Bay Swag resides a self-fulfilled prophecy. In the identical vein as his 2016 debut mixtape, Chief of the New Faculty, the Queens-bred rhymer is simply that. Alongside mates and frequent collaborators like Money Cobain and Chow Lee, Bay Swag is ushering in a wave of New York Metropolis hip-hop generally often called horny drill, a subgenre centered on turning up and having time slightly than glorifying any type of violence.
Launched in February of 2024, his breakthrough smash “Fisherrr” with Money Cobain has raked in a staggering 15 million-plus streams throughout platforms like Spotify and Apple Music whereas being the topic of tens of millions extra creations on TikTok. The early frontrunner for tune of the summer season has additionally spawned a remix that includes Ice Spice that has garnered one other 4.8 million streams on Spotify alone within the month since its launch.
Bay Swag comes by means of XXL‘s The Break: Dwell to cut it up about his journey to viral success, the trials and triumphs of being an unbiased artist within the music business’s present panorama, receiving cosigns from Lil Child and the late PnB Rock and rather more. Watch the interview beneath.
Age: 24
Reppin’: Queens, N.Y.
Instagram: @bayswag
TikTok: @bayswagnyc
Notable Releases: Songs: “Fisherrr” with Money Cobain, “Fisherrr (Remix)” with Ice Spice and Money Cobain, “All Evening Lengthy” with Lil Child; Mixtapes: Chief of the New Faculty, Forward of My Time, Forward of My Time 2.0
Label: Unbiased
Presently Working On: But-to-be titled venture due out this summer season.
Influenced by: “I gotta go along with Meek [Mill], Future, [Young] Thug, Juelz [Santana] and Jim Jones.”
When did you first begin rapping?
“I began rapping at like 12, 13. My uncle, Slo, that is how I obtained round it. They at all times had all of the rappers and all people round, they usually all cherished as a result of I used to be a younger, fly child. So, I used to be like, ‘You realize what, let me simply begin rapping. Why not?’“
Which hip-hop album do you at all times return to?
“Future’s Soiled Sprite 2. I simply love every little thing about it. I really feel like Future was simply in his bag. He is nonetheless in his bag proper now however round that point, he was… I simply did one thing to me.”
My standout moments thus far have been:
“Performing on the [Madison Square] Backyard. That was loopy. That is a dream come true, you’re feeling me? Performing on the Barclays [Center]. We headlining the Apollo [Theater] subsequent month. It is simply s**t like that.”
My aim in hip-hop is:
“I am beginning a label. I need to be a CEO. Simply serving to others identical to others helped me. I would like to have the ability to share my platform with my brothers and be capable to assist all people to allow them to go up too. That is what I need to do. I need to see my brothers win identical to me.”
Watch Bay Swag’s The Break: Dwell Interview
Observe Bay Swag on Spotify.
Standouts:
“Fisherrr (Remix)” with Money Cobain and Ice Spice
“All Evening Lengthy” with Lil Child
“Tetris” that includes Wealthy The Child
“Quagen” that includes G Herbo
Forward of My Time