G-Eazy: “I’m Still Trying to Figure It Out”

LOUDER: It's been a pretty wild few years for you. When you look back at everything that's happened since These Things Happen, what stands out the most?

G-Eazy: Honestly, just how fast everything moved. There was a point where I was playing tiny rooms and driving myself around, and then suddenly you're on a tour bus, you're doing arenas, you're meeting people you've looked up to your whole life. It's easy to forget where you started when everything starts moving that quickly.

LOUDER: These Things Happen came out in 2014, and it completely changed the trajectory of your career. Do you still hear that version of yourself when you listen back?

G-Eazy: Absolutely. I think there's a certain hunger in that music that you can only really have when you're still trying to prove something. You don't know if it's going to work, so you're willing to do anything. I still have that, but it's different now.

LOUDER: Do you miss that hunger?

G-Eazy: Sometimes. But I don't think you can recreate it. You can try, but you know too much now. The goal is to find a new reason to be hungry.

LOUDER: Your new album These Things Happen Too is obviously connected to that first album. Why revisit the title?

G-Eazy: It felt right. The first album was such an important part of my life, and I wanted this record to acknowledge that without trying to recreate it. It's not These Things Happen again. It's me looking at everything that's happened since then.

LOUDER: Did making this album feel different because of everything you've experienced since the first one?

G-Eazy: Yeah, definitely. I've lived a lot of life since then. I've had relationships, I've lost people, I've had incredible highs and some really dark lows. You can't go through all of that and make music the exact same way.

LOUDER: There are a lot of features on the album. You have Lil Wayne, Demi Lovato, Tyga, Jack Harlow, E-40 and a bunch of other artists. How do you decide who belongs on a record?

G-Eazy: It always starts with the song. I'm not trying to put somebody on a record just because their name is big. If their energy makes sense and they can bring something that I can't, that's when it gets exciting.

LOUDER: Working with E-40 must be especially meaningful considering where you're from.

G-Eazy: Absolutely. That's family. I'm from the Bay, so E-40 is one of those artists whose music was always around. Having him on my record is one of those full-circle moments where you're like, “Damn, this is actually happening.”

LOUDER: You've always represented Oakland and the Bay Area pretty heavily. Has your relationship with home changed as you've gotten bigger?

G-Eazy: I think you appreciate it more. When you're young, you just want to get out and see the world. Then you get older and realize how much home shaped you. Oakland is in everything I do. The way I talk, the way I dress, the music I listened to growing up. I can't separate myself from it.

LOUDER: “Breakdown” with Demi Lovato is one of the more personal records on the album. Was that difficult to put out?

G-Eazy: Yeah. It's always harder when you're being honest. You can hide behind a flex. You can make a song about money or girls and nobody really knows what's going on inside your head. When you're talking about mental health and the things you're actually struggling with, that's different.

LOUDER: Do you think you've become more comfortable being vulnerable in your music?

G-Eazy: Definitely. When I was younger, I probably cared more about looking cool. Now I'm more interested in being honest. That's more important to me.

LOUDER: You've been in the spotlight for a long time. Does fame ever get exhausting?

G-Eazy: Of course. Anybody who says it doesn't is lying. There are amazing parts of it, but there's also the part where everybody has an opinion about you. You have to learn how to separate yourself from that.

LOUDER: Do you read what people say about you online?

G-Eazy: Sometimes. I try not to. [Laughs] But everybody does it. You can tell yourself you're above it, but then somebody sends you something and you're like, “Wait, what did they say?”

LOUDER: What's the biggest misconception people have about you?

G-Eazy: Probably that they know me because they know the character I play in my music. There's obviously some truth in it, but there's a lot more to me than the guy people see in videos.

LOUDER: You've gone from being an independent artist to one of the biggest names in rap. Do you think you'd do anything differently if you were starting today?

G-Eazy: I think I'd still do it the same way. I came up through the internet, through mixtapes, through YouTube and SoundCloud and just grinding. The tools are different now, but the idea is the same. You have to build something people actually care about.

LOUDER: What do you think is the biggest difference between G-Eazy in 2014 and G-Eazy in 2021?

G-Eazy: I know myself better. That's probably the biggest thing. I'm still figuring it out, though. I don't think you ever completely figure it out.

LOUDER: You've accomplished a lot of the things you were rapping about when you were younger. What do you want now?

G-Eazy: That's the question, right? [Laughs] When you're young, you have these really obvious goals—get signed, get a hit, go on tour, buy the house, whatever. Then you get some of those things and realize you need something deeper. I'm still figuring out what that is.

LOUDER: So what's next?

G-Eazy: Keep making music. Keep touring when we can. Keep working with artists I respect. And just keep trying to make something that matters.

LOUDER: After everything, do you still feel like you're hungry?

G-Eazy: Yeah. Maybe not the same kind of hungry. But yeah. Definitely.

LOUDER: One last question. If you could tell the G-Eazy who was making These Things Happen one thing, what would you say?

G-Eazy: Enjoy it more.

LOUDER: That's it?

G-Eazy: Yeah. I think we spend so much time trying to get somewhere that we forget we're already living the thing we dreamed about.

In October 2021, G-Eazy was in the middle of another chapter of his career with the release of These Things Happen Too, a sequel in name to the 2014 album that established him as a mainstream star. Seven years later, the sound had changed—but the hunger was still there.