If he isn’t scamming the biggest rap superstars for features or finessing his good friend Drake, West Oakland-based rapper Guapdad 4000 is honing is craft when it comes to his musical talent and making a name for himself as an established Bay Area artist.
Last week, the half Filipino, half Black musician dropped his latest album Dior Deposits, which showcases his progression as an artist. The album includes collaborations with some legendary figures in the rap game, like Chance the Rapper, G-Eazy and E-40.
With Friday’s edition of Day N Vegas in full swing, the “Gucci Pajamas” rapper took some time to speak with us before his set to tap in on his Filipino side, his relationship with J. Cole and Drake, the creative process of his last album and the minor incident that went down involving Russ.
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HipHopDX: Guap, how have you been lately?
Guapdad 4000: I’ve been amazing, I just wrapped a tour with P-Lo. I’ve got two days off, I’m doing a secret event with Denzel Curry that people will probably know after this interview is out — that’s in Atlanta. Then I go home for one day before I hit the road with Earthgang.
HipHopDX: You’ve had a big year. Let’s bring it back to the Dreamville camp, what was it like working with J. Cole and working with so many different artists? What was your perspective from that whole process?
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Guapdad 4000: I just took a lot of notes. I’m pretty tight at a lot of things and I’m obviously better than at a lot of things than a lot of people. So it was cool to be around J. Cole and the Dreamville camp and the people that they invited who were better at things than I am. It was humbling and I was able to take a lot of notes and apply it to myself.
HipHopDX: Okay, so you’re real cool with J. Cole though?
Guapdad 4000: For one, I talk to J. Cole all the time.
HipHopDX: Okay, okay, that’s what’s up. Speaking of your relationships with rap powerhouses, you’ve been in headlines because of your connections with Drake, too. What’s it like being able to text Drake whenever just to see what’s up?
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Guapdad 4000: I just talked to Drake not too long ago, it was his birthday. I was in Toronto like two days before. He showed me love, shout out to the boy, shout out to the whole team.
HipHopDX: Do you have a feature or any collaborations coming with him?
Guapdad 4000: I can’t speak on that. But, much love to OVO. Shout out my boy Mark, he knows who he is.
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HipHopDX: So, you just finished your stint on P-Lo’s Shine Tour, what was it like performing with the kuya?
Guapdad 4000: It was amazing. It was great. A lot of P-Lo’s fanbase is Filipino and it was great to tap in with my other side. A lot of people don’t know I’m Black and Filipino. It was great for me to see my own people and just talk to all my potential titos, ates, kuyas, pares, you know what I’m saying? It was tight.
HipHopDX: So you must’ve had your fair share of Filipino gatherings I assume, like watching Pacquiao fights and all that?
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Guapdad 4000: It’s tough for me to watch Pacquiao because he always fights Black people, but I be torn in half, I don’t know who to root for.
HipHopDX: On a more serious note though, there’s not many Asians in the rap game and not many people even know you’re Filipino. What’s one thing about your Filipino side that you want people to know about you because I feel like nobody’s touched on that too deep?
October is Filipino American History Month, so I got Oakland rapper @guapdad4000 to school you about our cultural drip because some of you don’t know what a #barong is, and it shows! ????????????? pic.twitter.com/pbj5AUyAmN
— Russel (@ruzzilla) October 2, 2019
Guapdad 4000: First of all, I got family in Baguio City.
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HipHopDX: I heard you got bitches in Baguio, too.
Guapdad 4000: You already know I got bitches in Baguio. But, my family is from Olongapo in Zambales province. I also got family in Manila. So, like, I be out there. I really tap in with it. I literally know how to cook the tightest lumpia from scratch, chicken adobo, pancit, I even fucking eat balut!
HipHopDX: Yo, I’ve got to rain check you on that, bro, not many Filipinos, including myself, mess with the balut.
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Guapdad 4000: I fuck with it. Like even my mama don’t even eat balut. It don’t bother me.
HipHopDX: What about the community where you grew up, was there a lot of Filipinos in West Oakland?
Guapdad 4000: I grew up around a lot of Cambodians, to be honest. But, outside of the main dishes like diniguan, [Cambodians and Filipinos] really ate the same stuff, just like fish, rice and spam and shit, you know what I’m saying?
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HipHopDX: So let’s get into the music. Dior Deposits. Amazing album, your features go crazy. “Gucci Pajamas” —I played that joint for the entire four hours that I drove (to Vegas). But anyways, what was the creative process like, how long did it take to get that done?
Guapdad 4000: It took me three years to finish Dior Deposits. A lot of those songs happened in the quarter of the last year and that’s just because I got bigger as I was recording. But like, “Stunt on Ghosts” is three years old. I started that beat by myself in combination with my little bro Mansa, who is a genius. And I just built off of his genius and we built that record, that’s so fucking old. “Iced Out Gold Chain” is two years old.
HipHopDX: So what would you say the difference is between the Scamboy Color version of Guap and Dior Deposit Guap?
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Guapdad 4000: I’m way more developed in Dior Deposits. If you listen to Scamboy Color, it’s just raw talent. It’s just me like fucking around and being better than people at fucking around. If you listen to Dior Deposits, you will hear records and somebody who is trying to polish themselves as a songwriter, as a voice, as an artist and as a rapper.
HipHopDX: Yeah, I can totally see that, I agree. Alright man, so besides Dior Deposits, you’ve been in some headlines lately involving Russ. We already know what happened. Now that you’ve been able to take a step back and look at the situation, what do you think of it?
Guapdad 4000: I think it’s fire because niggas that didn’t like me decided to come and do wrong by me. And the fact that they didn’t win, they can’t stop talking about it in the press. So now I’m doing interviews about things like that.
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HipHopDX: So when you were writing “Prada Process,” did his name just kind of fit or was there a specific reason you chose that?
Guapdad 4000: That was more about my approach to the game, it was just a general thing.
HipHopDX: I see. Well, alright, is there anything else that you want people to know, any other projects or collaborations coming soon?
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Guapdad 4000: I’m working on the next album. Enjoy Dior Deposits until it’s done, but Valentino Viper is on the way.
HipHopDX: When can we expect it?
Guapdad 4000: I ain’t got no date man. But I just got the Snoop vocals that just touched down. The Anderson .Paak vocals just touched down. So, we building.
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HipHopDX: That’s dope man. Alright, we appreciate it, bro! You don’t know how much Hip Hop society needs Filipino rappers in the game, it does a lot for the culture.
Guapdad 4000: Come on, bro, I be putting on, man. People don’t even know the struggle, I be trying to tell people about what goes on back home (in the Philippines). I get so many free clothes as a rapper. Every month, I literally call my grandma and I send a big Balikbayan box back home.
HipHopDX: At this point, they should call you the Fil-Am Finam, bro.
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Guapdad 4000: I never heard that before, that’s crazy! Aye, I appreciate you so much, man.
Stream Dior Deposits below.
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