Wan Billz comes from The Bronx, the same place Hip-Hop was birthed. And if there’s one thing about his story, it’s the fact that rap saved and changed his life for the better.
Deeming himself “The Voice of Monterrey,” Wan Billz hails from the Bronx’s Monterey Housing Projects. Beginning at the age of 16, the rising star was kicked out of his home, dropped out of high school, and even welcomed his first daughter. Of course, the trials and tribulations are what made him into the man he is today, with his music being a real-life testimony of his come up from the streets to now signing a major label deal with Def Jam.
In describing himself, Wan Billz states he’s “a kind, genuine person. Born and raised in the Bronx. I’m just a good vibe, a good person just trying to live in my purpose. That’s Wan Billz right there, just a good person.”
Fast forward to today, Wan Billz releases his long-awaited debut album titled Blacc Sheep, speaking volumes to his current state of mind. The 12-track project features guest appearances from B-Lovee, Ron Suno, Lil Poppa, and more. However, Wan is already on and ready to drop the rest of the fire he has in the vault, with a goal of eventually reaching a billion dollars to his name.
AllHipHop spoke with Wan Billz who was in high spirits in his hometown of the Bronx. Read below as we discuss how he got into music, his sound, the new project, collaborating with B-Lovee and Ron Suno, goals, and more!
AllHipHop: The Bronx is where Hip-Hop was birthed. What was it like growing up there?
Wan Billz: I ain’t gon’ lie, it’s everything. See I’m doing music, that’s where it pretty much came from. It has everything to do with what I’m doing now. Everything’s familiar to the ears. It’s in my blood, I was born to do it.
AllHipHop: Bring us back to when you fell in love with Hip Hop.
Wan Billz: I first fell in love with Hip Hop because my pops was a recording artist and my uncle was signed to Def Jam. They’ll play their records when I was two years old, so it was around that age. Two to four.
AllHipHop: Do you remember the first artist you listened to?
Wan Billz: It might have been Kanye West, to be honest. He had this album [College Dropout] that was going crazy. “Through The Wire, I was 10 years old when that came out. I just fell in love with that song.
AllHipHop: How would you describe your sound? What separates you from other artists?
Wan Billz: I have a darker tone, it’s a different feeling. If I’m expressing a sad feeling in a song, you gon’ definitely feel it. My sound takes you to a whole nother level. I can’t really explain it in words, but it’s more so a feeling. It’s a different feeling. It’s a whole different feeling, compared to what we got going on now. Because if you turn on a regular drill song right now, it might be the same. But my sound is a whole different vibe, a whole different wave.
AllHipHop: When did you realize you could do music for a living?
Wan Billz: To be honest, it had to be when I was 16. I started going to the studio at 16, so definitely 16.
How’d you get your name?
Wan Billz: My name is Wan. Billz, I’ve been chasing a billion dollars my whole life. That’s where the Billz comes from, chasing a billion dollars. Wan Billz, I put that together when I was 16. It just came together.
AllHipHop: Congrats on the release of your debut project, Blacc Sheep. black sheep? How are you feeling?
Wan Billz: It’s my debut album, my first ever project. I feel good about it. It’s the first project I ever put out, the first project I put together with a label. We got situated. Ain’t gon’ lie, I’m bittersweet about it, because I’m ready to drop more. It’s a good feeling though.
AllHipHop: Why bittersweet?
Wan Billz: Because it’s my first album, but damn. I don’t want to say I could’ve done better or more,
but I want to show them more. I’m ready to give them everything. I can’t explain it, but I want to give them everything.
Why are you the Blacc Sheep?
Wan Billz: Because all my family, everybody got their own little things going on. When it came to my plans, when I come to the family table like “yo, this what we doing. This my dream.” They always say, “That s### not gon’ work.” I felt like the Blacc Sheep my whole life. Even in school, that’s been with me my whole life. Once I came to the definition, I’m like yeah, I need to use that one day in an album.
AllHipHop: Love that you linked with B-Lovee, how did “Killa” come about?
