For many reasons, 2020 has been an awful year filled with insecurity for a lot of people. At times, it has been difficult to remain optimistic, although there have certainly been moments and people that have brought joy and laughter to our collectively quarantined lives. One of those people is Mario Judah.
Judah went viral back in October after the release of his metal-hip-hop crossover track “Die Very Rough.” Many were taken aback by the visuals of the music video, while also noting just how operatic Judah’s voice was. As soon as he went viral, Judah took full advantage and immediately embraced the memes, and shortly thereafter, delivering a polarizing performance at Rolling Loud. From there, he called out Playboi Carti for not dropping Whole Lotta Red and as a result of Carti’s inaction, Judah dropped his own version of the album. Needless to say, Judah has plans to take over the music world and so far, he seems to be on the right track.
As part of HNHH’s 12 Days Of Christmas interview series, we had the pleasure of speaking to Judah where he gave us the full breakdown of how he became an artist, and divulged how his life has changed since the release of “Die Very Rough.”
This interview has been edited for clarity and was conducted a day prior to Judah’s release of Whole Lotta Red Pt. 1.
Day Seven: A Conversation With Mario Judah
HNHH: How are you bro?
Mario Judah: Man, f****** whole lotta red.
I know, we’re gonna get to that, we’re gonna get to that eventually. But, you know, 2020, it’s a weird year for a lot of people.
F*** 2020. I’m going to put that video out bro, it’s over, for F*** 2020, it’s gon’ be crazy.
Is that a song you have coming out?
No, I made literally like a 30-second video of me screaming “F*** 2020.” I feel like everybody would relate to it, you know, f*** 2020.
Definitely looking forward to that. You know, over the last few months you’ve really kind of blown up, gone really viral, you had your Rolling Loud performance, how would you describe these last few months for yourself?
Man, it’s been a blessing really you know, everything just happening the way it’s happening and people resonating with the music and me and accepting me for who I am. It’s really a blessing bro because initially, I was trying to be a producer and that’s all I wanted to do, and then it transitioned into being an artist so I was like f*ck it, might as well make it happen. And for me to have done it, and as quickly as it picked up, it’s just a blessing bro, like you got literally billions of people who grew up wanting to be a rapper, I’m sure you were growing up as a kid you probably wanted to be a rapper too at one point maybe I don’t know but usually, everyone grows up wanting to do something musically, it just so happened to me so it’s really a blessing.
What was that like experiencing “Die Very Rough” blow up in such a huge way?
Well, for one, I knew it would because the song was different, and when I was a producer working with other artists my thing that I stressed was you have to have a different product. You can’t just come in trying to sound like the next big thing, the next big thing that’s already out because it just doesn’t work like that, it’s like you’ve already seen it, you’ve already experienced it you just want something new, people are interested in some new sh*t. HotNewHipHop thats funny [Laughing], and you know, people are driven by new stuff so I figured to just, you know. As soon as it came out, cause I had dropped the audio-only and that was the second song I ever dropped which was “Die Very Rough” and it was audio-only and pick up locally and doing it’s thing, and I already knew why it was doing that. So, a few months later I put out the video, and then how it came out the main culture and started doing their thing with it, and then someone saw it and put it on Twitter, blew up handsomely on Twitter then switched over to TikTok, and we’re here now.
"I always knew I would be here, the only thing that’s surprising is that it’s happening as an artist and not as a producer but like I always knew I was going to make it in music."
To answer your question about how it’s been bro, psh, man [laughs]. Man, it’s a million things bro. It’s not like, surprising, or like, 'woah why is this really happening to me' cause like, essentially being a producer and working all the time and grinding, I expected success like when you expect success, and you get it, you’re not really surprised because you always knew, you know what I’m saying? So I always knew I would be here, the only thing that’s surprising is that it’s happening as an artist and not as a producer but like I always knew I was going to make it in music. I live, wake up and dream music you know I’m still a producer though cause I’m making all my own beats to my songs and I’m playing both parts which is pretty amazing.
So why did you just want to be a producer at first and what made you want to move over to the artist lane?
