Bay Area rapper IamSu! dropped his debut album, ‘Sincerely Yours,’ back in May and it proved that the 25-year-old artist isn’t one-dimensional. Rather than making a bunch of hyphy, party songs, his specialty, IamSu! presented a body of work that also displayed his integrity and his intellect. The songs “Problems” and “Ascension” broach topics like African history as well as spirituality, and his beat selection was far more eccentric here than on any of his previous mixtapes.[more…]
Back in November, IamSu! re-released the project with three additional songs, calling it Sincerely Yours 1.5. In anticipation of the re-release we spoke withIamSu! about Sincerely Yours 1.5, experimenting with some more serious topics in his music, and negative album reviews.
What was the initial goal with Sincerely Yours?
A lot of people just wanted to know what my mindset was in my music and why I made the decisions that I’ve made. I feel like with Sincerely Yours I kind of put a time capsule on it and described it to the best of my ability. That’s what I really wanted to do with that album, just kind of make a synopsis on my whole perspective of the rap game and what it’s like to be a young independent artist trying to navigate in this world with all of these sharks. You got to swim with these people.
Most of the stuff you dropped prior to the album was party music, but you show a slightly more serious side on “Problems” and “Ascension.” What made you take that route?
That’s kind of like the conversations you have with your friends in the living room while you’re smoking. People start to become philosophical or just have a bunch of high thoughts and shit. That’s where I was like, “Why am I smoking? What is this taking me to?” So, in the mix of that, it’s kind of just me describing that situation.
I get super active because my family is on some black power shit. My name [Sudan] actually means black in Arabic, you feel me? My mom’s like a hippy. We went to Africa and hella shit.
Do you want to start touching on serious issues more often in your music?
It’s just a slow, gradual introduction. I’m a fan of Alchemist beats and Mobb Deep shit. I’m a fan of real rap because I can really rap. But at the same time I can make party songs. It’s just a balance. I want to be like a Jay Z at the end of the day where I can just do what the fuck I want to and just put it out.
Do you feel that releasing Sincerely Yours independently hurt or helped the album?
It didn’t hurt it, it just meant I could take my time with it. I’m not on nobody else’s schedule but my own. That’s why I decided to put the album out again, just to reiterate how important it was, add some bonus material, and catch that wave on Black Friday when people are in a buying mood. And it’s still new to a lot of people. I’m on this tour with G-Eazy, so all the stars kind of aligned for this shit.
Have you noticed more people getting hip to your shit more because of the From the Bay to the Universe tour?
Hell yeah. Once they get turned on to that shit, they fuck with it. G-Eazy is a good representation of my music. He’s from the Bay also.
Energy, a lot of performance songs. I’m about to head out on a solo tour when this one ends. I’m excited to showcase my style, I got a unique style. I’m coming out with a band, there’s going to be a lot of visual things we’re going to add to the show. It’s just going to be a cool experience.
When the original album dropped it didn’t get the most positive reviews. Do you look at that stuff?
Hell yeah I look at that shit. I was hot as fuck. Especially that HipHopDX one. I was just, I don’t know man. I put a lot of fucking work into that album. So for somebody to review it and start talking about my character or start saying what I’m about or what I’m not about or what sounds forced, you don’t fucking know that shit. This is my shit, you know what I’m saying? I took that real serious, like someone was disrespecting my child. So I don’t fuck with that shit.
I feel like writers kind of get a pass because they’ll listen to an album for a hour and then give a review, without knowing the back story, doing any further research or their due diligence as a writer to give the fans the best perspective and an honest review. I don’t take that shit too serious, but it definitely made me hella mad.
Well, what are you about then?
I’m about positivity. I’m about making music. And I’m about showing people a different side of the Bay Area. I’m like a young, hungry, just entrepreneurial person, and I want to be a face of a new generation of creative people out of the Bay Area. A new scene is bubbling and I feel like I’m one of the faces of that.
Your crew, HBK, the Heartbreak Gang, is at the forefront of that scene. How do you view your role within the group?
I feel like I’m the leader: a producer, a writer a lot of the time, and just a friend—a voice of reason. Somebody that’s been a couple of places and seen some things that my homies haven’t. When they get to a certain position I can tell them maybe you should do this or do that. It’s just about being a good friend and not turning my back when I get a little attention. That’s the biggest thing, it’s about the reach back.
What do you want to bring to the Bay that goes beyond music?
I want to do a lot of stuff for the kids. A few months ago I did a backpack drive. We filled backpacks up with school supplies, I want to say we did a hundred. It was really small, but it’s something to get started. I just want to keep doing shit like that, just continue to give back and get the kids involved so they don’t have to go the same route as some of our brothers, cousins, and big homies had to.
IAMSU! is setting up for the release of his new album, “Sincerely Yours 1.5”, dropping this Novemeber 17th! With the success of his debut album, “Sincerely Yours,” he is repackaging the project to contain all the original work, plus a bunch of bonus tracks including his new single “On Me” featuring Rich Homie Quan! Pre-order the project and peep the tracklist HERE!
The day has arrived! IAMSU! has released his debut album entitled ‘Sincerely Yours.’ The project holds 19 tracks from artists like 2 Chainz, Sage The Gemini,Wiz Khalifa, E-40, Too Short, Berner & of course a bunch of members from the HBK Gang. Do yourself a favor and pick up a hard copy at your local Best Buy & of course iTunes. Take a further listen HERE.
This just in! IAMSU! has released the official album stream to his debut album ‘Sincerely Yours.’ The project holds 19 tracks from artists like 2 Chainz, Sage The Gemini,Wiz Khalifa, e-40, Too Short, Berner & of course a bunch of members from the HBK Gang. Do yourself a favor and hit the jump to stream the project and pick up your copy May 13th![more…]
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Recently Young California was proud to present the official ‘Sincerely Yours’ album listening party hosted by IAMSU! and The HBK Gang! In the video above catch the video recap with Abby De La Rosa talking to IAMSU! about his favorite tracks on the project, E-40 & Too Short, what people think about the cover art & more! Make sure you pre order the album now and check out photos from the event HERE. Enjoy!
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IAMSU! and the HBK Gang stop by the New@2 to talk about their new music and IAMSU!’s upcoming album, ‘Sincerely Yours.’ Peep it above and stay tuned for the album dropping in May.
That’s right, IAMSU! has officially released the artwork and track-list for his debut album ‘Sincerely Yours.’ The project will hold 15 tracks with features form Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Sage The Gemini, E-40, Too Short, Kool John, Berner, 1-O.A.K & more! Mark your calendars because the album drops May 13th. Check out the full track-list after the jump![more…]
01. Intro
02. No Secret
03. Interlude
04. Only That Real (feat. 2 Chainz & Sage The Gemini)
05. Girls
06. Sincerely Yours (feat. 1-O.A.K.)
07. Stop Signs
08. I Love My Squad
09. Interlude
10. Back On Your Mind (feat. Kool John & Skipper)
11. What You ‘Bout (feat. Wiz Khalifa & Berner)
12. T.W.D.Y. (feat. Too $hort & E-40)
13. Ascencion
14. Problems
15. Martina
