Remember Jibbs? The 15-year-old St. Louis kid that dropped the nursery rhyme-based single “Chain Hang Low” a few years back? Well, you can forget all about him - and get reacquainted with an older, wiser and, of course, suaver Jibbs. With his debut album Jibbs Featuring Jibbs seeming almost like a distant memory, the 18-year-old is back with his forthcoming sophomore album New Tempo, New Swag, hitting shelves later this summer. Instead of regressing into the childish mindset of his debut, Jibbs stepped his game up for his sophomore effort, creating an album’s worth of tracks that straddle the age divide between today’s youth and older rap heads. The album’s lead single “The Dedication (Ay DJ)” has been getting some heavy rotation across the country, and with a few mixtapes on the way, Jibbs doesn’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon. While in New York City, ShowingOut sat down with Jibbs for an exclusive interview to discuss what exactly is “new” about his tempo and swag, why he was using the word “swag” long before Soulja Boy, how he’s been affected by the recession, what he thinks of T-Pain’s infamous “Big Ass Chain” piece, what he’s been reading lately and more.
Your new album is New Tempo, New Swag. What exactly is “new” about your tempo and your swag?
Well, what’s new about the new tempo and the new swag is it’s all a change with time and growth and development. I feel that everybody grows with time because things change, nothing ever stay the same. And that’s the concept of New Tempo, New Swag, just being that you could be an artist that come out and do big things and have a huge success and then try to come out 10 years later and do the same thing, and won’t nobody buy into it because you gotta reinvent yourself and come with what’s going on today and start new trends instead of sticking with the same formula. So that’s where the title of this album came from. Because it’s the new me as of today and right now.
Well it’s a bit risky to put the word “swag” in your album title. A lot of people, they look at Soulja Boy and his usage of the word “swag” deaded it. Are you using swag in the same way that he did?
If you notice, I was 14 when I recorded “Chain Hang Low” and on the second verse, I said, “Check out my swag.” Wasn’t nothing Soulja Boy thought of, that word wasn’t being used that much then. I been using that word, I feel like it’s a word that’s going to stick around forever. You could try to come up with a word to substitute swag or any of that, but swag is going to be one of those words that stays around forever because it tells who you are. It’s not about, “Oh, Soulja Boy used ‘swag,’ so everything related to the word ‘swag’ is Soulja Boy.” Nah. Everybody got their own aura about themselves that defines what their swagger is.
“Chain Hang Low” was a really big hit. Going into this album, did you try to recreate the magic of that, or was that in the past? Did you go into this with a fresh start?
Yeah, I’m back with a fresh start now. I want people to re-get to know who I am away from that, because I feel like I’m a new person, I’m doing something new now and this is me now. I know exactly what direction I’m going in for this year, and I don’t try to go based off of my success from “Chain Hang Low.” As far as I know, I’m a new artist again.
On the album, there aren’t as many collaborations as Jibbs Featuring Jibbs. How come you decided to scale back on the number of features?
Kind of like what I said, I want people to get to re-know me, so I don’t want to overcrowd my album with artists that other people like. I want them to gain a new respect for me first before they start seeing me with other artists.
The music so far is a little more grown up, obviously you were more grown when you recorded this. Do you think your core fan base has been or is ready to grow with you and meet the new Jibbs, so to speak?
Yeah, I definitely feel like they’re ready to grow with me. I can get the whole younger crowd now and the older crowd because I’m right in between. I’m not too grown, too old or I’m not like, super young. I just hit legal, so everybody can listen to my music now. Basically, I could have the biggest fan base, but I just want people to trust that I’m going to give them something they like.
You said you read a lot of books between these two albums. What kind of books were you talking about?
Well, I didn’t read nothing too touchy or no big history books or nothing like that, but just stuff I like. I read a book, it’s called 47 by Walter Mosley. I read a book called The Haunting of Hip-Hop [by Bertice Berry]. I read a few acting books or whatever cause I’m getting into acting. Just things like that. I wake up and read Reverend Run’s Words of Wisdom book every day just to get and kind of make my day better. Have to have a new thought to think about, think on, new subject to touch on, and just things like that. I’m always wondering what this word mean or that word mean, so it’s also keeping me brushed up on my vocabulary also.
