Best of '21: Snubbs: 10 Things We Learned In 10 Minutes (Exclusive)
Harlem is home to some of the most famous and iconic hip-hop artists of all time whether we’re talking about Cam’ron and the mighty Dipset or former Bad Boy Records legend Ma$e to those A$AP Mob fellas by the names of A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg. No one can forget what Big L meant to the rap game and with the familiar names of Dave East and Smoke DZA, there’s always something fresh and new brewing out of the legendary Manhattan neighborhood. Harlem World’s Snubbs is the game’s best kept secret.
No rookie to this rap grind with hard-hitting freestyles and too many flows to count dating back to when he donned a short haircut and bodied Meek Mill instrumentals, the rap grinder chopped it up with Attack The Culture to dish on everything from securing a Rolling Loud New York performance slot to his must-hear Loyalty Is A Action mixtape and why he had to go back to his signature flow with the project’s standout “Amsterdam” banger. Check out 10 Things We Learned In 10 Minutes with Snubbs.
1. Snubbs Couldn’t Wait To Hit The Rolling Loud – NYC Stage
I’m not even going to lie, the feeling is incredible and I feel like I’m blessed enough to let all my colleagues who were actually with me on the way up actually get a ticket too so I feel even more blessed and I feel like no one is left out. Words are unexplainable. All my dirt biking and it’s happening. It’s going to be a point in time when I can’t ride my dirt bike in the city because I’m too famous.
I’m going up and going crazy. I’m going to be on the Audiomack stage so everything is a go. You already know. If you want to pull up on me and see greatness, I’m going to be right there waiting for you.
2. It Was A Rolling Loud No-Brainer What To Perform
I’m not even going to lie, just to give you the full aspect I’m definitely going to be performing most of Loyalty Is A Action for sure. I feel like I just dropped it, it just came out, everybody loves ‘Amsterdam’ and everybody loves all the songs on there. I got a special guest coming out too and I can’t let you know who it is. If you want to know, you gotta come to Audiomack’s stage.
3. Snubbs Knew He Had To Put ‘Amsterdam’ Onto The New ‘Loyalty Is A Action’
Well honestly speaking, I felt like ‘Amsterdam’ was supposed to wait for my album but I’m like, no lie, ‘Amsterdam’ represents exactly my avenue of where I’m from. I see people in the comments, ‘Oh, autotune.’ I have natural autotune in my natural voice. It sounds like I got it on right now. You feel me? I’m like let me give them something so they can shut up and zoom into what’s really important which is the lyricism. ‘Amsterdam’ gives you that raw, uncut energy of who Snubbs really is. Not saying me singing is not me but this is really who I mainly is. Like I started off hardcore rapping before people started telling me, ‘Yo, you gotta make something for the females. You gotta make something for them.’ Before people told me to cater to all these other sounds, the original format was definitely boom bap hip-hop.
4. They’re All His Faves, But Snubbs Loves On Song Most Off ‘Loyalty Is A Action’
Hands down I feel like I’m 10 for 10, don’t get it wrong but my favorite song on the whole tape is definitely ‘Steamin.’ Oh my god. I feel like that one right there did it for me because I know that was the last song that I really made for the project. My process for making the album was making songs for the project but these were hand selected from an unreleased basket and for me to make that song fresh off the press and it made it off all the songs that were made from last year or even the year before, it just feels good to let people hear my new sound compared to ‘Amsterdam’ and everything else. ‘Steamin’ is definitely my favorite. Hands down.
5. Gearing Up For The New Album
The title speaks for itself, Loyalty Is A Action also revolves around my rollout plan. My rollout plan actually was for me to be loyal to my fans without just saying it. Because everyone says loyalty and loyalty first and family first. But for me to show that loyalty is a action, I actually dropped a single every other week. I gave a week for the single to breathe and then I’d give them another one. I’d wait a week for the single to breathe and then I’d give them another one. That was a process that took all the way to this body of work here. At the end of the day, I was being loyal to my fans aside from the songs on the project. Loyalty Is A Action is really about coming off of actions and not just words.
6. Coming Out Of Harlem Means A Loooooot
I’m not going to lie, it’s a dope day to be coming out of Harlem. It would be cheesy for me to just be saying the city life and all of that but it’s just crazy to be knowing this is really where ‘swag’ was invented. People here were wearing mink furs and stuff people are wearing now before our time and bringing the fashion together and us even being a part of Manhattan and being a part of Fifth Avenue, high fashion culture and everything. It’s just a beautiful feeling to know that you could do anything you want to do and you don’t have to fall into a certain lane because you got all types of different people everywhere but for Harlem, for the most part showed me you can do whatever you want to do but at the highest stature for sure.
7. Snubbs’ Harlem Mt. Rushmore Is Deeper Than Rap
Number one, an inspiration off the rip is Big L. So R.I.P to Big L. I really started rapping seeing his freestyles on YouTube like, ‘Damn, this man is going crazy.’ Like he didn’t look physically fit and he didn’t look brolic or strong but his words made me feel like if I played around with him, I might get into some trouble with his wordplay. So I definitely have to put Big L on Mt. Rushmore.
[Dipset]. Cam’ron, Jim Jones, the whole Dipset era for sure.
I also would probably give a shout-out to Bloodshed from the East Side, First Avenue.
Those are mainly the only real rappers but I got a lot of inspiration from a lot of people that do dirt bikes and stuff like that that made my lifestyle, make me be able to talk about it. Seeing people rap was part of the inspiration but it’s different. My motivation to start rapping was really from my actions that allowed me to be built up to be this person.
Those are definitely people I looked up to on the come-up for my Mt. Rushmore for Harlem.
8. There’s Always Going To Be Love For Mason Betha
Let me put Ma$e on the Rushmore. It’s not like I forgot about him. But I know Ma$e definitely put a big impact on the city and I just personally feel like he changed the way too from the whole Bad Boy movement. P. Diddy. They didn’t paved the way.
9. The Work Grind Never Stops
I’m not going to lie, my work process takes a lot of hard work and dedication and not giving up. I feel like at the end of the day it looks easy but behind the scenes I have a whole team who I’m grateful for who helps me get pushed to the forefront and understand what it takes to be behind someone.
10. Snubbs Is A Team Player
I gotta work hard myself and stay dedicated and grind but I also got to tilt my hat to my team 100 Mz. They inspire me to keep pushing for the people at times I might feel like giving up so I gotta give all of that to my team because before accomplishments were coming through, they still were showing me that support.
