{"id":2093476,"date":"2026-08-14T16:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T13:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2093476"},"modified":"2026-08-14T16:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T13:01:00","slug":"retch-talks-point-guard-video-ftw-2-four-year-hiatus-i-have-a-totally-new-perspective-on-this-whole-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2093476","title":{"rendered":"RetcH Talks \u2018Point Guard\u2019 Video, \u2018FTW 2\u2019 &amp; Four-Year Hiatus: \u2018I Have a Totally New Perspective on This Whole Thing\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/retch-2026-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024&#8243;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"a-content lrv-a-floated-parent lrv-a-glue-parent a-font-body-m u-font-size-19\">\n<div class=\"pmc-paywall\">\n<div class=\"pmc-contextual-player\" data-pmc-adm-ad-id=\"10140328\">\n<h3>\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tLast month, RetcH dropped his first album in four years since 2022\u2019s <em>Administrative Segregation<\/em>. During the hiatus, the New Jersey rapper was both dealing with lingering legal issues, while also enjoying the fruits of his labor. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-related-artists \/\/ lrv-u-margin-tb-1 lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl-max lrv-u-align-items-center lrv-u-margin-l-00@desktop-xl a-glue@desktop-xl lrv-a-glue--t-0 lrv-a-glue--l-0 u-margin-t-29px@desktop u-margin-t-250@mobile-max u-margin-lr-auto@desktop-xl-max u-max-width-400@desktop-xl-max u-width-100p@mobile-max u-max-width-80@desktop-xl\">\n<div class=\"lrv-u-display-block u-width-100p lrv-u-background-color-black u-margin-b-1@desktop-xl-max\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-u-color-white a-font-primary-fancy-m lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase lrv-u-text-align-center a-article-related-module-title lrv-u-padding-tb-050\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"a-article-related-module-wrap lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl lrv-u-flex-grow-1 u-width-100p\">\n<div class=\"o-card lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl-max u-align-items-center lrv-u-position-relative u-flex-basis-100p lrv-u-padding-b-075\">\n<div class=\"o-card__image-wrap lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column u-width-80 u-width-160@mobile-max lrv-a-glue-parent lrv-u-flex-shrink-0\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-height-100p\">\n<div class=\"a-crop-1x1 lrv-u-height-100p\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-billboard-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" alt height width><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column lrv-u-justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"c_title \">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-primary-fancy-m u-font-size-15@desktop u-line-height-15px a-children-link-color-black a-children-link-color-brand-accent-blue:hover lrv-u-padding-t-1 lrv-u-text-align-center a-article-related-module-link lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tBillboard\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"c-tagline  a-font-secondary-fancy-xxxs@desktop-xl a-font-secondary-fancy-s@desktop-xl-max lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase lrv-u-color-black u-padding-t-13 lrv-u-padding-b-2 lrv-u-margin-tb-00 lrv-u-text-align-center lrv-u-border-t-1 lrv-u-border-color-black lrv-u-width-100p\">See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cWhen I really think about that time, what I was doing was just running around enjoying life. I was having a good time,\u201d he tells me during our hour-long convo at <em>Billboard\u2019s<\/em> New York City office. \u201cI had just got off house arrest after I got sentenced to three years for a probation violation, which stemmed from catching a gun charge in California. I also still had an open case at the time, which ended up coming back around later on.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story \/\/ lrv-u-display-inline-block lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-margin-t-2 u-margin-t-26@mobile-max u-margin-b-0.875@mobile-max u-margin-b-150@tablet u-border-t-12 lrv-u-padding-t-025 u-padding-b-1.313 lrv-u-padding-b-125@mobile-max lrv-u-border-color-black\">\n<div class>\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-a-unstyle-link lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap u-font-weight-700 lrv-u-display-inline-block u-line-height-18px a-font-accent u-letter-spacing-0225 u-font-size-16 lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-article-badge-underline a-article-esp u-display-inline-flex lrv-u-margin-b-1@mobile-max u-margin-b-9@tablet\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story-wrapper lrv-u-flex lrv-u-justify-content-space-between lrv-u-padding-tb-050@desktop a-children-border-vertical a-children-border--grey a-children-border-width-050\">\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Billboard-Day-Zero-2026.jpeg?w=237&amp;h=147&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"Day Zero 2025\" height width><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n<div class=\"c_title \">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tDay Zero Tulum 2027 Announces Lineup: See Who&#8217;s Playing\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/P107F17F.jpg?w=237&amp;h=147&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"Suki Waterhouse of Suki Waterhouse at Lollapalooza 2026 held at Grant Park on July 31, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.