G-Eazy on Embracing His Image & His 3 Tour Essentials

I'm on the Young Hollywood sofa joined by this handsome man, G-Eazy.

I'm right here.

Oh, G, I'm going to call you G. Yeah. This is G as well. This is G as well. G-dog. No way. Yeah, George. Oh, what's up G? Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Give her a high-five. She's like, nah. She's like, nah. She's not having it. I'm not dapping you up. She's not having it at all. Um, and uh, when I say handsome, I mean it. You have got that appeal in this rap world. Not that I'm, not that I'm putting down every other rapper, saying that they're not good looking, just to clarify. But when I heard the music, I was, I was saying when I heard the music and then and then saw you. Wasn't quite what I pictured.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, but we kind of play off that. You know, like, yeah, me and the video, like, it's it's it's a banger. It's like dark and aggressive and um, you see the video and it's like humorous. Like, I wanted to create that contrast. You rappers just talk a bunch, stress me out, I chop a dutch. We gravers trying to bite the sound, but my style is a lot to munch. And I'm more like whiskey neat, and you're more like vodka punch. G's dope, he might blow up. Think I know, I've got a hunch.

You have a lot of in, uh, input in the, in your creative side, your videos.

Well, I got a really good creative team. Right. Like, uh, it's a small circle and we pretty much do every single project together. Um, I had the original idea and they brought it to life and made it, you know, reality and made us special.

And now you're currently in LA to do another video.

Next week. Another video. I love music videos, man. I and I feel like that's one of the things that separated me, you know, among other things, like, is that we put so much attention to detail in the music videos. And we want to make them special. It's like, in today's world, anybody can go get a camera, anybody has the tools to create, you know, so what separates you? How do you cut through the noise? It's, you know, it's great ideas. I feel like. Or well executed ideas.

And can you tell us about the video, not much about the video next week? It's gonna win an Academy Award.

Is it? Is it? I will bet you. Yeah, Best Picture, for sure. And then, and then, and it it's a tragic story. Uh, it's for downtown love. It will make you cry. It's very emotional. Very epic. Very special.

I love that.

Yeah. It's kind of uh, it's like, um, like about an '80s debutante kind of character. Like a socialite, party girl with too much money, who just, you know, parties everything away. And uh, you know, spirals out of control.

Plenty of them. Plenty of those, especially out here in Hollywood.

Yeah. They run a they run a muck out here in West Hollywood. Yeah, yeah.

You could use for inspiration.

Yeah. There you go. There you go. They've got their own club. They've got their own club.

Um, and obviously, uh, you know, you're blowing up right now. Your songs, you know, decent happen. Album. Um, music's everywhere but it's not you've not just came on the scene. You've been around for a while, working on this for a while. Tell us about you've done it on your own, correct?

Yeah. That's why I mean, I like, it's weird. I don't know, it's just been so gradual for us. It was never like a like an overnight thing. This was like 10 years. Um, and while I still don't feel like we're like, you know, blowing up, like it's just still a process. You know what I mean? It's like Rolling Stones.

You're not you're not doing too bad. Yeah. Give yourself a break. Don't be so hard on yourself.

It's been a, you know, I mean, it it's it's a exciting time now to finally like, you know, there's some some validation behind everything I've been working so hard for for years, you know, it's like, you know, the records selling and the shows are selling and all that. So, you know, it feels good. Um, but at the end of the day, the mountain is a real big. Right. You know, it's a long way to go.

And and as I mentioned, in the beginning stages, you've you've done so much on your own. You know, you were selling Yeah. Records just just you. No, no big record label behind you.

It was just me. I had a I had a backpack and I would just try to hustle people on the street. You know, I was like that obnoxious kid when I was like 16, like, "Hey, support your local hip-hop. Buy my CD." Like, "No, I'm not. I don't want to play this shit. Who are you?" Just shows you buy them CDs. You'll have enough. You could probably sell that for more now. But that's that's the Bay Area hustle in me. And that comes from the, you know, the legends of Too Short selling tapes out of his trunk and E-40 starting Sick Wid It Records and, you know, just independent, do it yourself kind of mentality that like, you know, you could do it. And it's like I grew up with the Pack and the Cataracs and, you know, watching kids I knew go from home studio songs to, you know, record deals and stuff like that. You felt like you could do anything.

And we mentioned your look. How how was that in the beginning stages? Looking the way you are and doing the music that you do. Was it a hard grind?

I just I mean, I'm a, you know, I'm an outsider, man. And uh, you know, I don't really fit in anywhere. Right. To be honest, completely honest. Um, and it's just about, you know, um, which is a good thing because

Exactly. It's a great thing once you embrace it. Right.

And once you just say, you know, all I can be is me. And I I look the way I want to look. You know, I wear clothes that I feel like wearing. Um, and I make songs that I feel like making. Like, you can only be yourself. You only can't be anybody else. Right.

And you're about to, uh, touring as well. It's a big part of what you do.

Yeah, and I just announced a tour. Uh, I'm bringing E-40 with me. E-40 and I have Sue. So it's like, it's called From the Bay to the Universe. And, you know, as a kid who grew up listening to E-40, you know, then now having him on my tour is like, that's a moment, man. It's like, it doesn't it doesn't get crazier than that.

And while you're on tour, what uh, what three things can't you live without?

Whiskey. No. We're gonna get along. Fine. Um, black t-shirts and um, and my bus. I mean, you know, that's pretty much all I need to get by is, you know, fresh black clothes, bottles of whiskey and my comfy tour bus.

And uh, what's been your, you know, you've had a lot of recent highs. What's been the best memory so far for you as an artist?

Um, I got to open for Drake and Wayne at uh, Red Rocks in Colorado. Mhm. As far as, I mean, like, it's it's like one of the most famous venues in the country. I feel like there's Red Rocks and there's Madison Square Garden. Right. Uh, in terms of iconic. And um, when I went on, it was already full packed, whatever. Um, and I just was like, y'all gave me this chance to walk out on this stage and perform in front of this crowd? Like, I'm about to kill it. Make the most and it was crazy like, like the rush of just being in front of like 10,000 people screaming. Like, it's tight.

And you say that with such confidence. Do you get do you get nervous? Do you get nervous?

Um, I used to get real nervous. Okay. I used to get so nervous. I was like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The whiskey helps the nerves. I remember the first show I ever played, um, I was like, yeah, like, you know, for show, let's do it. And then I I was like, wow, am I actually gonna do this? Like, one day inevitably, I will wake up and it will be the day of the show and I will have to actually perform. And I was, you know, I thought of myself as more of like a producer than a, you know, artist, a star, like a performer. I just woke up. I went out on that stage and I did that thing, you know what I mean? And I was like, ah, that was amazing. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. And uh, ever since then, I just like, you know, I'm really good. Yeah. It's, you know, it's a rush. It's a drug. It's like being on stage, it's like, it's fun.

Yeah, it seems it. It seems it. Well, go check him out. Go see him on tour. Buy his album. This is G. A guy you're gonna be seeing everywhere. Everywhere. And very stylish.