How G-Eazy Proved His Haters Wrong

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G-Eazy
G-Eazy

Every rapper's catalog includes a song conveying the sentiments of G-Eazy's "Far Alone." It's their I-told-you-I-would-make-it mantra. Or in the words of the track's featured vocalist, Jay Ant, "They used to always say I couldn't go too far alone … But now I'm here, bitch."

Even though the artist born Gerald Earl Gillum was still celebrating his independence at the time he penned "Far Alone," he still had plenty to brag about. Without major-label support, he managed to produce quality music, impressive high-concept videos, and millions of YouTube plays.

"Labels didn't start calling until like a year ago," he tells Yahoo Music during a phone interview. "By then, the ball was in my court. If we were going to do a deal, it was going to be on my terms. We were making money independently. We were doing fine. I liked not having to answer to anybody and releasing music when I wanted to and how I wanted to, but we needed to get album endcaps in stores, so we did get a distribution deal and ended up getting the deal we wanted and farmed it through RCA."

G-Eazy breaks down his rap business game like a true student of veteran Bay Area artists Too $hort and E-40, who created the blueprints for hip-hop's independent hustle by selling music out of the trunks of their cars and using their leverage to secure major deals with Jive Records.

At the time of recording "Far Alone," G-Eazy dreamed of making a connection with E-40. "Me and Jay Ant even joked in the studio when we made it, 'Yeah, it would be crazy if we ever got 40 to hop on this, if this song got big enough to get his attention.' The song is more or less about 2006, and how big the hyphy movement was, his involvement in it and growing up on it, being inspired by it, and having these big dreams and wanting to bring the Bay Area to the world and the universe."

The year 2006 was pivotal for G-Eazy. He was 16. E-40 released "Tell Me When to Go." And G-Eazy was classmates with members of Berkley rap group the Pack, who scored a hit with their song "Vans." "I went from being in class with them to watching them on MTV," G-Eazy explains about the skateboarding rap crew. "That was one of the most inspiring moments ever to make me feel like anything was possible." The following year he released his first mixtape, Sikkis on the Planet.

Despite his deep Bay Area hip-hop influences, G-Eazy's music doesn't have a regional sound, something he attributes to the time he spent in Louisiana as a student at Loyola University New Orleans, where he graduated with a degree in Music Business Studies in 2011. "When I first started making music, it sounded like the hyphy movement and everything I was influenced by," he says. "By moving on to New Orleans and soaking up everything down there, my sound began to expand and grow."

G-Eazy's career began to evolve during his college years. He linked with student filmmakers to shoot music videos, and in 2009 was nominated for an MTVU Award for Best Music on Campus. "I thought I had made it," he reflects. "It felt like somebody was noticing. It was some kind of validation. But, in retrospect, it was way too early. I'm thankful things didn't happen that early."

Two years after college, G-Eazy made a huge leap of faith. He sold nearly everything he had and put all his energies into making his These Things Happen album. "I just felt like I had a window open," he explains. "I had a chance to do something and if I won on that bet, then everything that I had sold and gotten rid of was replaceable. You can go to the store and get another couch and clothes. The big-picture, long-term point of view was I had a chance to do something epic. I had to get rid of all of the distractions and commit fully to making the album everything it could be."

Clearly, G-Eazy made the right decision. These Things Happen debuted at No. 3 on the pop charts, and he has toured consistently since. He's already planning to release a follow up this year.

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