Hoodrich Pablo Juan was nice enough to help us launch this season's "On The Come Up" premiere twos days before his BLO mixtape is due for delivery. BLO The Movie, as it's being pegged, sees Juan complete a change in his stance, as a rapper, and on a more personal level. Juan is perhaps best known for his nonchalant, hush delivery, but as you'll soon find out, there's a whole lot more to his "Pablo Juan" personage, including a timeline of the middle years before he set foot in Atlanta, Georgia.
"I ain't really fit in when I was a kid - I was more of a standout," Juan says, beginning the come up trail in his place of birth, Newark, New Jersey. From that point onward, the conversation reaches a level of comfort, with Juan opening up about his Muslim upbringing, his affinity for Louis Farrakhan, his relationship with 1017 boss Gucci Mane, and a host of other subjects too.
"Being Muslim, growing up, we did nothing nobody did," Hoodrich freely admitted. "Imagine everybody coming out on Christmas with gifts..." On the subject of his isolation, Juan also breaks down the early influence of vegetarianism in his household, imparted by his parents, and informed by several generations of practice. His own father becomes so involved in the local Muslim fraternity, that he left his job as a security marshal to become a full-time minister in their local principality. Unsurprisingly, Pablo Juan has a lot of reverence for his father's strength in character, an ambiguous trait he hopes to embody in his adult life.
As for his early influences in the rap game, Hoodrich lists Rocko, Future, Young Scooter, Boosie Badazz, Three 6 Mafia, and Gucci Mane, the project manager on all things 1017 Eskimo. Although out of all the name he could muster, Pimp C holds the highest rank in his heart or hearts. There's even a point in the interview where Hoodrich Pablo Juan channels his younger self by performing bits and parts of Three 6's "Who Run It," complete with the admissible grunts of a one Crunchy Black.
Hoodrich also dishes on the unique partnership with Young Thug, whom he considers "We been knew each other, he [Thugger] was like 'why the hell we ain't got nothing out,'" Thugger clamored before taking matters into his own hands. The burden of proof lies in their "Screaming Slatt" duet released in February. Aside from the benchmark created by Gucci Mane (or his vision), Hoodrich can see himself donning the mantle of a CEO in the next 5 to 10 years just like his Guwop did some time ago.
Peep the premiere this season's "On The Come Up" with an affable Hoodrich Pablo Juan. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for comprehensive access to all our content, including a brand new OTCU playlist debuting in the coming days.