RAW - B

Rapper RAW-B shares his Christian testimony. He talks about growing up with addicts as parents, being homeless at 15 years old, and being molested as a teen by a female pastor who took him in off the streets. Additionally, he breaks down "Expectations”, "No Ceiling", "Like Tom”, and "Soda and Vodka" featuring 350 in the 4-song-breakdown.

Rapper RAW-B shares his Christian testimony. He talks about growing up with addicts as parents, being homeless at 15 years old, and being molested as a teen by a female pastor who took him in off the streets. Additionally, he breaks down "Expectations”,  "No Ceiling", "Like Tom”, and "Soda and Vodka" featuring 350 in the 4-song-breakdown.

*The transcription of any lyrics and some of the interview content may not be entirely accurate. *

[00:00:45.610] - Gaelika
And let's first start with your first music memory, whether it be a song or music video, your first recording.

[00:00:54.310] - RAW - B
So my my first recollection of music was my dad. So he would always be playing Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crue, like it was a lot of rock stuff in. My grandparents, I think are still in a band that they used to do gigs out in California and they're in a band called Elipse. So my grandma, my grandpa would be playing in this band and every once in a while they would use me and my brothers roadies to set up for them and stuff. So that was like my beginning roots of like being like, oh, shoot. Like this is this is really tight in it. And it sparked my interest. And I started playing guitar. I started messing around with that and my grandpa was actually teaching me how to play guitar. So that was really fun.

[00:01:42.380] - Gaelika
Sweet. So then you come from a musical family?

[00:01:47.170] - RAW - B Yes. Yes.

[00:01:49.300] - Gaelika
Awesome. So where were you born and raised?

[00:01:54.880] - RAW - B
I was born and raised in Grant's Pass, Oregon. So it's it's a super small town in southern Oregon, just like a very small city in the woods. Kind of shout out to the people in Grant's Pass watching. Yeah, yeah. Very, very small town. Very humble beginnings. And then I moved up to Portland later on, but. I'm here in Atlanta

[00:02:25.650] - Gaelika
is Portland, the biggest city that was close to where you grew up?

[00:02:31.830] - RAW - B
Yes. So Portland is at the top of Oregon, so you have to drive like four hours from Grant's Pass to get to Portland.

[00:02:39.570] - Gaelika
So, yeah. And did you have any siblings? Oh, you said yeah.

[00:02:45.270] - RAW - B
Yeah, I have a full brother. His name is Sidney and he's a he's a little rascal, but I love them.

[00:02:53.730] - Gaelika
And did you grow up in a two parent household?

[00:02:57.330] - RAW - B
No, I my parents ended up splitting when I was five.

[00:03:03.860] - Gaelika
And in your music, I mean, you talked about growing up in a trailer park and your parents leaving you. Yes. What does all that fall into place?

[00:03:14.390] - RAW - B
So that ended up happening after after my parents split when they were together. We were actually living in, like a regular house, and it was awesome. We were out in, like, Sunny Valley for for a little bit. And after they split a custody battle, I went down to where I was visiting my mom and then I was

visiting my dad. And it was a pretty brutal one because my mom kept on just going from place to place and we ended up living in a trailer out out in like Wolf Creek somewhere. And then they just kept on going back and forth to the point where my mom eventually took me and my little brother out to Reno, Nevada, as kind of like trying to escape. In the midst of all that, she had multiple other kids. So there was a lot of mouths to feed. And we were basically going at that point, she she couldn't maintain a job because she was addicted to meth. And so we were going in and out of like shelters and submissions to go eat and sleep and basically at the homeless shelters. So it was really rough. And then my dad ended up coming and picking us up later. So I was like seven when that happened. So it went on for like two years.

[00:04:41.570] - Gaelika
OK. So when you were doing on the streets with your mom and you said she was having she had other kids as well.

[00:04:51.320] - RAW - B Yeah.

[00:04:52.400] - Gaelika
How many other siblings you have?

[00:04:55.730] - RAW - B
They keep on popping up through Facebook like they reached out to me and stuff. The three I met three of them when when they were, you know, being born and stuff. Um, I have relationships with them, still speak with them, you know, through Facebook and social media. But yeah, I have apparently another three other siblings. So in total I have like seven. Yeah. Like seven or eight siblings, six of seven on my mom's side and then two on my dad's side. We know six of them on my mom's side too. On my dad's side, it's kind of hard to keep track.

[00:05:38.000] - Gaelika
But I mean, if they're coming up popping up, I would imagine it being hard to keep track. And when your mom was doing meth, you're like a kid. So were you even aware of her addiction problem?

[00:05:51.950] - RAW - B
No, I honestly, I wasn't I wasn't aware at all. I was just, you know, just doing my thing is like a kid, you know, you're so like just pure at heart and you're kind of just doing your thing with what you have, playing with boys and stuff. Probably caught on a little bit with the, you know, some of the domestic violence that was going on between her and my stepdad and stuff. But yeah, overall, I was just like, completely oblivious.

[00:06:22.100] - Gaelika
So your father comes in and you and your brother end up living with your father for the remainder of your childhood?

