You can’t have a conversation about buzzing Los Angeles artists without mentioning Azchike.
A true originator and innovator of his own sound, the West Coast rapper boasts a cult-like following, unleashing banger after banger after banger as he continues to navigate and find his way to the forefront of the rap game.
Hailing from South Central Los Angeles, Azchike is the definition of unapologetic, and holds anything back when it comes to speaking his truth.
As seen and heard in his visuals and music, Chike lives his life to the fullest, always guaranteeing a good time whenever he graces you with his presence. Putting on for his AzCult any chance he can, it was in 2017 when his “Burn Rubber Again” record went completely viral, clocking in at over 16 million views on Youtube (just audio).
Fast forward to today, Azchike is back and better than ever before after proudly taking a month break off drinking alcohol. And for his birthday on July 28th, he shut down a headlining show at the legendary Roxy on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles.
On the 39th episode of Shirley’s Temple, filmed at the ENCORE studios, Azchike discusses his healthy lifestyle, his love for tequila, his forthcoming project, falling in love with 2 Live Crew, attending the Grammys, making reggae songs, new video with Mike Sherm, performing “Surf” at HARD Summer, mental health check-in, discovering his voice, and more!
AllHipHop: You aren’t drinking this month, how’s that’s going?
Azchike: Wonderful. I’m eating right, I only eat baked salmon everyday. I bake my own salmon with the broccoli, asparagus, red potatoes. I get down when I gotta get down. Got me a lil NutriBullet, shout out Stella. Got the good cilantro with the super greens with the antioxidants, lil frozen fruit packs. It goes down. Just doing some healthy s###, I’ll be back and spring into action in about a week. Back on my b#######. It don’t feel right to be honest.
AllHipHop: You should keep it going!
Azchike: Nah, it don’t feel right. I don’t feel like I’m doing enough. For me to even eat this healthy and keep it up, I have to stay in the house. If I’m tempted a lil bit, y’all talking about “we got some drinks!” — that second night you offer me drinks, I’m gettin tore up. So I stay out the way, but I literally got 2 patrons sitting in my kitchen just waiting. Don’t worry about nothing.
AllHipHop: Do you get hangovers when you drink?
Azchike: Nah, not really. If I do get a hangover, it’s because I went all out. Like I threw up that morning, I was going crazy. But if I don’t throw up, then I’m not getting no hangover. And I got my own concoctions that I do: I take vitamin C and BC Powder before I drink. I do it so I can drink more, it makes me drink more. When I take the vitamin C and BC powder, I promise you I’ll drink till 8 that morning. I have no problem.
AllHipHop: What is your alcohol of choice?
Azchike: Tequila, let’s talk about it. I got some preferences for tequila, but if it ain’t what I like in the building and it’s just tequila, I’m drinking it guaranteed. Brown gives me hangovers fast, unless I have me a fat meal. I got enough in the stomach, because I like to drink. I feel like tequila is made for alcoholics personally.
AllHipHop: My s### was Captain Morgan in college.
Azchike: See that brown s### is abusive husband drink right there. You drink that s###, go home, two piece your wife, and go to sleep. Nah, we ain’t drinkin that.
AllHipHop: What is Chike up to? I know you just dropped that project.
Azchike: I did, I’m finna drop another one. Hoes Over Bros, B###### Over Homies. Ya hear me? I would lose every friend and not give a f###, but I need my b######. That’s a fact. I’d prefer to have b######. I don’t gotta be f###### them, they can just be my b######.
AllHipHop: Y’all be f######…?
Azchike: I mean, you know what it is? N*ggas be f###### with the wrong b######. If I’m a w####, then I needa get a w####. Or someone in that realm, she gotta be some type of w####. N*ggas like to be w#####, but can’t deal with w#####. If she go f### somebody else, I know what to do. I’m not worried about none of that. Mind ya business, everybody mind their business and everybody will be straight.
AllHipHop: I interviewed Guapdad 4000 and he said he was in an open relationship with his girl for like 10 years.
Azchike: See, and they 10 years strong. Aye, the kings in Africa have 10 wives. Sign me up man. Give me the 10 wives. Overall, females or women are better than n*ggas. You ain’t ever heard a girl say that? “I link better, I got better relationships with dudes than girls.”
AllHipHop: Yeah! I say that.
Azchike: Exactly! I feel the same way. The realest n*gga I know is a woman, put it like that. Why not? I should make a project dedicated [to them]. Of course I’m a get disrespectful, but we gon’ have some respect. Lil affectionate, and I’m a reshoot an Uncle Luke cover.
AllHipHop: I know you fell in love with 2 Live Crew early.
Azchike: Yeah absolutely, random as f###. I was searching Apple Music for the songs I heard at the party, and I was early on Apple Music. When you couldn’t upload your card to Apple, you had to go to 7-Eleven, buy a card, scratch the back off. Upload your lil Apple money, then buy you an album. I been f###### with Apple, so that’s when I started f###### with 2 Live Crew.
Who got these b###### going crazy in the party? That’s how I looked up on ’em. Once I heard the song, I’d go play the song on YouTube. You know the references, one thing lead to another. Now l know everything about they ass. They had to go to court, they got sued for how they was rapping, all types of s###. They really a big reason why we got freedom of speech in rap.
