When those haunting piano keys and rattling bass hits, you know it’s going down. SleazyWorld Go catapulted into our collective consciousness earlier this year with the release of “Sleazy Flow” – a song that cemented his fate as a frontrunner of the new generation of artists. At the time, SleazyWorld Go lost his YouTube page and had to rebuild the momentum from scratch. However, he created a new YouTube channel where he dropped “Sleazy Flow” and soon after, it formed a life of its own.

In a matter of months, SleazyWorld Go became one of the hottest names in hip-hop. He earned co-signs from heavyweights like Lil Baby and Offset, both of which appeared on his debut project, Where The Shooters Be.

SleazyWorld Go. Image provided by label.

“Sometimes, it feels surreal,” SleazyWorld Go told HNHH of his meteoric rise from YouTube sensation to earning the respect of artists like Baby and Offset. “Back when I was younger listening to them, I never would have thought or known that I would be doing music with them in the future but, it happened… Listening to their music back then, now I’m doing music with them.”

For the penultimate installment of HotNewHipHop’s 12 Days Of Christmas, we caught up with the SleazyWorld Go to discuss his meteoric success, relationship with Tech N9ne, and leaving a legacy behind like Juice WRLD.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

HNHH: After such a huge year for you, what was your biggest takeaway from 2022?

SleazyWorld Go: My biggest takeaway from 2022? It would probably be to never give up, you know? Keep chasing your dreams, you never know what might happen.

Before all the success, what was the biggest setback you had before seeing the results of your hard work?

SleazyWorld Go: Probably when I lost my YouTube channel cause that was really my platform. I probably had like 800 followers on Instagram but my YouTube – I was still getting 100,000 views on that. So when I lost that, I didn’t really have a platform besides Facebook. I was kinda nervous to drop another song off of a new YouTube ‘cause it had zero subscribers. Like, the first song I dropped on my new YouTube was “Sleazy Flow” and it actually blew up.

In July, you said that you were the rookie of the year on Instagram. Looking back at the year, why you consider yourself the rookie of the year?

SleazyWorld Go: Why do I consider myself the rookie of the year? Because I had an outstanding year, my performance, you know? That’s why. And it’s like, I came from nothing. I came from a city that’s overlooked. And like, the accomplishments and the things I was able to do this year. I just feel like I did what I was supposed to do. I came in the game and I made my mark for this year. When it comes to numbers and accomplishments, going platinum and having all that motion, yeah.

How do you see your success impacting your city? Especially coming form a place that’s often overlooked in hip-hop conversations.

SleazyWorld Go: That’s really a big part of why I feel like I’m the rookie of the year. It’s kinda like being the worst basketball team in the NBA and y’all end up doing better than the the popular teams. The ones everybody knows about and loves. The Lakers… you know what I’m saying? And me being able to come up out of a city that’s really overlooked — it’s easier for people coming out of these big cities that already have their name in the industry and is aware and looking at them. They more so respected and really wanna tune into those cities because they been in the music industry for a long time.

So me, coming up out of a city that’s really overlooked and people really rocking with my music and f*cking with my wave, f*cking with what’s going on in my city and how we coming and me bringing in this different vibe and energy to the industry. Them actually f*cking with it and I’m being one of the most listened to new rappers. I just feel like that’s what makes me the rookie of the year. Me being able to do that for my city anyways. I feel like that’s a blessing. And it’s not easy to do, especially just one person.

I just feel like I did what I was supposed to do. I came in the game and I made my mark for this year.

Where do you see the future of your city going in terms of the musical landscape? Do you think that you’ll see somewhere like Kansas City starting to gain a regional grip on hip-hop the same way we’ve seen other major cities?

SleazyWorld Go: I feel like yeah. I feel like change is coming. For a while, it’s been the same cities that’s been really running the game and the same sounds and the same artists. This year was kinda a turning point for the music industry. It was a lot of new artists with great sounds coming and they really carried the year, I feel like. There are rappers that have been in the game and did their sh*t and had great years but I feel like the new artists we kinda popped our sh*t and was up there with the artists that have been in the game.

We brought new sounds to the industry and I feel like it was a turning point this year. I feel like it’s going to be a change for the next couple years. There’s always going to be a change throughout time. Even with social media, there are different platforms that are more popular than what it was a few years ago. Like TikTok and Twitch and sh*t like that. It’s a change for everything.

The only other major artist I know of from Kansas City is Tech N9ne. Do you guys have a relationship?

