Riding high on the massive success of her viral hit, “Gucci Gucci,” hip-hop’s latest female upstart, Kreayshawn, recently opened up about her infectious single, getting a co-sign from Lil Wayne and directing videos for the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Kreayshawn discussed “Gucci Gucci,” which has garnered 5.8 million YouTube views since its May release and earned the rapper a deal with Columbia Records. And although the Oakland, Calif., rapper is happy with the song’s success, she hopes fans will appreciate her forthcoming debut album.
“‘Gucci Gucci’ wasn’t one song that just came out of nowhere. There’s a whole bunch of songs,” she said. “We have a lot of stuff and a lot of songs, and we’re just waiting for the right time to get everything collected together and put it all out.”
Kreayshawn, who recently received praise from Young Money emcee Drake, also discussed Lil Wayne’s Sorry 4 The Wait rendition of “Gucci Gucci,” explaining that she discovered the track via a call from her grandfather.
“One of the first people who called me and told me about it was my grandpa. He’s like, ‘Yeah, [Lil] Wayne’s rapping over your beat. I think he’s dissing you! Is Wayne dissing [you]?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, what? I gotta hear this.’ So I listened to it and I’m like, ‘No pop-pop, it’s a mixtape!’ It’s an honor to me’… I’m excited that [Wayne] noticed and I’m able to get some of his fans to listen to the original version and they like me too.”
Besides impressing fans with “Gucci Gucci” and her latest single, “Rich Whores,” Kreayshawn is also turning heads as an up-and-coming video director.
A former film student at Berkeley Digital Film School, Kreayshawn has been honing her skills directing music videos for fellow Bay Area rapper Lil B and is now stepping into the major leagues by directing the video for legendary rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers’ newest single, “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie.”
“I wanted to keep it 90s-era based, like an underground feel to it,” says Kreayshawn. “[The song] really has that sound that just takes you back. It’s cool because they got to take a break, and I feel like it’s important for any artist to take a break and regroup. And for them to come out and still have the same type of vibe and same type of sound, I really like that.”
–nicholas robinson