[00:06:30.680] - RAW - B
For the most part. So my dad comes and picks me and my little brother up and we end up living with him and his his girlfriend out in grass paths. So something went down after they got engaged and some domestic violence happened. My dad ended up, you know, throwing her down and her two older sons, like 17 and 18, they came through and they they beat the crap out of my dad. And I literally, like, was sitting there, like watching it happen. They, like, cracked his ribs and stuff. And I was like eight at that time. I was just learning how to skateboard, just getting into the the neighborhood and learning like some friends names and the next thing you know, that happens. And so they took him to jail for a little bit and then he came back. We ended up moving in with with like with an older woman that he was a friend of kind of like a sugar momma situation. It was kind of it was kind of awkward at first because she was a lot older than he was. But she ended up taking us all in and she she literally took care of us up until I was like around nine or 10 or about nine, nine years old. And then dad finally got on his feet, got a job. We ended up renting a few houses. Out, in, out in Grants Pass eventually moved out to Maryland in a trailer where he officially bought property, so after that ended up happening. My

dad was kind of spiraling and alcoholism. He was he was going downhill pretty bad to the point where me and him started getting into it. And this is a couple of years down the road. I'm playing football. I kind of said not a skateboarding because we're we're out in the country now. Skateboarding was one of my my hobbies. I really love doing that. So I was, like, super sad that we moved out to the country, but I started playing football and stuff. I actually got pretty good at it. I was starting quarterback and stuff and I, I started learning how to ride in that trailer, just, you know, writing rhymes and stuff down and kind of, you know, let my heart go. And me and him just started butting heads. And I think it's because I started getting testosterone and just started, you know, growing up, working out and getting big and feeling a little bit cocky. And I also kind of held like some sort of anger for them splitting up because I always wanted a mother figure in my life. And the older lady, her name is Laura. I was looking up to her as that mother figure, but it got to a point where me and my dad, like we ended up getting into a fist fight and he ended up kicking me out of his house like 15 years old. So I ended up homeless again, so.

[00:09:35.090] - Gaelika
Yeah, now you're 15 and homeless? How do you survive?

[00:09:40.640] - RAW - B
So 15 homeless, I survive with the relationships I made through my through my friends at school. So a lot of the football homies would let me sleep on the couch. And I was going to youth group at the time and I was, you know, just kind of going there because my friends were going I didn't really have a relationship with God, really, but I ended up, you know, staying with my homie Randy. He he brought me into a youth group and stuff, and his family ended up actually taking me in off the streets. And I was I was I was homeless for, like, a good two, three weeks, kind of just couch surfing and doing my own thing. I didn't have anything, though. I had just the clothes on my back and my skateboard kind of just moving around. I ended up finally getting my stuff back and moving in with them.

[00:10:33.980] - Gaelika
Well, OK. So is that where you spent, like, remainer high school with that family?

[00:10:39.490] - RAW - B
OK, yes. So that's that's where I ended up getting saved. And I actually talk about what happened with this family and my next track, the the the family that I moved in with their pastors of a church. And I know I'm just dropping a lot, like a lot of heavy stuff right now, but. She's a pastor, she's a youth pastor. Her husband's a pastor, and I end up moving with them 15. I get diagnosed with depression because I'm just, like, sad over what's going on. I'm feeling like I'm lost. Yeah. And I ended up getting on Zoloft and just taking that every day. And 16 comes around. I'm getting really good at football. I'm thriving. It's like my I believe it's like my junior year. And towards the end of the football season, something changed with the relationship between this person. I was taking care of me and myself. She ended up actually coming on to me.

[00:12:01.600] - Gaelika okay, the pastor woman?

[00:12:04.410] - RAW - B
Yeah, OK, so she ended up coming on to me and, like, cuddling me a little bit too much and a little bit too close. And I just wanted like a mother figure, you know, I'm saying and I kind of just like I went with it, I was being an idiot, 16 years old. And then eventually she got in so close that she ended up taking my virginity at 17. So that ended up happening and that's that spiraled a lot of craziness with the relationship as like I'm trying to see here as mom, but then she sees me as like this boyfriend or something on the side, and she took control over everything. My dating life was non-existent. She she tapped my phone. She didn't let me text any girls whatsoever. So my dating life and everything was nonexistent. And I had explained to a lot of my friends, like like, I can't do this. I can't do that. Like, sorry, like and she just had complete control over me. And that was probably one of the like even going through the divorce and going through, like, all that stuff with my dad. That was probably like the hardest thing was that that's sexual stuff. And so it goes on. And so I'm about. I kind of I ended up trying to go to Bible College 18, I ended up flunking out, I dropped out. I was just I was just messed up.

You know, I'm saying, like, I was trying my best to to, you know, keep my my mask on. But I just couldn't I needed to get healing rather than trying to step into something that was like, you know, learning of about being a worship pastor and stuff.

[00:14:02.360] - Gaelika
so this family that you're with, they introduce you to Jesus.

[00:14:07.760] - RAW - B Yes.

[00:14:08.420] - Gaelika
And you get saved while in the process of living.

[00:14:12.470] - RAW - B Yes.

[00:14:13.730] - Gaelika
OK, let's just let's focus on that part. Right. There was. Yes. Thing specific that connected with you. Why did you give your life to Christ?

[00:14:23.460] - RAW - B
Yes. So when I gave my life to Jesus, I felt like it was my second chance after being completely thrown out by both ends of my father and my mother, I. I can I came to learn that I have a father in heaven and I felt like I felt like an orphan. And I know that it was it was his love and his grace that in in his adoption and his like he gives orphans sonship that really just like pierced my heart. And I really broke down when when I when I fully grasp that as a as a teenager. And I ended up giving my life to him.