\" height width><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n<div class=\"c_title \">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tSombr Made a Surprise Appearance During A Suki Waterhouse Interview at Lollapalooza\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/marc-anthony-vegas-2026-billboard-1800.jpg?w=237&amp;h=147&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"Marc Anthony performs onstage during the debut of his new Las Vegas residency &quot;VEGAS\u2026MY WAY!&quot; at BleauLive Theater inside Fontainebleau Las Vegas on February 13, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.\" height width><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n<div class=\"c_title \">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tEverything You Need to Know About the Unidos Por Los Nuestros Benefit Concert: Donations, Artists &amp; How to Watch\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHe\u2019s now ready to get back to work and has a new perspective on things, especially music. \u201cAll types of different things factored into my shift in perspective,\u201d he told me during our interview. \u201cIt could be often that I run into artists or people that take being in this business for granted. You gotta think about what got us here, you know what I\u2019m saying? For the most part, it\u2019s the love of music. So, the fact that any of us are even able to make a living off of this thing right here is a beautiful thing. It\u2019s a blessing for everybody: me, you, and anybody else that works in this building. It\u2019s a craft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAt 19, RetcH came out the gate with an album that many rap fans consider a classic in <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em>, with fellow Jersey native (by way of Chicago) producer Thelonious Martin. That tape put RetcHy Lo Sweater on the map and raised expectations, which I would say he met with the release of the much more sinister <em>Finesse the World<\/em> a couple years later in 2015. Now, with <em>FTW 2<\/em>, he decided to go back to the darker tone that made 2015\u2019s <em>Finesse the World<\/em> a fan favorite. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tTalking to <em>Billboard<\/em>, he explains more about why he decided to go this route, his plans to be more consistent and purposeful with his music, and his new video for \u201cPoint Guard,\u201d which we\u2019re premiering today. Check out our conversation below.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>All right, so let\u2019s talk about this \u201cPoint Guard\u201d video.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cPoint Guard\u201d is one of my favorite songs of the project, and I feel like the video really captures the song. We were in Harlem in the projects and on a basketball court. There\u2019s a lot of point guard and basketball references in the song, like when I say, \u201cKeep a shooter on the wing like Crittenton.\u201d He was the teammate that got caught with Gilbert Arenas in the lockerroom when they were on the Wizards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>Yeah, Javaris Crittenton. He really did time after that too.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHe allegedly shot at some people or something like that. I think a girl got hit, if I\u2019m not mistaken, and she died. He got sentenced like 20 years for that s\u2014t. [<em>ed. note: Crittenton pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 23 years in prison<\/em>.] He only did like 10 off that motherf\u2014ker, though. He home now. He on podcast and s\u2014t. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYou gotta have some hoop knowledge to know what\u2019s going on. I also say, \u201cLike Agent Zero,s we brought Glocks out.\u201d Brought the poles to the arena like Agent Zero\/ We brought the Glocks out\/ N\u2014as in the paint gettin\u2019 boxed out should I say boxed in.\u201d N\u2014as could put two and two together. It\u2019s all basketball references. That\u2019s what make the song hard. \u201cI got shooters on the bricks\/ I got shooters in the joint \u2019cause they really up the score.\u201d I\u2019m just making correlations between hoops and the streets, you feel me?<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>How\u2019s your writing process? Do you write in a notebook or in your phone? Do you kinda freestyle and punch in?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI do both. It really depends on how I\u2019m feeling in the moment. I travel a lot, so I do a lot of writing while I\u2019m traveling. I listen to beats and I write. I got a lot of producers on my team that I f\u2014k with. I got my man B-Wolf, I got my man G LOK, I got my son Zooter McGavin, I got my boy Axel, P on the Boards, obviously. V Don.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>G LOK has a couple beats on <em>FTW 2<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYeah, G LOK did \u201cPoint Guard.\u201d That\u2019s like one of my main producers right there.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>So, are you using the Notes app when you\u2019re traveling?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYeah, I write in the Notes app. If I gotta put pen to paper and s\u2014t, I will. I\u2019m not opposed to it, but I usually got the phone nearby, so I\u2019ll cook up on the phone. What I say is intentional. I can go in the studio and freestyle, and I can still make an intentional song that way too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>I figured you probably write for the most part because of the way your rap style is.