SleazyWorld Go: Yeah, we got a good relationship. We talk all the time.

And how is that? Is he a mentor to you? What type of game has he passed on to you? Especially from someone who’s been in the game for damn near 30 years.

SleazyWorld Go: For sure, and he is just supportive. He supports everything I’m doing. He loves seeing me have this much success. It’s just a lot of support from him.

I was listening to your tape and you obviously have the song “Free YSL.” As a new artist and seeing how lyrics can be taken out of context, does that impact your creativity in the studio?

For sure it does. But at the same time, naming it “Free YSL,” it really just shines a light on how, out of all the genres in the music business, we are the only ones that are targeted. At the end of the day, this is entertainment business. So it’s like, I can say whatever I want to say. You can’t tell me it’s true, it’s about entertaining. It’s the same thing with comedians. Comedians say things that aren’t true or that’s made up to entertain the people that’s in the crowd. Same thing with movies. You can’t use a movie with the script that was made — you can’t use that against them in court, “Oh you killed this person ‘cause you made a movie about someone getting killed,” you know what I’m saying?

So it’s like naming it “Free YSL” is just like, letting people know, this is what they doing to us. They using our lyrics against us. So I ain’t gonna say too much ‘cause I ain’t trying to go out like YSL. It’s really a shot toward the system. Like, me kinda being funny towards them. “I ain’t gonna say too much ‘cause I ain’t tryna go out like YSL” and I still saying too much right after I said that.

It’s sort of a protest song in that sense…

Yeah.

One thing about Lil Baby – I know this – is that he don’t hate on nobody. So he shows love to the up-and-coming artists and if he f*ck with your sh*t, then he f*ck with your sh*t.

What’s your recording process usually? Are you feeling beats first, are you writing lyrics down and then pairing them with beats? How does that work for you?

I feel like the instrumentals are really the heart of the song. It’s the foundation of a song, I feel like. So my process is just me finding that foundation. It’s the vibe, it’s the feeling. The beat gonna let you know– me personally, when I listen to beats and I hear beats, it takes me back to moments. So I just gotta figure out a beat first. I gotta hear a beat first and it don’t take me that long to find a beat. The first couple of seconds, I’ma envision it. If I can envision it then I’ma go-hop on it.

That’s the same thing with “Sleazy Flow.” The whole video that I made for it, like the original video, I had that visioned out before I even wrote a lyric on the track. That’s what gave me the inspiration. It’s what I envisioned from hearing the beat. That’s how I make my songs. It’s about what I envision when I hear a beat and then I just rap on it.

How much did TikTok play a role in the lengths of your songs?

It definitely didn’t. I feel like if you listen to “Sleazy Flow,” it’s not really a TikTok song. It’s really all bars. I feel like it’s just a really good song so they gravitated toward it and I say a lot of catchy bars when I make music. So if you look at “Sleazy Flow” vs. the average TikTok song, it’s totally different. You’re not really gonna find a song that’s like that. It don’t have a chorus on there. It don’t have a dance to it. It’s just raw bars, raw lyrics that people actually f*ck with. It’s like hearing a freestyle and everybody love it because it’s so catchy.

So who are your top 5 influences just in terms of your pen? Who are you looking up to as guys when it comes to just wordplay and lyricism?

I’m not looking up to anybody when it comes to my craft because I wanna stay authentic and original to my sound and continue to create my own way through music. So, it’s really just me. I get inspiration just from what I’ve seen and what I went through. Like, childhood shows I saw or whatever. Just growing up, I use that in my music. Whatever I saw, whatever I know.

ATLANTA GA - JULY 16: Sleazyworld Go performs at Hot 07.9 Birthday Bash 2022 at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium at Georgia State University on July 16, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.(photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage) — ATLANTA GA – JULY 16: Sleazyworld Go performs at Hot 07.9 Birthday Bash 2022 at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium at Georgia State University on July 16, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.(photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)

How did your relationship with Lil Baby develop from since he gave you a co-sign to this point, now?

It’s always love. One thing about Lil Baby – I know this – is that he don’t hate on nobody. So he shows love to the up-and-coming artists and if he f*ck with your sh*t, then he f*ck with your sh*t. If he can help, he gonna help. I’m always grateful and appreciate him for f*cking with me and rocking with me. And giving me opportunity and hopping on my song ‘cause he didn’t have to. But he did.

Have you guys locked in any more tracks since then or are we gonna be hearing any more collabs from you guys in the future?

