It’s been quite some time since we’ve all last heard from MMG’s Rockie Fresh. As a fan of his previous projects I’ve become wary that Fresh may have become an Maybach Music Group plant. Alas, a new trailer descends upon the internet and hope thrusts through my being. Before hitting everyone over the head with his debut album in early 2016, we’ll receive The Night I Went To… as an appetizer.
During an interview with Billboard, the Driving 88 rapper share features from the album — Ed Sheeran, Chris Brown, and Rick Ross — and shed some light as to why he’s been in the dark.
You’ve kept a low profile in the past year or so. What hasn’t Twitter or Instagram told fans about your mini-hiatus?
My team and I have a “no cell phone” policy when music is being made so there aren’t a lot of videos or pictures that reach the public of me being in the studio. I’m also a very low-key person. My goal is not “be famous on social media” but moreso, to just make quality music. During the past two years, I never took a break from recording. I only wanted to focus on becoming a better artist and also becoming a better family man. The time was also taken by choice. It’s a fun process and I can personally feel the growth. My debut album is also really close to being finished and this new project is to show fans what I’ve been up to. I’ve been spending a lot of time on the new music to make the album something special.
Driving 88 and The Birthday Tape were both solid efforts. How will this new project differ from an artistic standpoint?
Before, I was making every project so fast and with somewhat of a different view on life, and I’ve learned some major life lessons since my last release. I have been able to put a more mature mindset into this project as well as on my upcoming debut album.
Will the entire project be centered around a recent trip or a series of adventures you took this past year?
The [project] is inspired by recent personal adventures that I’ve taken, not just traveling physically but also mentally. I took my mind to the past many nights, from reflecting on my past as a failing student trying to get into the music business to my past relationships to also having to rearrange my circle and remove all of the negative energy in my life. The journey has really taught me about things that I want to obtain in the future.
In the past you’ve toured with the likes of Fall Out Boy and Good Charlotte. Can we expect genre-hopping collaborations on your next project?
You can always expect genre hopping on my projects. I love working with artists in different genres and also experimenting with different types of music even when I’m creating a song on my own. On the project, I have a song with a good friend of mine, Ed Sheeran. Ed inspires me a lot and his work ethic is unmatched. Working with him in the studio was just such a great experience and was very easy. We’re both the same age and I relate to him in so many ways. The music we made is very natural.