[00:15:11.060] - Gaelika
Oh, man. So you gave your life to Christ and then this woman pastor ends up molesting you.

[00:15:18.480] - RAW - B Yeah.

[00:15:19.250] - Gaelika
How does that affect your relationship with Christ? Because they introduced you to them? I would, yeah. It would be that would really mess with your head in your connection.

[00:15:28.820] - RAW - B
Yeah. And don't get me wrong, it messed me up with with my faith. And I was questioning God, like, why why would you allow the same people that brought me to Christ, put me through this? And he said, I need you to trust me and not man. I need trust that I cover all sin with my love, including that one, and to not trust your own understanding. And it took me a long time to really, truly grasp that. It took me a couple of years actually to really grasp that, to not put my trust into, you know, I mean, I got trust issues already, but like learning just like. I'm supposed to follow the person of Jesus, not the person who follows Jesus, you know, I'm saying it because because people like when we're walking, we're walking in a very windy road. Jesus stays very straight, very narrow. So I try my best to just keep my eyes on him through all that. So, yeah.

[00:16:39.460] - Gaelika
So the whole time that you're in the household, then until you attempt to go to Bible college, you were being molested by this woman. Yeah. So you go to my college, you flunk out, you realize that you need healing. How do you receive that healing?

[00:16:55.870] - RAW - B
So I, I realized that, you know, I flunked out, realized I needed healing. I go back to the people and I ended up. Living with them, I was I was broken that I dropped out because in the midst of dropping

out like I was drinking a lot during their during my time in Bible College, and I actually ended up getting into a fist fight while I was in Bible College and I ended up coming back home. And one of my friends, one of my friends from childhood dies in like a bike accident. I'm just like, bro, like what is going on right now, you know? And if I allow her to get back in. Again, and I ended up like resisting it and trying my best to get get out of it multiple times, I started working at this place on Grant's Pass. Yeah, y'all know what Starbucks is Starbucks's I started working at Starbucks and I go on my first tour. I'm making music in the midst of all this. I go on my first tour, this is where I met Xay Hill and Kurtis Hoppie, lots of them if they are watching, but I ended up touring with them and got connected with a is actually one of the first people that I confessed to. That that that was going on and then I ended up feeling really good about that, that I told him. And so I ended up confessing to the people I was working with at work at Starbucks. And my manager was like, bro, we got to get you out of there. And so they ended up like moving me out. But my start my Starbucks money couldn't maintain an apartment. I was living in my car for for a minute for like a good month in my car. And I ended up going back to the same people. And this is when I'm like 19, I just turned 20 some I'm 20 years old, I come back, Xay comes back and we record an album. It was super trash. It was supercharges. But it was so fun because, like, that's where, like, the Brotherhood really, like, started on that score. And when he came out to record this album and he moved me out of that house probably multiple times so we could couldn't figure out where to go. So we kept on going back and they there was fights in the middle of the night where we literally dipped out, move my whole room with my buddy Antonio and Xay and came back because we had nowhere to go. And so I ended up eventually leaving that household with with a little bit of a messed up relationship. I kind of dove into it. I ended up living with this with this girl. And it was just kind of like a stepping stone to to get where I needed to go, I ended up just kind of skipping out on the on that family. I was living with this girl. She has a kid. I it's not my kid. She's like eight years old. And I realize, like in like a month or I was about a month living with this girl that. I am not ready to be a stepfather. Yeah, and so really rough breakup happens and I was just like, where do I go now? Um, and I was just like asking a guy like God, like, please, just get me out of this town. I was crying, I was just like I was drowning in alcohol, I even did I was smoking weed at the time, too. I was in on nicotine. I was I was doing I did I even did cocaine one time when I was like with this woman and I was just there.

[00:21:15.850] - Gaelika
The pastor was using lines of cocaine and molesting you?

[00:21:18.880] - RAW - B Yeah. Wait, what.

[00:21:20.470] - Gaelika So the pastor was doing.

[00:21:22.090] - RAW - B No, no, no, no.

[00:21:23.800] - Gaelika
This is the woman with an eight year old?

[00:21:28.000] - RAW - B
Yeah. Yeah. So I ended up moving away from her and I got a blessing, like a sum of money, like I think it was like a thousand dollars. And I hit up one of my friends that lived out in Portland. I met him in Bible College. I was like, hey, bro. Like I heard that you need roommates. And he was living out in Vancouver. And he's like, Yes, bro, like, can you get up here? I was like, yes, I can. And so I ended up moving up there and so can I go through. Yeah, I ended up going through a through a really depressing phase, like with the breakup, with moving away from everything. I ended up coming where I reconciled my relationship with my dad during this time and I spent my twenty first birthday with him. He the alcohol really got home and he ended up passing away during the transition. And so I'm out here in Vancouver now mourning the loss of my father, mourning the loss of a of a girlfriend that I soul tied with and mourning the loss of a family that I was with for about like seven years or so, like six, six years. And so I ended up almost killing myself. The spirit of suicide came over me. I let it grip

