G-Eazy was 'a bit of loner' — then he had to learn how to be a star
Vivian Rashotte | CBC Arts | Posted: July 22, 2024 4:00 PM | Last Updated: July 22
In a Q interview, the multi-platinum rapper discusses his new album, Freak Show
"There's nothing that can prepare you for it," G-Eazy says about fame. "You definitely don't get a piece of paper with instructions and guidelines."
In an interview with Q's Tom Power, the multi-platinum rapper opens up about his first new album in three years, Freak Show, which he says is about "embracing your freak, or your other, or your flaw" and eschewing the curated image of yourself presented on social media.
G-Eazy rose to superstardom in 2015 with his track Me, Myself & I (featuring Bebe Rexha), which is his most-streamed song to date on Spotify with more than 1.3 billion streams. Since then, he's been a staple on pop radio with a number of chart-topping hits. But after facing mounting burnout and the death of his mother in 2021, he decided to step away from the spotlight.
WATCH | G-Eazy's full interview with Tom Power:
Born Gerald Earl Gillum, G-Eazy was raised in Oakland and Berkeley, Calif., where he was exposed to music, activism and "a kaleidoscope of culture" from a young age. His mom taught printmaking and photography at the San Francisco Art Institute, and his dad was a sculpture professor at California State University, Fresno. His aunt and uncle, who also lived in the house he grew up in, were rock musicians.
"I think as a kid, you have this natural urge to want to fit in," G-Eazy says. "As I grew up and grew older, [I learned to] embrace all these unique experiences I was exposed to."
He remembers going to his first concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco when he was a young teenager. Up on stage performing was Kanye West, who was on his debut headline tour for The College Dropout. G-Eazy saw something in West that really resonated with him.
"[Kanye] didn't sound like anybody, and I never felt like I looked or sounded or felt like anybody," G-Eazy says. "That show just stuck with me because he was this bold, brave outcast in my mind, and I think that fundamental essence and idea really stuck with me. It's like embracing your individuality, being confident enough to stand out."
Deep down, who I'd been my whole entire life was a bit of an outsider, was a bit of a loner. - G-Eazy
G-Eazy had always been a bit of an introvert, but as a musician, he had to learn to square his desire to stand out with his lifelong feeling of being someone who didn't quite fit in.
"Deep down, who I'd been my whole entire life was a bit of an outsider, was a bit of a loner," he tells Power. "I had to abandon all that to adopt this personality, you know, go be a star, go sell records, go live on tour."
WATCH | Official video for Anxiety:
Early in his career, G-Eazy hustled hard to make a name for himself in the music industry. He estimates that he played "somewhere between 275 and 300 shows" in 2015 when his career really started to take off.
"It was a blur. It was a blitz. I mean, [that was] one of the biggest blessings ever," he says of that time in his life. "It helped me buy a house. It helped me buy my mom a house. It changed my life forever."
But eventually that lifestyle caught up with him, and his fame started to affect him psychologically and personally. After losing his mom, he needed to take a break to handle his grief and find some normalcy in his life. He wrote his song Love You Forever about his mom's passing. The title is inspired by Robert Munsch's famous children's book of the same name, which G-Eazy says his mom used to read to him when he was a kid.
Now, the rapper is trying to regain control of his life through his music and songwriting.
"I think it all starts with the autonomy and ownership of the creative process," G-Eazy says. "Of course, as a leader, if you lead democratically, you got to know when to compromise and listen to your Jedi Council…. But it's also very, very, very important, as a solo artist to know how to put your foot down and to make your own decisions as well."
"I'd rather lose doing something I really wanted to do than win doing something I didn't believe in."
The full interview with G-Eazy is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with G-Eazy produced by Vanessa Nigro.