With his ongoing success fueled by a viral video over the summer, Atlanta rapper OG Maco spoke with Rolling Stone about his young career and plans for what’s next.
Maco’s “U Guessed It,” a simple song and video combo, has amassed more than ten million views since its release in August and earned him a spot alongside Migos on the Atlanta-interested Quality Control label.
In conversation with Rolling Stone, Maco explained that his viral hit was the product of a late-night, afterthought of a recording session.
“I was actually talking to them about how my engineer was lazy as shit,” he said. “I was sitting there like, ‘Man, I bet this nigga ain’t done no beats.’ We got back in the house and sure enough. . .So I slap him in the back of the head. I went upstairs and I tried to sit and not do nothin’; but I was just so mad I was like, ‘Fuck it!’
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“I didn’t even hear the song for real for real until the next day,” he added. “I was drunk as shit. I woke up like, ‘Oh, I did something last night, huh?'”
Detailing how the video, a simple but raucous romp in a hotel elevator, came about, OG Maco admitted to being charged up after his inaugural performance at Trillectro.
“Started on a floor, went around, fucked that floor up,” he said of the shoot. “Went up a floor, poured everything into the elevator going up, fucked the floor up above us. Recorded everything on that floor, fucked the floor up coming back down. I slid off and the cops were right there. I was like, ‘Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.’ They’re like, ‘We’re obviously cops,’ but I obviously didn’t give a fuck. Like, I had just had the most amazing day of my life — I never performed at Trillectro, I had crowds that was just ready for me, shit like that. So I was just feelin’ on top of the world!”
Near the end of the interview Maco addressed his recent shift in lifestyle and move away from carrying a gun with him everywhere. He also claims he doesn’t want to be considered a rapper. “I’m a rock star,” he said when asked. “I’m an artist.”
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“But right now, I just got out of it,” he said. “I’m just happy I’m rapping. I just stopped carrying a gun every day. I just stopped having situations. Look, man. You don’t understand how recent this “just” is…I just got out of it. So I have a real appreciation for it, because a lot of my niggas is still in for it. The only way to continue past that is to continue past it. And I speak for more than just niggas who out here trappin’; I speak for everybody. If you’re in a struggle or you in a hustle and you trying to do better for yourself, that’s what I speak for…I’m not a rapper, so I don’t want them to label me a rapper. That ain’t me.”
OG Maco released a new EP on his SoundCloud entirely produced by Cardo last month.
Watch OG Maco’s “U Guessed It” below and listen to the recent 2 Chainz remix on HipHopDX here.
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