Detroit Rapper Talks New Album, Eminem and Eazy-E Comparisons – Monicamindful (2024)

Seventeen months is an eternity in the rap game. Legacies are established, careers soar while others fade, and fickle fans turn their attention to the next wave of fresh artists backed by tastemakers and labels.

Dugg, 42, was forced to sit on the sidelines as he was jailed for 17 months (from May 2022 to October 2023) for an illegal incident in 2019. weapons possession charge. The break temporarily halted Dugg’s momentum, which had built a solid foundation that had him talked about in the industry for two years at the start of the decade.

Meanwhile, a new crop of Detroit rappers (fronted by Veeze, Skilla Baby, and BabyTron) have taken over from Dugg and continued to play for the city in his absence. It’s been three years since 42’s last solo project — two years since he debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 — and Dugg knows he’s got some making up to do.

“I’m deprived of money and songs,” he says Billboard He’s disappointed when he recalls the prison offer. “You really miss out on an era. When I got out, it was all about the girls. It’s still going on. (Lil) Baby and I were talking and he said, ‘A lot of people aren’t listening to music right now. There’s a big drop in music purchases.'”

“Right now I’m thinking, ‘What can we do to get the most people to listen to it again?’ I know if they listen to it, they’ll like it,” Dugg says.

A compulsive gambler, 42 Dugg’s raspy Midwestern flow and signature whistle, which he records specifically for each track, bring his gambling habit back to life. 4eva We Neva They The album, which was released on July 4th and features contributions from her favorite rappers Jeezy, Meek Mill, Sexyy Red, Lil Baby and more.

There’s not much difference between the CMG/4PF rapper of a few years ago and now, but Dugg says he’s taking his work more seriously and taking each move with a lot of caution than he did in the past. Even amidst the chaos, Dugg doesn’t give a sh*t and goes where he thinks things are going. “I’m just living life, praying and trying to see if I can make it to Mega Million,” he says calmly, as if it’s a bible.

You can catch the rest of our interview below, where 42 Dugg talks about his Eminem fandom, gambling with James Harden, his issues with the BET Awards, and more.

What kind of mindset did you have when you started this album?

I just wanted to show people what my mindset is, what I’ve been through and how far I’ve come. I wanted that to come through in my music and I feel like I put together a good set of songs. My beat selection was spot on.

I heard you say in another interview the beats aren’t as punchy as they used to be. Open that up a little more.

Usually, you’ll find something in your first three beats. If you don’t, we’ll spend hours (for now) going through beats. Even the music—I feel like it’s going in a different direction than what people are rapping about. I wonder what happens if they run out of beats. What happens if they run out of patterns.

Then nothing will be original, everything will be some kind of sample or addition.

I feel like people do that. Even on my album, I noticed two beats where I was like, “Damn, this sounds like this.” “Megan” sounded like “Catch 1.” I was listening to that, like, “What the hell?” Maybe the producers are just getting lazy or running out of ideas. They might have writer’s block — beat block.

Did you learn anything while in prison that helped you improve your skills?

I would say I’ve slowed down with rapping. Even if I do a verse, I make sure to go back and fix a few lines. Before, I’d be like, “Let’s go!” Now, I’m like, “No, this has to mean something.”

How do you define the success of this album?

Streets, man! If one in three cars is playing, it’s cool. I ain’t gonna lie, I see a lot of albums that do well and I don’t hear them. This is the first place we go, but in Detroit you hear this sh*t in one in every two cars. You walk into a club, they’re playing. Everybody I see is like, “Congrats on the album, man.” And I’m like, “Yeah, this bitch is crazy.”

You’ve said that one of your favorite songs on the album is “Fresh Out the Feds.” How did that come about?

I had just come home and I was thinking about one of my little guys. In the first verse I’m talking to my little guys. Then in the second verse I’m talking to my other friends in prison. I’m trying to keep my little guys out of trouble. That’s the story. In the first verse I’m trying to keep him from going where they’re going. I’m keeping one out of trouble and trying to get one out of trouble.

Did you send the album to the prisons early?

This is what it’s supposed to be. I haven’t gotten a call from prison yet. It’s been about four days. They’re usually on my line so I wait for that the most. There’s some different sh*t out there. There’s some sh*t you can’t even swear at. Most of it is (new releases).

Are you actually whistling in these songs?

Yeah, I did each one differently. Live, Ron Artest.

