HD4President is a viral phenomenon, and he’s here to take over the music industry once and for all. Exploding onto the scene with his breakout single “Can’t Stop Jiggin’” featuring Boosie, which first blew up on TikTok before spreading like wildfire on the internet, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana native is here to bring love and spread nothing but good vibes for audiences all around the world.
But things didn’t pick up for HD overnight. A walking testimony of someone who’s grinded for over 15 years, a young HD4President was putting paper in cassette tapes to record himself at 7 or 8 years old. At just 11 years old, he was presented with a record deal… but turned it down. While “Can’t Stop Jiggin’” is his biggest song to date, “Touch Down 2 Cause Hell (Bow Bow Bow)” is a close second, with millions of TikTok creations using the audio.
Now, he inks his new major label deal with Motown Records, excited as ever to be releasing his forthcoming album aptly titled Ta Da Max.
AllHipHop: How would you describe your sound?
HD4President: I have an unorthodox sound, but a relatable sound. I got 10 different styles in one. I made a song that a majority of the world would have never made, and we still blew up around the world. What song have you heard that sounds like “Touch Down”?
AllHipHop: Who were you looking up to? Who were you aspiring to be?
HD4President: Juvenile and the Hot Boys. When I first started rapping, I was rapping all the Juvenile raps. My cousin used to play the piano so he used to remake Mannie Fresh beats, we was rapping on a lot of them. I started to rap my own s###. It was weak at first. I mean I was 7, you can’t rap no hard s### at 7.
AllHipHop: The guy who signed KHIA presented you a deal at 11 years old, why’d you turn it down?
HD4President: I didn’t feel like it was my time then. I should’ve blew up when Lil Romeo was f###### with me. It should’ve been me, Lil Romeo, and Bow Wow, the biggest 3 artists in the world. I played football with Romeo in Baton Rouge.
AllHipHop: Oh wow, really?
HD4President: Yeah, I played against him in football so I used to see Master P and him all the time. I seen him a year ago, we was talking about it. He’s like “I remember that s###!”
AllHipHop: How’d you get the name, HD4President?
HD4President: My nickname is HD, like Hop Dawg. It was early 2000’s when Lil Wayne and them had a group called Sqad Up, he had Mack Maine and Gudda Gudda, etc. Mack had a line that said “Mack Maine for president, I probably paint the White House black with my residence. I kept saying HD4President from that day, and it stuck with me.
AllHipHop: How did LSU catch wind? They danced to your song ”Bow Bow Bow” every game.
HD4President: We in Baton Rouge, so the students was already going crazy over the song. OBN Jay had a big fanbase, me and him on the song together. His following plus my following, it had no choice but to skyrocket. You watch ESPN and you see the coach listening to “Bow Wow Wow,” that was way before “Touch Down.” They been saying “Bow Bow Bow.” After that, I dropped “Mouth Fulla Golds.” People fell in love with that, the streets fell in love with that one.
I got a song called “Turn Me Up A Little, it’s at 300K views. People love that song too but I never got behind it because I was so busy still moving along, trying to push the other songs. When I dropped the “Touch Down” song, it was icing on the cake. So I went from having 3 labels trying to sign me, to 14 labels. I talked to 12 labels in one day.
AllHipHop: What was the vibe when you made “Touch Down 2 Cause Hell (Bow Bow Bow)”?
HD4President: Just having fun, vibes. It was some random s### to say and I said it. I recorded it at my house in my room in Baton Rouge, then it blew up! I record all my songs in my room, I got my own little home studio. I had that studio for 15 years, probably longer.
AllHipHop: You shot the video in Houston. Houston’s where you’re living now?
HD4President: Yeah, I just got a big ass house in Houston. I love Houston. I lived in Houston 3 years prior to now, from 2016 to 2019. Then I ended up moving back to Baton Rouge, but I always said I was going to come back to Houston when I settled down.
AllHipHop: You knew Fredo Bang early on, were you guys in the streets together?
