F.O.G | ‘Pain’ Is An Emotive Inducing Roller Coaster
F.O.G is a young budding star out of Phoenix, Arizona. The desert isn’t the only thing that’s heat over there, so is his music. He is a super unique artist and boasts a positive message. As an artist who has gone through a tumultuous childhood, having not been raised by his parents, and growing up in the ghetto- he finds purpose through music. His general message is one of triumph and positivity. The most impressive part is that he doesn’t swear in his music. This is truly something you do not see a whole lot of in today’s rap game.
In my brain there’s a lot of pain
In his track,“Pain”, he depicts the pain that he went through growing up in an unstable household. He details through his lyrics how he struggles to contain the emotional turbulence that disturbs him daily, but is able to cope through solace of music. His flow is somber, as you can truly feel the cut of his words that are sure to internalize with the listener. His catalog of tracks are surely impressive, and what is even more exciting is the feature that he is in possession of. He is yet to release the song, but he was able to get Trippie Red on a track due to an exceptional circumstance. This power move will more than likely blow him up. Time will only tell for the young and gifted rapper. Make sure you follow him now, so you can be one of the first who were on the bandwagon.
Rap Fiesta had the exclusive chance to interview F.O.G., as he went into detail about his tough upbringing, the root of his musical inspiration, and how God has empowered him on this journey. Check that out below.
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Lets start basic. Tell us you‘re name, your age and a little bit about where you’re from?
My name is Joseph and I’m 16 years old. I was raised in the ghetto of the south side of Phoenix for a little bit of my life. Next to the projects, the south side is the worst part of AZ, but later on I got taken out and adopted by my grandparents who moved me into a big house in the hills which is were I spent most my life. My upbringing was very rough. I don’t know my father and I only see my mom every so often. I was a fighter and had a lot of problems, but I have gone to a recovery center which saved me completely.
Off the rip, why should fans gravitate towards F.O.G?
My music is different. I don’t speak about things that aren’t true. I speak about my life and my experiences, but also I’m clean. I do not cuss in my music, and I never will. I believe it takes no talent to cuss. I’m also the artist that does their best to respond to fans and engage with them. I believe that my fans are family and I treat them like so.
What got you started in writing music and becoming a lyricist?
I was around 6 when I started using music as a coping technique to help me with my anger problems, and it worked for real. I became addicted to music, but I never started till 6th grade. I did one song, and it was trash, but in my head it was dope as hell so I kept going until I finally got into a studio and my career took off. Not only did I get better, I also got more of a following. I have a connection to music that no one will ever understand.
In today’s game, its hard to succeed without a label backing you. How do you get around that obstacle to make sure people give you the attention your music deserves?
To be a honest, a label is what destroys you and I will never sign for that reason. They want you to sign. Look at 6LACK. He signed, and they put a stop on his career. Music labels don’t care about you. They care about the artist making them money. I don’t need a label, all I need is god. God has gotten me this far, and I know he won’t stop till I’m at the top.
We understand you have an unreleased track with Trippie Red. How did that come about and when is that dropping?
This song was hard, and easy to get. The hard part was getting in a position to be able to communicate that I wanted the song. The rest, God made happen. No man could have done this. So, I saw Trippie Red post my manager Big Bryce on his page, and I went to his page. Now at this time I did not know him, but I already had been speaking life for a week saying I’ma meet Trippie, and so I saw he had 10k followers so I hit him up. I spammed because he didn’t respond, but finally I guess I caught Big Bryces’ eye, and he said if I want a feature with Trippie it’ll cost 300 dollars. I was able to work his price down to 150 and then when FaceTiming him, I said, “Show Trippie the song. I’m using a Trippie type beat and he said hell no”, but one day I get a call, and he said Trippie wants to feature on the song at no cost, and my jaw dropped. That is how the relationship with 1400 grew to where it is now. The song does not have a official release date, but it should be dropping sometime within the next couple of months, or sooner.
In your track ‘The Truth’, you mention the absence of your father. Is this true? When did your father leave you and how has that affected your upbringing?
Yes, this is true. He was taken into police custody when I was 3 years old. Now I was young, but I can remember, and it hurts that he never cared about me. He was abusive, and he never showed up to court to see me. This affected not only my music, but my life. I was angered fast, and I got into trouble often. I was lost, but it made me grow up faster and it made my music have meaning.
In that track as well you spit heart-felt bars about overcoming challenges, and especially people that doubted you. What is the most challenging thing you have gone through that influences your music?
I had no friends in middle school. I was constantly getting picked on and beat up. During that time, I had people passing in my family and I couldn’t vent well. I made it out now, but this is the most recent (not the worst thing) I’ve been through, but this is something I remember well. Now that I’ve made it in the music industry’s spotlight, everyone wants to be my friend now. That’s why I have no friends. I have family, but even my own family would tell me I won’t make it. It’s even the people I love the most who discourage me.
How would you describe your style to somebody that has never heard your music before?
It’s not Christian music. It’s secular, but I am Christian so it’s clean. I don’t talk about cars, and women. I talk about my life. it’s different, and it’s something I made up called ‘New World Rap’.
Where do you find the motivation to continuously drop new songs in the manner that you do?
I don’t know, I just love music. If i could be in the studio for 24 hours a day, I would. I love making music.
What can we expect from F.O.G in the future?
In this year you will definitely see me in the major music scene, and I will be a major known artist. Soon I will be at the top.