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThere\u2019s a lot of thought that goes into it, I\u2019m not even gonna sit and act like it\u2019s not. I like that people could recognize that and be able to tell that somebody is really sitting there crafting this s\u2014t and not something that\u2019s put together quick. I can do that too, but I also take pride in being able to actually sit down and listen to a beat, and just pull s\u2014t from the sky.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>Who shot the video?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tMy man Blake, 39 Enterprises. He shot the video. That\u2019s like one of my main guys that I work with, and my man Zai Visuals. He\u2019s the one that edited the video. I got a cool little collaborative team that I work with. They both play both roles, they shoot and edit videos. Sometimes Zai will edit Blake s\u2014t, and Blake will edit Zai\u2019s s\u2014t, and we\u2019ll mix and match the footage. Both were doing work with me separately and I brought them together because we were all working towards the same thing. I consider them as part of my team. They\u2019re there for the day-to-day stuff, not just for music videos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>We\u2019ve had this conversation before, right? I think you were kinda making trap music in a sense. Your flow was faster and with this you\u2019re going back to that darker, <em>Finesse the World<\/em> style. Why did you decide to do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIt was time. Sometimes it\u2019s just the right time. the right time for things. That\u2019s why the opening bars of the entire project is me saying, \u201cN\u2014as selling drugs, this the soundtrack\/ Why these n\u2014as acting like I couldn\u2019t bring the sound back.\u201d It never left. I always was making that music, but I remember what was happening at that time. This music wasn\u2019t that celebrated when I was putting it out. I remember that. Y\u2019all don\u2019t remember that because y\u2019all going off the nostalgic factor, and I understand that because that\u2019s what fans do. I\u2019m a fan of music too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tNostalgia is always gonna hit. But I do remember the actual time of putting out <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em> and putting out <em>Finesse the World<\/em>, and it was celebrated by my community, and people did praise it and s\u2014t like that. How they bigging it up today? They wasn\u2019t doing all that. The energy didn\u2019t feel that way at the time. There\u2019s something that a great producer friend of mine said to me years ago. He said, \u201cHip-hop is like a revolving door, but there\u2019s always new s\u2014t that\u2019s gonna come out. There\u2019s always gonna be new styles, new fads, new sounds, but it always circles back to this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>To the real s\u2014t?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tExactly. He said it always circles back to this. Right now, it\u2019s like\u2026 I don\u2019t want to give the gameplan up too much, but it\u2019s a lane that\u2019s not being touched. It\u2019s not too many people running in this lane. It felt like it was ahead of its time. Somebody just told me that listening to it don\u2019t sound no different. You could run <em>Finesse the World<\/em> and <em>FTW 2<\/em> right into the other. Like a double-disc [project]. Same energy. A lot of times, when you get sequels, they don\u2019t really give you that vibe. Movies, projects, anything.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>I feel like you left it a little too early \u2014\u00a0and you feel the same way, because we wouldn\u2019t be having a conversation otherwise.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tLike I said, I don\u2019t feel like it was as celebrated as it is right now, on both ends. The business end and the public. At the end of the day, we doing business, right? We gotta make this s\u2014t make sense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>You said \u201ca lot of muthaf\u2014kas can\u2019t capture that energy.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYeah, that sound. When I hit producers, they know what I want. Send me that evil s\u2014t, that dark s\u2014t. That\u2019s the tone. That\u2019s what I\u2019m asking for. What makes you gravitate towards that that type of sound. Life. That\u2019s how s\u2014t happens for me, you feel me? I\u2019m telling my story. I can\u2019t tell nobody else\u2019s story other than my own.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>What did you grow up listening to, though? Because then, you could kinda hear some early Scarface and Three 6 Mafia influence.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI did grow up listening to a lot of Koopsta Knicca. He was part of early Three 6 Mafia. That\u2019s interesting. <em>Devil\u2019s Playground<\/em>, that was my s\u2014t. A lot of Eminem. <em>Slim Shady LP<\/em>, <em>Marshall Mathers LP<\/em>, heavy Stack Bundles, Hov, <em>Reasonable Doubt<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>I listen to that all the time, after I went to see him perform it live, I feel like it doesn\u2019t get enough credit for how atmospheric it sounds. He created a world, or like brought the listener into his.