Rapper and producer Brewski got his name for good reason. He was the party boy on Chicago’s South Side who used a fake ID to front the whole ‘hood with brews at age 14. Turns out he made some nice change on the side, too.
With that nutshell—and viral, agro hip-hop singles like Niykee Heato, Chauffeur and Craigslist—you might think you’ve got Brewski pegged.
But you don’t.
“My older stuff comes across like this guy who doesn’t care. When I wrote about a white girl with a really big butt, it was such an ignorant song that I was worried how people would take it,” says Brewski, who released his first music on YouTube at just 21, but has since signed with EDM and hip-hop labels worldwide.
What’s coming next is a natural evolution.
“I’ve always had a lot of energy and a really aggressive style being from the Chicago culture. I’m not afraid to say whatever I feel like saying—it’s confident in an arrogant sort of way,” he says. “It’s still top secret, but I want to put more emotion and feeling into my music now. My new stuff is darker—the real side of me.”
Brewski says getting famous with millions of streams and DJ play has been a boon for industry connections. But it has also led him back home, to a place that’s making him look at what really matters. The party is no longer prime time.
“LA is the craziest place. Imagine touring 15 days back-to-back, partying every day and getting into the studio—with everyone knowing your business. It was too much drama. I had to distance myself from the fake and shady people to focus on my craft,” he says. “I had to come back to where it all started. I gotta be around my mom, and with most of my friends here, we even don’t talk about music.”
Brewski is exploring his natural vocal talent, which he used in metal bands back in the high school days. He’s writing from life’s experiences—sometimes in crazy bursts of inspiration, other times stewing on a concept for weeks until it crystalizes.
“Rap bought me a condo and car,” says Brewski, who is living on the South Side to take a step back—and forward.
Today, rather than putting on his iconic mask to say, in his words, “What are you looking at? I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone,” he puts on pads as the captain of his hockey team.
It might sound tame, but we’re betting Brewski channels his signature energy in a way never heard before.
“I’ve lived the good life, but there’s a balance,” he says. “Do epic shit. You don’t have to live a normal life. But don’t be so afraid. It’s important to be you.”
