In this new age of forging your own path and making your money independently, Stevie Stone’s “Boss Shit” is more relevant than ever. The banger from Malta Bend hits on a theme that has been very prominent in recent years due to an increasing number of artists and entrepreneurs who have realized the fulfillment of taking matters into your own hands.

We talked to Stevie Stone about what is quickly emerging as one of the highlights of Malta Bend, and got his perspective on the song’s creation, topic and unorthodox execution.

Who produced “Boss Shit”?

A producer named RCM2. I actually learned about RCM2 from my dude King Harris out there in California. King Harris is family and everything. He knew I was working on a project. As a matter of fact I have King Harris on the album too. Me, him and Glasses got one. Anyway he knew I was working on a project and he had this hot producer named RCM that he’s been working with. He sent me the beat and…psssh…”Boss Shit”.

It’s a very original instrumental. What attracted you to that production?

The pulse! The pulse (imitates beat). The pulse! The tempo! It was something different. It was strong, it was big, and it matched the tone that I was going for for that chamber. I always say when you do an album that you got a gun. This is my gun. That was one of the bullets in the chamber that I needed to get in.

The title is pretty self-explanatory, but what were you getting off on this song?

Oh just talking shit, you know? When you’re doing certain things and making certain moves and you’re thinking at a certain perspective, that’s what “Boss Shit” is.

Did you always look at yourself like that or do you think that this is something you elevated yourself to overtime?

You always gotta elevate. You don’t wake up and you’re a boss.

You work yourself there.

You work yourself towards being a boss. You have to have employees to be a boss. You have to pay people. It’s even more than that though. It’s a frame of mind. It’s what I was talking about in this record. All of those things, of course, is a boss. It’s a type of frame of mind that you have to have. It really can’t be explained. You either have it or you don’t, you feel me?

You always seem like a guy that believes that destiny is yours to create.

Definitely. It coincides with all of that.

You got Kevin Gates on the track. He’s really hot right now and he did his thing on the track. How did you link up with him for this track?

I was actually recording the record in Strangeland. It was actually the record that I was going to try and get him on and Travis O’Guin just ends up walking him into the studio and showing him the studio. I got to meet him, I finished the record probably about an hour later and called Travis up and let him know my thoughts. Travis and B. Rich came over and listened to it, they said “Send it through.” We sent it through. Here we go!

What do you like about Kevin Gates as an artist?

He’s authentic. He’s who he is all the way up and down. He’s talented. He’s a hell of an artist. He’s just authentic – that’s what I love about him. When I listen to his music I believe him. That’s important to me.

I knew he was going to do exactly what he did on that. That frame of mind isn’t something that can be explained. You know when someone has that frame of mind. It’s contagious. That’s my frame of mind and I know he’s got that frame of mind because I hear what he’s talking about, so I knew he’d be perfect for that record.

Your verse structures and the lengths of your verses are very unorthodox.

Yes!

Does a beat tell you to do that or is that a conscious decision? Do you ever say to yourself “I hope I can do a record where I can play with the length structure,” or is just something that you feel when you hear something?

The beat always guides me. That’s what it did. When I got the joint it was like 8 bars, little bitty part that could be a hook, 4 bars, little bitty part that could be a hook.

Instead of getting in there and dissecting like “No, it’s supposed to go like this and like this!” We letting them music ride. We’re letting the music take us. Even Ben was like “This is a little weird!” and I was like “It’s all good! This is hip hop!” We against the grain. There ain’t no correct formula to this shit that we do, so we’re going to let this do what it do. So…8 bars, 4 bar hook. I came back and did 4…4 bar hook. He came and did 8. 4 bar hook. I come back and do another 4. Wherever it takes us, we’re just going to go with it. On that beat I was like “Don’t change anything on this. Give it to me just like that.” Because it was a feel. If I would’ve went and did 16s or 12s and went back to a hook with 12s, it wouldn’t be like it is right now.

Nothing ever felt off, it felt right.

But yet it was against the grain in how songs are usually formatted.

When you were learning music growing up, were you ever schooled or did you come from the school of feeling the music?

That’s the school I’m in. What’s crazy about that is when I talk to people who come from the formal school of music. Certain things, certain languages and certain things that they do, I was never taught, but I know it. When they’re talking about it and they’re discussing it, I know about it. I never learned it, but it’s something that’s already instilled within. Now they’re helping me identify that I even know this, you dig what I’m saying?

That’s one thing about music, music is an energy. It’s a beautiful thing. You can send music to a person and it’ll give them goosebumps. It can make someone cry. It can make someone happy. Music is an energy. I let the energy take me, you feel me? I let it maneuver me and take control of everything and allow it to write itself, allow it to go itself. Don’t force no issues, you know what I’m saying?

You’ll never see me listening to a beat for 3 or 4 hours. I can’t do that. If I’m not feeling it and it ain’t coming out then we’re going to go to the next joint. Boom, boom. We’ll come back and it’s going to come. I might sit there and play it for 20, 30 minutes, but if I ain’t got nothing then we’re going to go to the next joint. It’s allowing the music to guide you.

• What do you think of “Boss Shit”?
• What do you think of the production and Kevin Gates’ verse?

Let us know in the comments section below.

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