NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 In 2021, you heard it: Moneybagg Yo 's 鈥淲okesha鈥 blaring from cars and corner stores 鈥 an undeniable song of the summer that helped turn the Memphis rapper into a No. 1 artist. His fourth studio album, 鈥淎 Gangsta's Pain鈥 topped the Billboard 200 that year, all but confirming his place atop the trap throne. Now, three years and one mixtape later, he's dropping his fifth studio album, 鈥淪peak Now."
For an artist accustomed to releasing a new album each year, on top of countless mixtapes, it is easy to wonder 鈥 why the break?
鈥淚 was just dealing with personal life,鈥 he told The Associated Press over Zoom. 鈥淪ometimes you gotta step back and just analyze, get right, and come back way harder and figure out how to go about stuff the next time."
"Every time you drop something, it gotta be like a new movie. You know what I鈥檓 saying? Nobody want to see the same movie, like, go to the theater and see the same movie. So you got to give them something different every time."
鈥淪peak Now鈥 endeavors to do just that with all the of characteristics of a Moneybagg Yo banger 鈥 trap and drill bolstered by the Memphis drawl of his flow.
As for the delay, Moneybagg Yo doesn't reveal details of exactly what he's been going through. 鈥淵ou gotta give them bits and pieces," he says, "You can鈥檛 give them too much."
Some hardships have been documented: Nuskie, another rapper from Memphis signed to Moneybagg Yo's Bread Gang record label, was shot and killed in 2022. He was 26. In fact, the Memphis music scene has lost a lot of talent recently 鈥 , Big Scarr Snootie Wild among them 鈥 as all eyes continue to view the Southern city as a hot bed for the next generation of trap.
鈥淚'm not the only one who go through stuff, like everybody across the globe, they go through stuff and you know what I鈥檓 saying? So, I can be here for them by me speaking and putting my talents to use. I can be... like helping others."
鈥淪peak Now鈥 functions in that way, but mostly in that it's all 鈥渢urnt up, club鈥 records, he says.
鈥'Speak Now' is like the energy, summertime vibe. Like, the now-ish type music,鈥 he adds, 鈥淒edicated to my fans. They鈥檝e been rocking with me.鈥
The release is stacked with collaborations, everyone from Lil Durk and Kevo Muney to an unexpected feature.
It is a controversial choice to include the country musician, who was after police say he threw a chair off the rooftop of a six-story bar in downtown Nashville. In 2021, Wallen was suspended indefinitely from his label after video surfaced of him shouting a racial slur. In 2020, he was arrested on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges after being kicked out of Kid Rock鈥檚 bar in downtown Nashville. He's also one of the biggest names in contemporary country, with his third studio album, 2023鈥檚 鈥淥ne Thing at a Time,鈥 becoming in the U.S. last year.
鈥淚'm a fan of his, of course,鈥 he says, 鈥淏ut I'm his favorite 鈥 let him tell it.鈥 Both hail from Tennessee, and as the rapper tells it, they had instant creative chemistry. 鈥淚 had the song for a year and half, two years. He was just always telling me like, 鈥楤ro, put the song out, when our song come out,' and then this was the perfect time.鈥
And on the topic of timing, after the release of 鈥淪peak Now,鈥 Moneybagg Yo will release another album to partner this one later this year. He says that full-length, 鈥渋s for the women.鈥 It's 鈥渕elodic vibes. Not just strictly for women, but melodic vibes, like 鈥榃okesha.鈥欌
For an artist who might've taken time between his fourth and fifth albums, he laughs: 鈥淗e鈥檚 still here,鈥 he says in the third person. "He didn鈥檛 go nowhere. He鈥檚 still doing it.鈥
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