Certified Fresh: IamSu!, The Bay Area's Crowned Prince

To say that there’s a natural bias towards Los Angeles when discussing California’s contributions to Hip-Hop is unfair to a city that’s churned out a fair share of classic albums, but their Bay Area counterparts unquestionably receive an unfair shake in the conversation. For example, Compton native YG’s critically acclaimed debut, My Krazy Life (and DJ Mustard’s sound overall), is greatly inspired by Oakland’s Hyphy movement sound. But as LA rap culture moves in one direction, things are equally progressive in the Bay and that’s most apparent in IamSu! of the Heart Break Gang, or HBK Gang for short.

Many listeners became acquainted with the 24-year-old via his guest appearance on crew member Sage The Gemini’s 2013 hit record “Gas Pedal.” But longtime fans who’ve been listening to Suzy since 2010 know that his current success has been a long time coming. With eight mixtapes in the can, including HBK Gang’s Gang Forever compilation, the producer-rapper is gearing up to release his solo debut, Sincerely Yours, on May 13.

The wordsmith gathered a room full of journalist, photographers, and more at a private listening session for the LP at 333 Recordings in New York City on a brisk Wednesday night (March 26). Yours truly had the pleasure of hearing a Su!’s most mature project to date, though the fun-spirited aesthetic that’s fueled his growing popularity remains ever present.

Learn more about IamSu!, Sincerely Yours, and much more in Hip-Hop Wired’s Certified Fresh feature below.

Who: Born Sudan Ahmeer Williams, the Iamsu! moniker makes perfect sense. The rap up-and-comer hails from Richmond, CA., a city just northeast of San Francisco that’s much more violent than the Fog City. Su! managed to make it out his area unscathed due in part to his family’s musical influence. He attended Cal State East Bay near Oakland, where he managed to hone his rhyming skills, travel across the country, and handle his schoolwork, though teachers weren’t too enthused about his lifestyle.

Nevertheless, Su! managed to gain the respect of Bay Area legends like E-40, as well as rappers like Wiz Khalifa and 2 Chainz. However, his success didn’t come as quickly as it could have during a time when YouTube can quickly boost an artist’s stock. But a slow process is better than no process, as Su! puts his HBK Gang collective on the map one power move at a time.

Credentials: IamSu!’s growing list of accomplishments began in 2010 with his first mixtape Su! The Right Thing. Within a year’s time, Su! struck big with LoveRance’s smash single “Up!,” which he produced, co-wrote and featured on. After a second big feature on 40 Water’s hit “Function,” featuring YG and Problem (he’d go on to release Million Dollar Afro with the latter in the future), the ‘fro rocking rapper became a force to be reckoned with in his area. Su! continuously flooded the streets with songs that moved parties, but his blue collar work ethic paid off greatly in 2012 when he released three projects including Kilt and $uzy 6 $peed.

Remaining consistent has kept Su!’s name bubbling in the years since. That said, you’ll be hard pressed to hear any big record in the Bay Area without him on it. How’s that for a come up?

Fun Fact: Iamsu! is very big on Egyptian culture, which is why he’s been known to rock a chain with a sphinx on it.

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Photo: IamSu!

Hip-Hop Wired: How would you describe your Sincerely Yours LP?

IamSu!: It’s pretty much a concept album. It’s set up in a format of I’m writing directly to the fan. It’s certain songs that aren’t set up like regular structure. It’ll just be like a brain fart, you know what I mean?

I’ll just rap until I don’t have nothing else to say. And that’s my way of directly talking to people, but at the same time it’s a conventional songs – turn up songs. But everything, I just wanted it to sound bigger, better, and more polished

HHW: Is this grandiose sound a way to make a major label push?

IamSu!: [It’s] definitely not a push for the major label, because I plan on staying indie for as long as I can. I just want to make good music overall, and I want to get out of that realm of getting compared to these other people. I just want to separate myself, and I think it’s time to do that.

HHW: What would you say draws those comparisons?

IamSu!: It’s just a common sound that a lot of people have right now. It’s a Bay Area sound. And it’s time to diversify and show people that we can do other things. We’re not just a one trick pony. It’s time to turn up.

HHW: You’ve gained big connects in 2 Chainz, Wiz Khalifa, and other MCs. Is the album mostly feature heavy or done in house?

IamSu!: I kept it majority in house. Pretty much everybody that’s on there, we’re actual friends, so we just built off of that. And we always make songs. It made sense for those people to be on the album. I didn’t go and pay for a feature or do this and that. It was just people that I’m genuinely fans of and friends with.

HHW: Does the same go for the production?

IamSu!: Absolutely.

HHW: You said the LP was a story. Is it like a classic rap story?

IamSu!: I’m not going to say that I did the classic “I came up, now look” rap story. It’s a lot of stuff I’m talking about my parents — my relationship with my parents. The whole situation of me being the kind of person that I am, and not being super in the streets or super nerdy; just being a middle ground type of person, trying to find that balance, and trying to really discover who you are in the midst of everybody trying to push your around.

HHW: So self-actualizing is a central theme on he project?

IamSu!: Yeah, exactly. It’s like the pursuit of happiness and self-realization, and just really trying to take yourself to that level and that plateau.

HHW: You’ve been crowned the next up from the Bay. How do you live up to the pressure?

IamSu!: This what I always wanted, and I just need to deliver. I just work really hard on my music. I be up all night on my music, and I think that’s what it’s about. What’s more important than anything else is to focus on your craft.

HHW: The Bay Area’s contribution to rap often goes under appreciated. Meanwhile HBK Gang is the biggest movement from the area since the mid-2000s, so how do you plan to cement the Bay’s prominence?

IamSu!: Just keep pushing. It’s not going to stop. And we’re not feuding with each other. We’re not going to divide amongst ourselves. We’re just going to remain a unit and continue to push.

HHW: HBK’s influence has been seen in AT&T commercials and more. Do you think that’s an indication of what your clique will do once mainstream catches wind?

IamSu!: Yeah, absolutely, and I feel like this is our time now. We’re about to be on David Letterman tonight. Once we more looks like that, I think it’s going to spread like wildfire.

HHW: So, you’re in NYC around the time XXL is shooting their Freshman issue. Are you on the cover?

IamSu!: I’m not on it. I actually heard the list today. I already figured I wasn’t going to be on it, just because I know how that sh*t works. I’m not really tripping off of that sh*t like that, but I touched on it on the album. Shouts out to everyone on that’s on that list, definitely. They deserve it, but I just feel like I didn’t really need that.

HHW: We’ve seen tons of folks like Dom Kennedy and Casey Veggies, who easily could have made the cover, but never did.

IamSu!: It honestly just all politics, so it’s all good. Shouts out to XXL.

HHW: Let’s get back to the album with this last question. What do you want fans to get from Sincerely Yours?

IamSu!: I definitely want them to understand deeper, my story, who I am as a person; just how meticulous and how serious I am with my music. I plan to be here for a long time. I plan to be one of those contributors to the music industry for a very long time.