So I’m going to give you the whole gist of the story. When I was 15-16, around that age, I was getting into like a lot of trouble in school I wasn’t even like doing music-making beats nothing I was just getting into trouble in school getting into fights or whatever so then my pops, he sent me to military school around like 16 did that for like 6 months it was damn near like a jail I hated it but it taught me lots of life skills and maturity and everything like that. And right when I got out, I got accepted into a military college for free, went to college for free, started doing welding. That’s what I went for, Savannah Tech is the school I went to, did that for like 4 months and graduated.
Once I graduated, the universe somehow introduced me to FL studios, which is what I make music on, so when I got out, I just got hooked to it. My first-day making beats I took 18 hours on my beat like my dad went to work and came back and I was still working on this beat like, wow, you could do this on your own, like this can happen, so I just was hooked. Then the next day I did it, and for whole weeks I was doing it and after that it was just an everyday thing, just always making beats then I got hooked and that’s what I wanted to do. I was starting to reach out to other artists to work with them. Leading up to January of this year, even though I was still making beats since then, I got fed up trying to work with artists and help them with their career when they’re not taking it serious or trying to take advice or be different or even pay for beats or expect you to be different or even do all this work for them for free. I’m just trying to make it a career and you’re treating me like “oh, you’re not real, you’re not trying to make it together you’re all about the money,” and it’s like, bro, it’s my product it’s my work but you’re not even willing to pay for it. But whatever that’s another conversation.
"Leading up to January of this year, even though I was still making beats since then, I got fed up trying to work with artists and help them with their career when they’re not taking it serious or trying to take advice or be different or even pay for beats or expect you to be different or even do all this work for them for free."
So around January, I got fed up with that and that’s how I was feeling so someone came to me and was like look, if you start writing hooks and recording hooks as a songwriter, you can start making more money, you can get more opportunities, you can start meeting new people and build your name as a producer. Cause my beats were always good, it wasn’t the beats before but was the people I was working with. The problem for me was finding serious artists like every time I worked with an artist they would always come out not being serious but my beats were always there. I’ve had industry placements with big artists, they’ve just never got placed. But anyways, they said start songwriting and I was opposed to it cause I wanted to stay in my lane, I wanted to keep being a producer and that’s all I wanted to do like, I wanted to stay in my lane and only make beats cause that’s what I was into, that’s what I enjoyed. And they were like nah bro just do the hook cause you're the producer you got the outlook and I was like alright, so January-February I started messing around/recording and I didn’t know what I was going to do, if it would be me rapping or singing cause you know I just make beats. COVID had hit and everything was bad, and people were listening to my stuff, people in my circle and they were like yo, these are crazy like I’ve never heard anything like this I think you should put these out. And I was like nah bro, these are just hooks I’m not gonna start making songs. And they were like nah bro you don’t understand these are different I don’t hear nobody else using these and like I said, “Die Very Rough” was actually a hook, I was gonna give that to somebody bro I didn’t know where that song was gonna go.
And then, like I said COVID hit and then June came, the summertime, COVID was still going on and I was in a dark place mentally like damn bro, life is bad like everything just jacked up in the world like f** it, what’s the worst that could happen. I mean the first day before I dropped my first song which was “Crush,” I put a verse on it and it dropped and started gaining buzz so I was like, this is it. So then the second one “Die Very Rough” did the same thing before I even got to put a verse on it and that did what it did, then I dropped a couple more after that and that was it. A few months later, did a music video to “Die Very Rough” like I said, and we here now. But I love it now. I love being an artist now, and to think that I was trying to stay away from it and only be a producer and be successful, and now I’m here. But it’s a blessing though, for real.
Obviously the visual for “Die Very Rough” was very impactful when it came out and now you have “Bih Yah” which just came out recently.
That’s an interesting one, bro, 'cause I didn’t mean to make music like that.
In terms of visuals, how important is it for you to get those music videos out and be able to tell a story that goes with your music because I think the reason “Die Very Rough” popped off so much is because it had a music video.