my soul. And I almost took my life one night. And God spoke audibly to me that night. And this is where, like, my true surrender really began. He's like, Robby, I have a purpose for you that is way beyond just this. Like there is more to live for. You are my son. I love you. And I'm like, I'm sorry that this happened to you, but I promise you just don't do this and. I heard that, like with my ears almost as I was getting ready to overdose myself. And. At that moment, I just I just cried and I fell to my knees and I, I just begged God for forgiveness for everything that I did. And I started going to this church called Activate Out and Watch you go to Washington. And that's why I really, really got healing. That's where I really, really understood what Grace truly meant, because they really took me in as I was the youth pastor there. He took me in under his wing. His name is Sean. Sean, if you watching this, I love you, bro. He took me in under his wing. He disciple me. He listened to every single phone call. He replied to every single text of mine when I was struggling. And they that whole church really just embraced me. And during that during that time, I was really just like. Like receipt, like I was learning how to receive love and receive what it's like to have like a church family, like a real church family, not like a fake one that I was living with. And I was like, God, like, I'm tired of relationships like like dating relationships, like I don't want to have a woman, like for the next five years, you're you're like, I want to be yours and I want you to be mine. And after I said that. Like two weeks later, my my future wife comes into my life as I'm as I'm beginning to sanctify myself and and like purify my soul, and she she comes in and. We just are on talking terms and we're friends, and I'm really trying my best to, you know, get grounded in the world at this time. And so we just started doing Bible plans back and forth. And I ended up we ended up getting evicted out of that apartment. And I move in with, like a new family that actually really took me in for real. And they actually loved on me with with nothing in return. And it was just like it was beautiful.And I was like the first time I really experienced family love. And that became my girlfriend. I started working a job. I started recording more. I started feeling so much more full. And even though I was just, you know, like living in the garage, I was still like, so cool. Like, I and I, I was like twenty two, you know. But I ended up proposing a vow after I saved up some money, I was working pest control.And the rest is kind of like history.

[00:26:32.240] - Gaelika
So how did what you experience with that family, how did that affect your relationship with Val?

[00:26:42.710] - RAW - B
Yeah, so it was it was really it was really tough on when I when I confessed to her about that whole scenario, I did it. I made sure to do it like pretty early in our relationship just to kind of get it out there. You know, I didn't want anything to really be holding us back. I didn't want any secrets. We value honesty. And so I just I just let it out one day. And she cried and she she still at times has hard has a hard time forgiving, you know, the people that did that to me with right reason. But yeah, it it definitely it definitely messes with our relationship a little bit. But I feel like we're we're thriving over that and we're just leaving. The past is the past and we're looking ahead to what's in our future.

[00:27:35.210] - Gaelika
So and your friend who's on it was and I think your relationship with him.

[00:27:44.270] - RAW - B
Yeah, I don't talk to any of them anymore. The people that I call it brother, the people that I call it sister, the nieces and nephews that they had, I don't I don't talk to them anymore.

[00:27:57.110] - Gaelika
And I just have to know. And she still pastoring?

[00:28:00.350] - RAW - B
I think so. I don't know. I haven't really kept tabs on them. It's been a few years since everything's been cut off. I'm twenty four now and I cut them off at twenty one. So it's been about three years.

[00:28:17.600] - Gaelika
nobody Experience that I know should have to experience that. Yeah. Especially someone who's supposed to be, you know. reflecting the image of God.

[00:28:29.480] - RAW - B
It's it's one of those things that unfortunately happens more than we know.

[00:28:34.610] - Gaelika
Yeah, I know. Yeah, it definitely does. So thank you for sharing this. Yeah. Course, the people that this will resonate with. Yeah. Also I mean it also just needs to be known. Yeah. OK, so you you get married, how long did you guys date before you got married?

[00:28:56.130]
We dated for for a year before we got engaged. And the reason why we dated so long, I was ready to get tougher.

[00:29:05.490] - Gaelika 1 year was so long?

[00:29:07.260] - RAW - B
It was it was long for me, OK? It was long because I just knew. I just knew like like a couple months of dating this girl. I was just like, I'm going to marry this woman, know. And like, she's she's like the best thing that's ever happened to me. And we were doing some, like premarital or like pre engagement counseling with my youth pastor. And he was kind of putting the pressure on me is like, bro, you got a dime.

[00:29:35.190]
You cannot you cannot play around. And I'm like, I know. And he's like. You got to drop on a name and I'm like, man, we're only a couple of months in like and so we pushed off, I pushed off getting engaged to her and so she until like a year. And then we pushed off getting married. And so she graduated from college with her bachelor's in marketing. And so that was like our engagement lasted for about nine months or so.

[00:30:06.010] - Gaelika
And then you guys and moving from the West to Atlanata.

[00:30:10.690] - RAW - B
Yep, yep. Akworth to be more specific, but nobody knows where Akworth is.

[00:30:16.250] - Gaelika So here in Atlanta.

[00:30:19.630] - RAW - B Yeah. Atlanta area.

[00:30:22.570] - Gaelika
And how how are you liking the move and how is it for you guys.

[00:30:28.030] - RAW - B
It was it was honestly awesome. We didn't fly out here. We drove. So it was really cool. We had a covid wedding and since we couldn't travel outside the country, we were like, how are we going to have our honeymoon? And I was like. Let's drive. Let's just drive across the country and camp out at some places and some Airbnb's like let's go see like the United States. Yeah, she was like, let's do it. And so we ended up going on like a whitewater rafting trip out in Spokane. We went through Montana. Like North Dakota, which was the most boring drive ever, but it was still fun. We went to Six Flags out in St. Louis. We got to see a lot of really cool stuff. It was awesome.

