The Rod$ta Interview

Rod - What’s going!?

Kelvin - (laughs) Yo. So this last tape - “The Lavender Collection” - why lavender? Whats your obsession with putting color in your titles?

Rod - Colors. My albums are like mood rings. Colors really give off vibes. Last year I did orange because I feel like my energy was more intense. Lavender is more soft and laid back. How ever I’m feeling in the moment, that’s the color I go with.

Kelvin - Yeah I did notice how you showed a little soft side with this tape. It seemed like you found a good balance.

Rod - I tried to do that with the track-listing. Every other song I switched from hard to soft because I didn’t want the tape to have the same vibe throughout. I feel like it all still fit the narrative.

Kelvin - It definitely did. The production really helped guide it in the right direction. Who were the producers you worked with?

Rod - This guy named Bob Time. He had sent me a pack a while back and I brushed it off. One day though, I was in the studio and I played the beat for Wishin’ and I just vibed out. After that I was like “he hard” and I pulled up Smoke and then My Problem and it was over with.

Kelvin - Yeah he the truth, who else?

Rod - Beat Dilla . He got stuff with Gunna and Lil Gotit. I worked with a couple of other guys too.

Kelvin - At this point, are you trying to lock in and build a sound with somebody, or are you just trying to work with everybody?

Rod - Different producers bring different elements so I love working with everybody. At the same time, I like locking in and building something. Me and Nas (Nastradomas) have built a chemistry and we’re going to keep expanding on that.

Kelvin - What about with features?

Rod - I never make songs for other artists. I like when people send me stuff, but when I make something my intentions are usually to craft the whole song. I want to start doing more collabs in the future.

Kelvin - Let’s talk about the one feature you do have on this tape. Me. (laughs) Tell that story.

Rod - (laughs) We were at Clemson. We went out, and some events happened at night. [Redacted]. We set up the microphone the next day to try and blow off some steam.

Kelvin - (laughs) Right.

Rod - And we didn’t really like the song either. We kind of brushed it to the side and went about our day. A few months later I played it around some friends to see their reaction and they told me I had to put it out.

Kelvin - What’s up with the video?

Rod - Coming soon. Just got back from Houston with Baylor (Videographer).

Lyric Breakdowns

Kelvin - You say “I’m from the SWATS where they do not play that sh*t” - My Problem

Rod - It stands for South West Atlanta Too Strong. I’m not too fond of the “too strong” part, but I still claim the SWATS. Zone 4. It’s where a lot of creatives and athletes come from. You can pick any profession in the world and it‘s gonna be someone from Zone 4 at the top. The culture here is to be great. Lil baby, Cam Newton - too many to name.

Kelvin - “20k in kicks and they gone by the week” - Walked In

Rod - I probably reference shoes in every song. I sell shoes. I done sold shoes to Johnny Cinco, Peewee Longway, Big Scarr - I really don’t name drop in my songs but if you know you know.

Kelvin - Behind the scenes, everybody on the southside know you the plug. You serving rappers the same way 2 Chainz used to do it except it’s legal.

Rod - (laughs) facts.

Kelvin - Next Bar. “Outside I’m acting cool but inside I act a fool” - "Wishin”

Rod - When I speak on girls, I’m general specific. (laughs) Sometimes I really am talking about a specific situation, sometimes I generalize it. But it’s always coming from somewhere.

Kelvin - “I didn’t do none Tua but she acting Jalen Hurt” - “Large Size”

Rod - That went over too many people’s heads. When I said “I didn’t do none to her,” my mind went to Tua. Then my mind went to Jalen Hurts and it just came together. I didn’t really think about that bar too much honestly.

Kelvin - “I’m out in Houston, this for the first time” - 713 freestyle

Rod - I was in Houston for the first time. (laughs) I called the song 713 freestyle because that’s the name of studio we were in. We were recording with Ryan Mellow who was fresh off winning a grammy. We have a lot of connections in Houston. We pull up on Coop at Black Label Exotics and get the whips. It’s just a vibe, a place away from home.

Kelvin - “I cannot wait for the Summer” - For the Summer

Rod - I got shows coming up. I got merch coming out. My birthday is in the summer. The summer is just a vibe. I plan on dropping a full length project this summer; I just want to make sure all the right people are involved. I need it to be bigger than everything I’ve done.