From New Orleans to ‘Vulture Island,’ Rob49’s Journey Prepared Him for Stardom
Rob49 has persevered through a lot more than the average 24-year-old trying to assimilate into adult life. Raised by his mother while his father was incarcerated for most of his childhood, the New Orleans native still knew his future wouldn’t be boxed inside the Big Easy’s unforgiving 4th and 9th Ward neighborhoods.
Not many hip-hop stories begin with a stint in the National Guard and pivoting to pursue a nursing degree before finding success in the music industry, but that was indeed the case for Rob, who essentially fell into rapping after making a song in the studio with a friend.
The year 2022 proved to be huge in Rob49’s ascension, as he rode the relentless “Vulture Island” — which received a boost thanks to a remix from Lil Baby — to the biggest song of his career to date. It was all nearly taken away in January when Rob (born Robert Thomas) was reportedly one of 10 people injured during a shooting on the set of a French Montana video in Miami Gardens.
The Geffen Records signee didn’t spend much time on the mend in recovery as he’s been locked in the studio with the likes of Lil Durk, and returned to offer up his first project since the shooting with 4GOD II last Friday (June 9). Draped in an azure blue Amiri sweatsuit with crisp white Air Force 1’s straight out of the box, Rob49 is laid-back in conversation during his April New York City visit, where he could easily be mistaken for Knicks guard R.J. Barrett while walking around the Big Apple.
“As long as you’re doing better than what you did when you started this s–t,” he bluntly says of his mentality when it comes to gauging his current success. “I just want to make some music. I don’t really give a f–k about no fame or nothing.”
Find more from our interview with the rising star below, which finds him explaining why he deaded a Hurricane Chris DM, his appreciation for Lil Wayne and why selling vapes in the army nearly got him kicked out.
Billboard: How does the elevation in your career feel? This is a special time.
Rob49: I’m grateful. Just because I know — like I said, I got signed with 10,000 followers, and anything I drop right now is gone get over 10,000 views. So I really don’t give a f–k.
Not even sitting courtside at the New Orleans Pelicans games?
I’ve always wanted to sit courtside. When me and my cousin would get some tickets, we would always say, “We’re gonna sit courtside.” He said he was gon’ buy them — he had faith in himself that much. He winded up getting a good job in the oil business. He graduated high school before me I said, “I’m not making it to get that much money in three or four years.” I winded up getting it first.
Are the seats free or do you gotta pay for them?
Sometimes they invite you and sometimes you gotta pay. I been paying for most of them b–ches though. I be wanting to go to the games I want to go to.
[Curren$y’s] like Spike Lee down there.
That’s exactly what it is. They treat him like that. They treat me like that too. If there’s a three or something in the game, they’ll look at me. They f–k with me like that. They turned my [“Vulture Island”] up.
The Pelicans just asked me to make a version of “Vulture Island” for them. I just ran into Zion [Williamson] at the movies. He’s like, “What you doing here?” I’m like, “What you doing at the movies?” We went and saw Scream VI.
Who were some of your early childhood musical influences? What was your mom playing?
My mom was playing Beyoncé. I was listening to Lil Wayne, Kanye [West]. I like what 106 & Park had on. At that time, they were playing Hurricane Chris, “A Bay Bay.” He talking about doing a song [with me]. I’ll show you [the DM]. I ain’t never hit him back because he was looking crazy. He look like he lost all his sauce. That ain’t the same n—a.
How about listening to Lil Wayne in that prime era of like 2006-2008? That may have been the most prolific rapper we’ve ever seen.
I liked the 2013-2014 Wayne, that Sorry for the Wait 2 and “Hollyweezy.” I listen to that s–t and I’m like, “Damn.” I don’t know nothing about Tha Carters. That skit with his momma on Tha Carter V was so hard. And the Free Weezy album too. I was like seven [during that mixtape run]. I wasn’t listening to no Wayne. I wasn’t listening to nothing but Beyoncé. All I knew was, “To the left, to the left.” No cap.
What was childhood like for you? Were you playing a lot of sports?
I was playing football. I hated video games — I feel like they were for people I didn’t want to be like. I was outside all day stealing bikes and s–t.
How about just keeping that relationship going with your dad when he got out of prison?
Immediately. My daddy used to get me from school. It was never about the money. He started working at Walmart and s–t when he got out. So he couldn’t go hard so it was more being a father figure.
What was life like during Hurricane Katrina?
First, we had tried to go to Baton Rouge and we stayed in a gym. They gave us these peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We had went to Houston, so I remember Houston for three or four months. Then we came back home. I stayed in the projects so it was bricks. The houses were f–ked up but the buildings were okay. They was f–ked up but not unlivable.