Wan Billz: That’s crazy, B-Lovee is one of my childhood friends. I’ve known him since I was nine years old, we grew up together. We’re around from the same neighborhood, so that song was genuine. One day, we was in the studio listening to beats. He comes, plays the beat. I went crazy on it and he went crazy on it. It came together. Every song you see with me and B-Lovee, it’s genuine. It’s a genuine connection.
AllHipHop: How’d you find your way to Def Jam?
Wan Billz: It’s a long story, but I’ma cut it short. One of my bros, his name is O Gates. I signed to him, he got Demon Time on the label. He did what he had to do. He had me develop and we went to Def Jam. That’s the short story right there: I met a man named O, that’s my brother right there. Signed to his label, and we went to Def Jam.
AllHipHop: Did you always want to get signed?
Wan Billz: Hell yeah. That’s crazy, because I wanted to get signed to Def Jam or a label that’s based in New York City. That’s where my uncle was signed to, so I always wanted to get signed. I always had dreams of getting signed to a major label, I wasn’t doing it just to do it.
AllHipHop: What is it you want to get from your story?
Wan Billz: Pretty much, I’m the black sheep. I could do it, you could do it. I’ve been on my own since I was 16 years old. I had my daughter at 17, 18. I want them to understand that I’m a kid, but I’ve been through a lot. It wasn’t that I woke up one day and made this album, I’ve been doing this for eight years for me. If I could do it, you could do it.
AllHipHop: How has fatherhood changed your life?
Wan Billz: It made me mature, quicker than I wanted to. I was 17, I wasn’t ready. I just dropped out of school, I was being an a######. I wasn’t ready to grow up, but it made me grow up though. To be honest, quicker than I wanted to.
AllHipHop: Why’d you drop out of school?
Wan Billz: I was rapping. I believe in myself 100%. I asked my teacher how much he made, he said $75K. Damn, I can make that in one show. Forreal, I can make that in one show. It’s not gon’ make sense. Then I’ma have to go to college and pay off the loans? Nah.
AllHipHop: Are you getting $75K for a show?
Wan Billz: Nah, not at the moment. We’ll soon be there though. Gonna manifest it, we’ll soon be there.
AllHipHop: Talk about linking with Ron Suno, he’s hilarious.
Wan Billz: What‘s crazy, his manager used to be my manager. That was genuine too. I met him one day, he was a funny vibe. I’m like, I like this kid. I want to do a song with him. I did a song with him, the rest was history. He’s a good vibe, he’s genuine. He wasn’t on no too tough s###, it was genuine. So it made sense.
AllHipHop: What’re you most excited for next?
Wan Billz: To be honest, I’m about to drop the deluxe. We just dropped the album, so I’m dropping the deluxe. I’m working on that every day. We working, we outside. Hitting different radio stations, different DJs, different clubs. I’m excited to drop this deluxe and the new project. I’m just working, I’m ready to work. Ain’t really got too much to say.
AllHipHop: Any goals for yourself at this point of your career?
Wan Billz: Hell yeah, I want to be one of the greatest artists in the world. After that, I want to make a billion dollars. I want to invest into real estate, I want to invest in my own label. I want to own some type of equity in a company that’s growing. I want to do something that’s important too, to give back. It want to do a lot, it’s a lot I got planned.
AllHipHop: One thing may not fans may not know about you?
Wan Billz: I used to live in Texas, I got a scholarship to play basketball one time. I was in Dallas, Texas to play basketball. Not a scholarship, but they invited me to their school. One of the coaches, he paid my tuition. I was in that school, I made the basketball team. That’s before things went left though.
AllHipHop: What went left?
Wan Billz: I started smoking weed, hanging out with the wrong crowd. Just getting influenced by the wrong things. I met my baby moms, had my daughter. That’s when I knew, it was time to get right.
AllHipHop: Do you feel like rap saved everything?
Wan Billz: Definitely, this is my savior right here. Rap and God, I owe all things to God and rap. They saved me. It saved my life in ways I didn’t even think was possible. It saved me, I’ll leave it at that.