In the future, you might hear from us you just gotta wait and see. That’s the beauty about the future, you don’t know what’s gonna happen.

You mentioned how you listened to Migos when you were younger. What was your first reaction to hearing Offset’s verse on “One Step”?

I felt like he came to prove that he really one of those ones when it comes to this music sh*t. He did the sh*t, he understood the assignment. He did what he did. I felt like it was fire. When I first heard it I was like, “Yeah this raw. This gonna go crazy.” A lot of people didn’t even expect me to have Offset on there. They were thinking about other people that’s like moreso trendier right now or listened to the most right now. So when I dropped the snippet, they was kinda thinking I was gonna have somebody else on there but when they heard Offset on there, it just threw everybody off guard.

So it’s like naming it “Free YSL” is just like, letting people know, this is what they doing to us. They using our lyrics against us.

How’s that feel for you though? Having that full circle moment where the people you listened to when you were younger are now linking up with you and are fans of your songs, ‘cause obviously Offset and Cardi B are still supportive of your work.

Sometimes, it feels surreal. Growing up listening to them. Like, I said you never know what the future holds. Back when I was younger listening to them, I never would have thought or known that I would be doing music with them in the future but, It happened. And that sh*t is beautiful, just being able to look back and knowing I never would have thought that back then. Listening to their music back then, now I’m doing music with them. Same thing with G Herbo. He was my favorite artist at a point in time. I used to listen to him all of the time. So actually having a record with him is just one of those moments where it’s like sh*t, you don’t know what’s going to happen.

What made you a fan of G Herbo?

I can relate to what he was talking about. That’s why a lot of fans listen to the artists they listen to ‘cause they can relate to what they talking about.

You mentioned your debut project was going to be titled Comer earlier this year. I was wondering if that’s still on the way or if it just got renamed to Where The Shooters Be?

It got renamed to Where The Shooters Be. There’s a moment for everything in life. It just wasn’t the time for that, you know? Right now, it’s Where The Shooters Be, and I might turn out Comer later down the line. As far as my next project and the next thing that I drop, I don’t know the name or the title for that yet. I gotta go through life, gotta go through moments. I gotta experience and live a little. Next year, I know it’s gonna be more pressure.

Do you already have plans for 2023? What do you have your sights set on right now?

For sure, I’m always planning ahead. 2023, for sure, gonna be better than this year. Better music. It’s just gonna be more stuff from Sleazy. I feel like it was my rookie year this year. Next year is my second year in the game so I still got a lot to prove. My work ain’t done. I’m still hungry. I want to be the best, and in order to be the best, you gotta work like the best. You gotta try to outdo the best and that’s what I’m on. I wanna be the best whether it’s gonna be next year or the year after that.

Do you have anything specific you’d like to accomplish in 2023? Is there a particular goal you have in mind to get through next year?

I mean 2023, next year… something I wanna accomplish… I say this to be a short-term goal because the long-term goal is I want everybody in my family rich. Not just me. So next year… probably would be to just outdo this year, really. That’s what I want to accomplish. I wanna have more plaques than I had this year, I wanna drop more music than I did this year. I wanna do more shows, more appearances and endorsement deals and sh*t like that. There’s a lot of sh*t I want to do next year.

You played at Juice WRLD day in Chicago, am I correct?

Yeah.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 27: Rapper SleazyWorld Go performs onstage during 2022 HBCU Gamerfest at Forbes Arena at Morehouse College on April 27, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images) — ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 27: Rapper SleazyWorld Go performs onstage during 2022 HBCU Gamerfest at Forbes Arena at Morehouse College on April 27, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

How was that?

It was amazing. Me being an artist, it’s like, what type of impact do you wanna make on the world? Going there and seeing the type of impact he has on the world and his city, it just motivates me even more. Like, he’s selling out arenas and he’s not even alive. He bringing all these artists together to come perform on his day. He left a legacy before he was gone, in that short amount of time he was here, in the industry. It just motivates me even more to wanna leave a legacy behind and be great and do stuff that ain’t never been done and what people gonna remember me as. And how I’m gonna impact the world if I was to ever pass, you know?

I wanted to know, who was on your feature list for 2023 and who is your dream feature.

Rod Wave would probably be my dream feature. Who else on the list? NoCap, Drake, Future… I want some girl features too like SZA. Her. Um… Tems, I really like Tems’ music. There’s a lot of people I wanna work with. I wanna work with different genres of music also, like pop artists and sh*t like that too.