In less than two years, Young Nudy has seen his career grow from an Atlanta street rapper to one of the hottest rising stars in the city. The Zone 6 spitter first caught people’s attention in 2015 after appearing on “Air It Out” by 21 Savage, who also happens to be his cousin. Nudy’s popularity in East Atlanta grew in 2016 after he released the first entry in his Slimeball mixtape series with fans admiring his raw aesthetic and candid raps. With his good friend, emerging producer, Pi’erre Bourne, operating on the boards, Nudy’s stock rose exponentially from 2016 to 2017.
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First, he boosted his resume after serving as an opening act for 21 Savage and Playboi Carti’s respective tours. Then, he entrenched himself as a promising artist in East Atlanta when he released Slimeball 2. Hungry to keep his momentum booming, Nudy unleashed his ambitious effort, Nudy Land, his second release of 2017. With sizzling production by the likes of Bourne, Richie Souf, and more, Nudy delivered a slew of bangers including “Loaded Baked Potato” and “Barbecue.” With features from Offset and Lil Yachty, Nudy’s ascent was something to marvel at.
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Last April, Nudy announced the release date for Slimeball 3. Led by the single “Do That,” the tape was originally slated for release on May 25, but later pushed back to today (Aug 8). In a conversation with Billboard, Nudy explains the reason for the delay saying, “There were a lot of producers and shit that had to get a lot of paperwork done you know what I’m saying. I wanted the shit to drop the right way. I thought a lot of people were on the same page at the same time, but we got it right.”
Slimeball 3 is poised to reinvigorate Nudy’s push into the spotlight as 2018 was a quiet year for the Bouldercrest rapper. Billboard spoke with Nudy about his latest project, the significance of the Chucky imagery in the Slimeball series, working with Bourne, and not using 21 Savage’s popularity to boost his own. Check it out below.
Atlanta has been a major force in hip-hop for years now but East Atlanta has been producing a lot of talent lately. What is it about East Atlanta that makes it such a hot spot?
That I don’t know [laughs]. Zone 6 just gets it popping. I really just feel like its Atlanta period, you know what I’m saying? I just feel like people fuck with Atlanta music. But I know Zone 6 is in this bitch. We lit.
The thing I noticed about Atlanta is that each artist has their own flair. What are you bringing to the table?
I’m bringing Zone 6 [laughs], that’s what I’m bringing to the table. First, it was Gucci, you know, shout-outs to him. We from the same hood. But time moves on.
People like to compare you to Gucci a lot. How is your music and artistry different?
I don’t know. I guess they try to compare us because we rap about the same type of shit. We from the same hood, you know what I’m saying? But I don’t feel like I rap like Gucci, you feel me? I know some of my lingo might sound like his on some shit but I don’t feel like I rap like him. I rap like me. I just talk about the shit he used to talk about. The shit I talk about is all I knew where I’m from. I’m just talking about what’s going on.
Some also think the reason for your buzz is the family ties to 21 Savage. What are your thoughts on that?
After I did “Air it Out” with Savage people just started fucking with me. But I built my own little lane in all this shit, you feel me? Most rappers like they’ll be up under a rapper instead of handling their business. They’re just sitting there patiently waiting, waiting for another motherfucker to do something for them. That’s not me, I got all my shit on my own. My cousin, just on the music side, I don’t ask him for anything. I just straight went out there and did my motherfucking thing. That’s all you got to do. If you want it, you got to do it. I had my few little fuck-ups and shit but I got it right.
You have a more laid back rap style compared 21’s savage rap style. Did you intend to do that or has that always been you?
Nah, I wasn’t trying to sound like no other n—a. We not Batman and Robin. We’re Batman and Superman. You know how I talk, just going back to what I was saying, like do the shit on your own not sit around a motherfucker up under him. I mean, some dudes it’s working for them and some it’s not. Other people look at you like you up under someone. Not me.
Speaking of animated characters, I know you’re big on Dragonball and you’ve compared yourself to Vegeta with him being the underdog to Goku. Do you feel like one of the top dogs like Goku following the success of Nudy Land?
Man, Dragonball is my shit. But I don’t know, I can’t really say yet. To tell you the truth, I still feel like the underdog. But I feel like I can’t even say that either because I just be to myself. I don’t be taking a lot of pictures and shit, so you won’t really know if I’m feeling like an underdog or top dog, you feel what I’m saying? I’m trying to build my name and my clout in music. I don’t want people saying like they want to be around me for whatever I got. I want people to say my music is fire. A lot of motherfuckers don’t be taking my shit serious. I mean, I don’t give a fuck [laughs], I gain a fan every day. Some people don’t like my music but I don’t care because someone else will like it. That’s how it is [laughs].
Let’s get into your new mixtape. In an interview with XXL you mentioned you recorded differently for Slimeball 3. What was done differently?
I kind of mixed Slimeball 3 with a little bit of Nudy Land. Some of the songs are straight up hard, like straight to the bone, straight street, raw. Then, I got some songs that’s still street but got a melody to them. Either way it go, I’m still talking about some Slimeball shit though, you feel me. That’s all I’m on.
Who’s on the project?
Nobody. Straight me. I just wanted to see who was going to fuck with me. I don’t want have no excuses about anything. I’m not even chasing numbers or anything. If it does good, it does good. But I just want to know who fucks with me and my music. I really want to get with my fanbase a little bit more.
I know you and Pi’erre Bourne have a great relationship. Is he producing on this mixtape?
That’s my boy, I love Pi’erre to death man. I don’t even have a lot of his beats on Slimeball 3. I wanted to try something different this time. I was trying to work with different producers. I go off of sounds and shit, so if I like the shit, I’m fucking with it. I don’t go off who the person is and all that type of shit. But Pi’erre got some shit. I want him to do it with someone else, but he don’t want to do shit with anybody. He crazy. But we going to do some shit. I don’t know what it’s going to be called. But we’ll figure some shit out.
You guys have a project coming out?
I keep shit low-key so I can’t really talk about it right now. You know that shit is classified [laughs].
What’s the significance of Chucky in the Slimeball series?
Chucky just reminds me of myself. Most motherfuckers think I picked Chucky because Savage had the Jason shit going on, but I just picked him because I like him. Chucky is like me. He laughs at every damn thing, he doesn’t get mad. Even when he’s mad he’s smiling and shit. So I feel like him.
You’re coming up in a time where other Atlanta artists are getting a lot of buzz like Lil’ Baby and Playboi Carti. What does it mean being the next group of rappers to carry the torch for Atlanta?
Everyone is doing their thing and we’re making good music. I listen to everybody. I check in on some shit. Everybody making good music. But one of my favorites right now, like the way he flow, I’m fucking with Gunna right now. He be flowing. He got one of those riding in L.A. with the top drop type of music. That’s just how I feel when I listen to his shit I don’t know [laughs]. But his shit is dope.