Today Bay Area rap veteran Mistah F.A.B. is releasing a street album comprised of all original songs entitled I Found My Backpack. Headed up by the soulful, self-motivating single "Quest," the project sees the one-time hyphy talisman making music that reflects on a tumultuous period of his life, capped by his mother passing away just a month ago. Fueled by a recent vow to create music that emphasizes the positive and is relatable for the "regular person," we caught up with Fabby Davis Jr. to talk about maturing as an artist, reacting to negative fan feedback, and how to snag an invite to Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion.
Your birthday party is on this Wednesday, January 19th. (It's not! See above.) How old will you be?
You should never ask a man his age -- how rude, ha ha! Nah, I'm actually turning 28.
What can people expect at the party?
Coming out, you'll see a lot of smiling faces, a great aura, and get to feel that love. Ever since I was a kid I always threw big birthday parties -- the purpose is to just give people entertainment, let people come out and hang and chill.
Will there be any special guests?
I have Curren$y coming through. He's phenomenal on the Internet, he had a great year last year, and he's a very interesting guy. I like that guy, he's very talented. I think his music's dope. He'll be alongside the legend, the myth, Too $hort. Everyone's just gonna help me celebrate my birthday.
Are you hoping for any birthday presents?
I'm not into presents. My presents come in the form of the happiness of everyone else. If everyone else is having a good time, that's my happiness. I just want people to come out, have no problems, no stress, and have a good time. Enjoy the moment and live for it. Life is very short and we have to enjoy every moment. So my present will come in seeing the smiles on the faces of everyone who comes through that door.
What's the most lavish birthday party you've ever been to?
I might have to go with Hugh Hefner's birthday party at the Playboy Mansion. That might top it -- that was amazing. Actually, I think that was beyond amazing! That's a once in a lifetime experience. I had a wonderful time there.
How did you get the invite?
You know, through people that knows people that knows people that knows people... Just being in the right place at the right time.
You mentioned that Too $hort will be at your birthday party. Can you remember the first time you met him?
Yeah, I was a little kid, and growing up in the city of Oakland, he was like a walking legend. To be able to walk up to him and ask for an autograph -- I cherish that moment. When I met him, I told him that one day I was going to rap alongside him. Now, he's like a mentor to me, a musical father-like figure. He gives me a lot of in-depth detail about being able to maintain longevity. He's a very respected man in my eyes.
Do you still have Too $hort's autograph?
Yeah, buried somewhere among all of my stuff.
Where did you meet him that first time?
It was downtown -- my mother used to run a club. She ran a club when I was younger and I had no business being in there! But I was there and he came by. He was a very cool dude. To this day, he's the same cool, laid back guy. You wouldn't think he's as quiet as he actually is. He's a cool, calm guy. Once you hear his music you think he's rash and crazy outspoken, but really he's shy -- until he turns into Too $hort.
What was the club your mother ran?
All I'll say is it was a strip club!
I went with him, he's who got me there! You've made me give out my secret, man!
The day before your birthday party (today), you're releasing a new mixtape, I Found My Backpack. What can people expect of that?
Actually, it's a street album more than a mixtape, because it's all original compositions. It's a well put-together project. I like it a lot. Not being biased, but I think it's my best work to date, 'cause it explains a lot of things going through my life and that I've been dealing with. My mother died last month, which was a devastating blow to me, because that was my best friend. Being an only child and being the relationship me and my mother had, it's hard to talk about how close our relationship was and how close our friendship was. It was more than just a mother and son relationship. So in my music I get a chance to really vent and I can tell my secrets without having to tell someone directly. That's what my music is -- I hide behind the beats and the snares and reveal my pain to the world through my music. So this project is full of those songs that allow people to say, "Wow, I got a chance to really meet who Mistah F.A.B. actually is." I'm really personable in my music and this mixtape is no different. I'm eager to see the feedback I get from it, but also give people the chance to listen. I want them to know it's not all just fun and games, money and fame -- this is personal and I'm going though the same things you guys go through. That's my point with this project.
What brought about that change? Is it just a part of getting older?
Of course. The more you go through as a person, you grow and you deal with more things and those things you deal with definitely affect your music. I know it does for me. Everything has changed: the topics, the way I elaborate more, my ability to change up situations.
What sort of producers are you working with on the project?
I have tracks from Jake One, who's an amazing producer who has done things with 50 Cent, Jay-Z and T.I. I have two tracks from Grammy award-winning producers Tha Bizness. And I'm showcasing my production team, these guys named Poker Beats and Rob E; these are young guys who are extremely talented. They get the job done.
Through your Twitter account, you recently asked, "I wonder how many people would still show love and support if I leak it [the album] -- would you still hit iTunes?" Do you have an answer for that?