[Laughing] Yeah, the video bro, I was on some opera s***, whatever it was, Monsters Inc, I don’t know. Music itself is emotion, how you feel and it’s supposed to be taken that way, taken serious that way. And when I’m working with artists and they’re sitting there whispering I’m like bro, I can’t believe what you’re saying. I don’t feel that. I feel like the visuals paint the picture in the listener’s mind, the visuals are super important. In a lot of cases, visuals don’t even need to be all that crazy if the artist themselves is an animated character and has character to them. In that video, I’m like jumping around and I’m doing all this so it may seem like it’s a lot going on, as far as editing and what we used it wasn’t really that much, it wasn’t like a big production where it got a movie type vibe like most videos have all types of props in it. But it’s really just the emotion like the “Die Very Rough” video, I just doing my thing there wasn’t really a lot going on. Really, the person is the one who sets it off. All that extra animation and stuff like that, you gotta be able to match that, if the video itself is overseeing you then it’s not gonna be good, that’s how I feel.
In terms of the memes and everything that came afterward, what were some of your favorites that you saw online because obviously, you were raised on the internet, you understand what comes with it and everything?
That’s what I wanted, that’s what I hope came with it, you know what I’m saying. In a time like this, where it’s quarantine, you should want your song to do something on TikTok or whatever cause everybody’s bored, you know. Nobody’s doing shows, nobody’s doing nothing so when your s*** went on meme culture or whatever, you’re in. And that’s what happened, you know. See I knew that though that’s what I was trying to tell other artists when I was working with them and I was trying to help them grow their career, and s*** you gotta do what it do. And they was “too cool” and they wanted to do the “cool route” and that s*** ain’t work.
You got to be at Rolling Loud this year doing the virtual performance and you got to perform “Rockstar” which was your DaBaby cover, why that song in particular?
I did a cover of that song way before I blew up, I did that song in like July and at the time, I made the song cause it was called “Rockstar” and I was like, let me make a cover of it, still #1 on the charts you know I like the song lemme do it, you know what I mean. But the reason why I performed it was cause Rolling Loud had a situation where like you had to be on stage for a certain amount of minutes right, I think it was like 15 minutes, maybe 20 and at that time, I had “Crush,” “Die Very Rough,” another joint called “The Rockstar,” and another joint called “Can’t Stop Me” and “Rockstar” the remix so I only had five songs in all. So they were like yeah you gotta be on for a certain amount of minutes and you know my songs were relatively short you know they were about like a minute and a half. I only had four songs out with a remix, five in all, I gotta make this work so in the midst of the breaks between songs there was probably like a minute and thirty or whatever like that, and that song was already out and people had already loved it so I was like f*** it I’ll go ahead and perform it. Plus I think this is a good opportunity to show my versatility and my singing abilities so I went ahead and performed it.
The reaction and reception on social media people were very confused by. What did you think of the reception at first? [Laughing]
[Laughing] I loved it, I didn’t know, I mean it’s weird cause there’s so much viral s*** that happened from that show. I did that song, me just being an energetic character on there, and Trippie Redd’s situation later that night, it was so many viral moments that day alone-- and the interview, that freaking interview that day. There were so many things that happened that day all in the same day. Now that I really think about it, that was really a crazy day.
Immediately afterward, DaBaby even went on social media and was like ‘who the hell is this performing my song.’ He thought it was pretty funny too. What was that like being recognized by the guy who actually made the original?
I was bugging, bro. Cause at first it was who the f*ck is this kid, like laughing but still who the f*ck is he though. Everybody was tagging him or whatever, so I guess he found out, and then later on in his story, he showed love in his story and was like, 'I f*ck with you.' Then I was like, aiight bet DaBaby f*ck with me, you know what I’m saying? I like DaBaby, DaBaby’s fire, everybody likes DaBaby, so for him to, his #1 joint, f*cking with what I did with it, like that’s lit that’s why I’m a rockstar, I wanted to do that, and he seen the vision and he f*ck with it so that's lit.
