Lil Mosey first exploded onto the scene with his song “Pull Up,” which eventually lead to a move to Los Angeles. Soon, he’d release “Noticed," serving as his first entry onto the Billboard Hot 100. But nothing can compare to the heights of “Blueberry Faygo,” which solidified his name as a mainstay in the music industry.
“Blueberry Faygo” not only took over radio airwaves all around the world but also surpassed over one billion streams to date. The song’s official music video currently hails over 328 million views and counting, in collaboration with Lyrical Lemonade. But 2024 Lil Mosey is not the same as 2020 Lil Mosey. Getting signed super early at only 15 or 16 years of age, Lil Mosey is now 22 years old and has a much better head on his shoulders. He quit the partying, the drugs, the lean, and even the weed, and now he’s spreading a positive message to his fans.
This may have had something to do with his case, where he was accused of rape back in 2021. Speaking on the situation, Mosey states, “For a long time, it definitely took a lot out of me mentally. It took a while to work through a lot of things. But where I’m at now, I look at it as a positive thing. I'm sober now. I'm more positive. I'm more of a happy person than I was before.” Lil Mosey was acquitted of all the charges last year.
HotNewHipHop spoke to Lil Mosey in downtown Los Angeles, the day he dropped his new song titled “Thug Popstar.” Read below as he discusses the new music, touring with Juice WRLD, and sobriety.
This interview has been edited & condensed for clarity.
How does it feel to be releasing music again?
It feels good. I had to step back for a second. But now that I'm back, I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. So definitely feels good.
How excited are your fans?
They're excited. We're dropping again tonight, it’s called “Thug Popstar.”
That’s very on brand. What can we expect from that song?
A look into the daily emotions, whether they're good or bad. Just a look into my life and what I'm going through. Definitely with the “Thug Popstar”... I dropped a song not that long ago [“Life Goes On”], they were like “Oh, he's trying to make pop music.” It's like nah, I'm a thug popstar. It’s what we do.
Did you anticipate that reaction from fans?
Of course, I know they were expecting something when I dropped that, and it wasn't what they expected. I knew it wasn't going to be what they expected, so I expected something from my fans in a way that was like: “we want this, we want that.” I knew it was gonna come, then I’m like okay, let me give them what they want. Alright fuck it, let’s do it.
There's a beauty though in being a creative artist, doing the sound you want to do and expanding. I don't think that should affect your… you know?
Yeah definitely. I try not to focus on what I think people want to hear, and try to focus on what I want to put out. But at the end of the day, I know my fans are the most important part of my career. At the end of the day, as much as I want to go off and do whatever I want, I still gotta give them stuff. Just so when I do go off and do what I want to do, they’ll respect it a little bit more, because at least they're fed. All this stuff is music I love anyways. Regardless if I put out “Thug Popstar” or if I put out “Life Goes On,” it's all from the heart.
How is music therapy for you?
For me, music’s everything really. Especially for a lot of people growing up, you don't really have a lot of people to turn to and talk to. For me, music has always been a therapy session for me. Like when I'm talking… “Thug Popstar,” I know it's a fun song. But in the actual depth of the song, it definitely came from the heart. It was me talking to myself on the song. The first verse of the song was definitely me having a conversation with myself. The second verse is what I've been going through recently, and where my head’s been at recently. There's some good shit on there, I'm excited. I’m excited to show everyone.
You got videos dropping for these records?
Yeah, we dropping the music video on Monday.
What can we expect?
It’s that Mosey swag, with my homie Yung Tada. Shout out Yung Tada.
How did your case weigh on your mental health?
For a long time, it definitely took a lot out of me mentally. It took a while to work through a lot of things. But where I’m at now, I look at it as a positive thing. I'm sober now. I'm more positive. I'm more of a happy person than I was before. Now I can really focus on how I see my life playing out the rest — I got a long time. [laughs] I got a long time left on this planet. I’m glad I had something to keep me in tact, ground me a little bit.
It's so crazy because you were on when you were 16. You're still only 22, which is so young. Were you ready for all that fame?
I think I was ready for it. I mean, I thought I was ready for it. I still don't know if I was ready for it or not. I don't know if I ever really know if I was truly ready for it. But I definitely know it’d be a lot different if it would have happened later. I just don't know what it would be like, and I don't really want to see it like that. It would happen the way it happened, and that was the best way it could’ve happened. I definitely have a lot of shit coming in. It's gonna be big, so I'm excited.
You found out about the whole situation from TMZ like the rest of the world. What was your initial reaction?
I was in disbelief a little bit, it didn't really seem real to me. Because there's no way, it didn’t feel real. I started getting phone calls, that's when it hit me like okay, this shit's happening. So I turned my phone off, stayed away from the internet for a while.
I saw you say you didn’t leave the house for two months.
Yeah, there was a time… because I was in Miami. I had to fly back home, then I went back to my house in LA. I didn't leave the crib for two months. My friend, he lived with me. He’d be going out. He's like “Bro, they keep asking where you at?” People are telling him like, "Bro, I know Mosey didn’t. He’s not that type of person.” That made me be like okay, maybe those people… because I didn't know. Right when that shit happened, I isolated myself. I didn’t know what the world or who the people around me was gonna say. I was scared for that. It took a while…
Were you recording, or how did you get through that tough time?
The first day I found out, I was recording in the studio, because I felt like that's what I needed. But then I stopped recording for a while.
Damn, when you can't even turn to music…
Yeah, I wasn’t really in the mood to do that. I just started playing video games. [laughs] I was in the crib playing video games.
What did you learn from that situation?
I learned a lot. I learned that I gotta watch who I keep around me and the situation I put myself into. Because a lot of stuff like that could have been avoided if I would’ve moved a little better and moved smart, and I didn't surround myself with…
What was the greatest memory touring with Juice WRLD?
Definitely hearing unreleased music, besides hanging out. He's definitely a good guy, RIP. I was hearing a lot of unreleased music, that was cool. Studio, 7 am in Chicago. That shit was lit.
When did you stop sipping?
A while ago. Definitely a while ago. It's been a while. I've been sober for a year and a half now, off of everything.
Good for you! How do you feel?
I feel good. I feel so good honestly. Mentally, I just feel here. I can actually have conversations and shit. [laughs] Because there's a lot of times, I'm sure in interviews and shit, I'd be sitting there high as fuck.
But that was the vibe of your peers.
Yeah, that was the culture I was in. That’s the lifestyle I was in. That's what it was and that's what I was around, but it definitely feels good.
With your platform, it'll empower fans so that they too can be sober. So I think it's very positive.
Yeah. Because I know throughout my career, I've definitely influenced a lot of negative shit. The other day a fan actually sent me a DM. He sent me a video of him hitting a Puffbar, some nicotine. He said “Yo, you inspired me to do this.” I said bro, please quit that shit. I’m sorry that I did that. I quit a year ago, so I said: I hope you can do it too. I didn't like seeing that. I gotta do better, definitely.