TRUTH ON BEING AN XXL FRESHMAN: “When my label called me with that sh*t, I was jumping around like a little kid. I’m damn near finna punch a hole in the wall, I’m so turnt. I was finna celebrate, but I was so burnt out, I just laid in my bed. I was just looking at the ceiling, just thinking about everything.

Where I was at six months ago, a year ago, I didn’t expect sh*t be like this, I really didn’t. I knew I’m working hard for a reason. I’m doing music sh*t this long for a reason, but I slick thought I was gonna be in my 30s just trying to make it rapping.

I ain’t gonna lie, the past few years, I was going through a bunch of sh*t. Homeless. Everything, like, I was sleeping out front of Whole Foods, couch-hopping, sleeping in cars, all type of sh*t. I wasn’t really as tuned in the past year, two years. I know who’s on the list the past two years, but probably before that, I’ve been tuned in since the 2014 [class].

J. Cole, Kevin Gates, Rich Homie Quan, Lil Durk, Lil Uzi, Playboi Carti, XXXTentacion, Kodak Black, Lil Yachty, you see everybody on [XXL Freshman covers]. Everybody who really that. That sh*t explain itself. Just being a part of that list, like, that sh*t do it for me.

I think I’m funny as hell and I can rap my a*s off, bro, no bullsh*t. I be making bars a bih ain’t never said. Like, who the f**k said, ‘Glock got a red d**k like a dog do?’ Who said that sh*t? Ain’t nobody that done thought of that sh*t. So, like, that’s what I feel like I bring to this sh*t. I feel like a bi**h don’t gotta be serious all the time. I make serious songs, too, but a lot of the times I’m just having fun, and I feel like that’s what music is about.

You’re doing that sh*t to have fun. Whatever the f**k you’re going through in life, I’m in the booth. If I’m making a serious song, I’ma be in the booth tearing up thinking about lil bro or whatever the f**k I’m going through. And I don’t even like doing that sh*t. I’ll do that sh*t every now and then. I feel like bringing that funny side. Just energetic. That sh*t really do something.

I feel like it’s perfect timing, because I just blew up like six months ago. So, it’s like, I’m a real freshman. It’s perfect. If you get an opportunity like this, and you don’t take advantage of it, and you don’t get on your feet and get on that, I don’t know what you smoking.”—C. Vernon Coleman II