It's been a long time coming, but G-Eazy is finally back. To mark the momentous moment, the hip-hop artist sat down with Billboard magazine to address all the speculation and reasoning behind his mysterious disappearance. A true open book, he explained what had driven him to step away from the spotlight, what he'd been up to during his time off his hope for the future. Here's what he had to say...
"I went through some personal things with losing my mom, and there was just a bit of an overall burnout," he told reporter Neena Rouhani regarding his exit. "We started aggressively trying to tour and release music independently. That level of grind catches up to you." G-Eazy took his time off to care for himself, busying himself with some soul-searching exercises. It wasn't until inspiration for his next album struck that he knew it was time to return. "I just needed that step back. Once that spark hit, it was like, 'Yeah, it's over. We found it. Now y'all are in trouble.," he said.
As he explained to Billboard, his new single, Tulips & Roses, is about giving flowers to people while they are still alive. It's all about "human vulnerability," he noted. "People put artists on this pedestal where you're supposed to be the superhero and invincible. But at the end of the day, anybody could have a bad day or catch an L." Within just days of the song's release, the video had hit 1 million views on YouTube, showcasing people's appreciation and understanding of its message. "When you make music, you're making it in the studio with your closest team. When you put it out, all of a sudden, it has this life because it's impacting all these people," G-Eazy gushed to Billboard.
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Reflecting on the early days of his music passion, G-Eazy can't help but be amazed by how far he's come. "I started making beats, and the beats were trash. I started like writing little raps in my notebooks, I didn't know how to like structure a song or even how to count bars," he explains of his early years. "I'm just 14 in Oakland, in size 36 jeans and baggy white tees," he reminisced. "If I could go back in time and tell that 14-year-old version of me that we'd be sitting here doing this or that I've done these arenas, that's unfathomable." Stream Tulips & Roses on Spotify now.
