August Alsina began to take music seriously after receiving a webcam from his mother. The New Orleans native soon had less time to run the streets and dedicated himself to posting clips of himself singing on YouTube.
He soon became a sensation on the website and drew attention from managers and producers across the nation. Alsina eventually hooked up with Noontime and moved to Atlanta.
Shortly after, he caught the attention of Def Jam A&R Karen Kwak and later signed with The-Dream’s label, Radio Killa.
Alsina recently spoke with rolling out about his new mixtape, The Product 2, and his journey into music.
You moved from New Orleans to Atlanta. Both cities have their own musical cultures. While New Orleans is known for jazz, how is hip-hop important to Atlanta’s scene?
If you’re trying to do music, Atlanta is the place to be because you can bump into anybody at anytime. The city seems big, but it’s small. Everyone knows each other. The city is all about grinding. So many people are competing … everyone is a rapper, singer or producer and working on ways to be creative.
How has it been working with The-Dream?
The-Dream and I go back to the YouTube days. I met with The-Dream in New York and we were able to vibe together while listening to music. It’s a great opportunity to work with The-Dream and Def Jam.
How did the song “I Luv This S–” come about with Trinidad James as the feature?
I had the song for months before I gave it to Trinidad James. I was trying to figure out who would be the right person for the song. Atlanta’s music can be raunchy and beautiful at the same time. Trinidad James embodies everything that the song is about. We connected during my session with Curren$y. I made the song and Def Jam was ready to support it.
What can we expect from the new mixtape, The Product 2?
My new mixtape is with DJ Drama. … I have several songs that people should look out for. I like the intro that begins with Jazze Pha. It’s real New Orleans and has a snippet featuring Lil Wayne. And I also like the song with Curren$y called “Let me Hit That.” We’re getting out in the streets with this mixtape and we’re going hard with the promotion similar to how they [did it] back in the day.
Download The Product 2
Check out the video “I Luv This S—”
