Chicago rapper Calboy is one of the most exciting young prospects of the rap game right now. He blew up with his single "Envy Me," following that up with a solid project called Wildboy. Being touted as one of the newest stars with the most potential, Calboy has tremendous plans for himself in the next five years. He wants to make an impact on the entire world, focusing on music to boost his profile in other areas. According to the 19-year-old, he's working on a book, trying to get into the movies and has plans on starting up a production company. With the success of his Wildboy project fresh in our minds, Calboy stopped by the office for the latest On The Come Up profile, telling us all what we need to know about him.
With so much in store for his fanbase this year, Calboy started off by telling us about his upbringing, which basically just consisted of him trying to get a quick buck. "As a kid, I was trying to find some bread," he told us. "We was extra extra deep in my crib. Everybody was trying to find some money and hustle. I still hooped and did kid stuff but I was mainly focused on some bread."
Perhaps it's that mentality that led him to this point. In order to stand out from the crowd, you must have a hustler's mentality because the music industry is cutthroat. Having grown up with a need to get to the bread, Calboy unknowingly prepared himself for life as a recording artist and he's about to strive because of it.
In his short career, Calboy has already built strong connections with high profile rappers, linking up with Meek Mill and Kodak Black. Kodak posted a video of himself vibing to "Envy Me," the hit single that bolstered Calboy's career and they ended up building a relationship as a result. "He cool, you know what I'm saying. We made sure he was good when he was around our parts," said the rising rapper. "He got to hear some of the music, picked a few out that he rocks with himself. Stuff like that. We just connected really. He cool, he ain't what a lot of people think he is."
As for Meek Mill, he has a different type of bond with the Philadelphia artist. Calboy actually signed to Meek back in March, recognizing that his platform can help him to reach a whole new crowd of folks. Meek appears on Wildboy with Young Thug and Lil Durk, meshing well with the 19-year-old Chicagoan and serving as somewhat of a mentor to him. "I really don't even know how it started," said Calboy of his relationship with Meek Mill. "I just woke up one morning and they started sending me videos of Meek playing a song. He ain't even posted the song yet, he mentioned me in an interview. He was doing an interview and he mentioned me in the interview. Everybody was sending it to me. They put it on all types of blog sites like 'Meek Mill mentions Calboy.' He mentioned Polo G and Lil Zay [Osama] too, not just me."
When his friend reached out to Meek's camp with an offer to connect both parties, everything ended up happening pretty quickly. More videos were posted online with Meek singing along to Calboy's songs before they linked up to sign the deal.
Watch our full interview with Calboy above to find out the meaning of his name, why Wildboy is such a prominent theme in his art and what he's planning for the rest of 2019. Keep up with all of the artists featured on this season of On The Come Up by following our playlist below.