PnB Rock and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Have a Joint Mixtape in the Works

PnB Rock is quickly establishing himself as one of the newest faces of the Philly hip-hop scene. With a hit single “Selfish” blazing up the Billboard charts, this 25-year-old rapper, who also sings, is destined to make an impact in the music industry with his catchy tunes and crooning skills.

Born Rakim Hasheem Allen, PnB Rock broke onto the scene in 2014, with his debut mixtape, Real Nigga Bangaz. A year later, he came back stronger, signing a record deal with Atlantic Records, and releasing his buzzworthy mixtape RnB 3. Backed by standout tracks “Alone,” “No Time” and “Ballin,” PnB showcased why he’s carving a lane of his own with his highly addictive tunes.

Now, two years removed from the highly-acclaimed mixtape, the Atlantic Records signee has started 2017 with a bang, releasing his debut studio album, GTTM: Goin Thru the Motions, which features his biggest record to date, “Selfish.” Peaking at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, and receiving heavy airplay on hip-hop stations, it’s only a matter of time before PnB receives his first plaque in the early stages of his career.

PnB Rock stopped by the XXL offices in New York to not only play new music but to also speak in-depth about his GTTM: Goin Thru the Motions album, an upcoming mixtape with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and more.

XXL: Why did you decide to name the project GTTM: Goin Thru the Motions ?

PnB Rock: Around the time when I was working on the project I was really going through the motions, so that’s why I decided to name the project that way. I was going through a lot. I had just gotten signed. I was dealing with the newfound fame in my city. I lost my brother. I had a daughter. It was just about me dealing with all these different motions in life, you feel me?

Tell me about some of the producers featured on this project?

As far as producers, I’ve worked with a lot of different producers on this project. I worked with Scott Storch, Reefa. I got Needlz and Donut on there. I got Slade da Monsta on there. Shout out to him he’s been giving me plenty of heat. I also got Sonny Digital. Man, I just got a lot of good producers on there, so production-wise it has plenty of heat.

What guest features do you have on the album?

I got a lot of good features on there. I have this song with YFN Lucci called “There She Go,” I also have Quavo on there. I got my main guy A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on the project. I also got Ty Dolla $ign on there. We recreated this R. Kelly joint. I got Wiz Khalifa on there, so yeah, we cooking out here.

I notice on this project you take a more singing approach than ever before. Tell me the reasoning for that.

I pretty much started going more towards the singing route when I came out with the song “Selfish.” I came out with the song “Selfish,” I’m gonna say about six months ago and that’s the best reaction I got out of any songs I’ve put out. So I started to put my new sound towards that because it was creating such a buzz for me, and now the record is about to go gold. So the reaction to the record was big for me and I started doing more the R&B and, not per say, the traditional R&B, but I started singing more as far as rapping.

You have two records with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and it shows you guys have great chemistry. What’s it like to be in studio with him?

Every time me and A Boogie connect in the studio it’s just always good vibes. It’s like me being with one of my brothers or me being with one of my cousins or my family members. So we be just always vibing and we came up with these two records “Player No More,’ which was a hook that I had laying around and he heard it and we ended up finishing the joint. Then we ended up working on another song for my project called “Stand Back” and we did that joint just two days before my tape was about to come out.

Would you and A Boogie ever record a duo project?

Shout out to A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, that’s my bro. What I can tell you about me and A Boogie is that we’re working on a tape right now just because all of the people keep asking for it and we just be together so much so it was just like, Why not? you feel me? We just gonna be lit off that and probably go on tour to promote the project.

When can fans expect the mixtape between you and A Boogie?

Expect the tape to come fast. Like A Boogie gets off tour at the end of this month, but it’s nothing for me to fly out to L.A. and record with him at a studio out there, but it’s gonna drop within the next month or two, for sure.

You got a co-sign from R. Kelly for your song “Hanging Up My Jersey” with Ty Dolla $ign. Where were you when R. Kelly shouted you out and how do you feel about the major co-sign?

When I seen that R. Kelly had tweeted me I was in the studio and someone brought it to my attention like, “Yo, R. Kelly just tweeted you. He liked the song.” So I seen the tweet and he said, “Shout out to PNB Rock and TY for making a hit to my already hit” and he mentioned that he loved the song and reposted it and all that and even told his fans to go listen to the song. I was hype. I listed to R. Kelly growing up. That’s one of the people my mom used to bang while she was cleaning up in the crib. I probably know all of his songs. Shout out to R. Kelly for showing love. He’s definitely one of the greats.

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