American rapper G-Eazy — born Gerald Earl Gillum — has been busy knocking firsts off of his bucket list. First album to make it into Billboard’s top 3 (These Things Happen), first song to make it into Billboard’s top 10 (Me, Myself and I) and, on Thursday night, first performance in Dubai.
“You want to make it worth it,” he told Gulf News tabloid!. “All those hours of travel, all that anticipation, you’re still only on stage for an hour or so. It makes it that much more special.”
Ahead of his RedFestDXB gig at Media City Amphitheatre, the 27-year-old — named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 this year — looked back at the ups and downs of 2016, and what it means to give back to his mother.
2016 was crazy for you. Would you consider it a good year?
It was an incredible year. Now that the New Year’s celebrations are finally over, I’ve had a second to reflect and take it all in. It is crazy to think about, all the hard work paying off and it finally feeling real.
What was a highlight for you?
I played Coachella and I brought up Lil Wayne, who I grew up listening to and idolising. I headlined my hometown. The song — Me, Myself and I — just seeing what it did all around the world was really big, too.
You also performed at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Britney Spears.
It was a hell of a way to cap off a year like that. It was dope.
Mariah Carey had technical difficulties at that show. As a performer, what’s your biggest fear of something going wrong?
As soon as you start to think about what you’re scared of happening on stage, you run the risk of it actually happening. If you don’t think about it, if you just trust yourself and trust your muscle memory, it usually goes fine. This is what I do, year in and year out — I played close to 200 shows this year.
You have two records out. Is album no. 3 in the works?
Absolutely. I’m working on it every night. I put a studio in my house, so I’ve been recording every single day.
Do you have specific dates in mind, or does it have to run its own course?
I’ll know when it’s done. I’ll feel it. For right now, I’m just trusting my intuition, recording a ton of music and letting it find itself. It’s coming together nicely.
What’s the creative process like for you, creating music while touring?
You have a show every night that you have to prepare for, you have the press in every single city, you have meet-and-greets with the fans. Most times you have after parties at the club for a whole ‘nother performance. It helps to have a studio in the bus, but in terms of really putting an album together, you have to block out a couple of months at a time.
What’s been your experience with social media, where everyone has a say that’s immediate and public?
You just have to have tough skin and you gotta know what to pay attention to and what not to. Otherwise you’re going to let everything get to you, whether it’s every compliment or every critic. Every hater. You really have to know how to block it out.
You made the move from your hometown to LA. How’s that been like?
LA is where the music industry lives, really. It’s where all the studios are, where all the producers are, where a lot of the artists live nowadays. The energy here is just different. A lot gets done here.
Does it feel like home?
You kind of lose that idea of home when you work as an artist in the music industry. You spend so much of your time on tour, travelling for shows, travelling for recording sessions. The nature of our business is travel. You lose the idea a long time ago. As long as you’re okay with that, then it’s all good.
Don’t miss it
G-Eazy, Sean Paul, Daya and The Veronicas will perform at Media City Amphitheatre on Thursday night; Demi Lovato, Mike Posner, Tove Lo and Alessia Cara will perform on Friday. Tickets, available from redfestdxb.com, are Dh395-Dh1195.
