Fresh off the release of his single “Walk down (ft. YG),” Doe Boy sits down with The Knockturnal to discuss his early musical influences, upcoming projects, and how he doesn’t write down any of his lyrics.
The year may have just started, but the grind never stops. Many artists continue to release and promote new music without missing a beat. And rapper Doe Boy is no different. With the release of his new project, “The Streetz Need Me 2” the Ohio native is surely off to a successful year. Initially signed under the Freebandz label, Doe Boy released “In Freebandz We Trust,” and “The Streetz Need Me” in previous years. His ability to select fire beats and his rhythmic flow is why he constantly puts out quality music. Not to mention the features and skits he applies to each project. Which creates a descriptive, movie-like quality to his lyrics.
His new single “Walk Down (ft. YG)” is reminiscent of the legendary Eazy E’s 1987 classic “Boyz In The Hood“, which is noted from the song’s drum pattern to the melody. But Doe Boy definitely makes it his own as it contains both classic and modern qualities. His cover art also embodies that same aesthetic which compliments the rapper’s music effortlessly.
“The Streetz Need Me 2” is the sequel to his 2016 release of the same name and I had the opportunity to sit down with Doe Boy and discuss his new EP and his plans to release a secret project very soon.
The Knocturnal: Congratulations on the new project ‘Streetz Need Me 2.’ I want to start off with exploring your musical background. What did you listen to growing up and how does it influence your music now?
Doe Boy: Thank you. Growing up I listened to a lot of 50 Cent and a lot of Gucci [Mane] and it definitely influenced my music now. Especially Gucci.
The Knockturnal: What was your writing process like for “The Streetz Need Me 2 ?
Doe Boy: I don’t write at all. Really, I just … You really want to know?
The Knockturnal: Of course.
Doe Boy: I pop pills and I get drunk and I go crazy.
[laughs]
The Knockturnal: So you have comedienne Mike Epps featured in your skits. How did that come about? And what was it like to work with him?
Doe Boy: He actually had the ‘Walk Down’ song. So he had done a Netflix series, but in the trailer, he used the “Walk Down” instrumental. So somebody done tagged me in it one day. And I’m like ‘Is he… is he using my beat?’ So I reached out to him like ‘wassup?’ and he like ‘yo that shit so hard man.’ I just started fucking with him and y’know, I thought it would be hard to put him on my album like just the skits.
The Knocturnal: You do have a lot of hot features on your new project, Young Thug, YG, and Gunna. Is there anybody that you haven’t worked with yet that you would like to in the near future?
Doe Boy: Probably somebody like Lil’ Wayne definitely. I can’t wait to work with Lil’ Wayne. Of course Drake, that’s on the way though. I wanna work with somebody like Rhianna.
The Knockturnal: You are a Freebandz artist and Future played a big part in your career early on. So what’s the chemistry like when you two collab on a song together?
Doe Boy: It’s just like so organic and just so natural like, ‘cause you know, that’s my brother. Like, aside from rap. So you know we just be vibing on day to day stuff. And it’s like we’ll hear certain beats and he already know, like, just from the way I’m bobbing my head. He’ll know like, ‘Okay Doe, you wanna get on this?’ and it’ll be that type of situation.
The Knockturnal: You have a video out now for your single “Skip School.” How do you develop concepts for your videos?
Doe Boy: Really it depends on the song. So I got a lot of people on my team and I got a lot of creative people around me. So I be like ‘What do you think about this?’ and they’ll say ‘cool’ ‘cause I got a lot of nerds. Like, they good with that type of stuff.
The Knockturnal: Are you currently on tour?
Doe Boy: Not right now, No.
The Knockturnal: What can your fans expect from Doe Boy in 2020?
Doe Boy: I’m actually about to drop something any day now. Another project, it’s a surprise project with somebody.
Stream “The Streetz Need Me 2,” which is available on all platforms here:
https://smarturl.it/StreetzNeedMe2