Obviously, you stepped the lyrical game up. This kind of gives you an edge. What sort of subjects do you touch on? I read you were getting a little more introspective, there’s a lot heavier subject matter on this album.
I’m touching on subjects politically heavy, then subjects about girls that’s real heavy, and my new life with girls. It ain’t real friendly no more, it is what it is. There’s nothing like, “Aw, he talkin’ about something out of this world.” Nah, it’s what go on in the every day life. Me, as a person, me, Jibbs, J.I. braggin’. I’m talkin’ about that now, so you could kind of relate me to the older artists now. But it’s not so edgy that kids can’t listen to it. Everyone could still listen to my music to this day.
You mentioned older artists. You’re 18 now, if I’m correct. There are so many rappers who’ve been in the game longer but haven’t had as much mainstream success. For you, what’s your key to success? Do you have something that you think works for you, something you could pass on for artists coming up in the game?
What always works for me is creating my own lane. I was the first kid to come back in the music industry after Bow Wow, so therefore I had my own lane off the bat. There wasn’t no other kids you could bring up or compare me to at the time, because I was the only one. But the success wasn’t 100 million records later after this kid came out, because it was something new again, it was something fresh. So people wasn’t used to seeing the whole kid movement around the industry. So it’s kind of like something they had to get used to, and now that they’re used to it, it’s more artists, teen artists out now, more young rappers. People are accepting the new generation. So now it’s time for me to come back and, like I said, create my own lane and kind of dominate it now. Show what it really is, you know what I’m saying? Because in my own lane, I’m going to be the best at it, and if anybody come in that lane, they got to get stepped over.
The single is “The Dedication (Ay DJ).” It’s number 2 right now on 106 and Park, if I understand correct, which is great. What’s one place you’ve heard the song that’s gotten you most excited about it?
I’m grateful for everywhere it play. Just to hear it outside of my own city is a blessing to me, that gets me happy. I be like “Wow, they’re playing this in a different city than my city.”
I was looking at pictures of you, I notice you always have a chain. You don’t have one on right now, but what’s your favorite piece of jewelry or chain that you’re so proud of?
I have a new chain, it’s my BMG chain, with “Jibbs” [on it]. Got black, blue and white diamonds in it. That’s my favorite piece right now. But I’m not really a jewelry guy no more. I stand out without jewelry, I don’t need none of that to make me stand out. It just is what it is. So you probably won’t catch me with jewelry a lot of times no more at all. Maybe something simple, like a G-Shock. I might get a little iced out or something, but real simple and real casual.
I have to ask you about T-Pain’s chain, have you seen that? The “Big Ass Chain?” What’s your impression of it?
Um… Hey, that’s a house, you know what I’m saying? I’m looking on ways to make money now, because this recession really caught a lot of people by surprise. I’m not always thinking of ways on how to spend money. I’m thinking on ways of how to save money and make more for times like this, if it was ever to happen again. But hey, if that’s what float his boat, then T-Pain my dude, I love his music. It’s good publicity, but I won’t do nothing like that.
You mentioned the state of the economy. Being that it’s in a recession, have you had to cut back at all? Have you made any sacrifices?
Yeah, I definitely had to cut back. I mean, I made investments and stuff like that, I was start with my money, so I still had money generating the whole time I was down. But I definitely had to slow down on a lot of things, because it just wasn’t the same. First of all, everything stayed the same price as when money was good, as to now, money is bad and it’s still the same price. It ain’t that easy to come by now, so now I have to be smart with it.
The album’s coming out this summer, but do you already have your sights set on another album after that? Do you have something like a mixtape in the works? What other projects are bubbling?
Yeah, I have two mixtapes coming out at the same time, Round One and Round Two, Trey Marcus Jibbs, Ladies and Gentlemen. Twin [points to associate] is hosting some of ‘em. I talked to DJ Drama earlier this week, he probably gon’ be hosting one of them. And just a few different DJs. I’ma keep mixtapes out there throughout everywhere. They’re going to be able to find my mixtapes on sites like DatPiff.com and just type in Jibbs. I’m giving that away for free, but until then, New Tempo, New Swag is coming. The album is crazy, you’re going to be able to listen to it from front to back, it’s coming late summer, so I’m going to need everybody to stay tuned into that like on my Twitter. It ain’t no exact date on when it’s dropping yet, but I keep everybody updated on that site.