[00:31:15.880] - Gaelika
That's awesome. Yeah, I didn't realize that you guys were, like, freshly married during COVID.

[00:31:21.230] - RAW - B

Yeah. Yeah. So June at twenty seventh. It was when we got married in twenty twenty. So we're, we're coming up on a year.

[00:31:29.580] - Gaelika
OK, so you're still newlyweds. Yeah. Well congratulations.

[00:31:34.630] - Gaelika Thank you so much.

[00:31:36.190] - RAW - B It's been amazing.

[00:31:37.420] - Gaelika
How would you say God's presence looks like in your life personally outside of the music?

[00:31:43.420] - RAW - B
My gosh, it's it's never been better since I'm, you know, like put into a role of. I can make my own decisions. I am the leader of my household and me being able to just kind of write my own schedule. I've been I've been trying to engage with God first contact right in the morning, I've been talking to God every single, every single moment I can, um, it's like I even even then, I still feel like I want to just lock in with him more, you know, just trying to, like, learn more about him and read his word and just understand what it's truly like to be just in his presence. And, um, it's just there's nothing better. There's nothing better than being in the presence of God. I love I love where where me and God are at right now. It's it's honestly, I can say it's the best that it's ever been.

[00:32:47.270] - Gaelika
So and we're going to move forward to hot topics. What's trending on Twitter right now?

[00:32:54.090] - RAW - B Sweet.

[00:32:54.850] - Gaelika
And one of them, we have hashtag Marshmallow the artist. So Marshmallow in Major Lazer are trending for the Fortnight bundles. OK, Fortnight bundle was updated and people are excited about that.

[00:33:12.670] - RAW - B I'm so Trash at Fortonight.

[00:33:16.010] - Gaelika
I don't even play video games. I know. I know. That is a popular game and Travis Scott is involved as well. But would you agree that the success of an artist's career isn't based solely on music sales or streams anymore? Because you have like product placements and video games?

[00:33:39.130] - RAW - B
Oh, yeah. One hundred percent. The whole the it takes a whole brand and all kinds of streams of revenue to to build the foundation of an artist. It's not just the streams. It's not just what you get on Spotify anymore. It's your presence on social media. It's your presence on Instagram specifically like IG kind of rules the whole social media right now and the product placements. As far as like video games go, I see a lot of rappers like getting like huge endorsement deals with with these video games like such as fortnight. And it's such a pop and thing with like GenZE and stuff. And so they're kind of yeah. They're definitely making a bag off that. And yeah, I, I honestly think it's dope. I love the fact that you can work your business in different avenues as a as a musician with sync licensing to movies, to TV acting, there's so many different things you can do as a creative. And ever since the, you know, the Internet has really taken over, I think that an artist can really take so many different avenues and still be successful. It's not just one way. Make it or break it, deal with the record labels. It's it's honestly, it's giving everybody a fair chance, a fair fighting chance to to actually make a living off of what they love.

And I love it. Honestly, I think it's super dope.

[00:35:13.750] - Gaelika
Yeah. I mean, it's just you over ten, twenty years ago, you never would have even thought about artists being involved in video games.

[00:35:24.550] - RAW - B Right. That's so crazy.

[00:35:27.670] - Gaelika
Different revenues are opening up. And I mean, like we may never get another Rihanna album, right?

[00:35:35.830] - RAW - B
Oh, my gosh. That's crazy to think. Yeah. For real.

[00:35:40.000] - Gaelika
I mean, she's yeah. She she has other things going on who need. Yeah. Who needs music. You're just doing it purely for the joy of a music.

[00:35:49.660] - RAW - B But exactly.

[00:35:51.190] - Gaelika
If you're a building and you're just focused on the muse are on money then the rest of us fans just have to wait.

[00:36:00.570] - RAW - B I know. Right.

[00:36:03.190] - RAW - B For real.

[00:36:05.290] - Gaelika
So when it came to your music start, you, you said that you jumped on that tour with Xay. How did that even come about? Because you were you just started talking about, you know, rapping in the trailer and kind of building out from there. So how do you go from, like, writing lyrics in a trailer to going on tour with another artist?

[00:36:26.180] - RAW - B
Yes, so I developed my following in high school, I, I was doing a lot of like rap battles and stuff and doing a lot of free styling and circles, and my name started getting thrown around a little bit. I wasn't good, but they just love the fact that I was just like open and confident about it. And I ended up finding the the most bootleg studio I could get. And I started recording and I started reaching out to different people I knew through church and stuff through different churches is actually some sound guys and like music teachers that were that were working at the other school that I went to. And so I, I ended up connecting with them and making a mix tape. And the mix tape is nowhere to be found yet. They're not going to find it. And it was super bad. But I ended up throwing a release show where like like around two hundred people showed up to and I was just grinding so hard, like to to get like the fliers printed to get, like, these different little cards handed out. I promoted it around my school like I was like I was literally like my own street team. And so I was making sure that everybody knew about the show and I threw the release party, got so much traction and ended up on the newspaper. And that was literally not from talent. Like, I was not very talented back then. It was all just like hustle and just grind into it to get people to to where, you know, I wanted to have the released show. And so after I after I did that, I started trying to shoot some things over to Rapzilla. They denied it. And I understand. But I ended up actually connecting with this producer and he we met at the YMCA at this gym, and we were working out and he was he was listening to music and stuff. And I was like I was like because he was he was like playing basketball and stuff. And he was like a and we got connected and we ended

