Like many others including J. Cole, Ab-Soul, Post Malone, Tech N9ne and more, Pro Era flag bearer CJ Fly dropped his latest album Fly Trapon December 8th. CJ, like his friend and label mate, Joey Bada$$ is known as a member of Brooklynâs new class of heavy hitters, but on this particular album, he sprinkled in some of that down South seasoning to give all the feels of trap royalty.
CJ came through #DXLive where HipHopDX Editor-in-Chief Trent Clark, HipHopDX Features writer Ural Garrett, Marcel Williams and myself got to speak with the 23-year-old on many subjects, including first and foremost why his Cinematic cohort Joey was left off of Fly Trap.
âI donât wanna do the predictable move,â CJ said when Trent asked why the album is devoid of a Bada$$ feature. âJoey and I have like two or three songs itâ like, let it be those classics and then the next time we do [a song] itâs gonna be like âOh shit,ââ he added.
âI donât want to keep them what they expect. Whatâs going to be the excitement when we do it again? Because every joint me and Joey have are classic in my opinion.â
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The joints CJ was referencing are âSup Premeâ and âHard Knock,â but the two recently reunited for a blistering eight-minute freestyle for Statik Selektahâs Shade 45 radio audience.
When the Pro Era squad gets together itâs all love but still, rap is bloodsport even amongst friends, and CJ says even though itâs friendly itâs still competition when itâs time to hit the booth. âItâs friendly competition but of course you wanna take out your homie if theyâre doing well. Itâs like a leapfrog effect. Your friend takes a leap forward, youâre like âOh shit! Watch me do this.ââ noted CJ, who also says he listens to everything because his competition is rap as a whole. âI listen to everybody. Iâm in competition with the whole game so I try to be the best.â
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See the full interview below and tune in to #DXLive every Thursday from 6pm-8pm EST on HipHopDXâs Facebook. Fly Trap is currently streaming on Apple Music.
