Fat Meech is here to put on for South Central Los Angeles. The West Coast singer, songwriter, and rapper has been through a lot, witnessing his cousin being shot twice in front his own house at the young age of 13. What might otherwise kill you, Meech consciously turns into a positive and focuses on perfecting his craft in the studio. Read more…

With “Brothers 2,” real name Demitri Williams begs the question “is anyone loyal? Because I’m tired of breaking my back…” The record went viral after Blueface supported it via social media, as Meech is reminded that he does have a place in the rap game. His lyrics encompass the trauma, the obstacles, the mental battles, and everything that comes with being raised in the hood.

Meech describes himself as a “chill person, but a hustler. Hustling is my #1 thing. I’m a hustler turned rapper. Rapping was cool, but it was just to pass the time.” While Meech hasn’t released a full-length debut, mixtapes Los Skanlees and Los Angeles Times are currently holding fans over.

Growing up in South Central, what were you seeing growing up?

Being from South Central, I saw a lot of crazy stuff. Shootouts broad daylight. Some people I was related to shot in broad daylight growing up, I’ve seen some stuff. House got raided, I was 11. They were looking for my cousin, it was wild. Imagine SWAT teams, all that. I was by myself too, nobody was there. I’m calling my auntie, “where ya’ll at?” Bro, they weren’t there at all, I was by myself.

How did you cope with that?

When I first seen them, I’m like “I’m not letting these ni*ggas in the house!” I’m not finna let ya’ll in here, but they had a picture of my cousin. It was a whole picture, had weight, name, everything on it. They said “either you can open it, or we can open it for you.” I said “whaaat?” I had to go ahead and open it. They’re going to come in regardless. It was someone right behind him with a helmet on, rammed in. It was bad. It was normal, we’re desensitized to that. Everybody’s house over there got hit at least once, so that’s regular.

What was the first song you recorded?

Whew, a song called “In and Out of Lanes.” It was a super long time ago, it’s still on SoundCloud though. 

Did you know what you were doing?

No. Matter of fact the first song we recorded wasn’t in the house, we did one with Ron-Ron The Producer. We did another called “Juice On The Floor” with him. After that, I started doing stuff on my own. I taught myself how to record. Once I taught myself how to record, it was fair game. I started doing it back to back, going crazy. All day, everyday. If there wasn’t shit to do, we’re going to record.

Biggest influences growing up?

I listened to a lot of Mac Dre growing up. That’s it. I listened to a lot of Mac Dre, a lot of E-40. If you want to know the truth, they’re the top 2 people I listen to. They sound nothing like me though. [chuckles] I didn’t take a sound from them, but I grew up listening to nothing but that my whole life.

Not even LA legends?

Nah, not really. The area I’m from is influenced by the Bay a lot. Everybody over there, we’re listening to Mac Dre a lot. Mac Dre, Keak Da Sneak, Mister Fab, Too Short. Messy Marv had a song called “2 to the Neck.” He’s vicious, super vicious. 

“Playin With My Nose” was my shit!

“Playin with my nose, sitting on candy!” I grew up listening to that. I’m a little kid, I didn’t know what “playin with my nose” meant. [laughs] We’re in my cousin’s Buick, he got to the 2 12’s in there. We subbin’, riding around like “oh yeah, this is a vibe.” I was 10 years old, I knew nothing about it at the time. Crazy. “Fucking with Grapes,” I used to love that shit. That’s when purple weed was super popular. That’s all I listened to, all Bay music. 

What did you like about Mac Dre?

His wordplay. You can’t beat Mac Dre’s wordplay, for sure.

At what point did you realize this music thing was forreal?

Two different times. Once a song hit 10,000… I’m like, “I don’t even know 10,000 people!” I know maybe 100, 200 people but once you get past 10,000 people, I’m like damn. When they spinned me on the radio, I thought it was a lie. That’s what I was thinking at first, “this is not true.” People started sending me videos, they’re listening to it in a totally different location. That was wild.

What was the inspiration behind your name?

I’ve been Meech my whole life. Due to my first name Demitri, and I’m a big dude. That’s easy, you just put it together. One of my homies gave me that name though. This was way before music, at least 6 years ago. 