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAnd that\u2019s probably why I do what I do. I like to create a world. When I think about making a project, I think about creating a world that you can step into. You gotta be in the mood to listen to <em>FTW 2<\/em>. It\u2019s not casual music. It\u2019s energy. When I put on [Mobb Deep\u2019s] <em>Infamous<\/em>, I\u2019m stepping into a world. When that first knock goes off on \u201cEye for an Eye,\u201d it\u2019s like you stepping into the projects, it\u2019s like you\u2019re walking out of a project elevator and into the f\u2014kin\u2019 courtyard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>Can fans expect you to go back to this style for a little? You gonna stay in this zone for for the next couple projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI mean, I like this pocket. I always loved this pocket. I was never afraid of this pocket, you know what I\u2019m saying? We have <em>Finesse the World<\/em>, we got <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em>, we got <em>After the Verdict<\/em>, so it\u2019s always been a thing that we\u2019ve done. Right now, I love that it\u2019s being celebrated to the degree that it is. I\u2019ma stick around and see how it unfolds. We\u2019re definitely having a good time in this pocket because, like you said, it has a darker undertone and it\u2019s not really identical to anything else that\u2019s really out. And that\u2019s just me being myself. I\u2019m not outwardly trying to do that, that\u2019s just how it comes across. I\u2019m heavy on artistic integrity, on being yourself. I don\u2019t make it for the purpose of any type of particular praise from any particular community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>Were you planning on making a sequel to <em>Finesse the World<\/em>, or did it end up being that way based on the tone the music were making?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYeah, [the latter] for sure. Once I got like six, seven songs in, the general consensus was that the music was sounding like <em>Finesse the World<\/em>. So once that idea got sparked, then the direction was set.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>On \u201cHOW ITS GOING (1\/2 OF IT),\u201d you allude to the hiatus you took. Can you talk about why you decided to take a four-year break?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI had a little legal situation that happened one of those years, like a little eight-month hiatus, but for the rest of that time, there were a combination of things. Dealing with regular life s\u2014t. None of us can avoid the regular human aspect of this s\u2014t. That exceeds music and being an artist and being whoever people think I am to them. I got my own s\u2014t, my own people, my own life, and all the other things that\u2019s important to me outside of this, so I spend a lot of time dealing with that. I was also enjoying the fruits of my labor. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>You were finally able to have fun with that \u201cLemon\u201d money that you got from Pharrell?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t[<em>Laughs<\/em>.] I probably had been ran through that s\u2014t at that point. Shout out Pharrell and Rihanna. It was a couple bands. It was some dollars.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>You were kind of making up for lost time, because you had got locked up.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI think subconsciously, yes. That\u2019s not what I said I was doing. But subconsciously? Probably. Word, because you said you got off house arrest, so you wanted to enjoy your freedom, I guess you know? I was in Hawaii. I was in Miami. I was in New York. I was in Cali. I was all these places Were you making music during this time? I was making music. I just wasn\u2019t really I wasn\u2019t putting music out. I got that whole time documented. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tShout out my boy Zai Visuals again, he was running around with me that whole time. He was with us down Miami on the yacht with the h\u2013s. I was in Hawaii on vacation with my little vibe and I got Zai a room down the hallway. F\u2014k it, we all on vacation. Life is a flip. As artists, how we live outside of being in the studio and the music that we\u2019re putting out is also interesting to people. So, I did make the effort to document that time. I ain\u2019t put it all out yet, but I do got it. So, that time gap right there? I do have a lot of what we was doing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>When were you recording <em>Finesse the World 2<\/em>? Are some of those songs from that time period?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThat\u2019s all recent. I got all the music from that time period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>You said that you decided to go with <em>Finesse the World 2<\/em> after you made a couple songs, but did you start recording with a new project in mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI just started recording. I was in L.A. with my boy G LOK and he was playing me a bunch of s\u2014t that he had, and he\u2019s been leaning towards trying to make s\u2014t in that pocket and get back to that sound. So, we were together a lot and he\u2019s somebody who I really hold near and dear to my heart, dear to this s\u2014t. I appreciate and respect bro opinion on musical s\u2014t, so he\u2019s really heavy on the fine art aspect of what we do here and holding it in that type of regard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tNot that he opened my eyes to seeing a bigger picture of what we\u2019re doing here, and what this means to the culture, but he did aid in that. He helped push back into that direction. He was just saying that this s\u2014t was like fine art. He was just stressing the importance of what this means on a bigger scale. We believe in cultural impact. So, for <em>Finesse the World<\/em> and <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em>, and all those projects to be held in such high regard, I wanted to do something to honor that and to pay tribute to that. At this day and age, and at this