“Piss Codeine,” the opening track from Oakland rapper Philthy Rich’s latest mixtape “Real N*ggas Back in $tyle,” is a classic Zaytoven-produced trap banger, combining the ATL sound architect’s signature organ-and-kick-drum aesthetic with Philthy Rich’s East Oakland realness, further cementing the musical railway between the Bay and the Dirty South. For the remix, Rich recruits street rap warriors Kevin Gates, Young Dolph, and Icewear Vezzo to rhyme about their relationship with their favorite vice: syrup.
“For me, the best time to drink syrup is when I’m in the studio,” explains Philthy Rich. “I usually mix it with A&W cream soda, pineapple Fanta, or Peach Crush. I started sipping syrup after I got shot. I couldn’t sleep and I was always paranoid, so I started sipping it more and more until I was using it daily. Contrary to what you’d think, it doesn’t slow me down, it actually gives me momentum. I’m already driven and motived, so it mellows me out and makes me more productive.”
A veteran in the Bay Area rap scene, Philthy Rich built a reputation as the Bay Area’s Gucci Mane because of his drug-fueled, yet down-to-earth, rhymes, his prolific output, and his relationships with the best street rappers and producers.
Explains Philthy Rich, “I’ve had an existing relationship with Dolph and Vezzo, but I met Kevin Gates recently in Arizona. Over the course of our conversation, he said he recognized what I was doing and that he’d do a record with me. That taught me that even if you don’t think your work is getting noticed, it is. I’ve been getting hit up a lot by people who are much bigger than me and it’s dope.”
