Detroit has always been one of the most exciting and authentic cities in terms of hip-hop’s long history and in the last few years, we’ve seen a real spark from the Motor City. Behind that buzz have been several artists but, arguably, Icewear Vezzo remains the heartbeat of the D. The rapper has always put on for his city, working with tons of local artists and putting them on, using his platform to elevate others.
With the way Detroit has been moving, we needed to have Icewear Vezzo and famed Detroit-based producer Helluva on the latest episode of BagFuel with hosts E$$O and Hynaken to speak about what changed in the last few years, among other topics.
Recognized as one of the rappers that has united Detroit, Icewear Vezzo isn’t quick to take credit for that much. Instead, he happily shares the credit with guys like Peezy, Tee Grizzley, and others from the city. When E$$O asked Vezz about what changed in the way Detroit rappers approach the music business, the rapper gave a telling response.
“N***as looked up. N***as was having 20 million views, 5 million views, 2 million views, but the money wasn’t aligning. I know for me, at one point I told myself, my name is bigger than my account and that don’t make sense to me,” said Icewear Vezzo. “It don’t make sense. I’m rapping my ass off. When you get a buzz in Detroit, I’m gonna tell you what comes with it. Kentucky comes with it. Minnesota comes with it. Oakland comes with it. All of Ohio comes with it. Pittsburgh comes with it. And a little bit of LA. That’s too many different states who’s f*cking with me and booking me for shows and know what I’m doing. I’m getting too many views– I don’t understand why my finances ain’t together. When I did that, I told you to learn the business.”
Elsewhere in the podcast episode, Icewear Vezzo speaks about the significance of BMF to Detroit, explaining that he was already in tune with the movement but that, when BMF broke, it was more intimate and motivational because Big Meech and his crew were from his hometown. “We already seen what came with good structure,” he said.
Watch the full episode of BagFuel with Icewear Vezzo and Helluva above and let us know who you’d like to see on the next episode with E$$O and Hynaken.