In 2015, Fetty Wap swept the music industry like a vicious cyclone with his bevy of singles. “Trap Queen” “679,” and “My Way” hit the top 10 on the Hot 100 and earned the Patterson, NJ rapper high praise from pop heavyweights, including Drake, who hopped on the remix for “My Way”, and Taylor Swift, who brought Fetty Wap out during her 1989 Tour.
With a platinum LP on his resume, Fetty Wap is hungry for more plaques with his sophomore effort. His first single, “Like a Star”, is a Caribbean-infused record featuring Trinidad-bred rapper Nicki MInaj. “I was really beasting for her to get on the song,” Fetty Wap tells Billboard. “I ain’t really want nobody else on the song but her. I really didn’t make the song for myself. I just made the song to see if she liked the song, and have somebody else do the song with her. I ain’t really the reggae-sounding artist, so for me to jump in that lane, it was different for me.”
Even moreso than on his self-titled debut, Fetty Wap is taking chances this time around. Known for penning infectious songs for his female fanbase, Zoo Wap will continue to serve love notes, but with a more “lyrical” approach.
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“This is album is more like a love story album” he says. “That’s what people know me for. I make a lot of songs for females. A lot of stuff that I be going through, I just put it in my music. It’s gonna be some good songs and there’s gonna be some different songs. It’s all the Fetty Wap sound.”
In addition to Nicki Minaj, Fetty teamed up with Jhene Aiko on his new album to piece together his romantic tales. “I sent her a song and made it specifically for her to feature on,” he explains. When she heard the song, she was like, ‘The song is fire. It’s hot. We gon’ rock with it.’ She did it. She took her time on it. She did what she did and it’s fire. I’m just excited because it’s my first time working with big artists.”
Last July, Fetty also met his favorite rapper Gucci Mane. Floored by his idol’s presence (as seen on social media), he was speechless. These days, he’s hopeful that he and Guwop will work together in the studio sooner than later.
“I know a lot of people felt like I was going to be on his album and stuff, but he just came home,” said Fetty. “Me being the type of person that I am, everybody knows me. I really stay to myself a lot. I don’t really be in the mix like that. When I met him, it was like, I met him. After that, it’s hard to catch up to people when y’all both busy.
He continued, explaining that he and Gucci would collaborate when the time was right. “When that time come, we’re gonna get a good session in. We’ll probably knock that out in a day. I got a lot of songs and I know he got a lot of songs, so it ain’t nothing for me to throw a verse on something, or for him to throw a verse on something. We can do a whole mixtape or album in a day.”
With Fetty Wap’s star power still at an early peak, the 25-year-old says he fortunate to have his name uttered in the same breath as some of his contemporaries. “I’m just thankful. I’m thankful for every artist that be rocking with me,” he said.” I ain’t no hater. I be appreciative of that shit.”