The wait is over. Action Bronson’s new Party Supplies–produced Blue Chips mixtape dropped today, and you can stream it exclusively on the Complex Music Channel. We caught up with Peter Luger Jr. to get the scoop on his creative process, see what else he’s got cooking in the kitchen, and speak on a few burning issues.
Interview by Ernest Baker (@newbornrodeo)
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Do you still smoke from the Volcano like you did on that Terry Richardson shoot?
I’m done with the Volcano. I gave it up after a week. It wasn’t for me. I don’t like smoking out of a fucking turkey baster. That shit’s for turkey. It’s cool, at first. It’s novelty and all that, but fuck that. Give me a joint, man. I used to be a blunt man, but I’m a joint man now.
Why did you make the switch?
My lungs, man. It’s bad, smoking 10 to 15 dutches. It’s like raw-dog, man. I woke up, coughing up brown shit. I just didn’t want that anymore. I’d be short of breath, and I’d always get sick. It’s terrible.
Are you trying to be more healthy, in general?
I’d like to say yes, but I eat crazy, still. I’m trying. I’m trying to get back into the shape that I was once in.
Do you still have dreams of opening a restaurant? Do you think you’ll do that one day?
I would definitely like to do that one day, but at this point it’s just too much work to do. The restaurant business is something that you have to treat like a baby. You have to constantly be there. You can’t trust it to anybody else, because no one’s going to love it like you do. It could easily be a fucking money pit. I’ve seen that happen a lot of times.
I don’t have any pressure when I make records. I just do what I feel at the time. With [Party Supplies], I work off the cuff. He would make the beat right there, and I would make the rap right there.
Are you concerned that your “Hookers At The Point” video doesn't have more views at the moment?
Not necessarily. I’m used to a certain amount of people checking my shit out—and maybe I’m an asshole for feeling that way—but I’m used to 100 to 200 in two days, or something like that. But I think the YouTube count is wrong [Laughs]. I’m just going to roll with that.
The problem with that is, when someone looks at that, and they’re judging you by views, it looks a little funny. These days, you’re judged by fucking views. I’ve got the Twitter followers popping, though, for a fucking independent artist. This shit doesn’t matter to me, though. Fuck a view. Fuck a follower. If you like my shit, that’s it. I don’t give a fuck if you follow or view or whatever it is, as long as you know you like it, and you’re fucking with it.
In the description of “Hookers At The Point,” you talked about how it was ill to be able to make something with Party Supplies without the pressure of having a hit. What can you say about your recording process with Party Supplies and how you guys put these songs together?
I don’t ever have the pressure of making a hit, because I’ve never had a hit song, per se. The closest thing to a hit song was “Shiraz,” and it’s not your prototypical hit song, with a catchy hook and all this other stuff. I don’t have any pressure when I make records. I just do what I feel at the time.
With him, I work off the cuff. He would make the beat right there, and I would make the rap right there. With other producers, sometimes they’ll give me the beat, and I’ll write it at home. I’ve tried to stop doing that.
With Alchemist, as well, I went to his house, and we banged out 14 or 15 records in seven days. I’ve started getting acclimated to writing on the road and on the spot. I just let whatever I feel at the time come out, instead of really sitting there and taking days to write just one song.
Do you feel that it’s coming out better, doing it that way?
Yes and no. I’m a big critic of all my work, but I think that all the songs I did with Party Supplies are amazing mixtape songs. It’s a great mixtape. It’s not an album. There’s samples from all over the place, and I wasn’t in the same mindset as I would be if I was writing an album.
I’m proud of everything that I do. I don’t do shit that I don’t like. I don’t put shit out that I don’t like, because if I don’t like it... Sometimes, you know people are going to like shit that you don’t like, but if I don’t like it, it’s not coming out. Because at the end of the day, I make the decisions in my career and in my life.
It’s important to have control of your brand. You’re getting more notoriety. Is it a struggle to still be who you want to be and do everything the way you want to do it?
Sometimes it’s a struggle, but I’ll tell you this; no one’s going to change me and what I think. I’m a fucking stubborn piece of shit. I’m a piece of work, man. I will do what I want, at all times, always. Nobody’s going to persuade me one way or another. I can’t be persuaded. I take criticism, I listen, I analyze, but at the end of the day, I make the decisions. Because that’s the way I started, and that’s the way I’m going to finish.
If I leave it up to someone else, and they fuck up, then I’m going to be tight at them. I’d rather just be tight at myself if it’s fuck up and work harder. So, at this point, no. No one’s going to sway me.
Of course, Dante will tell me, “You need to try and make a more radio-conducive song.” But that’s just him being a manager. That’s not anything wrong. It’s just him doing what he knows will work. Me—being naive and wet-behind-the-ears—I feel like I can fucking change the world.
It’s been proven that you don’t need to be on the radio. It’s not me that’s going to break this rule, because it’s been proven already. You don’t need to be on the radio to make a decent living, or an amazing living, in this game. They’re special cases, but I feel like I could be that special case.
You seem like the type of dude to be like, “Man, we might not even need to be on the radio anymore.”
It’s been proven that you don’t need to be on the radio. It’s not me that’s going to break this rule, because it’s been proven already. You don’t need to be on the radio to make a decent living, or an amazing living, in this game. They’re special cases, but I feel like I could be that special case.
