G Perico explains how working with Nipsey Hussle changed the way he makes music

Keith Nelson Jr
·8 min read
G Perico
G Perico

Your favorite rapper isn’t working as hard as G Perico. Since January 2021, he’s released 13 projects and still has one more to put out before we say goodbye to the year. For a productive MC such as himself, Perico understands how important every session is, especially the ones you miss.

“[Nipsey Hussle] told me to pull up to the studio, but it was one of those nights where I didn’t go anywhere. I should’ve gone. Then, I believe we spoke a day before he passed,” the artist told REVOLT. 

In this installment of “Studio Sessions,” the Hot Shot rapper explains his first Gangsta Grillz tape with DJ Drama, how Nipsey Hussle helped change the way he records music and much more. Read below. 

Who was the first artist you locked in with who made you feel like you finally made it in the music industry?

ASAP Yams was the first person because as soon as I got out, I was in the studio with Yams a few days later. We did “Uza Trikk.” Yams was telling me, “I want to rap. I want you to write my raps for me and everything.” Also, one time in either 2016 or 2017, I did a verse for Xzibit at Dr. Dre’s studio, and Dre walked in. I was nervous as s**t. I didn’t even want to play myself. Before he came in, they were already moving words over in my verse. They work differently over there, man. But Dre was like, “This is dope. I want to hear more.”

Your main appeal is how visceral your lyrics are. They feel like they’re mirrors of your actual life. How quickly can a real-life situation turn into a lyric?

It can happen right then and there sometimes. One time, I got the phone call my boy was out in a halfway house. I did the “Welcome Home” joint right there immediately. Just now, I got a song with Peezy that’s about to come out. My homie just did 18 years, and I was supposed to pull up on him, but I had to get to the studio, so I gave it up for him in the song.

What are your studio rules? 

I don’t like people around in the lab because n**gas don’t have any regard for the creative process. They’d come in the studio, play an Instagram story loud as s**t, and do a million dumb**s things non-stop. That’s a no-no. I like to keep my sessions small. I also like to keep the smoke down because, for some reason, it burns my throat when the room is super smoky and I’m trying to rap. I have a ritual I do where I come in and do a jam session. I’ll play songs from every era. I play everything except for the latest music because I don’t want to unconsciously mention or reference anything already out. If n**gas are zigging, I’m going to zag. 

You’ve put out eight albums in two years on EMPIRE. How many songs do you record in each session?

That’s funny because sometimes I just go in there and do a verse. But, if I know I’m not going to use it, and I start working on it, I’ll just throw it to the side. A lot of people that record 20 songs or 100 songs, maybe one of them comes out. I’m doing songs I know for sure are going to come out. So, if I do three songs, those are three songs coming out. I drop a lot of projects. It’s the streaming era; it’s the content era. When I saw wealth advisors advising people to purchase content, I knew I had content people mess with. I just realized the value in that.

They’re telling me to buy real estate, and I’m like, “Okay, well, I’m creating wealth out of my life right now.” That’s one reason I record so much. But, that’s probably the smallest reason. My main reason behind dropping so much is just me being a student of the game. Everybody that dropped a lot of content, we found a reason to fall in love with them. You can overdo it if you’re dropping the same exact thing or just some corny a** s**t. But, there are so many scenarios and situations in the lifestyle I’ve lived and am currently living that I can create content continuously, and continue to entertain. 

You definitely worked with the late Nipsey Hussle on some memorable music. How did you two connect?

I already knew Nip for years. One day, he just hit me, saying, “What’s up? What you up to? Pull up to the studio.” We kicked it, and I’m thinking we were going to rap, but we were just vibing, looking for the right moment. We kicked it for a few months. Everybody was coming through while he was making Victory Lap and doing all the Slauson Boy leaks. He was getting features from Cardi B and all kinds of different people that he never put out. We chilled for a few months before we even did that song “Basic Instinct.” We had a four-month period where we were just hitting each other every day, asking, “What you doing? Where you at? I’m finna pull up.” Or I’ll be on my side of town, and because we’re both early birds who hardly sleep, he’ll be driving through early morning and pull up on me at the shop. 

One day, I came in, and the beat was playing, so I asked, “What’s she saying in the sample?” He said she was saying “Crenshaw,” so I thought he wouldn’t tell me to rap on that because I’m not from there. But, while he was walking in the booth, he hit my foot and told me to come up with something for it.” He walked in and came out so fast that that was the first time I didn’t write a verse on paper. It’s been six or seven years of not writing on paper. 

Do you remember the last time you two worked together?

I sent him a sample. We were supposed to flip the Daz Dillinger song “It Might Sound Crazy.” We were also supposed to flip the “I Love The Dough” sample. He told me to pull up to the studio, but it was one of those nights where I didn’t go anywhere. I should’ve gone. Then, I believe we spoke a day before he passed. 

In early 2023, you also put out a Gangsta Grillz with DJ Drama called Hot Shot. How did you two connect?

I’ve actually been around Drama since I came out. Whenever I went to Atlanta, I’d be at Mean Streets Studios. My old manager had a relationship with [Leighton “Lakeshow” Morrison], who connected us with Drama. Don Cannon was somebody that was up on me early. That was an organic relationship right there. Drama f**ked with me heavy. I always wanted to do a Gangsta Grillz but didn’t want to force something. When I started the “21 Flood,” Lake immediately hit me, asking, “What’s up? What we doing?” One day, I hit him, and he said, “We were supposed to have been done a Gangsta Grillz.” I still dragged my feet for about a year. Then, I was ready. I got some s**t off my system. I knocked that project out in 12 days.

Are you done for 2023?

Nope. I got one more project coming out. I have a few more, but I will only drop one more this year. I have Extended Summers. I’m going to drop that [in December] to end the year off. And then we’re coming out flying. Spitta and I are dropping Jet Blue. I’m dropping a project for the females called Darnell. Then, we’re dropping Hot Shot 2 with a short film. Darnell is going to have a short film, too. This is all in the first quarter.

With all this music coming out in 2024, what unreleased joints do you hope one day come out?

I got slappers with Peezy. I got Larry June slappers. I got so much music. I got an old Nip verse. I got a joint with Nip that I never used. I got a song with Wiz [Khalifa] I never used. I got a song with Yo Gotti in the cut. I got some unreleased joints over here. I got a joint with E-40 in the cut. There’s so much about me that people don’t know. It’s time to give them that. I pretty much got the next 18 months drawn out.

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