At first glance, 23-year-old Artist Julius Dubose isnāt exactly what meets the eye. The trendsetting, diamond-trenched rapper from the Bronx also known as A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie who is arguably one of the top contenders for future leaders in the industry. He created āHighbridge The Labelā with his partner QP, and received critical acclaim for his projects Artist, The Bigger Artist and Highbridge The Label: The Takeover Vol.1 with the Don Q before taking over the airwaves. If youāve heard āDrowning,ā or his recent single āLook Back At Itā you know heās capable of making good songs. But itās the raw emotion evoked in songs like āD.T.B/Interlude,ā āStill Think About You,ā āFriendzoneā and now ā4 Min Convoā that showcase the vulnerability fans admire. His second studio album, Hoodie SZN debuted at number one on the Billboard 100 and heās just getting started.
Read More:Ā Wild N’ Out Live! Tour Brings Performances by A-Boogie, 21 Savage, Tommy Davidson
Separating himself from his peers as a master of melodies but fused with lyricism, A Boogie bridges the gap between millennials and fans of the golden era of Hip-Hop. Today after getting a fresh cut for his photoshoot right before a sold-out show, heās surprised that connection was made. āItās crazy that you brought up bridging the gap because thatās the name of my management company and thatās basically the whole point of me being in this game,ā he reveals. āTo bring different worlds together so that when I go to shows, I donāt just see one type of crowd I see all types of cultures getting together.ā Hailing from one of the toughest places in the Bronx–ā Highbridge, A Boogie says things still have not improved there. āI feel like the Bronx has never really changed.Ā It changed from back in the day, but from my era, I feel like itās kind of gotten worse. I feel like as we get older, the kids are younger involved with the streetsā¦ I know twelve-year-old little kids that want to dropĀ out of school right now. I feel like the only way that (change) will happen is if people come to reality. No one really comes to reality when it comes to life.ā He explains, āFor example rules. Everybody has their own opinion when it comes to rules. Every single person.Ā Letās say thereās 30 people in the room, and the teacher gives 30 people rules. At least 15—half of those people are not going to listen to those rules and they are going to want to learn a certain type of way. People have to really understand when things are changing. Kids shouldnāt have to learn about social studies more than they learn about real estate. This is the point where you need to learn how to do things like that. But they want kids to go to college just to say they went to college. Whatās a diploma? A diploma canāt buy you a house? It can get you a job to work for somebody, if you donāt really learn how to work for yourself.ā Ā
Numb to expectations, he believes it doesnāt have to remain this way. āI think things will change. That leads with people like me. People like Meek Mill, RIP Nipsey Hussle… mainly all the rappers thatās using the opportunity to build more opportunities. The crowds that we reach out to listen to the things that we say or the things that we do. Itās not all about just rap or about making sounds. Itās about making opportunities and building more opportunities. Itās like a blind side with this whole industry, a big blind side with it. Itās the distraction. You donāt really get the time to realize that you can do this and do this with it through doing music.ā After spending a few moments with A Boogie, you realize thereās a hidden strategy to everything he does and heās a self-confessed workaholic with the presence of an old soul. āI hear that a lot. Iāve been hearing that ever since I was 16. I donāt even like doing anything, I just like working. Sometimes I feel like I workĀ too hard, but Iām not just doing this for myself. It aināt all about having fun. I know everybody says, āYeah but you got to have fun sometimes,ā everybody always seeing me with a little sad face or whatever (laughs) but Iām in this to win.āĀ
Sharing parts of his private life on social media with his 2-year-old daughter Melody and his tumultuous relationship with her mother Ella Bands, the rapper exemplifies another stage of growth. He recently apologized to Ella on Instagram for āevery little mistakeā and thanked her for giving him āa beautiful family to love, prosper and cherish.ā Unfazed by the opinions on social media, he doesnāt regret opening up publicly. āI feel like going into the future I would share way more. Thereās things that I still go through in my relationship that people would like to know but I donāt talk about things that Iām going through unless itās something thatās appropriate to talk about.ā He does acknowledge the birth of his daughter changed his views drastically. āHaving a daughter made me think about a million things differently.Ā It made me respectĀ women way more. Even though I still have more learning to do it made me respect women way more.ā Ā
Despite being open about some aspects of his life he doesnāt believe everyone should have access to his circle. āI feel like you have to gravitate to certain relationships only, certain relationships can be real bad for you. You could just jump into anything… letās say one of my favorite rappers is the most violent rappers out here and I meet him and I do songs with him, and now Iām starting to feel the influence from him,ā He explains. āI donāt feel like thatās the way, you have to gravitate on a positive energy side of it and realize whoās genuinely in it. I donāt like the fake friends/industry thing, I just stay to myself.ā He does admit that he gets a lot of love in spite of being recluse. āThatās what keeps me going, because thereās certain rappers that donāt get no love and they just doubt themselves after that. You know how people lose energy?ā He asks. āIf you donāt peak your energy itās going toĀ peak without you.ā
Not shying away from the hard questions, he doesnāt blink when asked about the pill epidemic. āItās never gonna change, itās only going to get worse. Rappers are never going to stop talking about drugs unfortunately. I do it myself. So, I canāt contradict on that. Itās like a foundation we built. We didnāt do it for them to do drugs, but we do it because…I aināt going to lie, itās a selfish thing. Itās the selfish part of us. I talk about drugs in my music because I want certain people to gravitate, certain fans that I donāt have. āPeople out here doing drugs, all right letās get them. You know thatās just how I think. Itās a business at the end of the day.ā
Boasting confidence and business sense, A Boogie already considers himself a Bronx legend. āI feel like Iām a part of it now, I donāt just feel, I am a part of it. Being a part of it just makes me feel like Iām doing it at a pace where I got so much more time to put in, I canāt wait until I reallyĀ reach my peak.āĀ He also has an exclusive deal with the iconic brand PUMA synonymous with New York Hip-Hop. āI gotta give it up to Biggs, Chief, Emory and my manager Emm for that one. That one came about through relationships and thatās what life is all about these days. Music is just the beginning, You see how some people say the most successful people in the world have five businesses? I want to have at least 15-to-20 businesses one day so I can be three times more successful than the most successful people.āĀ
Read More:Ā A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie signs Publishing Deal with Reservoir
As for the future, A Boogie is gearing to release more music. āRight now, Iām working on Artist 2.0. Iām overloaded with songs. I got a few projects that I can make right now, but I got to make it make sense. Thatās all I do, just puzzle things together and make sure I make a good project every time. And Iām working on my singles. Iām trying to get my couple number one records and it never stops.ā