stage? That\u2019s fine art at its finest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThat\u2019s the artistic integrity part and the cultural impact part that I speak on as far as being able to put together something that can bring you back to that space after 11 years. I feel like that\u2019s kind of special, and I\u2019m not saying that being biased because it\u2019s me. I would say that for any artist just me being a fan of the art. I think that\u2019s special to be able to captivate a sound, and encapsulate a time by bringing people back to a time through sonics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>I feel like the projects that people f\u2014k with the most out of your catalog are <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em>, <em>Finesse the World<\/em>, <em>Lean &amp; Neck<\/em>, and <em>After the Verdict<\/em>, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYeah, they love those projects. Those projects are held in different regard from the other ones.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>It\u2019s not like you put out garbage in between those projects \u2014\u00a0and I get where you were trying to go with some of that stuff, and I go back to a couple songs on stuff like <em>Still Up<\/em> and <em>Gone Til\u2019 Autumn<\/em>, but I always preferred this type of rap from you. I say that to say that I remember you would sometimes get upset when people would bring up making another <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em> or whatever. Maybe \u201cupset\u201d is the wrong word, but essentially it\u2019s basically people trying to tell you what to do with your art.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI wasn\u2019t really getting upset. I think that was mistaken. I was defensive about the art that I felt was being disregarded or overlooked. You comparing me to me, which is okay. I\u2019m saying those projects still exist, and they\u2019re disregarding them. I liked that music. But I understood what happened. <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em> was the thing that kind of brought me into a bigger limelight. That\u2019s what they identify me with.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>I don\u2019t want to speak for you, but was it tough putting out something that\u2019s considered a classic out the gate?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThey gotta understand the timeline. I dropped that when I was 19 years old. I had just got out of high school when I dropped that project. I had dropped two previous projects when I was in school. I had like local buzz already. When I graduated high school, I was already in the mix around artists and s\u2014t, which kinda grew gradually. So, what I was doing as a hobby started catching like real traction in the world. I was just chillin\u2019, makin\u2019 music, vibin\u2019, and just started catch traction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThen I started being around real artists who were actually making a living off this s\u2014t, and it kinda spiraled into that. The projects I put out prior to <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em> sounded like the music on <em>Richer Than the Opps<\/em>, <em>Still Up<\/em>, all that type of stuff. So, the people who really know, they know that wasn\u2019t me doing something different. That was me doing what I always was doing. <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em> was something different. That\u2019s what n\u2014as didn\u2019t realize.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tSee, now what happened at that time \u2014\u00a0if motherf\u2014kas really want to know and make it make sense \u2014 what makes <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em> something different was because this is when I started hanging out with Action Bronson and Alchemist and Roc Marci and Harry Fraud and Meyhem Lauren and Smoke DZA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>That makes sense, because you could tell by some of the rhymes and the subject matter.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAction was on the album and I did have a song with Meyhem Lauren and Smoke DZA hat I didn\u2019t end up putting on there. I don\u2019t know why I didn\u2019t use that song, but those my n\u2014as. But yeah, at that time I was around that group of individuals, and that was the music that we was making within our our friend group. We was just on that sound. I got hooked up with Thelonious through my man Suli from Chicago. I was in tune with Suli in L.A., we knew a lot of the same people. Then me and Thelonious started cooking up. We had a couple joints and it started sounding like something was coming together and ended up making history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>You came out the gate with something that people consider a classic. Have you ever felt any pressure trying to recreate that? \u201cIf you want <em>Polo Sporting Goods<\/em>, then listen to it\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI always knew that I had the power to do that. Your sound got darker after that when you dropped <em>Finesse the World<\/em> as the follow-up. Oh, s\u2014t, man. If anybody\u2019s ever been 19 and then never grew up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>[<em>Laughs<\/em>.] You want to evolve too, right? And make different music.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIf you listen to my music, it\u2019s all lifestyle music. Life evolved. So, as life evolved, the music evolved. A lot of things that happened changed me as a person. Legal issues, people passing away prematurely through gun violence or whatever other. Unfortunate circumstances. You name it. Losing friends. The growing pains of life growing up in the hood. Those things change you in different ways. