Curly Savv is a 21-year-old, baby-faced rapper with a story to tell. Hailing from Canarsie, Brooklyn in New York, the rising star has been killing it independently, even receiving a super rare cosign from 50 Cent.
Having started making music at the young age of 16, it was in 2016 when he threw out his first record: a feature on “Gang Gang Gang” with Dah Dah. From that video along, Curly Savv began elevating and “it was only up from there.”
From playing football to creating a buzz on Facebook, Curly turned to music as an outlet to share his real-life experiences. As part of the Brooklyn drill scene, he joins the likes of Pop Smoke, Fivio Foreign, and Rah Swish in keeping The Woo movement alive for generations to come. Most recently, he released his new single titled “Blue Chips,” inspiring the masses to get up and get to the money.
Moving from New York to Florida to Los Angeles in pursuit of where he would fit in best, Curly landed in Los Angeles which he has called home for several years.
AllHipHop caught up with Curly Savv in downtown Los Angeles to discuss his upbringing on the East Coast, new single “Blue Chips,” the Brooklyn drill scene, a 50 Cent shout out, his friendship with Fivio Foreign, goals, and more!
AllHipHop: You’re from The Floss, what were you seeing growing up?
Curly Savv: It’s like every other hood. You got your bad days, your good days. I really didn’t get into that much trouble, everyone was cool with me. Everybody f##### with me. Before I was rapping, I was already popular in my hood. Had my little Facebook days.
AllHipHop: At what point did you realize this music thing was forreal?
Curly Savv: It was in and out. There were times I felt like giving up on this s### and times when I got my confidence back. Ups and downs.
AllHipHop: What’s the inspiration behind your name?
Curly Savv: The word curly, I got that from my hair. When I was a kid, my hair was mad curly. I was skinny. I was playing football, one of my football teammates gave me that name really. He was calling me Curly Fries, I’m like “nah I’m not really feeling it.” As I got older, street s###. N*ggas gave me the Savv. Savv is short for savage, put it together. It’s different.
AllHipHop: How do you like Los Angeles?
Curly Savv: It’s nostalgia. It’s the vibes. It’s calming. I got the high rise downtown.
AllHipHop: New single “Blue Chips,” what are you most excited for?
Curly Savv: “Blue Chips” is one of those don’t overthink records. I really went in the booth, gave off the vibe of what I felt in my head that day. I freestyled that, one of my songs I didn’t write. I like the inspiration of all that s###: my everyday life, hustling, experiences I go through. What getting money does, the involvement of it, all that.
AllHipHop: What can we expect from the video?
Curly Savv: I got some females in my video. N*ggas be telling me I don’t really be having a lot of girls in my videos. I got a desert scenery, there’s 3 females. Some old school vibe. It’s a good vibe, one of my best videos I got right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNvzKapbFJI
AllHipHop: How was linking with Rah Swish on “Hide Out”? What’s your guys’ relationship?
Curly Savv: That’s my boy. When I started rapping, he’s part of my group: NBA. Never Broke Again. It’s crazy, there’s a long story behind NBA Youngboy and our NBA. We came out at the same time but of course, he made it mainstream. Rah Swish is on my home team. He in my camp, so it’s nothing to do a song with him. We got plenty of songs together, it’s genuine love.
AllHipHop: What does it mean to put on for the New York drill scene?
Curly Savv: I’m in a position right now where I’m underrated. A lot of people don’t know their history behind the whole drill scene. It’s crazy to say I’m basically the first person to come out of Brooklyn with that whole drill movement. You got to really know the whole history beyond the s### to see what’s really going on. That’s my job right now, I got to throw that out there so the world can really see what’s going on. This drill s### is me, not a wave I’m jumping on. This is how I came out as an artist.
AllHipHop: Did you know Pop Smoke?
Curly Savv: Yeah, I knew Pop. Pop from my hood. Fivio, all of them. I got songs with Pop, Fivio.
AllHipHop: What was it like seeing him take off?
Curly Savv: He gave that extra motivation for me. Alright, this s### is actually possible. Even when I was doing it, the industry really wasn’t trying to empower the whole drill scene. The whole movement going on, they didn’t really understand it. When I was coming out, artists from my era, it was harder for me to move around with that drill s###. When Pop came out, he gave his little creativity to it and gave an understanding to it. Made it a movement, nothing but love and respect.
AllHipHop: What was your reaction to hearing the news?
Curly Savv: That s### was awful. I was on a plane on my way back to Brooklyn when I heard the bad news. For me, I couldn’t believe it. It was crazy, a very emotional time.
