On this week’s episode of “Drink Champs,” N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN were joined by platinum-selling rapper Rich The Kid.
Growing up, Rich The Kid had the best of both worlds. He was raised up north in Queens, New York until around the age of 13, when his mother moved them down south to College Park, Georgia. From there, Rich was introduced to trap culture at large and started pursuing his path of hustling as an artist. In 2013, he dropped his debut mixtape Been About the Benjamins, then signed with Quality Control and really started to insert himself into Atlanta’s rap scene with on-wax linkups with Migos and legends like Gucci Mane.
With plenty of buzz and support, the “Splashin” hitmaker continued to capitalize on his momentum, evolving from an “artist to watch” to an established force throughout the decade, amassing multiple deals along the way. In 2017, he cracked the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time with the Kendrick Lamar-assisted “New Freezer” and followed up with the solo punch “Plug Walk,” which peaked in the Top 15. That success became the standard for Rich who, years later in 2024, earned his first chart-topping single with the creation of “Carnival.”
To this day, whether it’s commercial hits, joint projects with artists like Lil Wayne, or crossover collaborations with artists like Peso Pluma, the Rich Forever head honcho is never not working. He spoke about his journey from major label to independent artist in detail during his appearance on “Drink Champs.” But in summary, below are nine major takeaways from the conversation. And don’t forget to check out the full episode here.
1. On his introduction to southern Hip Hop
Though he originally hails from Queens, New York, Rich The Kid adopted Atlanta’s signature style. Here, he talked about how he assimilated into the South’s culture as a kid. “I felt like I was in a third-world country. I didn't understand what the f**k was going on. So, I remember moving and I got all my stuff situated where I was staying with my uncle. And he gave me two CDs. He gave me an OutKast CD and he gave me a T.I. CD. So that was my intro to south Hip Hop,” he said. “I hadn't listened to southern artists [before]. I was listening to Nas heavy, JAY-Z and them. But I ain't listen to no south. I didn't know anything about that.”
2. On leaving Quality Control
Early on, Rich The Kid was on a mission to buy himself out of his first record deal with Quality Control and 300 Entertainment. He needed to come up with $800,000 to free himself from the contract. But the cheat code in the situation ended up being his phone, not the money. “My phone had a rolodex that came from somebody else's phone, which I don't know who it is. I had, like, every single label contact in my phone… I started calling every single label: Warner, Atlantic, and then I called Interscope. It [the contact] said Interscope Records, Manny Smith. And I'm not knowing him from anywhere. I called him like ‘Yo bro, this is Rich The Kid. I'm trying to buy myself out the contract,’” he recalled. Well, the cold call worked. Rich and Smith soon met in person, which ultimately led to the Queens-bred rapper signing with Interscope Records and officially departing from QC.
3. On “New Freezer”
Rich The Kid explained how Kendrick Lamar hopped on the multi-platinum-selling hit “New Freezer” three months after buying himself out of the Interscope deal. “When I played ‘New Freezer’ for him, he's like, ‘This the one,’” Rich remembered about his first interaction with K. Dot at the studio. “But at the time, it was a verse from ASAP Ferg on 'New Freezer.' Because when I recorded 'New Freezer,' I was at Quad Studios in New York. It was Ferg's session… I think I recorded it in like 15 minutes. And then he put a verse on it. So, I played it for Kendrick, he's like, ‘Alright cool, I'll get on it. But it just gotta be me and you on the song,’ type s**t.” On Ferg’s reaction to getting the boot, Rich explained, “He definitely understood. He was like, ‘Yeah bro, do your s**t.’”
4. On his collab album with Lil Wayne
Rich The Kid and Lil Wayne’s joint project Trust Fund Babies essentially came out of nowhere, according to Rich. “I think it was like a few weeks after me and YoungBoy dropped an album. And I get a FaceTime from Wayne, he hopping on his jet. And he's like, ‘Yo bro, I'm about to go to my daughter's birthday party. When I get back, we need to do this album.’ I'm like, ‘This album?’ I said, ‘Oh, hell yeah. Let's do it, I can't wait.’ I didn't think he was bulls**tting because Wayne, he'll hit me with a song or I'll hit him with a song. He'll send it back in like 24 hours type s**t.” The two started cooking up and the project eventually came out in 2021. Looking at the opportunity holistically, Rich added, “It's crazy to have an album with Wayne. Going from listening to his CDs on the train, his mixtapes on the bus. I was like, ‘D**n, one day I wanna be like Wayne,’ to him asking me to do an album. It's definitely a blessing.”
5. On Famous Dex
Over the years, Famous Dex has publicly battled with addiction at moments throughout his career. The “Plug Walk” rapper addressed that and spoke about how he’s supported his Rich Forever signee along the way. “Struggling with addiction is hard. And as a brother, I just gotta be there to support him every way I can, however you wanna get there. I drove to rehab. I took him on a jet to rehab. However you wanna get there, bro, I'ma take you there to get help. I'ma be here to help you. But you gotta really want help for yourself. That's why I tell him every time, like ‘Bro, you have to want this for yourself,’” he said. “It's hard. But I'm here for him, always.”
6. On working with Peso Pluma
One of Rich The Kid’s most notable releases this year is “Gimme A Second” with Latin star Peso Pluma. Speaking on how they met nearly two years ago, Rich explained, “We spoke on FaceTime. He was like, ‘Bro, I've been listening to your music for like eight years.’ I was like, ‘D**n, that's fire.’ So, we were both on the road for a while. And we was at Bad Bunny's show. And I ran into him again and he was like, ‘We need to get in the studio.’ And a couple of days later I pulled up on him.” Rich continued to salute their chemistry and added, “He's got a crazy movement. We just dropped a song and I'm independent now. And the song is already gold, independently … [It’s] definitely, like, crossover type s**t, intertwining two worlds.”
7. On the creation of “Carnival”
Earlier this year, Rich The Kid earned his first No. 1 record on the Billboard Hot 100 chart alongside Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, Ty Dolla Sign, and Playboi Carti with “Carnival.” Explaining how the track came to life in Saudi Arabia, Rich recalled, “First day we're there, we're listening to the album and s**t. Second day, we start cooking up. I'm in the room cooking up with Ty. Like, I freestyled the ‘Carnival’ s**t. Ty put down his verse… So, I told Ty, ‘Play the song for Ye.’ But I think there was a lot going on so they ain't even really get to play it for him.” He continued, “So about three weeks later, Ty hit me like, ‘Yo, Ye wants you to be on the album. So, I'm like f**k it, let's do it… He's like, ‘Which song do you think should go on there? I was like, ‘Carnival.’ Well, it was called ‘Honor Roll’ and then the fans just called it ‘Carnival.’”
8. On what he learned from Ye
Rich The Kid and Ye have established a working relationship over the last couple of years. Rich shared what he’s learned from working with the diamond-selling artist. “I'm trying to make a better record than ‘Carnival.’ It's possible, I'm doing it. I gotta keep going,” he began. “I feel like one thing I learned from Ye is always elevating your sound. Always wanna elevate and elevate and take it to the next notch. So, I feel like every time I do a record, I'm thinking how to elevate it and take it to the next notch.”
9. On his next project
On the note of new music and evolution, Rich The Kid teased his forthcoming album. “I'm working on a crazy project right now. It's gonna be fire. Peso's on there, Ozuna, J Balvin. It's like a half-English, half-Latin album,” he said. “It's gonna be probably like 14 songs, 10 songs. Half English, me rapping in both.” Rich didn’t give a timeline on when the project is expected to be released, but time will tell.