CMO describes himself as an “industry hood baby,” so you already know what type of time he’s on.
The rising star hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home to many greats from Boosie to NBA Youngboy to Kevin Gates. While only a handful of artists make it out his hometown, CMO is proud to be the next hottest name to arise — and he’s not stopping until he gets to the top.
Most recently unleashing his new visual for “Lost Files,” CMO arrives spitting nothing short of the truth, showcasing relentless bars, gritty punchlines, and vivid storytelling on his journey from the trenches to the studio. With music being his saving grace, he says goodbye to the trap — while remaining true to himself at all times.
With his own label titled We All Eat (WAE), CMO looks out for himself, his family, and his team, with a burning desire to give back to his community.
AllHipHop: How was your Christmas Eve?
CMO: It was cool. It’s cool so far.
AllHipHop: Where are you located?
CMO: I’m in Vegas right now. I’m moving around, getting out on the scene.
AllHipHop: You have 4 siblings, what was the household like coming up?
CMO: It was hard. I got an older brother, I’m the middle child so it was hard watching my mom struggling. Somebody had to do something so everybody felt like I was the one who had to make it happen. I got in the streets, but I always focused on the music though. That was my ticket out. My mom made sure everybody straight, she kept food on the table. Kept a roof over our head, but it was still hard. Baton Rouge, ain’t too much down there.
AllHipHop: At what point did you realize that you could do music for a living?
CMO: When I started seeing these rappers really rapping my lifestyle. They really liked it. If they getting rich over rapping about what I’m doing everyday, why not? Why not do it? I feel like I do it the best.
AllHipHop: Who were you bumping coming up?
CMO: I really grew up listening to Boosie, he was the only person poppin’ to be on. He wasn’t the only person, but he’s the biggest person to be poppin’ at the time when it was around me coming up.
AllHipHop: What’s your favorite Boosie song?
CMO: “I Need a Meal Ticket.” [laughs] That was my first song because that’s what I need: a meal ticket.
AllHipHop: Bring us back to when you recorded “Lost Files.”
CMO: That’s how I’m coming. It’s a place to light the city how we coming, but I got my own song. I don’t sound like every Baton Rouge rapper, I got a unique sound. The type of beats that we use, I mix my sound on one of them Baton Rouge beats and show them what it takes to be hard. You see how I’m coming. That’s a start though, this really gon’ wake them up. I’m not aiming for Baton Rouge, I’m aiming for everywhere.
AllHipHop: Was the video shot back home?
CMO: I shot “Lost Files” in my hood, I’m from Park Town. We were at the trap on the block. Everyday s###, it’s a lyfestyle.
AllHipHop: Are you ever worried about promoting guns in your music?
CMO: I’m letting them see how we livin. I ain’t really checking on it. The guns cool, but they just face. It’s being in the environment. That’s the last video you see with guns. I ain’t finna be doing too much with guns, I’m trying to get on a bigger level.
AllHipHop: What’s the meaning behind #Sluglyfe?
CMO: Sluglyfe is guns and s###. We get out the mud and that’s what’s going on in the city. Guns and violence, slimy s###. Sluglyfe, hood. Thug life, it’s a lifestyle. That’s what’s going on right now: Sluglyfe. It’s really the whole definition, all my slugs know what’s going on.
AllHipHop: When did you come up with that concept?
CMO: No lie somebody like me, I was hard-headed. I was bad as f### when I was young. A lot of people look at that s### like “you know that ngga slimy.” I’d be jacking nggas, all types of s###. Being from the hood, they gave me that name like “you a slimy n*gga, slimy like a snail man.” [laughs] Real s###. I took it and ran with it. Got a snail tatted my face, that’s the wave. I’ma put the whole world on that s### though.
AllHipHop: Talk about dropping $20K on your smile.
CMO: Oh yeah, most definitely. $20K smile, I used to look at that s### like it was so expensive. I felt like I could never get that s###. When you running up that bag and you spend $20K, you gotta put that s### in your mouth. You get big money, you let it. That s### like the hood trophy, everybody in the hood do some s### like that. Everybody want jewelry, everybody want cars and s###. You gotta work for that, it doesn’t just come like that. That’s a big accomplishment to put $20K into my mouth.
AllHipHop: What can we expect music-wise?
CMO: Y’all can expect me to take over. 2021, I’m finna take that b#### over. I’ma level up with vocals, I’m going to get some different s###. I’m going to try everything. I can be versatile. I don’t want to just make club bangers, I want to make all the Christian people want to turn up. F### it, s### that gon’ make everybody tune in and tap in. “Who’s this kid?” I want to be industry, an industry hood baby.