The Wrap Up recently caught up with Young Money’s Tyga during the London leg of his 'Really Raw' European tour. Ra’ed Poetical went down to speak to the inked-up rapper at his hotel, just a few hours before he hit the stage. In the first part of this two-part interview, Tyga tells us about his new album, what his relationship is like with Nicki Minaj and Drake, how he met Lil Wayne and much more...
The Wrap Up: Hi Tyga, nice to meet you! How are you finding being in London?
Tyga: It’s good, because the energy is always good when I come over here. People really love the movement that I’ve got going on, as well as the Young Money movement, so you know; it’s really appreciated when I come over here! I'm actually doing like a two-week tour, just supporting new records and singles that I’ve got coming out and mixtapes that I’m on.
TWU: Two weeks? Whoa! That’s not just in London though, right?
Tyga: We've got about 6/7 shows out here in Europe. We started in, erm, I forgot where we started, I think it was Switzerland or something like that (laughs).
TWU: Have you been able to take in our beautiful city yet?
Tyga: Not yet. I had two shows here, but I really didn't get to see the city or anything like that. We will see, though. I’m here for like a week or so!
TWU: Okay, let’s just go back to the beginning. For those that don’t know, you were raised in Compton, California. How was it for you growing up there?
Tyga: I think it’s the same as anybody growing up really, but just in a predominantly negative neighbourhood. As far as it goes for me, it was more about what I went through in life to figure out what I wanted to do, in terms of music and stuff. I dropped out of high school when I was like 15, so I just focused on doing music. It’s all I wanted to do, I didn't want to work or anything else. I took all the negativity and obstacles that came with life and I just put it in the music.
TWU: Speaking of music, how did the whole Young Money move come about for you?
Tyga: I met Lil Wayne at an award show a couple of years ago and we just chopped it up, exchanged info, sent him some songs and I flew out there and did a couple of songs with him. I just kicked it with him, like, as a friend and I wasn't signed to him, I only just signed to Young Money probably like 6 months ago when Nicki Minaj and Drake signed. We've just always been friends and stuff like that and have always done music together.
TWU: What is your relationship like with Nicki? She came to London a while ago and caused roadblocks everywhere that she went!
Tyga: (Laughs) We have got a good relationship. I actually talked to Nicki yesterday, I told her that I was out here and she just told me it was crazy when she was out here. Its good having a relationship with all of them, because a lot of successful artists - they won’t share their success with you as far as what you need to watch out for and stuff like that. Being that everything is in-house, you can ask Drake certain things, you can ask Wayne stuff, so you can always learn stuff being around each other.
TWU: Do you guys ever have friendly competition?
Tyga: Nah, because I think everybody is different. Everybody is a different age, everybody talks about different things and everybody has a different sound! Also, everybody is from a different place, so it’s really no competition…
TWU: Cool! We hear one of our own UK artists, Dotstar, just got signed to Young Money. I think we all need some confirmation on that…
Tyga: Yeah, I actually did a song with him, but I don't know about a ‘signing’, I haven't heard anything about anybody’s signing. I could be wrong, I’m not sure; I’m not super up to date unless I talk to somebody.
TWU: How would you personally describe your sound?
Tyga: I don't think I’ve established my sound 100% yet. I’ve been dropping only mixtapes, so people know what I can do but they haven't heard the full 100% potential that I have. That’s why I'm dropping this album, ‘Careless World’.
TWU: Talking of your new album, ‘Carless World’, when is that due to be released?
Tyga: We don’t have a release date yet, that's what I was talking to Birdman about. We don't just want to put a release date on it; we just want to drop songs. To me, right now, my album is done. If I wanted to put it out tomorrow, I could. I just want to keep recording and dropping singles and when the time is right, you know? It’s all about timing, you’ve got Wayne, he's about to drop ‘Tha Carter IV’ and Chris is about to drop his album, so a lot of my friends are about to drop music. Everything has to be timed right!
TWU: You recently got nominated for a Grammy for the track you did with Chris Brown, ‘Deuces’. How did it feel to be nominated for such a prestigious award?
Tyga: It was a good feeling! I don't think more for me, but more for Chris - for those people recognising him after all the stuff he went through and then for him to just do this on his own - it meant a lot to him. We were just in the studio and we said, ‘Let’s do something, let’s do a mixtape! Something that your fans have never seen from you’, and it worked. That was my first Grammy Award show that I’ve ever been to, so it was a good feeling being there and seeing all of the people you listen to or you grew up on alongside with you.
TWU: Did you both expect ‘Fan Of A Fan’ to get as much recognition as it did?
Tyga: I mean, you should never doubt yourself, but at the end of the day, you never know what is gonna happen. You just know what you believe in.
TWU: Speaking of Chris, he's been targeted in the news for so many different reasons over the past couple of years. What’s your relationship like with him?
Tyga: Me and Chris, we’re just homies. He actually just moved to Los Angeles, so we just be chilling all the time. So when I see stuff on the news, it’s funny to me, because I know him on a personal level.
Check out the second part of this exclusive interview next week...
Stay up to date with Tyga on Twitter – www.twitter.com/Tyga
Photography: SK-D Photography (www.skdphotos.com)
Words: Ra’ed Poetical (@MrPoetical)