up figuring out, like, both of us do music. So we started making music together and I dropped a record with him that actually was pretty decent, decent enough to end up on the local radio station in my city. And so I started getting a buzz around that single and then I dropped off. I was getting ready to drop like an EP. But during that time I was just on social media, kind of just like trying to connect with a lot of people. And I ended up connecting with Kurtis Hoppy. He used to be known as triple three, um, way back like in twenty sixteen. He was known as triple three. I was known as Robbie Jr. at the time. And so I learned from this do called Manifest to ask artists to buy on their tour. And so me being as bold as I can, just super hungry. I saw that Curtis was going on a tour and I was like, Bro, can I buy on this? This is coming through my way and I can land us a show on the tour. And he's like, Yeah, bro, let's do it. And it just so happens that Xay was on that tour, too. And since me and they were the youngest cats on that tour, we ended up in the back of the van. And so we were just chopping it up the whole time. The tour lasted for like a solid month. And me and him became like best friends through that whole thing, was really cool.

[00:40:05.160] - Gaelika
That's awesome story. Yeah. So you finish the tour and I mean, how do you get from the tour to where you are now? Only just constantly releasing singles and. Yeah, your production is is fire. Thank you.

[00:40:25.240] - RAW - B
Thank you so much. So twenty sixteen into twenty seventeen. We made the album, we started getting connected with more and more artists. We started getting more momentum. We dropped this single called Ghost Rider that actually did pretty well. It showed up on a couple of radio stations. I did not know about Pizarro's during that time, so I did not make the bag off that. I kind of dropped the ball, but it got played on a radio station in my city in Nebraska. It was getting it was trending a little bit and. I ended up realizing video is was killing it, being present on YouTube is killing it, and so I started trying to get as many videos as I could and through the through the transition of going from Grand's Pass to Vancouver and stuff, like I kind of kind of lost it a the momentum a little bit. But I started getting it back up again and I realized I read a book pretty recently called It's All in Your Head by Russ. And he dropped 11 records and saw absolutely no like push whatsoever. And then he's like. The first song of each of these albums is getting the most plays I needed to continue to drop singles. So he started dropping singles every week and so that he dropped a single every week for a whole year. And he added visuals to as many as he could. And he his, he said, is tunrcore earnings, went from like six hundred a month to one hundred thousand within that a year. And I'm kind of just like adopting that that methodology and placing it into into my artwork. And as you can see, like I got my studio in here, I don't have to I can, you know, do everything from my house. I keep the lights on in here at the making sure that I'm practicing in my gym as much as possible because, like, people's attention spans are small nowadays, you've got to keep up. And so that's that's why I ended up transitioning into dropping way more content than I used to. So.

[00:42:47.020] - Gaelika
So this week you're dropping "Revenge", which. Yes. Ah, this interview comes out and will find out. But this is the song where you tell the story of the family that you lived with. Yes. Now when you said you were afraid to kind of release say,

[00:43:05.970] - RAW - B
yeah, yeah, exactly. So, yeah, it's it's definitely I've not spoken on it, really. I've given little hints here and there and a couple of tracks like "No Ceiling" I talked about I live with another family, but the mother was messed up. She wanted something romantic, so I had to depart. I'm finally patched up. When I said that I was kind of hinting towards it, but something in me was saying, like, because I work at FedEx and I be in be in like trucks moving boxes every day. Right. And I keep on thinking in my head like there's a voice in my head like. Like like a revenge voice, like like I want to go like after these people, like lawfully and even though I completely have the right to and some people would, um, I felt like God told me to just let it go. And so my way of releasing that like feeling was through this record. Oh, so.

[00:44:10.410] - Gaelika
So you get your revenge on the track and then keep moving.

[00:44:13.590] - RAW - B
Yeah, that's how I let it out. That's probably the best way, honestly. Yeah.

[00:44:21.760] - Gaelika
OK, so I want to go on to the four song breakdown where artists recites or raps a verse and discusses what's going on between the lines of the song story. So for you, I selected "Expectations", "No Ceilings", "Like Tom", and "Soda and Water". would you mind starting with "expectations"?

[00:44:44.880] - RAW - B
Yes. All right. So "expectations". I'm living up to expectations. They work out how what they complacent. Not a legend yet, but I feel adjacent to me saying that, like, you want me to break it down and stuff line by line or I'm on the road oversight and then break it down if you want. OK, you go. All right. Not a legend yet, but I feel I just can't. Well. Oh, shoot. And station batebi house setting up them agents money going up when I check them statements. Well I got that energy leaving my enemies look like some badass. I know the Alpha and the Omega. Oh, sorry. Your wife is calling me one second here. One second here. Hold up. There we go. Am I still on here? Extend the screen out a little real quick. Sorry for the interruptions and stuff.

[00:45:47.840] - Gaelika It's all good.