No, I don't have an answer. I wonder. At the end of the day, we live in the days when everybody wants something for free. I'm willing to see if the people are gonna go out and buy it. I'm probably still gonna leak it -- I think that raises awareness, and they can still go out and buy it. At the end of the day, people like free music. No one wants to work for anything anymore, but whatever. I just want the world to hear it. I'll feed off the feedback and I'll continue making music.
Do you get a lot of feedback from fans?
Yeah, I get a lot of feedback. And a lot of time it's personal. You see the positivity when you go out to shows, and social networking allows you to get your music places you didn't know.
What's the harshest feedback you've received?
At times, some people can be a little harsh not realizing that we make this music from our soul. It's not made to be broken down, and certain people are so negative at times because the nature of man is to like what it is that they like, and they don't open up their minds and see other things. Sometimes we want our favorite artists to say the same things, but life is about growing and life is about changing. If you critique me for growing, whatever, I'll accept that. But we have to have an open mind about what artists go through in life.
What's the most frequent criticism you hear about your music?
That I only make one particular type of music. I ride myself very hard to be different and diverse, and it's unfortunate that a lot of people don't get to see that -- they only see what the radio plays and what the media popularizes. They pigeonhole you like that's the only music you can make. The hilarity to it is I'm actually one of the most diverse artists in the industry. If you take my body of work and analyze it, you'll see it's constantly changing. But certain people are so stuck on the norm that they don't want you to change. I think sometimes they critique things unjustly. But it is what it is, and it's beautiful to put yourself in front of people and take the praise with the backlash.
Do you sometimes feel that hip-hop fans are more closed-minded than fans of other genres?
Very much so. Fans of every other genre are able to change and accept an artist saying, "For this song I'm going to switch it up and do this." But in hip-hop, if you're not doing the things that are the "in" thing, you get bashed. It's just like, "Wow, I'm getting bashed for making an attempt to do something different?!" But I make the music I want to make. I don't go after what's hot, what's in, the fad. If they accept it, I'm proud of it. If they don't, I'm gonna keep making it. Music is my salvation, my outlet to rant and rave and see the world how I see it.
What's the latest with the Da Yellow Bus Rydah project, the album originally intended for release through Atlantic Records?
That album is actually scratched. It's no longer called Da Yellow Bus Rydah. It's now called Liberty Forever -- that's my daughter's name. The name Liberty Forever is my change, my growth, my liberated mind frame. I feel I've been liberated through my music to do the things I find free and interesting and exciting. I'm no longer tied to appease everyone -- that's impossible anyway and you'll only stress yourself out by doing so.
I mean, a lot of people are going through what I'm going through and they need music to let them help channel that emotion. They need music to let people know you're not the only one going through these things. A lot of mainstream artists that are out forget about the regular people. Everyone can't have lots of money and cars and everyone isn't physically attractive like that, so they have an array of women all over them. It's the return of music for regular people -- the average nine-to-five, going to school, regular people. And that's the majority of the people buying music. They can't relate to always talking about diamonds and partying -- believe it or not, but there are people who've never been to a nightclub and they don't know what the nightlife is about. They know about working hard to pay the bills and taking care of their kids. And some people don't have the ability to deal with death like I have with my mom. So music can be the salvation for them, and that's the music that's been missing over the past few years.
Are there any mainstream artists you feel do make music for regular people?
I would be remiss to say no there isn't, cause I'm pretty sure there is. Do I feel like they get the credit that they deserve for doing it? Not really. Like the Talib Kwelis and -- it might sound crazy, but I even think that Drake speaks for regular people. He speaks for the young people who've had a chance to experience a quick success and it's very overwhelming. He speaks about the indecisiveness that you make with your decisions once you reach that certain success. To me, he's a very talented artist. I think Kanye does it, but it's just from a fancy point of view, some would say. He's a very passionate artist, I love everything he does. But overall, those artists, they don't see the light of day as much as the rest of mainstream artists do.
Finally, bringing things back to your birthday party, why should people come out and help you celebrate?
To see the smiling faces and feel that love. Sometimes in life we're so surrounded by hatred and negativity that we don't get to experience positive events, and when you come around a positive event you feel out of place. I think that's a big change in my life. I went from feeding into the negativity, actually promoting the negativity, to being a more mild-minded person, saying, "Let's just be positive." Over the past three years I've had a daughter, I've had my biggest fan and best friend pass, which is my mother, and I've had my oldest brother receive a hundred years in the penitentiary system. I'm tired of dealing with negativity. The only way to escape things is to promote positivity. That's my mentality. Celebrate that.
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