The Detroit native serves up his first solo project in three years after spending 17 months behind bars.
17 months is an eternity in the rap game. Legacies are defined, careers skyrocket while others fizzle, and fickle fans turn their attention to the next fresh wave of artists being championed by tastemakers and record labels.
42 Dugg was forced to sit down and watch from the sidelines when he spent 17 months (from May 2022 to October 2023) behind bars due to a 2019 illegal gun possession charge. The timeout temporarily quelled Dugg’s momentum, after he built a solid foundation with two years of industry buzz at the beginning of the decade.
Meanwhile, a new batch of Detroit rappers (led by Veeze, Skilla Baby and BabyTron) picked the baton up from Dugg and continued to put on for the city in his absence. It’s been three years since 42’s last solo project — two years since he touched the Billboard Hot 100 — and Dugg knows he’s got some making up to do.
“I’m missing out on money and songs,” he tells Billboard in disappointment when looking back at his prison bid. “You missing out on an era really. When I got out, it was a whole girl thang going on. It’s still going. Me and [Lil] Baby was talking and he was like, ‘A lot of people ain’t listening to music right now. There’s a lot of decline in the purchases of music.’”
Dugg continues: “Right now, I’m like, ‘What’s the thing we can do to get the most people back listening?’ I know if they listen, they gon’ like it.”
As an avid gambler, 42 Dugg’s crackly Midwestern flow and signature whistle — which he records unique to every track — is rolling the dice again with his 4eva Us Neva Them album, which landed on July 4 and features assists from his favorite rapper Jeezy, Meek Mill, Sexyy Red, Lil Baby and more.
There’s not much difference from the CMG/4PF rapper of a few years ago to today, but Dugg says he’s taking his craft more seriously and handling each move with careful consideration, which he didn’t in the past. Even through the chaos, Dugg is unbothered and letting the chips fall where they may. “I just live life, pray and try to see if I hit the Mega Million,” he calmly states, as if it’s scripture.
Check out the rest of our interview below, with 42 Dugg hitting on his Eminem fandom, gambling with James Harden, his issues with the BET Awards and more.
What was your mindset heading into this album?
I just wanted to show the people the growth of what type of headspace I’m in, and what I’ve been through and how far along I’ve come. I wanted it to reflect in my music and I feel like I put a good group of songs together. My beat selection was on point.
I heard you say in another interview that the beats aren’t hitting as much as they used. Expand on that.
Usually, your first three beats, you’ll find something. If not, we be going through beats for hours [now]. Even music — I feel like people are going in a different direction of what they’re rapping on. I wonder what happens if they run out of beats. If they run out of patterns.
Nothing is original then, so everything will be some sort of sample or interpolation.
Was there something you picked up while in jail that maybe sharpened your skillset?
I would just say I slowed down, as far as rapping. Even if I do a verse, I make sure I go back and fix a few lines. Before, I was like, “Let’s go!” Now I’m like, “Nah, this s–t gotta mean something.”
How do you define success for this album?
The streets, man! If one out of three cars playing it, you got it. I ain’t gon’ lie, I see a lot of albums doing good, but I don’t hear them. This the first place we been, but in Detroit every other car you hearing that s–t. You go in the club, they playing it. Everybody I see, “Congrats on the album, man.” I’m like, “Yeah, this b–ch going crazy.”
