HHW: You’ve been incarcerated a few times. What made the last time the last straw?
Hardo: I noticed that the streets are all fine and dandy at first. I can do this, make this money, and possibly get out and go under the radar. I didn’t think sh*t could happen and change so drastically in a split second. You never know.
If I would have lost the case, I probably would have gotten 10 to 15 years; I wouldn’t have been around for a minute. When you’re in there, you see people with 20 years or life sentences; guys have been in jail longer than I’ve been alive. People get arrested everyday and don’t see the sh*t coming. Jail isn’t for anybody.
HHW: I read that you wrote a book during your prison bid. What was that about?
Hardo: Yeah, I wrote a book. And it was easy to write one in jail. It’s harder for me to write rhymes and get different melodies and flow patterns in jail without an instrumental. At the time, I was fighting a case, so it was like f*ck a song right now. Who’s to say that anyone would ever hear it?
I do create music in jail, though. But I’m not able to sit down and write a thousand records. I wrote maybe a few.
HHW: I was more focused on the content of the book. Care to elaborate?
Hardo: I’m really capturing the detail of my story. The book is about what I want to do with music. I actually cited different lyrics in songs I haven’t put out, songs I’d recorded, and describe the life experiences that inspired the lines.
HHW: Were artists like T.I., Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller in contact while you were down?
Hardo: Yeah, I spoke to anybody who supported me. But I try not to think about the outside world when I’m incarcerated fighting a case. Especially with the time I was facing, there was no telling when I would get out. When you make those phone calls, you can get excited about a life it may take years to see again.
Plus, I have kids. I spent most of my time calling to see if my boys were ok.
HHW: What’s a misconception about Hardo?
Hardo: A lot of people haven’t gotten to see what I have going on. They only know what’s on YouTube. But when Trapnati drop, it’s going to show people that I’m really an artist.
I believe that I can be one of the greatest artist to ever do it. People of status that I’ve studied (I look up to Jay Z) I want to be bigger and better than. When I do my homework and look at what artists were creating at 22 years old, they hadn’t perfected their sound like I have early in the game. I feel like things will be even crazier 10 years down the line.