AllHipHop: Someone paid for Uncle Luke vocals and said that was the best session he’s ever had.
Azchike: That’s fire. He did legendary s###. I don’t think he’s credited enough, but I’m a come around and do something for ’em.
AllHipHop: Thoughts on the new Kendrick album?
Azchike: That s### nice. I knew it was going to be crazy. I f### with that s###. I like that he put BLXST on there, that was super hard. The BLXST and the Kodak song, he went yay yay on that.
AllHipHop: Was there a moment in the Grammy’s where you were like “Wow, this is beautiful?”
Azchike: I think I had got left out. I was at the bar between commercial breaks and if they go live while you still at the bar, you have to wait like 10-15 minutes till the next commercial break. So I got stuck out there drinking but I ain’t give a f###. I was drinking, they opened the curtain to come back in before they go live again. Everyone was switching out, but I’m so drunk I’m on the other side. I’m on the other side and that s### was looking so crazy. I called the person I came with and said “raise your hand!” I had to walk through everything and that s### was crazy. The J Balvin performance was crazy as f###. He had the blue mans group.
AllHipHop: Somebody asked if you’re going to make a reggae song?
Azchike: On me I am. I f### with it. I really like that culture. I’m gon’ do something. I’m a fan of that whole thing, Jamaicans and everything. I don’t have nobody particular, I just like everything they do. The slang, how they talk, the food! Come on, let’s not talk about the food. If it was up to me, I’d be eating jerk salmon everyday. With the cabbage and plantains, on God.
AllHipHop: What’re you most excited for?
Azchike: Right now, the new project and the summer. I’m excited man. I dropped a video with Mike Sherm, that’s crazy. I’ve been watching that s### everyday on my phone. That s### gon’ be crazy.
AllHipHop: Y’all made a banger before right?
Azchike: Yeah, we got some s###. We lowkey an undefeated duo nobody know about. I perform at the Roxy in Hollywood on July 28th. On my birthday I got booked for a show, so that s### gon’ be fire. This is my first headline show in LA ever. I only ever did joint headlines or I came out with somebody else. Or it was me and 1TakeJay headlining, but never a Chike show and I can bring out whoever I wanna bring out. It’s gon’ be crazy. I’m a call Haiti Babii up, Bravo The Bagchaser, MoneySign Suede. Gotta call Christian, King Combs.
AllHipHop: “Surf”! That’s my s###.
Azchike: Yeah, that’s gonna go crazy. We haven’t performed that in a minute. We performed last year at the HARD Summer Fest, that was cool. Nah, we gonna go up this summer.
AllHipHop: Y’all played at the HARD Summer Fest in front of thousands of people?
Azchike: Yeah, that s### was lit. It was lowkey the evening so it was stupid hot, dummy hot in San Bernardino.
AllHipHop: Did you use to go to those raves?
Azchike: Hell nah, I used to have raves in my room. Pop an ecstasy and calling me the nearest b####. That was my rave right there.
AllHipHop: A huge part of the show is mental health, how are you doing? How’s your mental state?
Azchike: I’m straight. I’m tryna get used to not doing s###. I only got a week left, but I been eating right. Not eating nothing processed, drinking clean water. Staying in the house. I ain’t been doing s###. I ain’t even got a haircut. It’s purposely though. I’ve been saving money, I ain’t going nowhere. It gave me a good start on planning out the next few months, so that’s why I’m truly excited because I know what the f### to do. Got it all planned out.
AllHipHop: I admire your discipline.
Azchike: That s### ain’t easy, but you gotta make it make sense for yourself. I’ll put it like this: I’ve been drinking how I’ve been drinking (since) the end of 2018. The longest I went without liquor for the last 4 years is probably 3 weeks. 3 weeks out of 4 years, I can recall not drinking liquor straight. That’s crazy! That’s madness. You gotta give your body a break. I’m wondering why I’m not getting drunk like I used to. Once you give your body a break, do some time — some healing n*gga, come back crazy. I’m a be smacked all summer, just off this month.
AllHipHop: Do you feel you’re making better music? Or more clear-headed when you’re making music?
Azchike: High key, yeah. And because I just put that project out. Any artist who hoards music, you won’t get better until you let it go. Just the universe and the energy work like that. You could be a hard ass n*gga and not drop any music and you won’t grow. You won’t know what your people like, what they gravitating to because all your s### from two years ago stupid. You not even that same person no more. Everybody changes every 6 months. Something’s going to be different about that person, every 6 months to a year. Roughly.
AllHipHop: In the music industry, you gotta stand out nowadays and your voice is very distinct. How old were you when you discovered your voice?
Azchike: I didn’t even like my s### at first. It’s still some times where I get on my Story and hear my voice like “delete, delete.” I have to really take my time with that s###. That’s the real hard part about rapping n*ggas don’t talk about. Certain n*ggas will start rapping and got a voice for it. I had to train myself to at least know what tone, because I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to sound. And it wasn’t sounding how I’m sounding, so I’d say about 2016/2017. 2016 was when I was in the studio all the time, but 2017 I found me something I like enough to keep this s### rocking. Now, it’s just developing on its own.