"Everybody was tagging him or whatever, so I guess he found out, and then later on in his story, he showed love in his story and was like, 'I f*ck with you.' Then I was like, aiight bet DaBaby f**** with me, you know what I’m saying? I like DaBaby, DaBaby’s fire, everybody likes DaBaby, so for him to, his #1 joint, f*cking with what I did with it, like that’s lit that’s why I’m a rockstar, I wanted to do that, and he seen the vision and he f*ck with it"
We were both talking about Whole Lotta Red earlier and your latest song “Bih Yah.” One thing that I think a lot of fans are super excited about is your Playboi Carti impersonation is so spot-on, how were you able to develop that impression in the first place?
[Laughing] Honestly, it’s because I’m such a great producer and I have a good ear, that’s really why. I know I can listen to things and replicate it pretty well. For example, DaBaby “Rockstar,” the song, the day I was trying to remix it I had no internet but I was trying to find the instrumental online. I was like damn, how am I going to get it, and then I was like, lemme just remake it. So, I made the beat; that’s me, I did what I had to do, remade the entire beat just listening to it over and over again. So I can pretty much replicate anything.
How serious are you about dropping your own “Whole Lotta Red?”
So serious, I should probably be doing it like today, today’s the 11th and the sh*t didn’t drop so today it’s happening.
How many songs did you make in that style that you would wanna drop?
It’s funny bro like I haven’t announced how I wanna do it. I’m still playing it by ear I might do a part 1, 2, or 3 type thing, whatever can provoke this man to get him to drop. I don’t know if I’m going to give it all to 'em at once cause I’m trying to figure out the best way possible to get him to drop, to alert him. I don’t know, I’m still figuring it out. I’m just trying to get this man to drop this album.
"Before I blew up, way before I blew up, I was one of those fans in the comment section like “bro, drop Whole Lotta Red bro,” and we’ve been doing that for two years. So I figured, of sh*t, I got a platform, this n*gga gon hear it cause there’s no way [Playboi Carti]'s not going to know, everyone’s going tag him and let him go."
Why did you decide to call him out so publicly in the first place?
Cause like, before I blew up, way before I blew up, I was one of those fans in the comment section like “bro, drop a Whole Lotta Red bro,” and we’ve been doing that for two years. So I figured, of sh*t, I got a platform, this n*gga gon hear it cause there’s no way he’s not going to know, everyone’s going tag him and let him go. So I was like yeah, I got a platform now, let me use my platform for the good and give the world what they need, cause obviously, we know how Carti is, cause he’s been doing it for two years, saying he’s going to drop, so I was like you know what if you don’t do it bro, I’m going to do it. For the culture, because the thing is people care about the baby voice in the songs, it’s not like Carti does antics and people care about the publicity stunts-- people actually like the music. So if people like the music from him, then I’ll just give the people what they want instead of having them waiting another two years and I’m a fan of him so I was like f*ck it, and everybody was f*cking with it and respects me for it, as they should cause it’s like bro, two years is uncalled for it is. I don’t feel like there’s an excuse honestly.
Last night he kind of went on social media and baited everyone into thinking he was gonna drop.
I’m finna go crazy on social media after we're done here. I'm gonna yell, I’m finna be like, bro you lied! You lied!
Akademiks says the album might be dropping on Christmas and it might be executively released by Kanye. How do you feel about all that?
I don’t know man, I call cap. He coming up with all these goofy dates like how he know, I’m just saying, whole lotta cap. I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t care what’s going to happen. All I want is the album, fosho. I don’t care who the executive is, I just want it to drop.
Obviously, since you’re a big fan of his, how has he influenced your music specifically?
He hasn’t influenced my music, per say, I just really like his music. I would say influences for the music I make are like rock bands, definitely like Breaking Benjamin, Five Finger Death Punch, Pan of Terror, but he’s just one of those artists I really like.
"When I started songwriting, I was already in a dark place and I needed something to cope with, and relate with, and rock music, you can hear their emotion and their pain regardless, like they’re not whispering."
When did you start listening to a lot of rock and metal bands because listening to your music, it’s very clear that there’s that influence in it.
