Back in November of 2020, after getting in touch through a newly made finsta. Britt & Tahmari traveled to DC for the day to meet DMV favorite, Foggieraw for an unconventional parking lot interview. Now humorously enough, we got lost for probably an hour trying to find each other somewhere near the East Potomac Tennis Center. Before finally locating each other in a lonely tennis court parking lot. We took photos outside and held the interview in the car. But all in all, we’d like to give special thanks to Foggie and his management for their patience with us throughout this process and for the opportunity! So, without further wait…
Britt: I’m gonna super jump the gun here, do we have a new quarantine made project to look forward to soon?
Foggie: uh.. I would say… no. But I am going to drop a song very, very soon. I’ll probably say early 2021.
Britt: We were listening to your latest single Por Favor non-stop on the way here. We wanted to know if that song was made during quarantine and if your creative process has changed now versus before lockdown?
Foggie: Yeah, it was made during quarantine. Before I was always going to a certain studio called the Fly Zone. So, when corona hit I didn’t want to go anymore. Not to say that the studio is dirty but you know… So I started recording more with friends, going to their houses and just writing there. The other day me and my boy made a song. It was me, a producer, and another rapper over zoom calls. He made the beat on the computer, I recorded my verse on the phone. He recorded his verse on the phone and it actually came out alright!
Britt: In these “Virusland” times when everyone is so heavily dependent on social media. How do you feel it is interacting with your fans on twitter versus instagram right now?
Foggie: I definitely feel like Twitter is more personality and thought based, but I feel like I kinda try to put my personality out there on any platform. But on Instagram it’s more like “in the image of me” type thing. While twitter is more of my mind.
Tahmari: So what came to mind when you made your finsta?
Foggie: Oh I just wanted to be able to post stuff and not care. About likes, or if people say I’m wild if I do this. I just wanted to be able to post whatever.
[ We briefly got a little further into the finsta Foggie created. His intention is and was to have very limited outside views. He let us know that fans were still asking for access but can no longer follow the now private account! ]
Britt: What does that feel like for you? For people to want to know what’s going on like that? Do you consider yourself to be famous or to have fame?
Foggie: I would consider myself… still on the grind. I mean definitely a little bit of fame, but for me it’s been very gradual since like 2017. So it never felt like a click of ‘oh you’re famous’, [ ] the only thing now is when I go out. I used to try to go out, like to the store in the morning and not shower. I can’t do that now. I gotta be CLEAN, people be seeing me… even with the mask they recognize me.
Britt: Knowing life is hectic and chaotic and even more so in 2020, what are big key factors for you when it comes to maintaining self care and your mental health. We’ve said before that quarantine kind of made us all force quit normal life, so how is it navigating through life now while keeping your sanity?
Foggie: For me, its mostly keeping my relationship with God cool. You know, keeping my spirit fed. I noticed with my friends.. my circle was getting smaller, so for me it was better to have less friends but more meaningful friendships and relationships. Being around people I can get good advice from and I’m very family oriented. So most of the time I’m just spending time with my family and close friends.
Tahmari: How would you say your spiritual upbringing and beliefs factor into your music and mental health? To be honest, across our past interviews that’s not a topic that comes up as often as you would think.
Foggie: My parents they went to church and were Christians. So we were raised to be Christian and to go to church. But I wasn’t Christian.
Britt: So it was your choice to become Christian? How old were you?
Foggie: Yeah, I was 19. My college roommate was Christian, he wasn’t forcing it on me or anything like that. Just one day he was like ‘I’m going to bible study, you can come if you want’. One thing about him, his character was so fire. He was a loving person, a cool person. Would give you the shirt off his back. So I was like wow, this is an interesting dude. Why is he like this? I’m not used to being around dudes like that, it was cool. So I started doing more reading and I became Christian, and it was more than just like going to church. For me, it was having a relationship with God and having prayer. All that stuff, I felt like God was like my literal dad.
Britt: Can you give us a better understanding of what ‘God is Boast’, really means?
Foggie: Yeah, ‘God is my boast’ more so came because I guess in my raps people always would think I was arrogant. I was trying to let them know, God is my boast means that I’m only boasting in God. So I’m not like prideful in I myself, because I’m this lit person. It’s more so I feel like God is lit and he made me, so I’m lit.
Britt: That’s beautiful
Tahmari: It is, that’s an important message. , We love to see it. – Can I just point out you’re wearing this like ombre, sherbert coat with the chocolate fitted cap! It’s on point for your complexion. We see that you dress in a very colorful, upbeat way. I feel that for black people especially, the darker you get the better bright colors pop against your skin and emphasizes yourself. Why would you say you gravitate towards brighter colors and what is your mindset when you wake up and get dressed in the morning?
Foggie: It definitely started when I was younger. I felt like if I buy something, I gotta look like the freshest n*gga in the room. That was always my thing when I was young. So if I’m gonna buy this North Face, I have to get the yellow one or the pink one. It was kind of a dumb mindset, but that was definitely mine. I feel like it was expressing me, it would be like everybody got the black North Face but Jesse got the yellow one. So it’s like this is my personality, this is my thing, I’m doing colors. Getting dressed every morning, I don’t know I just feel like – this might sound cliche – but how am I feeling today? Do I feel like being extra loud?
Britt: Thats what we were wondering… like does your mood kinda influence your choices. Like if you’re down are you wearing more darks? And brighter stuff when you’re happy?
Foggie: So the funny thing about me, I actually never really wear dark colors unless I have to. I just hate, wearing dark.. I hate looking like I could just blend in with everybody. I feel like I would go to events and always notice everyone is wearing gray, black, and white. I could never do that. Even if I’m sad, I’m wearing bright pink.
Tahmari: So then I have to ask do you feel that color plays any influence in your music?
Foggie: For me, it’s not so much the color that I’m wearing influencing the music but more so the quality of the whole fit. I remember there was a time period where I was going to the studio, it was maybe three days in a row. I went and didn’t like what I made, and I was like ‘why was I dressing like that?’. I was just wearing whatever, so I was like ‘you know what, when you go to the studio wear nice clothes that you like. You know *Feel Good*, feel comfortable, and obviously I got back on my winning streak. After that, I said I always have to be fresh when I go to the studio. I don’t say that to say ‘oh because I’m wearing expensive clothes or all this designer’, it’s more so just really liking what you wear. There was a time where I didn’t have all those brand names, and I was still trying to express myself. It’s all about the expression, not the brands.
Britt: Thinking back about your growth, what advice would you give newer/younger artists?
Foggie: I would definitely say to anyone, doesn’t matter how old – always put 10,000 hours into your craft. You don’t want to grind hard at something that’s not worth it. Put your hours in to perfect your craft, people always wanna know what’s gonna make them blow up in like two days or two weeks. But it’s really like.. you have to make a piece of content, then show it to your friends… if you really make a good piece of content, they’re gonna like it and share it. You know, your friends wanna see you win. Not all your friends are hating, I know you think that but it’s not true. They’re gonna share and then it just moves and moves. Be patient and keep making better and better stuff. Keep sharing it and then you start to see that circle of influence you have going on. One day at a time.
FEEL GOOD RVA 