Did you really go to school for nursing?
Yeah, I was trying to do my prereqs. That’s like math class and s–t. So people say nursing, but I didn’t do all that. I was trying to go to school for nursing, but my partner said he wanted to go to school for nursing. He told me I couldn’t. I went to Southern and he didn’t end up going to college.
I did one semester, and then I winded up dropping out and making music. I went to the National Guard after [high] school to get into college. I think that was one of the best things that happened to me in my life for real. That s–t make you feel like you could do anything.
You were selling Juuls and vapes in the National Guard?
Yeah, facts — and they ended up catching me. That was before I even knew about Juuls. I felt like we was the first ones to really discover that. We’d see everybody vaping. They was trying to do it where you don’t get caught because these dudes smoke cigarettes. I didn’t get kicked out for that. I was about to tell them people too.
I remember my first time getting restarted, I had got into it with this dude. He said I called him a racial slur or something. I swear on my brother that he was deadass lying. They tried to restart us. They called me and my dog from Memphis. We go downstairs, and they like, “Pack y’all bags, too.”
I’m thinking they ’bout to switch our company, because there was two companies starting together — Alpha and Bravo — and we got the same graduation date. Then they got Charlie started eight weeks after us. So we thought we were going to Bravo. We walked through Bravo and went to Charlie. I just dropped my bags like, “F–k y’all!” They had nothing but 40-year-olds and we were the youngest people in there.
Were there girls in the army with you?
They got girls in there. Girls out their mind in the army. When I first went to my job schooling, they had a girl in there, and she had a Twitter — everybody like, “This girl from Twitter.” I’m thinking she popping on Twitter. I’m in my room one day and they like, “You saw the girl from Twitter outside lunch today.”
I’m like, “Yeah, who is that? Show me her Twitter.” Man, this girl was ass-naked on all her Twitter. She playing with herself. She that type of girl. I’m like, “What the fuck?” And she in the training with us. I jumped in her DMs. The whole battalion knew her but me.
You kinda just fell into rapping too, right?
My same partner that told me I couldn’t go to school for nursing, he was the rapper. I was trying to get behind him, but he was trying to sound like Roddy Ricch. I had made a song in the studio with him. They felt like I was good at it before I felt like I was good at it.
Me and him had gone to a party and they had some live performances. He’s like, “Let me pay them $250 to let you perform.” I tapped him, “Our time is gonna come.” I probably had like 1,000 followers. The same people trying to pay me $60,000 now. That was like three years ago.
In Miami, we had paid for King of Diamonds for a section for my birthday, and my people had got into it with them, and they wind up not letting us in the club. We sitting out there looking stupid — but now they just gave me that bag to go in that b—h [a year later].
YoungBoy fans were pissed that you posted the photo of you working with Durk. They thought you guys wouldn’t collab now. Would you want to work with him?
I don’t know what they was talking about. I mean whoever f–king with me, I’m f–king with it. It’s music at the end of the day. I seen that s–t.
What game did you take from Birdman?
He just texted me. I remember when he first met me and I only had like 5,000 followers, and he was telling me that I was going to be the one. He just told me to keep going. That’s the only game he ever gave me.
What’s the “Yeet, Yeet” ad-lib mean on “Vulture Island?”
Yeah, I made it up. That’s just some bulls–t I said on there. I thought it sounded good. It really was my ad-libs. I was just punching in trying to catch a vibe on the song. I remember playing it for my momma and she said, “That sounds so good but just take that yeet, yeet part out and say something else.”
I’m like, “No.” She been a good A&R though. I remember playing “No Kizzy,” which is going crazy on TikTok. I think I was at 10,000 followers before I signed anything, and she told me, “Don’t release this song. The world not ready for this.”
What’s the biggest purchase you’ve made in the last year or two?
Probably a chain. I didn’t even wanna buy that chain. I knew I had to get a chain, and I couldn’t keep coming with the lil’ boy chain — because they gonna look at you like a lil’ boy.
How’d you go broke from your initial signing money?
I didn’t go all the way broke. I went close to broke. I don’t be tryna spend as much as I was spending. I didn’t have nothing to show for it for myself. At least this time, it’s not going to that no more, and I got s–t to show. Momma got a crib. I need to get a financial advisor because I don’t be looking at my account.
Are you gonna drop another project this year?
Yeah, I’ma drop another project right after this. Probably like three or four months [later].
How are you moving differently after the shooting?
Just moving better. Smart movements — everyone knows what smart moves are. I’m moving like [Drake].
Michael Saponara
Billboard
