Three studio LPs and several mixtapes later, Slim Thug is still moving like a boss in the proverbial game of life.
After premiering a four-part documentary that chronicles his rise in Hip-Hop, and celebrating 10 years of his critically-acclaimed debut album, Already Platinum, Thugga joins the ranks of Jermaine Dupri and Meek Mill with “Rolls Like A Boss,” his newest mobile app venture under the Twistory umbrella.
“This game is legendary,” said Slim Thug. “I know it sounds biased because it’s my game, but it’s for a reason. You got games where people fight, where people play sports, where people do all kinds of reckless things. [But] you don’t really have a game that portrays real life.”
Much like in real life, the premise of the game is to “dodge the haters and scoop up the ladies.” Hip-Hop Wired caught up with the boss man to get the exclusive scoop on his new game and latest music, which segued nicely into the topics of Straight Outta Compton and police brutality.
Roll Like A Boss available on iTunes now.
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Hip-Hop Wired: You released the Hogg Life documentary, which chronicles your rise to fame. Talk a little about that and what went behind creating it.
Slim Thug: I decided to drop an album series, because I wanted to break down my life story for the younger fans. I wanted to break down where I came from, and the ups and downs of the game. I’ve been doing this since I was 17, and today I’m independent and the boss of my own company.
Which now includes owning your own app.
Oh yea, definitely. It’s pretty exciting.
Why a mobile device game and not the traditional video game?
People are pretty addicted to their phones. Everybody is attached to their mobile devices; we’re always listening to our music, on Instagram, or using social media. So, I’m just trying to get to where everyone’s at.
What sets this app game apart from all the others?
This game is legendary. [Laughs] I know it sounds biased because it’s my game, but it’s for a reason. You got games where people fight, where people play sports, where people do all kinds of reckless things. You don’t really have a game that portrays real life. Most young males, for example, are into finding girls. They go to the club, meet women and basically try to win them over. That’s real life for a lot of players. And then at the same, much like in real life, you got haters you meet along the way. So the whole premise of the game is to dodge the haters and pick up the women — see who can scoop up the most women. The ad libs in the background are hilarious, too. [Laughs]
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Photo: Instagram
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And the music sounds cool also.
Yeaaaaaa…
So, what music can fans expect to hear while their dodging haters and picking up pretty women? Rick Ross is on there…
Right. I want to continuously drop new exclusives on the game. But right now, we have a few of my favorite records, the kind of music you ride around to in your whip.
What cities can fans choose from?
New York, Cali, Miami […] but it had to also include Houston. It was important for me to rep Houston because my city isn’t always included in games. I also plan on adding more cities from the South that [we] never get to see or hear about.
Your latest single “Chuuch” features an audio clip by Houston pastor Joel Osteen. What’s the inspiration behind that song?
I was working on my second album and one of my producers who worked on a lot of my earlier stuff sent me a track that sounded like a Gospel song. I actually go to Lakewood Church where Joel Osteen preaches. It’s in Houston. I’ve been going there for a long time. I’m a big follower of him […] I was at church one day and his message at the time seemed so personal, it seemed like he was talking directly to me. It was so moving that it inspired me to do a song about it and sample him and the message. And he has a way of breaking things down, so I kinda wanted to do the same thing for the streets. [I wanted to] send out a good message in the midst of all the negative things happening around us.
Speaking of, do you have any thoughts on current issues surrounding police brutality and the #BlackLivesMatter movement?
I just saw Straight Outta Compton the other day, and that took place in the late 80s, early 90s. To see a lot of the same things happening now is crazy. I just hope that because of social media exposing so many of these incidents, that somebody will have some sort of solution to [police brutality], or that somebody will step up and require [body] cameras to be used at all times. Something has to change. But I know a lot of people who don’t come from that environment. There are some bad cops, but let me say that there are ones who are not crooked, who are not bad. I know a lot who are really cool and do their jobs the way it’s supposed to be done. I do hope it gets better. I hope one day it comes to a point where it’s hard for cops to do the wrong stuff.
You mentioned earlier that you’ve done so much independently, and accomplished so much without major label backing. What’s your definition of a boss?
Someone who is in control of their own destiny.
