Earl Swavey hasn’t celebrated his 21st birthday, but having grown up in the neighborhood of Athens Park in Compton, he’s seen a lot. This year alone he’s wound up in the hospital twice. First, with a punctured esophagus after being stabbed in the neck with a box cutter, and again this week, following a head on car collision. Despite these setbacks, Swavey has his priorities in order. Hence his new mixtape: Business Before Pleasure 2. And he’s not just talk: This will be his fourth mixtape in as many years. The new release will couple the ratchet sound found on his earlier efforts with the gangsta rap roots of his home turf.
He’s premiering his latest video for "What Would You Do" today here on Noisey, and we caught up with him on the phone to hear about the video, his relationship with the late A$AP Yams, and what to expect from the upcoming mixtape.
Noisey: Hello?
Earl Swavey: (singing) — he only fire ten.
What?
Oh, Zach, what’s the deal?
What were you just saying?
I was singing a song. A little Mozzy song. It’s called “Tryna Win.”
Is that what you’re up to? Tryna Win?
Yeah. I’m just tryna win… that’s what’s going on.
What else is going on? I heard you got into a car accident?
Yeah, I got into a car accident on—what day was that? Friday of last week? Little minor injuries… I’m straight though.
So, you’re alright?
By the grace of god. Was driving a bit too fast and drove into oncoming traffic. Went into the other lane, trying to pass somebody else. Smacked another car, like, BOOM! Then that car smacked another car. Shit was like a chain accident. Police came, and they were trying to arrest us while we were going to the hospital. Cuff us to the bed type of shit. I went to the hospital, but I didn’t have insurance. And they took 3 hours to see us in the ER. That’s how many people were there. So I just left.
And now your mixtape Business Before Pleasure 2 is about to drop?
Man, the mixtape supposed to drop next week.
Who’s producing on it?
It’s mostly Larry Jayy, Teezy, and my other producer/ engineer ZVBBV.
What’s it like working with those dudes?
It’s like an all-star team. It makes my rapping a lot easier when you have a track that you know can be a hit before you even put lyrics on it. It’s like a football team right now. I’m not nothing without my linemen.
And what can people expect from it? Is it more G-funk? Ratchet?
Right now, it’s revolving around trap, ratchet, reality, and gangsta rap—all in one. On a couple songs, I’ll talk about what I’m going through, what I’ve been through, and my trials and tribulations. Then on the next song, I’ll tell you how I’m getting through my struggles, my trials and tribulations. And then on another song, I’ll probably talk about… you know… like killing somebody or something? You know, gang violence. And then on another song, I’ll probably talk about a female… in a good way.
And how is this different from Business Before Pleasure 1?
It’s different ‘cause I have something to rap about. After BBP1, I really have a story to tell.
How old were you when that first one came out?
I was 16. The story I’m trying to tell now is that anybody can do it. You can turn a dream into reality. In the neighborhood I grew up in you have to mature way faster. Coming out of my area, I can walk in a room, and I’ve been through the most out of anyone in there… and I’m not even 21. You know, being shot, being stabbed. I’ve been in life and death situations. I just have to educate somebody on that. It’s not good that I’ve been through it, but it’s a good lesson learned.
What neighborhood is that that you’re talking about?
Like Rosewood. Athens Park neighborhood.
Is that where you shot the video?
Yeah, that’s where I shot the video. In the AP’s, my little apartment complex.
What’s that neighborhood like right now?
Right now, it’s doing good! We got football players, rappers, producers. The light is shining on us. We got a lot of talent coming from our area.
What’s going on in the video?
It wasn’t even playing. It was so organic. All of that stuff happens on a regular day basis. When we were shooting the video, [the director] Fish stopped rolling the camera, and I had the little strap. And the police came up and they told us to pull our shirts up, right? See if we had a gun on us, so I almost went to jail. But they just drove off. It was just so hectic. So, everything in the video was just naturally happening. So, you just hit the hood with the camera, and every day you’re going to get something 100% crazy.
So you almost got arrested when you were shooting this video?
Yeah, like right at the end, we wanted to film the [ammo] clips. But right after we recorded that, police rolled up trying to harass us with no probable cause, trying to take someone to jail. Ironically, I had a gun. So if they had really hopped out and searched us, they would’ve taken me to jail.
When I watched it I was wondering what, if anything, was staged. I guess that answers it.
Really? Nothing. [The director] just came, was like, “Alright, you know what you wanna do?” So, a car came by while we’re shooting, so someone ran up to the gate with the strap to see who it is. This is all on camera though. Then when they getting jumped on, they’re just fucking around. They’re just slap boxing. Niggas playing around. They weren’t actually brawling—just slap boxing.
I saw you post some clips from the video on Insta, and I went back and you’ve posted a lot about A$AP Yams. It’s been about a year since Yams passed. You still think about him a lot?
Of course, of course. If it wasn’t for him, man. He’s made some shit happen for me. For real. He made this conversation happen between me and you. I will always appreciate Yams for the rest of my life.
Were you ever A$AP Swavey?
I was, I was. But I didn’t wanna bite someone else’s swag like that, man. But they was all like my brothers. It’s just that I didn’t want it that easy. I wanted to work for it myself. So being A$AP Swavey—I didn’t want to get fame off anybody’s name really. I just wanted make it on Earl Swavey. Period.
Follow Zach Goldbaum on Twitter.