G Herbo responds to drill rap criticisms: "We really just talking about our life"

Throughout the three-hour-long conversation on “Drink Champs,” G Herbo kept it real about carving his lane into the rap game, the headline-worthy moments that he’s been a part of as of late, his musical inspirations and more.

The Chicago rapper emerged on the scene as a teenager in the early 2010s with songs like “Kill S**t” in tandem with his close affiliate Lil Bibby. Maintaining a sizable buzz, he continued to put his hometown on the map as he helped pioneer today’s explosive drill subgenre while separating himself from the pack with adept lyricism. From standout projects like 2014’s Welcome to Fazoland to 2017’s Humble Beast, G Herbo remained consistent with his craft.

Keeping his foot on the gas contributed to him reaching new heights in the following decade. In 2020, he released his first gold-selling album PTSD. The title track — which featured the late Juice WRLD, frequent collaborator Lil Uzi Vert and fellow Chi-town talent Chance the Rapper — went platinum that same year and became the first track in G Herbo’s catalog to reach that certification. From that moment, it became evident that he was able to move the needle in both underground and mainstream markets in a way that only a young legend could.

In a discussion with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, G Herbo talked about how he found a balance and has created what’s so far been a fruitful career. Check out the full episode here and the best takeaways below.

G Herbo and Southside were under much online scrutiny recently because of how they treated Funny Marco on his show “Open Thoughts.” The rapper cleared the air on what really went down during the episode’s taping. “First and foremost, that’s my man. We already had a relationship prior to doing the interview and s**t,” he said. “His production staff told us to troll him. It was supposed to be a surprise to come on there and troll him. We [weren’t] originally just on bulls**t with bro,” Herbo added, though he admitted that they “went a little extra, overboard.” The “Swervo” rapper then revealed that he spoke to Marco before the episode dropped, and confirmed that the two sides are on good terms.

In 2023, charges were filed against G Herbo for his involvement in a scheme that operated around stolen credit card information. Though he faced 25 years in prison, he was only sentenced to three years of probation. He explained the situation: “Gotta give all praise to God fo’ sho’. Staying along, staying the course. And a lot of money for sure. I spent a lot of money to stay free.” Herbo also addressed how the defense played the situation in court. “And at the end of the day, it was taking accountability for a minor role in some s**t and just me being a kid,” he said. “I barely even know how to use my cellphone. I ain’t never committed fraud against [anybody]. I was accepting full accountability for whatever my role was in the whole situation.”

G Herbo reflected on his beautiful hometown and the “wild, wild west” misconceptions that people have about Chicago. He admitted that the key to the Windy City’s beauty is being intentional about navigating the better parts of the environment. “When I’m in the city, I don’t really go to my old neighborhood. I be low-key downtown in all the beautiful parts. When [I] go down there, they got good shopping, good food. But you just gotta be in that realm of things,” he said. “You go out there, you really enjoy yourself. It’s little spots you could go kick it, chill. It’s places you could be with your kids and s**t. It’s super smooth.”

The rapper spoke about his first impressions of Juice WRLD and what it was like to work with the fallen talent. “When we first-ever met Juice [WRLD] and we used to just see his recording process alone, like how he used to get in the studio and make like six songs in a row — damn near, he done made 12-13 songs because for each song, he’s doing two to three covers with different patterns,” Herbo recalled. “It was weird working with him at first because he’s such a natural, rare talent… That was like when I was really still writing s**t on the phone and he used to go so quick, freestyle and that s**t was so hard.” He concluded, “I never seen [anybody] like that. And I done heard that s**t from, like, Pluto [Future], from [Young Thug]. [They are] really the GOATs of this s**t that done locked in with bro, and seeing his recording process and feeling like that’s some s**t that they ain’t ever seen before. His lil a** was different.”

As a dad to three kids, G Herbo opened up about what he learned from fatherhood. “What having a kid teaches you is: Your first and foremost, your main responsibility is you owe everything to them,” he said. “That just changed my whole way of thinking when I had children.” He then explained the source of happiness that his children provide. “I could be the most depressed ever, and then be in a room with my kids, and that sh** just literally go away… I feel like that’s the purest form of love,” he added.

Though they come from two different generations of Chicago lineage, G Herbo discussed how No I.D. was one of the first established acts to show love to him. “Big bro has always just been a mentor to me. I know if there’s anything I really need to get off of, if I ever need to come to him for any advice, it’s just a phone call. He always showed me love from the beginning, since day one,” he said about the veteran producer.

Through his relationship with No I.D., Herbo was introduced to Common, another OG who offered an early co-sign and even tried to help G Herbo secure a role on 2016’s Barbershop: The Next Cut back in the day. “He had me pull up to him and I went over my script with him for like two, three hours. Big bro always embraced me, even on rap s**t,” G Herbo said about their relationship.

Because they’ve always been intertwined with one another, Herbo was able to break down Lil Bibby’s inspiration and personal impact over the years. “Folks was smart — he knew how to structure hooks and I ain’t know how to do s**t but rap,” he voiced. “He was like the brains when it came to putting songs together. Like ‘Kill S**t,’ right now, still that’s our biggest song to this day. That was his idea. He picked the beat, he [was] the one [who] told me to go first on the s**t. I used to just rap for 32 bars straight. Bro always had the structure,” Herbo remembered. He then offered a few more tidbits on how they recorded the song at Lil Greg’s house and shot the music video at 5 a.m. on 78th St. and Kingston Avenue in Chicago.

As one of the credited originators of the sound, G Herbo shared his thoughts on the perception of drill music. DJ EFN brought up how some people are criticizing its violent nature and the influx of crime that surrounds the subgenre. “They can’t really put all that responsibility on artists, for one. And they can’t put all the responsibility on the category of drill,” Herbo said. “How we came up rapping, we didn’t try to categorize it as rap… We really just talking about our life and what we experiencing.”

Although he helped make the sound more popular, Herbo then expressed disapproval of being boxed into the subgenre. “When I used to do interviews, I never categorized or looked at myself like a drill rapper. I always felt like I was a rapper, like a Hip Hop artist. Because I rapped about soulful s**t. I never just only did drill beats. I told stories in my raps. I looked up to rappers: to Hov, to Lil Wayne, to Jadakiss. And if the beat spoke to me, I could rap on it,” he noted.

Regardless of being very different in terms of style, G Herbo gave some insight into his long-standing relationships with Future and Lil Uzi Vert. On the Atlanta rapper, he said, “He’s one of the real n**gas that really gave n**gas some guidance when it came to real life s**t… He’ll pull you to the side and tell you some s**t that you didn’t even think he was paying attention to. That’s what made me know that big bro was a real n**ga.” He also traced the origin point of his bond with Lil Uzi Vert. “Bro a real n**ga. Me and Uzi [have] a different relationship. Me and bro been locked in literally since the beginning,” he explained.

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