I am always able to find that solitude. I am always able to find that peace. Which is tight. That is what has helped me keep going.
— J.I.D
For me to be creative, I have to have peace.
My writing process is consecutive, like, 'mad scientist' crazy. It's not totally writing something that rhymes or even writing a rap necessarily. Sometimes it's just writing down stuff that I'm going through.
Just to be, overall, I want to be one of the greats: overall, someone that leaves a good mark, someone everybody always remember.
I always loved hip-hop, being a black little kid. I always used to freestyle on the bus when I was young. It was always a part of my life.
I didn't even expect myself to do music.
I'm reclusive when it comes to me giving art away because I get real sensitive about that and critiques.
My folks kicked me out of the crib, so I was homeless, living out the whip.
Only person who took me serious was my mom and my sister Rachael.
I started writing music around 20 years old.
'Lauder' is a favorite because the name of the song is a friend of mine who passed away.
I'm never comfortable.
How I did the first 'DiCaprio,' it was mine. I was pulling from everywhere. I was getting stuff from movies. I was getting stuff from interviews. Everywhere. And it was fine, because it was just put out for free on SoundCloud.
I do order from UberEats.
I want to be remembered. I want to have a legacy. Van Gogh only sold one painting before he died, which would mean that he wasn't famous when he was alive. But in 2017, I know who Van Gogh is.
I ain't going at nobody else pace.
I feel like hip-hop inspires everything.
I don't try to make one thing. I really try to experiment, even if its just the vocals or the beat. I can't really describe my sound.
It never really mattered to me trying to get somewhere fast because if you get somewhere fast, you probably won't stay there too long.
I ran track and played football... I was an all-American.
My family big as hell, man.
I've always been talented, always been able to sing or remember a song after hearing it one time.
Rap is very competitive. I just think I'm light years better than anybody.
My family was always musically inclined.
I try to be, like, hella sensitive to my surroundings.
Change is definitely every day. It's an ever-changing world. Everything changes, so I really don't know. I just hope I become a better person, a better man.
Momma's girls are different. They are intense.
I feel like the world is getting dumber. I don't necessarily think people are stupid, but I think we're getting dumber.
I don't care about being famous.
I always try to get to the point where I can do different things with my voice.
I try to read as much as I can.
New York hip-hop inspired me a lot.
From the outside-in, Atlanta is kind of perceived as like popcorn. People don't respect it as having artists such as myself and EarthGang and other lyrical talents and album-worthy artists.
I'm from the same area as Gucci Mane. I stayed off Bouldercrest road. I stayed off Glenwood.
I got kicked out of school because I was wilding.
I'm tryna be the biggest artist I could be.
I've always been able to write. I've always been able to put a good essay in or say whatever I wanted to say through the pen. That was a gift of mine. I feel like it was what I was meant to do.
Initially, I wanted to be a writer for other people. 'Hereditary,' I was writing it from a woman's perspective.
I grew up pretty fast because I had a lot of older brothers and sisters.
Nobody on Earth does a project by himself. So you have to make sure your team is intact.
'As' by Stevie Wonder - it's the greatest song ever written, bro.
I got the name from my grandma because when I was a baby, she used to call me jittery. I used to move around real fast.
