Page 4 of 4 - Certified Fresh: IamSu!, The Bay Area's Crowned Prince - Hip

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.