This year, when I started songwriting, I was already in a dark place and I needed something to cope with, and relate with, and rock music, you can hear their emotion and their pain regardless, like they’re not whispering. They’re not doing none of that, it’s real music and real emotion behind it, so I started listening to it and got hooked and just got really inspired. It got me through a lot, like a lot of the pain and depression I was going through with COVID, not me having COVID but just COVID being available to the world, us not being able to leave and all that, it was just bad. A lot of opportunities weren't being presented anymore, I was already financially unstable, that just was on top of it, and it was bad, so rock music, metal, the emotion in all that really got me through it. So, just being able to release that and replicate it really got me through a lot, as well. So definitely around the beginning of this year, around 2020, I always listened to it and was here and there, and was into the rock aesthetic-- I like rocksthetic I might start saying that-- but, the aesthetic of it, I always knew the culture. But I really got into it like January.
What artists did you grow up on and made you fall in love with music in the first place?
[Laughing] Chief Keef, he’s probably the main one. And I know that’s funny to say cause I obviously sound nothing like him but when I was just a listener, around 13, 14 or whatever, just a listener not into music at all, Chief Keef is what did it for me. Like at that time, I was trying to think about if I ever had a favorite artist until I started listening to him, like he was my favorite artist, for sure of all time, he’s amazing, he’s the GOAT.
"When I was just a listener, around 13, 14 or whatever, just a listener not into music at all, Chief Keef is what did it for me. Like at that time, I was trying to think about if I ever had a favorite artist until I started listening to him, like he was my favorite artist, for sure of all time, he’s amazing, he’s the GOAT."
Before you were mentioning the ‘rockstethic.’ You’ve got the spiked choker, you’ve got the bracelets, the red hair, when did you start to develop that sense of style?
It started to grow on me. I mean, I want to say like right before I dropped “Crush” I started to do these type of things, just being inspired by the culture and the look, it kind of strengthened me, you know, the look of it and the vibe of it, so. I want to say, like June, cause June is when I dropped my first song. June 19th is the day I dropped my song so yeah, around that time.
KATAI - Audible Treats
Being able to match your visuals with your music and now being able to match the way you dress and the way you look with your music, how important is that for you to be able to blend and do everything together?
'Cause at the end of the day it’s branding. I feel like that’s another thing, you know, let people know who you are and if it’s confusing then they’ll forget, they’re not gonna take the time out of their day to figure it out and you’re not able to tell them. For visuals, vibes, all that.
In terms of other genres, we’ve been seeing a lot of other artists blend different genres with hip hop, we saw RMR back in March with the country crossover but obviously with your music, it’s probably the heaviest crossover we’ve seen in a while. What are your plans in terms of continuing to push those boundaries?
Continue to push it man, you know. There’s no limit, we’re just gonna keep going and keep driving, and enjoy the ride cause right now, it’s definitely a ride and it’s amazing. Somebody was just telling me this like enjoy it, meaning like this feeling when it first happens I only get once for at the beginning for it to happen, I only get it one time, everyone only gets it one time. I’m just enjoying it, just taking it all in. I’m just glad that what I’m doing, it’s hitting so rapidly and so fast, but the reason why is cause nobody’s ever seen it done like this. Like you said, the heaviest you guys have seen in a long time and I had no idea I was going to be cultivating an entire genre. So weird for it to be happening the way it’s happening and I’m like, the main source on it, I’m creating everything the beats, the chords, my lyrics. It's pretty crazy. It's a blessing, for real, for real.
In your future songs, would you ever consider bringing a metal artist as a feature or a crossover like that?
That would be legendary bro, that’s all I gotta say.
So you’ve got something in the works?
Yeah. Definitely in general yeah, I want to work with people in general, like Breaking Benjamin and Five Finger Death Punch, all of them. I want to do all types of stuff, bro.
In terms of your singing voice, you were saying you didn’t even know you could sing that well.
I had no idea I could sing that well! I didn’t even know I could sing in general. I guess cause I was in such an emotional state, and most singers, it's emotional, it's spiritual, it comes from the soul. I guess I was crying out and it just came out the way it came out, its kind of incredible. I’m happy now, when I get into it anything I’m feeling, I let it out and it’s fire.