If you come out with a radio joint, it’s going to be because that’s how it came out. It’s not going to be because I crafted it for that. It’ll be because people genuinely feel it and are fucking with it.
It’s not going to be because I was in the studio with a fucking vocal coach, and people were giving me melodies and harmonizing. It’s not going to be that way, unless I want it that way. I’m not saying that’s not going to happen, but more than likely it’s not going to happen.
There’s been talk about the album with Alchemist, Rare Chandeliers, the album with Harry Fraud, and the album with Tommy Mas. Are all of those happening this year?
I don’t know if all of them can happen this year. I might have to hold one down. The Alchemist project is definitely coming out, and I’d like for the Harry Fraud to come out, because that’s going to change a lot of people’s perspective, who say, “Oh, he doesn’t rhyme over this or that.” or “Oh, he doesn’t have hooks.”
Also, I don’t necessarily want to ride a wave. I was fucking with Harry when he wasn’t popping, and I’m not a coattai-rider. So I’ll let the music speak for itself. I’m fucking proud of that project, because I did something that people are usually scared to do. Coming from my background of straight-up Queens rap, I feel like I definitely came through, on that one.
The Alchemist project is fucking incredible to me, but everything is totally different. Then, with the Tommy Mas album, we’ve got two or three songs left to record, and that shit is like another masterpiece, in my mind.
Everything I do, I feel very confident about. It’s not cocky or anything like that. I’m not arrogant. That’s the furthest thing from what anybody would ever tell you that I am. I’m just very confident, and I believe in myself. I’m self-motivated, man.
Is “Bird On A Wire” going to be on Saab Stories?
Yes. That’s going to be on the Harry Fraud album. It’s going to be on Saab Stories. It kind of just happened out of nowhere. I’m a fan of Riff Raff. He’s hilarious. Before, a lot of people didn’t take him serious as a rapper, but he can definitely rap. There’s no doubt in my mind. That’s why I put him on there, because I knew that he would fucking kill it. I knew it. All he had to do was just write some shit, and he murdered it.
I think people take themselves too seriously. I like to smile. I like to laugh. I don’t like to be in a bad mood. I’m not in a bad mood. I don’t have the types of issues that I’m worried about. I have real-life issues, of course, but I keep them at bay. It’s not about that.
People approach being lyrical in different ways. How would you rep for Riff Raff? If you had to say, “This guy still goes off,” what’s your argument behind that?
First off, the flow is different. You don’t hear anyone like that. He has a crazy voice. His flow is crazy. He has that Houston shit, but he does it in a funny manner.
It’s just his whole mind frame. He thinks very crazy, and he says extremely ridiculous things, and I appreciate it all. I appreciate that type of shit. I like to laugh when I hear raps sometimes.
He’s stupid nice, but that motherfucker makes you laugh. Like, Cam has been one of my favorites, since the Children Of The Corn days. Even back then, you’re not going to tell me he wasn’t stupid lyrical and funny. Big L had the Beavis and Butthead line, and it’s such an ill rhyme, but it makes you crack up. I think people take themselves too seriously. I like to smile. I like to laugh.
I don’t like to be in a bad mood. I’m not in a bad mood. I don’t have the types of issues that I’m worried about. I have real-life issues, of course, but I keep them at bay. It’s not about that. It’s about laughing and having a good time with life. You don’t want to take yourself too seriously. You’ll wind up in the grave early.
Everyone brought your name up for the XXL list, and a lot of people have spoken up for you. What do you have to say about that?
Well, I haven’t actually commented on this anywhere. I’ve got to be honest with you—at the end of the day, bro, what does that mean? Tell me what the cover means. It means more show money. It means that you’re going to be able to charge people more, because you’re on the fucking cover.
The only people that I’ve actually listened to on that entire list are Frenchie and Danny. I haven’t listened to anybody else. I’m not going to comment on anybody else, because I don’t know about them. If they felt that was the list, then that’s the fucking list, man. Real people know what it is. They said my name enough, to the point where I don’t even have to be on the list.
It was like I was on the motherfucker. People try and hype that shit up, like it really matters, or it means something. It really doesn’t. It was a day on Twitter, and that’s it. That’s really it, man. Of course, it would have been nice to be on the cover of any magazine: motherfucking Tiger Beat, whatever. So I was a little disappointed, in that sense. But I never thought I’d be fucking laughing about where I am, right now. So believe me, I’m fucking ecstatic about what I’m doing.
The only people that I’ve actually listened to on that entire [XXL Freshmen] list are Frenchie and Danny. I haven’t listened to anybody else. I’m not going to comment on anybody else, because I don’t know about them.
What do you have to say about the Shady showcase? That’s a huge look.
I’m going to tell you right now about how it came about. My man Dro, who works for Shady, has been in my career since the beginning, since I started taking it seriously two-and-a-half to three years ago. He has my first-ever mixtape. There’s like seven or eight songs on it. He’s the only person that has that.
He was playing it in the office, and Paul Rosenberg became a fan. Now, me and Paul are cool. That doesn’t mean that they’re going to work with me, but they show me love far beyond that “they need you, because of the position they’re in” shit.
I just appreciate everything, because coming from Queens, I’m going to open up for 50 Cent. This is all major shit. These are the types of opportunities that arise, when you’re talented and people recognize it. So I’m fucking happy, man. I’m happy about the Fader Fort. I’m happy about everything that I’m doing. Nice Kicks, I’m happy about everything.
