YouTuber and No Jumper podcast host Adam ‘Adam22’ Grandmaison has revealed one of the hardest parts of interviewing rappers, during a conversation with Chicago hip-hop artist G Herbo.
Adam22 has become one of the go-to people for insights into the rap scene, starting out by interviewing underground rappers from SoundCloud before his (and their) growth saw him move to the forefront of the scene, and now one of the biggest personalities in the game.
He is a skilled interviewer, and found a brilliant niche from which to build himself a career and lifestyle out of – but, he says, it’s not always easy to do.
Speaking about Herbo’s recent album PTSD, the two discuss the struggles of rappers who haven’t always been able to wear their heart on their sleeve and speak openly about their feelings and “most vulnerable states.”
This is something that Adam understands perfectly, having interviewed so many rappers, saying it’s “part of the problem” when talking to them.
He says: “A lot of dudes just grow up with the codes of the streets embedded in them, where the rules are: you don’t talk to people you don’t know, you don’t talk on the record, you definitely don’t talk on camera… There’s a lot of rappers who you will never hear open up about their girl because they don’t want to seem soft.”
Topic starts at 8:43 for mobile users.
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Though he references rappers not wanting to discuss their girlfriends, it’s clear the implication is much wider and that many rappers wouldn’t want to touch on subjects that G Herbo does in PTSD, based on his own mental health issues.
Herbo, in turn, explains that he’s confident enough in who he is to discuss it so openly, believing that he’s “not taking away from [his] masculinity by embracing these situations.”
The two later opened up about the loss of their friends over the years, including the likes of Juice WRLD, XXXTentacion and Pop Smoke, and the effects it has had on them over the years.