You were talking about the Whole Lotta Red album... potentially you’ll put that out. Do you have any plans for an upcoming EP or a full album of your style of music?
After that, yeah I’m back to my rockstar sh*t. I just gotta do this for the culture bro, we been waiting for too long, but after that, after all of this, I’m back to the rockstar and it’s looking like I might have to do the album which is weird 'cause, like, I have six songs out now and the people are so interested and ready and so tuned in, that it looks like I might have to drop an album. It's crazy cause you got artists who drop singles for years before they actually get the buzz or opportunity to drop an album, but the buzz that I’m getting and the speed that I’m going at, just the response it’s looking like I might have to skip to an album, just go straight into it but f*ck it, gotta give them what they want.
And what’s your creative process like? When you sit down and create a Mario Judah song, what are the steps that are involved with that?
I have to have water with me because I warm my voice up so I have to have water with me. Right before I record I warm my vocals up, saying things like “yeah, yeah” and listening to the beat and coming up with different vibes, figure out what works. I like to start with my hook essentially. I look at songs being written, and it should be written like a story, meaning, you know, your hook essentially is like the summary of your story. The summary in a few sentences tells you what the story is about and your hook should do that.
"I look at songs being written, and it should be written like a story, meaning, you know, your hook essentially is like the summary of your story. The summary in a few sentences tells you what the story is about and your hook should do that."
Your hook should be catchy and let the listener know right away what the name is and your first verse is essentially the first paragraph explaining what the story is about. So that’s why I feel like “Die Very Rough” was so, it was so different because it was so direct. I was talking about one subject thoroughly and I went through it like I wrote it like a real story, like an actual story. It wasn’t like how rappers will say “I f*cked your b*tch, pull up in a whip, shoot at n*ggas.” That’s three different subjects I just put in one whole bar, there’s no real storyline in that. Me, I made an entire storyline and it made sense, and it was direct, and I wasn’t using metaphors, and I said it as clear as possible. That’s why it did with it did, and that’s how I write all my songs. I make it as clear as possible, as thorough as possible, I treat it like English class. I make it thorough and well-spoken, that’s how I write them.
The timing of you blowing up is weird because of COVID. Most artists go viral and can immediately perform their tracks. Let’s use Desiigner with “Panda,” as soon as he released that song he’s able to go to clubs and perform it for people and he’s able to keep that momentum going that way. For you, having to stay in the studio and not being able to be out as much, how have you been able to adapt and keep your career going?
Man, it’s the fans. Honestly, they’re so loyal and amazing and they just wanna hear more 'cause it’s new. It’s a new thing, no one’s ever seen it. I would be super afraid and I’ve said this before, I would be out of it if I came out viral and I sounded like someone else, or I had a relative sound of what’s in right now. I would be afraid, I would be like damn, anyone could snoop by and take it and do what they want, it’s already been done. If I was like a regular rapper talking ‘bout 'pull up,' I’d be afraid, but my sound is so new, it’s so organic. But people are gonna love it, either way, they’re gonna want more. Like I want more, I wanna see what I can create 'cause it’s new to me. I don’t even use guitars in my song, the only guitars I’ve used was “Rockstar” cause that’s what they used, all my other songs ain’t got guitar in it, it’s that voice, that energy. The rockstar energy that gives off that vibe and for me, put that on trap beats, it’s never been done, not how I’m doing it. It’s pretty dope, it’s amazing.
Once COVID is over, and you’re able to start doing shows, your songs have so much energy that it’s going to be electric whenever you’re on stage so how excited are you for those appearances?
[Laughing] Oh man, bro. That’s what everybody keeps saying right now, soon as he’s able to perform it’s awrap, 'cause everybody seen what happened at Rolling Loud and that wasn’t even nothing 100% and that was what it was, so I’m going to be doing backflips, frontflips, I’m gonna be doing all types of crazy s*** on stage. F*ck it, I don’t even know how to do a backflip I’m gonna do it, f*ck it.