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tSome people go through certain adversities and they could become bitter or broken. And some people use that s\u2014t as fuel and energy, as fire to push and persevere to get to where they want to go to. I chose the latter. We all gonna go through s\u2014t. Nobody can avoid that aspect of life. You\u2019re gonna face some sort of adversity somewhere.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>And that\u2019s reflected in the music.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tExactly. That\u2019s why I make what I make because somebody out there gonna relate. Your tribe gonna find you. I don\u2019t put too much emphasis on public opinion and what the people say, but I do like to see what the people are saying because public dialog is one of the best sources of original information that you\u2019ll get nowadays with AI and all these different things. This is why social media platforms stress original content creators because with all this new digital s\u2014t and all this AI s\u2014t, that\u2019s the one thing that AI can\u2019t replicate. AI can\u2019t make original, funny, brand new content.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>A video of you just f\u2014king around got you on a Pharrell and Rihanna song.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBeing myself on social media. That had nothing to do with music, and it still came back to some music s\u2014t. I got musical accolades for it when I didn\u2019t really do anything musical on my part.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>Having some personality can go a long way for artists in general, just not rappers. You can make great music if they don\u2019t have a personality. So, is it safe to say that you\u2019re gonna be more consistent? Would you consider this the start of a new era?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThis is what I\u2019m here for. This is my contribution to history. I didn\u2019t see it from that perspective before. I have a totally new perspective on this whole thing. Like I said, life changes you. How you was thinking at 18 wasn\u2019t the how you was thinking when you got to 25.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>What\u2019s the feedback been like for <em>FTW 2<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThey f\u2014king with it, man. The streets going crazy, man. I don\u2019t know if you seen it. We got street billboards. Shout out to Anna City, man. One of the lit graffiti artists in the city and s\u2014t. She did a fire little piece for n\u2014as on Delancey and Attorney St. right there in the Lower East Side.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>What\u2019s next now after this?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWe got a bunch of videos still to come. We still gonna keep rolling this out. Yeah, we gonna keep rolling this s\u2014t out. After public feedback, we\u2019re going to make videos for some of their favorite songs. We got \u201cDAYSHIFT\/NIGHTSHIFT\u201d with $ha Hef &amp; V Don, \u201cHOOD NEWS,\u201d P on the Boards produced that one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>Yeah, I like that one too.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe bros love that one right there. \u201cHOW ITS GOING (1\/2 OF IT).\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>So, you\u2019re probably gonna do a video for every song, essentially.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tS\u2014t, the way things are looking. I feel like I gotta do something for at least two of those three.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"><strong>So, are you gonna be more active on social media when it comes to posting videos and tweeting like you used to?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tCommunity is very important in this business, man. The people that you got around you is very important. They give me a lot of good advice and they they steer me in a good direction with a lot of s\u2014t. Part of that is playing off the the strengths. I stopped being stingy with myself. I\u2019ve been posting more., being a little bit more social. It\u2019s not that I hate to do that s\u2014t, I just don\u2019t care to. It feels like a job after a while. You know what I\u2019m saying? But, also to, it doesn\u2019t hurt me and it be funny. I be laughing. We love humor. We love a good joke. It is cool to share that aspect of your personality with the people.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/2HpFicp.png\" alt=\"Billboard VIP Pass\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/rb-hip-hop\/retch-ftw-2-interview-1236309590\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/retch-2026-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024&#8243;] Trending on Billboard Last month, RetcH dropped his first album in four years since 2022\u2019s Administrative Segregation. During the hiatus, the New Jersey rapper was both dealing with lingering legal issues, while also enjoying the fruits of his labor. Explore Billboard See latest videos, charts and news \u201cWhen I really think about [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2093476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2093476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2093476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2093476\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2093476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2093476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2093476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}