My First Car: Rockie Fresh Talks Driving a Chevrolet Prizm and Why He Used the DeLorean To Cover His Mixtapes

"Driving 88" represents keeping his own pace in his music.

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For the second consecutive mixtape, MMG's new Chi signee Rockie Fresh put a DeLorean on the cover. You didn't think we'd let that go unnoticed, did you? When Rockie swooped through the Complex office, we grabbed him for a couple minutes to discuss both the inspiration for incorporating the iconic gull-winged time machine into his cover art and his video visuals, as well as what he was driving when he first picked up his license. Hint: It wasn't a famous movie car. Read what the kid had to say below. 

As told to Tony Markovich (@T_Marko)

What was your first ride? 
"My first car was this Chevy Prizm that my pops passed down to me. We hustled in that car. We definitely drove to a bunch of sessions and definitely played a bunch of mixtapes in that. We smoked it out, had some epic sessions in there, so, salute to the Prizm. I think it was a black ‘99. There’s actually a crazy story about it.

"I went to my brother’s house, before I was going to the beach one day. My niece was having her second birthday party, and my brother was having a little party for her. My sunroof was open on the car, and he ran up on the car with a water gun.  As we were getting ready to pull off, he started shooting us through the sunroof, but the problem was that he messed up some of the wires, so the sunroof got stuck. We had to pull it forward for a good five months. We were rolling around with black tape over the space. I definitely struggled with that thing, man."

What did you end up doing with the car?
"My parents still have it in the back, you know. I can always go look at it, when I need to be humble."

Have you purchased any cars?
"I’m looking into making a big move. We have the DeLorean back in the Chi, but that’s not even as hard as I plan to go with the whips. I’m planning to step it up. 

How did you decide on using that car for your videos and the cover of your 'tape?
"One day I was in L.A. and I knew that i wanted to put out another mixtape. I liked my other project, because it really gave people a futuristic vibe. I have always been a big fan of the movie Back to the Future. I was just watching it randomly, smoking out, and he was saying the DeLorean needs to get to 88 mph to get to the destination. It just popped out to me. My music has it’s own pace. My voice has a different tone, and that’s just my speed to get to where I want to go. I don’t have to switch it up too much.

"Basically, the DeLorean was perfect to give me that vibe, because it automatically makes people see Back to the Future. If I would have named the project Drivin’ 88 and didn’t have that DeLorean on there, people would have taken it as driving on I-88 in Chicago somewhere. I didn’t want that to be the vibe. The Delorean really helped me paint that picture and give the people that futuristic feel." 

Do you own that car?
"Yeah, I got one."

Was it hard to find one in good condition?
"The one we use in the video is actually my homie's, and he was the one that had one first. There is a dealership in Chicago, a factory, where they completely refurbish DeLoreans. Actually, for the movie screening that we did for the tape, I went there to shoot the opening scene, so people are going to be able to see this factory with tons of DeLoreans in it. They show me a lot of love up there. They holdin’ me down, always making sure things are fixed and ready."

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