Rapsody is hip-hop royalty, and now she reveals exactly what fans can expect on her next album.
On Thursday, Feb. 2nd, in the thick of Grammys week in Los Angeles, Roc Nation held an exclusive listening experience for their newest signee, Reuben Vincent, who just released his debut album titled Love is War. And with Rapsody coaching him as his big sis and Young Guru guiding him as a producer, the result speaks for itself: a conceptual project that’s reminiscent of the Golden Era of Hip-Hop.
The evening consisted of an album playback, as all three broke down the meaning and composition behind each record. And while many topics were covered, one definitely stood out amidst the rest: relationships.
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In fact, Rapsody actually revealed her next album will see her speaking on her own experiences with love.
While speaking on the track she’s featured on, “February 13th,” she states, “I’m pursuing my dreams: when you really locked in sometimes, you gotta make sacrifices. And one of the sacrifices that I made was relationships. I lived in the studio. I would not go out to no club, I never put myself in a position to really meet people. Then whatever whatever, I found myself in a relationship. I talk about this on my next album, so I’m not gonna go too deep in. [laughs]”
“This was partly my experience, a majority of it, sprinkled with a little bit of experiences of people around me,” she adds. “I always like to make music that people can relate to. My part in this is how are you showing the behind the scenes stuff? Every relationship that I have had, I always stood on: I don’t cheat, and I don’t lie. But this one time, I told this one little lie that changed the whole thing of somebody that I really was deeply in love with. And I had to sit with that.”
Anyone who’s a fan of Rapsody’s knows the cherished relationship she shares with Young Guru and 9th Wonder, all part of the Jamla record label (founded by 9th).
“Me and Guru would talk: you could be with somebody for 10 years, and you make one decision in 30 seconds that changes everything for the rest of your life,” Rapsody says. “And you have to live with that. You could be hopeful, but at the same time, you have to live with those decisions. That’s me taking a step back and looking at: you can say you sorry all you want to. You can blame this and that, but at the end of the day, you made the decision and you have to live with it.”
“That’s what that verse was,” she continues. “Even as a woman being in this business this long, you see it. I remember when I listened to “Zion” and how Lauryn talked about the idea of having a child, having to make that decision over a career and a child. Now we’re in a time, which is beautiful, where women and men are having children. Yeah I could do this and be a mother and be a father, and I’m proud of it. And I’m going to show my child too, right?
That was one thing that I had to deal with, it’s so layered but that’s what it was. As far as me, it’s not about the bars, it’s about connecting with people and telling real stories. I’m not going to tell any more because my next album, I’ll tell more. Guru, I’m sure you have something you want to add.”
Rapsody then passes the microphone to Young Guru, who says “Rap has the ability to write my life.” Throughout their working relationship, it seems Rapsody’s lyrics have always somehow related to Guru’s own life experiences, in a way that allows the two beautiful sync on real, meaningful music with substance. In other words, pure Hip-Hop!
Young Guru also revealed “February 13th” was “one the best beats he’s ever produced.” It was also a therapeutic process to create, as he was also going through his own break-up.
