Fat Trel: D.C. Trap Star Comes Clean About Addiction, Hip-Hop & Talking To Dead Homies
Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur and DJ Thoro talk to Fat Trel about why the future is bright.
When Fat Trel arrived at our studio, his vibe was nothing short of cool. Rolling nearly 10 deep, each member of his crew made it a point to personally greet everyone on our team with a handshake, both upon arrival and before leaving. What happened in between those moments was a powerful and engaging conversation with one of Hip-Hop’s most compelling “what if” stories.
Fat Trel’s legal troubles have often overshadowed his insightful, street-hardened trap music. But today, the Washington D.C. native is in great spirits, and his new album, Boosa’s Keeper . The album, a nod to his best friend and his death, reflects Trel’s deep potential and promise of what’s ahead. This interview isn’t focused on his past missteps, but rather his bright future. At 34 years old and as a father, Trel is ready for the next level, even considering leaving his hometown to fully realize his potential.
In this extended Q&A, we delve into Fat Trel’s musical influences, his creative process, and his evolution as an artist. He opens up about his admiration for legends like Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, and the balance between fatherhood and his career. Most importantly, Trel shares his determination to keep growing and evolving, leaving the past behind as he looks toward the future with optimism and ambition.
DJ Thoro: Where do you come from and how important is that to you?
Fat Trel: That’s important for me because, I would like to think that I’m from that generation where repping where you from really, really, really matters. I tell people all the time [if you] met a real DC ni##a because once he asks you “what’s your name?,” the second question he going to ask you is, “Where are you from?” That’s just some DC s###. it’s real important because I don’t want no n#### to get confused. My career kind of took off with me and Chief Keef. We had a lot of records together and a lot of people thought I was from Chicago. And I kept having to reiterate, I’m from DC man, I’m from DC and vice versa. A lot of people thought Sosa was from DC.
Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: But then my first thought was Wale. Were you not tapped in with his movement as an artist?
Fat Trel: My first time hearing Wale, I think I was like 16. I remember I was at Job Corps. My mother had put me in Job Corps. I got put out of high school. My mother put me in Job Corps. She was like, “Look, this my last, I don’t know what the f### else to do with you. I’m about to put you in Job Corps. If this don’t work, you on your own after this.” You know what I’m saying? “I’m about to wash my hands with you, you feel me?” And I remember we was in the rec room and we was playing pool one day and I heard this ni##a on the radio station rapping about Nike boots. I’m like, damn, I’m playing pool though. I’m looking over at the radio like, man, that s### hard right there. Turn that up, turn the radio up, fly in the restroom, still got my Nike boots flying in the restroom. I’m like, “Damn, this s### hard right here.”
I’m asking everybody who is this? Nobody knew who he was though. Nobody knew. You know what I’m saying? And then once I started rapping and taking rap serious, somebody had reached out to me. Somebody had reached out to my managers at the time and was like, “Yo, Wale wants to come to the open mic and see Trel.” By that time, n##### started hearing him. He came out with the Lady Gaga record came out, “Chilling” or something like that. But at that time, real Washingtonians knew like, “All right, bet he ain’t from DC he from PG (Prince George’s County, Maryland).
Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: Side not, Wale is a lyricist. And I can tell you write. Well, do you write or don’t you write? Because I’ve heard you say you don’t.
Fat Trel: I just recently stopped writing probably like five, six years ago. Right. But lemme be honest, certain records I will write the verse to. Certain records where I want to talk, my talk I’ll write to, but for the most part, majority of my studio sessions I’m just punching in. So I did stop writing, but the production got to make me want to write. So certain beats make me want to write.
DJ Thoro: Yeah, I was going to touch on sound. So obviously everybody knows DC is synonymous with Go-Go Music. You think DC Go-Go right? Does Fat Trail or does DC have a Hip-Hop sound? Is there a sound?
Fat Trel: Yeah, we got our own sound for sure. We got our own hip hop sound for sure.
Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: Okay. How’s your mental health? “Bury Me In Neiman’s” has some dark lyrics on it and it made me just wonder how you were mentally. I mean death in itself is tough. Jail prison is tough. These are life-changing things.
Fat Trel: That’s a good question. Right. And I’m going to be honest. I think my mental health, right? I think back again, when you go to the music and to the lyricism, it was important for “Bury Me In Neiman’s” to be first because the first line of the song. The first line of the song says, “When I go to sleep, I see dead souls telling me to come with ’em and I want to go / I wish I didn’t have to sleep with my eyes closed / You really left me on the street by myself with no help when I needed you. And that’s crazy to me.”
Fat Trel: That’s a conversation with Boosa personally. You know what I’m saying? And so that’s a testament to my mental health alone.
I’m talking to dead people when I’m asleep, when I wake up and brush my teeth. I got Whoop tatted on this eye. Scooby tatted on this eye. When I wake up in the morning and brush my teeth, I see it. Boosa’s Keeper, the album. This is my mental state. This is what I’m going through ups and downs.
Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: I often hear you say “I need to make better choices.” How are you now with your choices? Are you sober, for example? I know you were dealing with that at a point.
Fat Trel: I smoke, I stopped… Let me say this because a lot of people wonder, right? I had a real bad addiction to Lean and Percocets, it is what it is. I ain’t ashamed of it. I never not speak on it. I don’t care who knows. You know what I’m saying? I have stopped popping Percs, drinking Lean. I haven’t done that in probably over a year now, but do I smoke weed. And do I got a cup of tequila downstairs in the car? Absolutely. And I’m kind of upset that I’ve left the tequila in the car. (Camera man reveals the tequila is actually in the room.) Oh bet! I say no more. Nah, but when I think of drugs, I think of Lean and Percocet. So I am off drugs. I don’t look at marijuana like a drug, and I do drink alcohol. They sell that at the store,
It is what it is. Yeah. But definitely make better choices, man. And for the record, quitting Lean and quitting Percocets was one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life. Mentally it’s one of the hardest things.
Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: We just kind of worry. Gen X, which is what I am, we just worried, man. We don’t want to lose no more people, especially our young people. You and Rich Homie Quan are the same age.
Fat Trel: Yeah. So you never know what people are going through in life, man. You really don’t. You know what I’m saying? And I was just having a conversation in the car with my youngest about all the athletes who I’ve known who pop Percs their whole career. I never say their name of course, but if I told you’d be like, “Get the f### out of here.” I’m like, nah, I’m talking about like me eight, nine a day.
Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: So rap-wise, I feel like you’re still growing. I feel like you’re still evolving. And how hard is it for you to keep topping yourself? Because I don’t know, it almost feels like you’re still climbing. Does that make sense?
Fat Trel: Yeah, artistically I get exactly what you’re saying. For example, I was just in Atlanta recently and somebody had sent me a folder and it was all full of Detroit beats. You know what I’m saying? So while I’m listening to ’em, I’m not speaking out loud, but I’m thinking in my mind like, man, this about to be my first time ever f###### with one of these Detroit beats. So when I do the records, it’s like, man, I bet it’s a challenge. You know what I’m saying? And we knock out the challenge, we knock out the record.
Fat Trel: I might not love music for the reason that the next man in the room loved music. But I genuinely have always loved music. My mother told me since you was born, don’t nothing calm you down or put you in your mood, make you happy, make you sad. Music affects you in so many type of ways. I always been around music and Anita Baker and John Legend, those are my favorite singers. And people look at me and they like, “Yo, you like Anita Baker and John Legend?” I’m like, yeah, they’re the greatest of all time in my opinion.
DJ Thoro: Have you ever sampled anything from Anita Baker and rap over it? That’d be crazy.
Fat Trel: I love sampling music. One producer did send me a beat with Anita sampled on it. I ain’t record to it yet. Right. Because what I was trying to do with it and how the beat sound and it was kind of sounding enforced, you know what I’m saying? But I would love to get a record in with Anita Baker or John Legend. She’s still here.