AllHipHop: How did “Runtz” with Fivio Foreign come about?
Curly Savv: Actually, the original “Runtz” was with me and Pop Smoke. That song “Zoo York” with Lil Tjay, Pop Smoke, and Fivio, that verse on there was originally on “Runtz.”
AllHipHop: What happened?
Curly Savv: His label clearing. They’re always going to pick up someone signed over an independent artist.
When I threw my project out, it was two months after. That time, it was just a single. Boom, get a record together now, how we going to go about this situation though? It was mad in and outs and loops to that whole record. That’s why my manager got up with Fivio’s team, we ended up doing the record with Fivio. Fivio didn’t have no problem clearing the record, so we went with that option right there.
AllHipHop: What is it you want fans to get from your story?
Curly Savv: My music is a whole lotta energy. If you’re in a down mood, you could always listen to my music. It’s motivation. It’s workout, active music. A lot of creativity, you could hear it in my music. I talk about all the things I’m going through in the moment. You hear all the lingos, a whole different style.
AllHipHop: You released “MONEY & COLORS” back in April, how much money you got on you @ all times?
Curly Savv: “I like my money in colors…!” Facts. That’s a good ass question. If I’m shopping, I probably got bankrolls on me. I don’t got a credit card, I don’t got a bank card. No credit.
AllHipHop: Where do you keep your money?
Curly Savv: In the safe. N*ggas can’t pick my safe up, that s###’s too heavy. You ain’t going far with my s###.
AllHipHop: Who’s in your Top 5?
Curly Savv: I honestly f### with everybody. If I really, really had to choose, 50 Cent is first. 50 was the first artist that gave me that spotlight. He shouted me out when I was 16, on Drink Champs. This was when A Boogie was coming up, I was coming up. He said “you got some kids coming out of Brooklyn: Curly Savv, he’s 16. That was a good experience. I’m a Brooklyn n*gga so 50, Jay, DMX, Jada, then myself.
AllHipHop: 3 things you need in the studio?
Curly Savv: Weed, smoking my opps like Runts! My friends, I need a vibe in the studio. And snacks, food.
Curly Savv: Not going to lie, I’m a fat ass n8gga. I be smoking. I’ll eat, smoke, get an appetite again. Be having the wild munchies. I like ice cream, cookies, chips.
AllHipHop: How tight is your circle out here?
Curly Savv: Real tight. I don’t really have that many LA friends. All my friends out here are from where I’m from, it’s a family thing. I don’t really gotta worry about that, we tight. No squares in my circle.
AllHipHop: What happened when you first smoked weed?
Curly Savv: The first time I smoked weed, I was in an alley with my friends and I was smacked. I was high as hell. I don’t even remember what happened, I know I was high as hell. I ain’t never smoked weed again. I’m like “this s###’s not for me.” I’m panicking, I’m paranoid. I was 13 or 14, young as s###.
AllHipHop: What do you like about “Kehlani”?
Curly Savv: That was another inspirational song. I told her I made a song for her, I literally DMed her. She said “oh, I appreciate it.” She seen mad people tag her in the s###. She hit me up like “why people tagging me in this?” I told her I made a song for her. In the song I said “lil mami, lightskin tatted,” you feel me? I literally was on my Instagram like who’s lightskin, tatted? Who can I really use right now? Kehlani was perfect.
AllHipHop: What can we expect music-wise?
Curly Savv: I’m about to go on a little rampage. I’m about to throw a couple singles out back to back. You can definitely look forward to some new singles, new visuals. A whole lotta me, a day in the life. Really trying to bring my fans in more, capitalize. Make them love me for myself and not the music only.
AllHipHop: Talk about the independent grind.
Curly Savv: Well, the independent s### ain’t easy. We have plenty of situations on the table, but we don’t want to jump the gun. It’s better to wait sometimes, give it some time. We learning as we go along. It’s a lot of ups and downs, mistakes, but it’s gonna be worth it in the end. In the long run. Everything’s there, it’s just timing.
AllHipHop: What goals do you have for yourself?
Curly Savv: When I get rich, I want to invest into my own football team. Do the new s###, get them their own field. Invest in some music. I want to have businesses. I want to open up a hookah lounge in LA. I can’t predict the future, I’m really going with the flow right now. I definitely want to capitalize on the world as much as I can. Not only the U.S., I got a lot of fans overseas. Definitely once the world opens back up, do shows. Get myself out there.
AllHipHop: What are we doing for your birthday?
Curly Savv: Going to Texas man. All the clubs are open. You know what they say, everything’s bigger in Texas.