Young Nudy, On Damn-near Everything | The FADER

Tell me a little about where you grew up in East Atlanta. What was your upbringing like?

I always had a roof over my head, but we ain't have everything we needed. Some people get jobs, some people take other paths. It's up to you. It's a survival thing.

My mama always been in my life. I always respected her like my mama, but we more like brothers and sisters. I've always been a grandmama's boy; I love my grandma. When I was little, I used to always try to go over to my grandmama's house, but once I got older, I was gone in the street. I like being around her because I be good. I don't be thinking about shit. I just be nice all day. My grandma got a good heart, so I be feeling like that's probably where I get my good heart from — both of my grandmamas, really.

How old were you when you were more on your own, doing your own thing? And what made you decide to go out on your own?

Full blown It's over with, I'm on my own, about 14. School wasn't working. I couldn't get along with that shit. You know how some teachers look at you like you young, so they feel like they can raise they voice and boss up? I used to be the one that wouldn't let them do that to me. Plus, I already had street shit going on so it really was like, "Fuck that shit." I got kicked out of school, so it wasn't like I just dropped out. I ain't have no choice. I could've found some other shit to do, but I just looked at it like, "I'm out of here."

Was there a certain person in your life, maybe an old-head or something, that was willing to take time to teach you what you wanted to know?

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Yeah, one of my uncles, he gon’ teach a nigga some shit — the wrong with the right. Then I got one of my old head folk who I be fucking with. I met his ass when I was probably 19, when I was still wild as a motherfucker, he let me just like hang with him. My buddy had them [old heads] talking about, "Shawty be fucking with the music." I told them I really wasn't into it even into it. [My old head] was like, "I fuck with that shit, boy you fye," so he started trying to put money into that shit, like paying for studio time, like "Just do some shit." But I would never go in there. I used to be bucking on that shit. It was was like 2013, 2012. It was just on some Everybody was trying to rap. Damn near all of us got a song, just play-playin’.