[00:45:49.400] - RAW - B
All right. Why is it small like this? OK. I got that energy making my enemies look like somebody is the alpha and the Omega, a family guy, but I treat you like Megan, think you got something you're sadly mistaken. I've been a one with the eggs and a bacon star, my day off at work and get dirty, my journey in the making. Remember blood stains on the carpet. Twenty one evicted from apartments. I had no money for a garment soldiered up on looking like a sergeant, picking off a demon from a marquis Kotite marksman detta with the red. I promise you I don't want to stosz set up in a agenda. You bet. I'm Scott Walker. Yes. I never been. I want to be when I'm talking, but honestly I'm pretty chilling person. So the whole essence of that track, that record was. Basically stating, I'm living up to my expectations. I'm living at, uh. I'm living up to what I feel like is God's expectations. And. It's. It took me a little bit to get to where I'm at right now, and I see a lot of younger artists coming up, but I feel like I'm in my spot. I feel like I'm in my my zone. I feel like I'm in my, you know, my flow of things finally. And so I ended up kind of just like letting people know, like I'm here to I'm here to stay. I did a little bit of wordplay with I think you guys saw and you sadly mistaken, I've been the one with the eggs and the bacon. I was a little double entendre stay work on how are they complaisant. I was referring to me waking up at three forty five every day to go grind over at over at FedEx so I can, you know, get off early and come here and work. And not a legend yet, but I feel adjacent means I'm not known and I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm just waiting for the world to kind of catch up. So there's like a there's a sense of confidence and that. So.

[00:48:11.300] - Gaelika Okay, Okay. And "no ceiling"

[00:48:15.610] - RAW - B
"Yes, no ceiling. I am gonna say I am gonna say I dropped out of college still and Ganassi, both my parents left me still and Ganassi, I did not come up with the steal. And Ganassi, I ain't got no Ceylan and Ganassi. And I repeat that chorus twice, I believe. And then this for the ones that Daouda, you're my sons. You grounded. I had to climb that mountain away from the public housing. You really thinking that you could belittle me saying that I could not do this, I had to break it to you. But I'm focused on Dollars. I don't need you to sense that I said a welfare check. So that kept me fed by my mom did Metrozoo. We couldn't pay their rent anyplace. We went got evicted. Then I'm sure I had a shot living with another family. But the mother was messed up. She wanted something romantic. So I had a and finally passed up. So the essence of that check is basically me saying I honestly, I've been through a lot and a lot of people will try to limit you and put, you know, this is your ceiling, like this is this is where your potential lies. But I completely disapprove and disbelieve that because I know what

God put inside of me. And so I was basically stating to both the enemies in my head and people that have doubted me in the past, I don't have a ceiling.

[00:49:47.100] - Gaelika Right on. And "Like Tom"

[00:49:47.820] - RAW - B
So this was based on like the Super Bowl. I just felt inspired to do that one. OK, so it was like future looking so bright, like Super Nova Mallyon. Look, Lunner, I should have got here sooner, but I don't quit like losers. Yasue licensed to shoot like storm troopers. I'm going into my view. Worst fans in a real consumers. Some of your grow like tumors are basically not real users to start with a fake new virtual flag to the cloud. That's funny. I had a while ago when I get Jet, I'm trying to save up to buy me a crib, letting it go popping off of the head every week. Oh yeah. I think I forgot it a little bit. What, serving the law like I'm working for tips. I'll be expecting tithing and saving and they had investments. Then give it back to one so we could blessed. And then it goes in and hits the hook like some drop bombs, and then I give rest like the next day, go put in the reps, not guards can pop up and head to the bench. And I saw way too much can settle for less so that Shaq is just essentially taking that goat mentality and putting it into your life, even though we may not be at the same level as Tom Brady or, you know, Kobe Bryant, like, you still got to have that mentality. Like I'm going to make it. I am going to going to shoot through the roof is kind of like a no sealants ideal, but just kind of like more of a more of a motivational relaxed version of it. Yeah, that's that's like Tom. I see. Assess the essence of, like, Tom, OK.

[00:51:27.880] - Gaelika
And then lastly, "soda and vodka" featuring 350.

[00:51:32.270] - RAW - B
Yes. All right. I need that dinero, commas and zeros. I got my save. You don't need any heroes. Mama Reno. The casinos. I'm in Atlanta. Just those are my ego. I got some problems. I want to varno service suaveness surrender, but not that I got to sowden vaka. I need some water praying. I don't end up like my father. Oh man. Shaking up hands stacking up basilar part of the plan notates dance.I go after the fans when I'm off at a grandma I go talk to the fan. There's no chance you could say what I work for. Can't run my way with a surf board. That ship sailed when I beg for support. My God. Big top. But it's solid folklore. That hook was an embodiment of the struggle of alcoholism that I kind of don't deal with every once in a while, I occasionally drank and I'm learning more and more that, you know, moderation is key. And I came out of like a heavy party background. So I'm learning more and more that moderation is key, trying my best to kind of just, like, stay sober and stay stay away from it completely. But that was kind of just me being open and transparent and just being like, you know, I struggle with this. And in my verse I actually talk about people really accepting people being vulnerable and being real, because I notice, like even in church nowadays, people will walk in with a mask and they feel very nervous and very scared to talk about what they struggle with. And I feel like if we were to just put down our mask in our judgment and just be open and really honest, our church would be so much more healthier because a lot of these scandals, a lot of these things that are going on, we see people fall. It's because of lack of accountability. It's because lack of you know, they're nervous. They're fearful of the judgment that is going to be put on them. But as believers in Christ, we are called to be a graceful unit and accept these people. So I was just completely open on that track and just wanted to to address, you know, honesty and humility in it.

