Certified Fresh: Fetty Wap, The King To Every Hood’s Trap Queen

Everyday, established artists come up with the bright idea to generate a “new sound” out of either boredom or career identity crisis. By being true to self, Paterson, New Jersey native Fetty Wap is working with a new sound every time he touches the mic, and it’s not contrived.

After wooing audiences with the instant hood classic, “Trap Queen,” the 24-year-old, self-proclaimed “Trap&B” artist has proven he’s not to be taken a novelty by releasing several other records that have amassed millions of plays, making him one of the most sought-after upstarts in the 2015 music climate.

Who: Fetty Wap, known to his momma as Willie Maxwell, the 24-year-old frontman of the Remy Boyz crew out of Paterson, N.J. Following the breakout success of “Trap Queen,” Fetty signed to 300 Entertainment and will be blessing the entire world with a proper full length sooner than later.

Credentials: Like most artists without a direct industry connection, Fetty decided to use the Internet as his career launching pad–and it worked. Since the success of “Trap Queen,” Jay Z and Beyonce were spotting dancing to the hit and this past February, Kanye West brought out the budding star to perform the smash record in front of thousands. Rihanna has also sung her praises for the joint as well. As of last week, “Trap Queen” shot to the top of Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs.

Fun Fact: Fetty’s missing left eye isn’t the result of some goon-filled encounter once upon a time in the Paterson streets of “Harlem.” As a kid, he was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma in both of my eyes and the doctor was able to save one of them. Way up, he feels blessed.

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Photos: Instagram / Fetty Wap

HHW: How do you see your music impacting life and cultuer years down the line?

Fetty Wap: Right now, I do my music for the moment. Whatever I feel on the beat that’s how I do it right then and there. So whatever happens in the future, it just happens I guess.

HHW: What kind of emotions do you expect fans to have with this “Trap&B”?

Fetty Wap: It’s just gonna make them feel good. Like, I get different reactions from people telling me how it makes them feel. That’s what music’s about. When I made “Trap Queen,” I made it for somebody [in particular] but I didn’t want it be all sad, because I’m not a sad type of person. When we listen to my music…we just want to have fun. So most of the songs that I make, even if you don’t know the words, I just want you to vibe out. For the fellas who don’t really like to dance, I make the trap music songs too. I got the help of my squad–the Remy Boyz and it just works out.

HHW: You broke into an echelon that most artists releasing their music onto the Internet never get invited into. While we’re not saying you made it yet; but when was the moment that you knew that your career was really building?

Fetty Wap: Honestly, and I just had this discussion with my manager Danny Su and the rest of the Remy Boyz. This right here is when it all starts and we really start working. What we were trying to do, we got to the point where we got stuck because the music was doing so good and the numbers keep going so high, we didn’t know what else to do. And then we knew it wasn’t time to just sit here. Even right now we’re still working. I just don’t stop.

HHW: You still get to enjoy right?

Fetty Wap: Oh, definitely. The experiences…that’s when we have our fun. We definitely do get to see Los Angeles beaches every day. It’s just a blessing and I can’t even call this a job.

HHW: O.K. so the left eye. It’s obviously something you’re not ashamed of. Especially with the girls on Instagram. Would you say before Fetty Wap was a household name, did you get hardened trying to defend it?

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Fetty Wap: Nah, not after the first time. After that, growing up around certain people…everybody knew me; called me “One-Eye Willie” or whatever. And the high school [I went to] was bad anyway so we was fighting about other stuff [Laughs]. It never bothered me like that. After while, I started making jokes about it to. And then I got tired of wearing the prosthesis and when I took it out, it just felt more comfortable. When I used to wear it, people thought I was cross-eyed or retarded. Now, I feel that it doesn’t matter what I look like it, that’s not my problem. That’s how I feel about that.

HHW: What’s Paterson like?

Fetty Wap: Every city got a different hood and as you know some hoods are worst than others. I just…grew up in a bad hood [Laughs]. 12th and 22nd [Street], we call it Harlem. We called it that because we getting money. It’s long story [Laughs].

HHW: Understandably everybody wants to talk about “Trap Queen” but what’s the big picture of your movement?

Fetty Wap: We’re definitely dropping an album by the end of the year and the RGF will be following shortly after. There’s a lot of us too! When I call my mom and tell her to quit her job is when I know it’s real.

HHW: Does success and fame bug you out at all?

Fetty Wap: For real, I just be chillin’. I do the shows and just work. It don’t be the cameras and the media that makes it seem like I’m famous. To see people who actually know and recognize me…that’s the the part that be making me say, ‘Damn, is this real?” It’s the fans that I thought that would never ever know my music that hit me in the street like, ‘Yo! it’s you!”

Essentials:

“Trap Queen”

“Again”

“My Way”