During COVID, what was your living situation like, were you living alone, or were you cooped up in the studio all day, how was that for you?
I was in a situation where a person was renting out a house to different tenants and we were living together, but obviously people you didn’t know, you were paying rent for a room. And it was terrible bro, living with people in a dirty small house that I didn’t even know, it was terrible bro, and that was also itself pretty depressing but I’m here now in my beautiful crib and it’s pretty lit though.
How did you find the ability to get in the studio, did you have a friend who knew people?
Making beats and all that, I was a producer you know you can make beats in your room, so me being able to, I bought a mic and what I would do is, I would go around the city recording with people and I would have a mobile set up. Meaning like I had my bookbag, laptop, mic in it, everything. And I just always had equipment, so I just set up a mic-stand in my room and recorded in my room and that’s just how it went about.
KATAI - Audible Treats
Aside from making music and going harder with that stuff, did you pick up any other hobbies for quarantine, and if so what are they?
During quarantine, um, nah. I feel like my whole hobby/love is making beats and music, and there isn’t really nothing else that I’m into right now. I love loving my fans right now. Talking to them, learning more about them, going out and taking pictures with them, it’s pretty lit man.
That’s dope man. And you know, you were talking about all these different challenges that you had at the start of the year. For you what was the hardest part of 2020?
Psh, for me, just trying to strive to get my beats out there and get a placement. That was my thing at first, well that was always my thing when I was just a producer, was just trying to get a placement. You know what a placement is, when a producer gets their big chance with an artist so yeah, I was just striving for that, so like I said it’s crazy cause like right before I dropped my first song or whatever, June 19th in the summertime in June, my motto before I did that was if I can’t get any placements I’ll give myself one, essentially meaning I’ll be the artist. I’ll play the artist role, blow myself up and as a producer, get my placement.
And it’s lit cause I definitely got all the placements, and it’s me who’s being the artist right now which is awesome. It’s like, boxing right now, what I’m doing. For a producer, like my dad always used to tell me cause I used to play football, you got a player on the field who’s going all hard and doing their thing. You got some other people who might be slacking and that’s what causes you to lose the game, you know. I would go hard in each game when I would play football when I was younger, you know why we keep losing this and not the other, he’s like, 'all I could tell you son, if there were 30 Mario’s on the team,' 'cause you know you’re putting in all your work so when it comes to sports and things like that and boxing-- because with boxing, it’s you and one other man in the field so there ain’t no excuse, it’s up to you to do this and up to you to do that. For me to be like, let me stop being dependent on other rappers and their sh*t because I was just so tired like-- why am I stressing overgrown men doing what it is that they should do? I was tired of that. So I was like you know what, let me put it on my own self, do everything myself, 'cause I know how to do everything, I know how to record, I know how to mix I know how to get it out there, let me just do it myself. And then it just did what it did. Such a blessing.
Moving forward in your career, what are some of your long-term goals?
[Laughing]. It’s so many bro. For one, all together, and when I mean the world I literally mean every single person in the world, what I want to do for the world is to inspire the world, motivate the world, change the world, give the world what it is that they need. Like, I just want to, there’s so many things. I don’t want to give a default answer like everyone else says, it’s that times a billion what I want to do. I want to really impact the universe you know in like a big way, leave nothing behind. 'Wow, he really came on this earth and did that, he was really here during this time like he really did something.' I feel like I already kind of am, leading and cultivating this journey this thing that’s happening early so it’s really amazing. I know that kind of doesn’t answer your question but I don’t know like you know. Basically what everyone else wants to do, but times a billion.
Lastly, when people think of Mario Judah, what do you want them to think of?
A rockstar. Cause that’s what it is, there ain’t nothing to portray. I’m still independent, I’m doing everything off of what I feel. And that’s another thing when it comes to independence and signing, that something I was saying recently I don’t want to sign or do a deal if it’s not about the fans and helping them get through their problems so if I can’t move the way I move for them to be able to enjoy it then it’s not a good move.
Good luck with everything in the future and can’t wait to hear Whole Lotta Red [laughing].
I hope not, I hope he drops his sh*t but, thank you.