[00:54:04.830] - Gaelika
So, yeah, I mean, also because with your parents, then you have like addiction runs in your family or it's in your blood, you know, is is not something you feel like you struggle with or the possibility of struggling with addiction or moderation is good for you.

[00:54:26.310] - RAW - B
So, yeah, yeah, I honestly, I do I do have a little bit of an addictive personality like both both of my parents are, um, like my dad is gone because of it. Yeah, I definitely don't. I stay away from, like, bingeing, alcohol. I will drink it occasionally just as like kicking it with friends or something. I definitely

try my best, like not to go over the top, but I definitely don't do it as a crutch anymore. I definitely have left that behind 100 percent. And it's, it's one of those things that I believe that I will, you know, eventually just completely leave. But as of right now, I don't see any harm that it's really doing to me if I'm, you know, remaining sober minded. Yeah.

[00:55:22.500] - Gaelika
So, I mean, you were right about like the church basically, for the most part, just being full of cappers, like everyone is trying to put on a front and not get it real and honest. And that's how you end up in situations like yourself being raised by this family who's totally taken advantage of you. But you write Jesus at the same time because you're just not being real. And obviously that woman has some healing she needs to do because only God knows what happened to her to, you know, do that, not act on you. But I mean, it's a good message that you're saying, like everyone, regardless of being in a church or not, transparency is key, is really healing, and it really is accountability.

[00:56:12.990] - RAW - B
Yeah, right. I believe that one hundred percent. And that's why that's why I like confession and just like. Being just letting it go, you feel that way, lift off of you, right, you you feel that sense of freedom and that burden lift off, lifted off of your shoulders. That's why when I recorded this this last track, I felt like buoyant. I felt like I was glowing. I felt just this like my my heart wasn't, you know, like squeezing anymore. And I honestly, after I recorded that track, I can honestly tell you that I have not had any thoughts of revenge, like while I'm working, because I do like I still get my head. Sometimes everybody gets in my head. But I really don't have those thoughts of, like, going after them and suing them and, you know, doing, you know, wanting to to get even. So when we're when we're as a pastor, Mike Todd was a hot. Honest, open and transparent, there is true healing and I will continue to display that message throughout my music career. That's why that's why God gave me the name Raw B, it's because I'm supposed to be raw. I'm supposed to be real, authentic and just open no matter what's going on.

[00:57:45.280] - Gaelika
So because your name is Robbie yet?

[00:57:50.080] - RAW - B Because my name is Robbie.

[00:57:53.740] - Gaelika
So how does God's presence look like in your life musically?

[00:57:58.490] - RAW - B
So God is definitely behind and the lyrics that I'm writing, he is I make sure to ask him for guidance before every studio session, even before hopping into this call, because I'm honestly I'm a dummy. Without Him, I'm an idiot. I make mistakes and I need him to the fullest. However, I am not making music for the church. I feel like God has called me to make music from the church to the world. And since God called me out of the world and put me into his kingdom, I believe that I'm supposed to make something that is palatable to bridge the gap between secular and sacred music. And that's just the line I've been called to. Some people say that you're watering it down. A lot of people tell me that, hey, bro, I listen to a lot of secular music, but I've been listening to your music a lot more. And that is the ultimate goal for me to make something palatable for a nonbeliever to listen to and just be like I give them. Just kind of like what Ruslan said with like eating an avocado. He used to hate avocados till he tried guacamole in a burrito. You got to give God like God is like an avocado, like make it. I'm trying to make it palatable to bridge that gap so they can walk over and hear a Lecrae and hear a Xay Hill, hear a Hulvey that is just like, um, very outspoken about their faith. And if I can help bridge that gap, even if I even if I do take some backlash, I will always count it as worth it in the end. And I have I have been seeing the fruits of that because people have texted me like, bro, like I only listen to secular music and I like I only listen to this, this and this. And there are all mainstream artists, but I listen to your music. So it's honestly one of those things that was gold mine since the beginning. So that's that's definitely where God is in my music.

[01:00:17.660] - Gaelika
Sweet. Right. And my final question is, now that you've gone through this whole interview, who would you like to see me interview on the shows? Testimony would you like to hear?

[01:00:30.170] - RAW - B
I got to I got to put my boys on blast. Xay Hill one hundred percent. That man has a beautiful testimony. A beautiful story is a great guy, my best friend. I can honestly call him my brother. And yeah, definitely put Hill on this interview. You're a you're a fantastic interviewer, by the way. I was honestly very nervous coming in. I'm not going to lie, but, uh, yeah, definitely. Definitely interview him if you get a chance to interview who else. Who else? Let's see here, um. Have you interviewed 350 yet?

[01:01:18.970] - Gaelika
No, actually interviewed Hovey, and that was his recommendation was 350.

[01:01:26.200] - RAW - B
Yeah, three fifty is a really cool Big Breeze as well. Very solid. Dude, I connected with him out here. He's actually one of the first people I connected with Xay Hill, Big Breeze, 350 and Ray Knowledge. Those those all three of those guys are very or four of them are very solid. Sorry, my math is terrible. Yeah. They, they are definitely super solid people. I know them personally. I actually haven't met three fifty but I have gone back and forth with them chatting. I have a phone number and stuff. You just solid dude. Big Breeze, very solid dude and Ray Knowledge. Um I've actually kicked it with them multiple times and yeah he's super down to earth as well so yeah I think he hit up those guys.

[01:02:12.880] Awesome.

[01:02:52.300]