m putting me first and then everybody. I’m trying to pull everybody up with me.”
In a time when it feels like the world is more divided than ever, Big Homiie G’s message of unity is a lesson everyone could learn. One more thing that the rest of the world can learn from G and from his native Memphis? Be honest.
“Memphis artists, we’re authentic – authentic, authentic. We’re like real for real,” says Big Homiie G. “Some of them be cappin’, but a lot of them are really living what they’re talking about.”