Are you still in the streets?

To a degree. I mean, I ain’t rich. I have to go to the streets a little bit. [laughs] You feel me? That was my thing.

How’d it feel when Blueface supported the “Brothers 2” record?

Pretty dope. Pretty dope that I got some relevance out here. It’s good. He’s doing his thing out here for LA, so it’s crazy.

What is it you want fans to get from your story?

That you could make something good out of a bad situation. Never give up on what you got going on. Because as rough as you think it is, somebody has it worse than you all the time. That’s what I would tell them for real. You aren’t ever that bad because I know people who got it bad.  

3 things you need in the studio?

Oh, this is going to get funny. She can attest to this, I love candles in the studio. Not because I’m super into them, but it’s a vibe-setter. I don’t like bright lights. I’m vibing with the dark lights and the candles, that’s my thing. Believe it or not, I don’t like recording standing up. Not because I’m lazy but when I’m trying to actually sing, it works better for me. 

Depending on whether I’m freestyling or I’m actually writing something. If I wrote it, I definitely want to sit down, focus on what I wrote, and get the notes correct. I love to sit and relax, chilled out with candles. What else? No drama. You know how you hit studios and it’s a thousand blunts everywhere, people running in and out. I don’t like that. That’s never been my thing. I don’t like dramatic studios. That’s why I record most of the time by myself. 

Where do you usually record at?

At the house. Most of my music, I record at the house. My biggest songs were recorded in my living room.

Is “Brothers” your biggest song?

The original “Brothers” changed my whole life. It did over a million streams on SoundCloud. The exposure, oh my Lord. People started seeing me in the stores. Everybody knows who I am in the hood now. Bruh. I remember I went to the Swap Meet, I’m getting my jewelry cleaned. Mind you, I’m by myself. I ain’t got no strap, no nothing. I got dumb jewelry. They’re cleaning it and I see some cats. 

Damn, I’m in here by myself. I got a knife on me, that’s it. 3 big n*ggas in here and just me. I’m a big n*gga too, but I’m talking 3 of them. They kept eye-balling me. One seen me and said “ay not on no fan shit, but ain’t you Fat Meech?” I said “whaaat, these n*ggas is fans.” Gangsters, they all gangbang and they were all fans. It showed me I done touched a lot of people in the ghetto, in the hood period. 

I remember I hit a club in Long Beach, this show with Saviii 3rd, Blueface, P-NiCe, and $tupid Young. They’re all there. All the people in the club started walking up to me: “we listen to your shit!” I’m like “ya’ll all know who I am too?” I’m knowing who all they are, but they knew who I was? That’s crazy. Because I be in my own little element. I don’t be with a lot of people so it kills me when I come out, how many people actually know me.

What’s the best encounter you had with a fan?

There was one in a grocery store, this little girl seen me and she turned bloodshot red. Bro, scared the shit out of me. [chuckles] You know how you see a little kid freaking out, it’s like “wait, don’t freak out!” She’s freaking out. Her dad was there too, he didn’t know who I am. The dad seen her like “what the hell’s wrong with you?” She said “he does music, oh my god!! Because I hit her school 2 or 3 weeks before that, so we ran into her at the store. The same areas I hit, I’m really over here all the time. I might hit a school and be shopping at your local grocery store tomorrow. I’m regular, so that was nuts.

What are some goals for yourself as an artist at this point of your career?

Of course, I need another radio record. Something that’s going to pop off. I want to start working on being on charts. Real big charts that everybody be talking about like “oh, I’m on the Top 100.” That’s a super goal right there, on the real.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Probably owning a label and helping artists out. Younger cats who are trying to do something. For me, I like helping people. I can see myself with younger cats, fresh out of high school being like “man I don’t want to go to school, I want to be a rapper.” You want to be a rapper? No school? Come on, let’s do it. Because there’s no avenues for people like that really. You can go to recording school maybe, but there’s no one to show you the ropes of how you get on certain avenues. Get your music mixed, mastered, all that. They don’t teach them all that. I’d love to have someone that’s younger, show them what to do.

Did you have a mentor growing up?

A mentor? Yeah, in hustling. [laughs] We grew up in the streets so music, not really. But with hustling, yeah.