How do you feel about Detroit having a moment in the rap world now compared to when you first got into the rap scene?

I feel like right now is the best opportunity we have as a city to go crazy. I’m just waiting for someone to go crazy. There’s a couple of people (knocking on the door). Everybody’s a song away. I tell them, “You don’t know how close you are.”

What was it like working with Jeezy on “BMF”? You told me in 2020 that you wanted to work with him.

Yeah, he’s my favorite rapper. Now, he’s my dude. (He started with this song.) I made it in 2020. I couldn’t leave the house. I made it at home and sent it to him. I got his number and he went right there. I finished it and told him, “I’ll do the first verse and you do the two verses in between.”

I tried to send that motherf*cker to 50 Cent. I’m at home thinking, “I’m gonna make a song BMF soundtrack. I’ll get Jeezy – the only motherf*cker that runs with them.” So I sent it to 50 and asked for it to be the theme song. I sent it to 50 and he said, “We don’t like Jeezy.” It went viral. “We’re f–king with Dugg, but we’re getting Jeezy.” No, we’re not getting Jeezy. Y’all are f*cked.

Was Eminem someone you looked up to when you were a kid?

Yeah, I can’t say I admire him, but I make fun of him. We street guys don’t admire anybody. We almost admire Big Meech. We come from the hood.

Isn’t anyone looking at Chauncey Billups?

No, no. We admired these people more.

You should be excited while watching 8 Miles.

I messed with Eminem. I knew half of Eminem’s songs. That’s Eminem. I’m gonna argue with motherf*ckers today. You can’t mess with Eminem. Wait, we got Eminem. But you can only admire people you see. I gotta get Eminem’s number. He was so f–king cold. Everything he does will be measured by “Stan,” “Mockingbird,” “Toy Soldiers.” I won’t tell you what he can’t do, but he’s trying to do one of those things.

People tell you that remind them of Eazy-E. Did you hear that?

That’s the sh*t I get from everybody. They tell me, “We want Eazy to do it again.” They want me to do anything Eazy-E related. They say, “Just do something.” I get y’all. I’m messing with him. That’s who Eazy was. They say he couldn’t rap and they taught him to rap.

Have you been to a casino lately?

Yeah, I went there and lost $60,000 playing Blackjack. This is not real Blackjack 50/50. I think they are cheating.

How big are the hands you play?

I’ve got like $2,000. I can get to $5,000. I’m not really that co*cky, but I hope I stay on my own and just play. I saw James Harden make $500,000. I’ve been trying to win him ever since. We were in (Las) Vegas and he blew their k–up. I learned how to play from him. I do everything he does and I couldn’t win. (It was) the Super Bowl.

What was the studio session like with J. Cole? How did you connect?

He was doing some studio stuff (in Atlanta). I pushed him and played him a couple of my songs. He said, “I’m not gonna lie, your sh*t is real hard. I want you to come.” I came in, we kicked it and worked on a couple of songs, that’s it. J. Cole’s turnt. J. Cole told me to just send him a real song. I should’ve sent him “Still Bout You.”

Who do you listen to in rap these days?

f*ck Bossman Dlow. f*ck Don Toliver. f*ck A Boogie’s s–t. I like Cash Cobain. I saw Ice Spice in person.

Are you saying something to him?

Yeah, definitely. I was like, “They can’t mess with you!” She just stared. GloRilla went crazy, JT went crazy. Girls went crazy. Sexy Red. Ice Spice is so cold. I’m not gonna lie, she might have had the best performance (at the 2024 BET Awards).

I thought Victoria Monét did it.

She’s cold. Where did she come from? I’ve heard the song before, but, damn, I’ve never seen her. She looks like a bad motherf*cker. I must have something going on. You think Tyla should have beaten Sexyy Red? No way! Then I saw her coming up and I was like, “I’m not gonna lie, this motherf*cker is cold.” Maybe she’s not even a part of Sexyy, but she’s better than a motherf*cker. I saw someone call Tyla an international superstar. I was like, “You must not have seen Sexyy. Sexy is international – she’s everywhere.”

What else are you going to do musically?

I want to release something else but we’ll see how much work we can put into it. We’ll see if we can make it even crazier. It’s been three years since I released my solo project. I’m trying to finish it Young and Turnt 3. Last one. I gotta do it before I get old, man. I’m 29. 30, done. I’ve never been 29, man, this sh*t is crazy.