HD4President: We’re always in the streets, but they’re younger than me. okay. They’re way younger than me. I’m 31, they’re 20 something. Him and his friend G Money, I was the first person to ever record with him. I used to record with him and his little brother every day. way before all the fame. Nobody had any fame. They opened up for me at a show, at a pool party. I said “yeah I like these dudes.” I ended up getting in contact with their uncle, we started working together. I used to have them with me all the time, but they were young. When they got older, we’d lock in when we see each other but we weren’t really together like that because everybody’s doing their own thing. Plus, I was in a different position than them. But we’ve been locked in.
AllHipHop: Do you guys talk now about how far you’ve come?
HD4President: He gave me some advice when I was first getting ready to sign. He’s giving me some advice on how to collect my money from the internet. The guy who I’m using to collect my money from the internet, I got it from him. Because I had $10K to $20K floating around on the web that I didn’t know how to collect, he linked me with these guys. So even in my sleep, I’m getting money. On my phone, I could show you where they’re getting it from.
AllHipHop: What’s it from? Like SoundCloud?
HD4President: No, the internet period. They got YouTube money out there. People who put my songs on Youtube they collect all that. Instagram, TikTok, all that. They collect all of that. That’s my little designer bag.
AllHipHop: Collaborating with Boosie, what does that mean for Baton Rouge?
HD4President: That was big because it’s 2 GOATs. Coming out of Baton Rouge, you gotta do a song with Boosie. You ain’t got to, but it means something because Boosie’s a legend. He’s the rap god of Louisiana. If you coming up out of Louisiana, you gotta get at least one in with him. I’m blessed to have more than one with him, we got plenty of work together.
AllHipHop: Best memory from that video shoot?
HD4President: The vibes were lit. They had forgotten his clothes,he was so mad. “Man, they forgot my clothes?! Y’all got me waiting…” [imitates Boosie] He was so mad at first, then when they finally got back with the clothes, I’m like “Boosie it’s cool. Don’t trip.” He said “I might as well turn up,” I said “yeah!” As soon as the song came on, his whole vibe changed. His leg still halfway messed up from the shot so he’s limping around, but he’s still dancing though. The video didn’t show all the fun we had at the shoot. It was so fun, it was lit. He was lit.
AllHipHop: Describe the moment you first heard your song on the radio.
HD4President: I’ve been on the radio for a long time. I had 4 songs running on the radio before I dropped “Touch Down.” I knew “Can’t Stop Jiggin’” was going to be on the radio because the DJ hit me up for the song. My first time hearing “Can’t Stop Jiggin’” on the radio, I heard it right before Lil Baby’s song. It was Moneybagg Yo, me, then Lil Baby. They mixing their beats with my beat, I’m like okay!
AllHipHop: You got 2 watches?
HD4President: Yeah, the time is not right on that one. I don’t even know what time it is. I never set the watches I just bought them. I really just wear this one [shows right wrist], but I’m in LA and I gotta look like a rapper.
AllHipHop: You got chains too?
HD4President: We got the HD4President chain. I got the Jesus head. I got a little cross. I had a chain that said the GOAT, but my daughter jacked me. Last week, she took it. I used to let her when I’m with her, I get it back when I leave. Last week, she said “I’m keeping this chain.” It’s a $3500 to $4K chain, don’t lose that chain! I told her mama if she loses that chain, I’ma kiss her ass. I paid $4K for that chain. She took it from my Saturday, I was going to wear it in LA. I got a chain that says the GOAT, she took it.
AllHipHop: What’re you most excited for next?
HD4President: Showing people my versatility in the music business, not labeling me as the TikTok rapper. I’m really a real artist. A lot of people say “That’s the dude from TikTok.” TikTok made me a very wealthy man so I’m not trippin’, but I gotta show them I’m not just a TikTok rapper. A lot of people know and a lot of people don’t know me. Some of them come back, “Oh, I thought you’re a TikTok rapper, you’re really a good rapper.” So it works itself out.