MEMPHIS — Moneybagg Yo — Bagg to Friends — Returning to his hometown of Memphis hadn’t gone as planned, so when he returned one Friday in July, he was prepared for the occasion. Tops, shorts and sneakers: Louis Vuitton. His chains and earrings: heavy and bright. His nails: Freshly polished and shiny. His Cadillac His Escalade: Bulletproof.
He had arrived to perform at the 8th Annual Birthday Bash, a concert hosted by Memphis rap heavyweight Yo Gotti. Of his performance at FedExForum, home of the Memphis Grizzlies, he said, “I feel like Michael Jackson at home. ‘This is who made you.'”
Over the past few years, Bag — real name DeMario Dewayne White Jr. — has steadily reached audiences far beyond his hometown. His final album “A Gangsta’s Pain” in 2021 topped Billboard’s album charts, his first at No. 1, following his two debuts in the Top 5. Billboard rap placed his five consecutive singles in the top 20 of his charts. Two of his songs, “Said Sum” and “Wockesha”, became his pop hits, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
He’s a sneaky, lyrical rapper — bursting with belligerent talk, but also with sarcasm. His flow is syrupy, often swallowing syllables, but not the verite imagery and hilarious conversational tone that makes some of his best lyrics sound like addresses that test direct courage. “Wokesha” The 2021 track, which samples DeBarge’s “Stay With Me” (similar to Notorious BIG’s “One More Chance”), showed Bagg that he could record more melodic and tender songs, broadening his appeal. rice field.
“I’m glad ‘Wockesha’ has become popular and it’s happened because people accept me for its melodic vibe,” he said. “Bug can do it now. We don’t look at him like crazy.”
This fall he will release his fifth studio album. Although he now lives primarily in Atlanta, his itinerary for the day sums up how deep his hometown roots run. “I’m definitely still connected here,” he said. “When I’m not home, I’m home.” His first stop was at a nail salon, then bought last year as a 30th birthday gift from his girlfriend, social media influencer Ali Fletcher. It was 28.8 acres of overgrown land. Driving by the property, he laughed as he pointed out the boundaries of his property. It’s still going on. It’s still going on! I can still go! “
Ultimately, we want to host a community center, dirt bike path, paintball course, and more. After holding a brief meeting with the contractor to discuss the cost of the first wave of landscaping, He picked up his four-year-old son, Mari, one of eight children, and drove to the Walker Homes neighborhood near South Memphis, where he grew up. costume.
“I’m just about ready to have my kids’ birthdays,” Bagg said of the long and unforgiving road he faced early in his career. “Until three years ago, I sacrificed birthdays, holidays, football games, and donuts with my dad. , I’ve been trying to offer them all this time.
Bagg has been releasing music for ten years. First gaining local prominence with his mixtape, then starting with his 2015 “Federal,” which brought him to wider attention. His first major label his album was released in 2018 (his music has been released by Yo Gotti in partnership with his CMG Records and N-Less Entertainment he is on Interscope). )
As he began to find wider success, Bagg said he was surprised to learn that many of the established stars like Future were longtime fans. Pharrell produced the track “A Gangsta’s Pain”. Bagg formed a strong bond with rapper Kevin Gates, promoting his conversion to Islam 2018; he travels with an $8,000 prayer mat, a gift from Gates.
More than ever before, region-specific raps are able to top the charts in a relatively naive way, and Bugs’ victory is largely on his own terms. He prefers working with his own string of producers over the more well-known producers.
Bagg has grown into the biggest rap star to come out of Memphis in a generation, so he needs to take care of himself even at home. His two oversized guards, apparently with military training, accompanied him throughout the day.
“They had to make me understand that. Like, you need that. That’s what makes you a superstar,” Bagg said. “Not because I am afraid, but because I am smart.”
He had just arrived at Crystal Palace, a skating rink where the teenage Bag and his friends were out on a weekend night. The rink has been closed for years, but Bagg is in contact with city officials about a possible revitalization.
“I’m very comfortable. I can wear my house shoes now,” he said, almost laughing.
A few minutes later he headed to “The Red Store.” This is a bare bones convenience store that is the only retail outlet on the block in the middle of a street dotted with run-down houses. “We gambled there,” he said, pointing to a house up the block. He has a picture of his shop tattooed.
He walked into the building, greeted the employees and fans, and told the employees to buy all the Rap Snacks chips. his signature flavor (Heat vs. Hot and Dill Pickle Jalapeño), then peeled off a few $100 bills to give to the store owner.
Bagg’s next destination was a very personal one. In January he visited for the first time the grave of his longtime friend Nuskie, who died at the age of 24. “I’m just handling it better now.”
He sat down and rolled a blunt out of a bag of weed, thinking about his trajectory. “Every time I cancel a project, something always happens before I get promoted, like hardship,” he said, naming his parcel after his Nuskie. I added that I plan to. Then, all day long, he was silent.
But the show beckoned. By now he was traveling in a car caravan full of old friends. I met fellow label mate and friend rapper EST Gee, who was also in town for a concert.
Once the store was claustrophobic and well over 100 people filled the room, he headed to Straight Drop, a seafood restaurant in North Memphis. The building’s lobby was filled with pallets of bottles of Bagg’s investment in alkaline water Vior (“It’s clean every day”). EST Gee filmed a video for their new song “Strong” in a parking lot.
Earlier in July, he performed in front of tens of thousands of people at his first international show, London’s Wireless Festival, where he returned home to become a platinum rapper and continue the old ways. He said his recent string of successes only gave him the courage to double down on the specificity of his sound. He said the new album would be a return to the energy of his “Federation” days. He recently had his diamond tooth permanently restored to his Flores.
“Traps rule the world now,” he said. “It’s not restricted anymore.”