G-Eazy Picks Your Hip Hop Party Playlist

If you haven’t heard of G-Eazy, it’s time you got acquainted. The 25-year-old Oakland rapper is well on his way to a ‘big deal’ status in the US and abroad, with his second album These Things Happen topping at number three on the Billboard 200 chart in June of last year. While G-Eazy has been making music since he was a in high school freshman and throughout his time at Loyola University of New Orleans, his profile began rising after he dropped his independent debut album Must Be Nice in 2012.

So, in advance of G-Eazy’s two shows in Canada on his second nation-wide tour – he played Toronto last night and will play Montreal tonight – we asked the dapper, rising rapper about his favourite hip-hop tracks. Here’s the G-Eazy-approved and curated hip-hop playlist that gets him going on tour and after the shows.

 

Congrats on your second album These Things Happen, which is getting a lot of play and climbing the charts. How have things changed for you in the past year?

The [success] of the album was a bench mark, a point of validation for all the work that went into it. It was that kind of moment. But we’re still the same people. I try not to look up or down, but keep going day by day, and just keep working.

What’s the tour been like so far with E-40?

That was the last leg – doing a tour with someone I grew up listening to and idolizing. It’s like a victory lap – you spend a lot of time hibernating, working hard in the studio, recording and then you need to get a chance to spin around. And when you tour, you experience the songs in front of the fans. It comes to life. It’s always exciting.

What are you looking forward to the most this year?

I’m working on my next album and I’m excited on putting the pieces together…get it fleshed out. I’m really diving into it as soon as I’m done this tour. I have some time to set up shop and to work. I’ve got a couple pieces tucked away. I’m done the tour at the end of February and will be making appearances at a few music festivals, but I’m just looking forward to recording new music.

What’s your approach to style?

I  have a classic look, I think. It’s like classic meets contemporary. Pieces like my leather jacket and my varsity jackets, they’re not new ideas, they’re just classic styles, but are more modern. I’m really minimalist, to be honest. My style is simple. I like wearing all black – less is more, pretty straight-forward. Don’t worry about colours and name brands, you know? You can just be clean.

What are your go-to brands or favourite pieces to wear?

I have a Saint Laurent leather jacket that’s pretty much the Holy Grail. Saint Laurent, Supreme, KENZO, APC, Acne.