The moment you hear his new music, it is easy to tell that Brodie Fresh is moving differently.
Fresh has a renewed purpose. The Long Island native sits down to unpack the real story behind his music, his life and the journey that shaped him. From growing up as a preacher’s kid and witnessing firsthand the sacrifices that come with faith and family, to navigating the streets, jail time, marriage and fatherhood. All of this collides with independence in the music business and a new Gangsta Grillz project with DJ Drama.
Brodie speaks with clarity and honesty. His new record “Glory,” a deeply personal tribute to his late father, has resonated far beyond expectations. He’s beyond chasing club formulas or typical features. In this conversation with AllHipHop, Brodie Fresh tells Slopsshotya how survival mode molded his mindset, why balance matters more now than ever, and what he’s still chasing now.
Now a resident of Houston, Texas, Brodie lives in a homegrown ecosystem where artists can build deep in-state. That’s the intersection Brody Fresh resides in: a Long Island artist living in Houston, telling a preacher’s-kid story with street chapters, family scars and a brave, new mission.
AllHipHop: Now that you’re in Houston, is that getting integrated into the music?
Brodie Fresh: I wouldn’t say Houston’s integrated, but some of their grind is definitely integrated. Houston is really underground, building up. When you think of Pimp C and a lot of their artists, they homegrown and they really built theyself up in their city. But us being from New York, Texas is so big that an artist could survive in Texas alone. You could perform San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston and you still got places eight, nine hours away and you still in the same state. They big on building their platforms in their home state.
AllHipHop: When I went to the club out there, it felt like the young kids still know the oldies. And they don’t really play too much New York music.
Brodie Fresh: They don’t. You hit a 50 Cent and like a Pop Smoke. That’s one of those.
AllHipHop: And don’t ask them for no reggae.
Brodie Fresh: Oh no. It’s over for that. You got to go to a brunch and you might get Afrobeat.
AllHipHop: You’ve got an EP coming, and Preacher’s Kid feels like the big one. Is this your debut album?
Brodie Fresh: Yeah, I would say so. I never really call something a full-on album. But at the point I’m at, it’s like that one.
AllHipHop: The irony is it’s hosted by DJ “Pastor” Drama. Usually, when Drama hosts, people think Gangsta Grillz mixtape. What separates the old Gangsta Grillz mixtape feel from a project like yours?
Brodie Fresh: It technically is Gangsta Grillz still, but more recently Drama started venturing into more albums. He did a Gangsta Grillz album with Symba. He got the Grammy with Tyler. He just did the new album with Jeezy. So for me, Preacher’s Kid is me embodying myself and telling my story, being a preacher’s kid, and what that’s like, from every angle.
AllHipHop: Are the rumors true about PKs?
Brodie Fresh: It’s funny because I was having that conversation the other day. Everywhere you go, they like, “Oh, the PKs is the worst.” It’s never really been highlighted why. So it’s stuff I talk about. There’s a song called “Collection Plate.” I’m essentially talking about the fact that I feel like the church owes us. They owe my family because they took away so much time from my pops, from us, because they needed him.
I could have a basketball game on Sunday at 2:30 and church end at 2. He gonna come straight from church but Sister Mary needs him, she crying. So now he ends up talking to her and missing my game. It’s a lot of time we need with our parents, we end up missing out because they got to be there for all these adults.
And once you get older, you start realizing a lot of these things were things people could have handled on their own, but they were irresponsible or not taking accountability. So they cry on the pastor and try to get an answer for things they really knew what they needed to change. But it took a lot of time away from the family.
AllHipHop: You’re married, you’re a traveling artist. How do you not repeat cycles?
Brodie Fresh: I try to create a work-life balance. I’m still working on it. I can’t say I’m perfect, but I do my best. With my kids, I talk to my kids every day. I have two kids that don’t live with me. The ones that do live with me, they see me every morning. I’m there with them every single day. We take them out every week and just be there, be present.
As we got older, we didn’t understand why our parents was gone so much, but they were in survival mode. Especially us being from Long Island. My pops from Harlem. My mom from Queens. Them moving to Elmont at that time was like an award, like, “Yo we made it out to Long Island.” But what comes with that is more bills. So now it’s taking away more of our time because we at work all day long, two jobs to maintain this new life.
AllHipHop: What’s the difference between Preacher’s Kid and Altar Call?
Brodie Fresh: Preacher’s Kid breaks down a bunch of different stories. It’s not a church album. I experienced every walk of life. Being outside, gangster stuff, going to jail, different things. I’m telling all that in a story that’s bringing light but not praising the wrong things. Just showing what happened in my life that drew me to those things.
Altar Call is like bringing yourself to God and making that change. It’s building up to Preacher’s Kid where I talk about the necessary changes I made and what I went through that caused me to make those changes, then I go into the life story.
AllHipHop: Did you run this series past your dad? What would his feelings be?
Brodie Fresh: My dad passed in 2022. When he was here, we talked about it all the time. My pops didn’t grow up in church. He turned to God at a certain point. He got shot. My dad was a below-the-knee amputee, so he had one leg.
For him, it was like he could reach the people that decided they wanted God and wanted to change. And I could reach the people that feel like they don’t know yet. As I got older, I realized for me, church and God was just knowing what’s right and what’s wrong. Doing your best to do what’s right and the least of what’s wrong.
He would be like, “You can reach people that haven’t decided yet or haven’t taken accountability.” They look at you and feel like, “I could relate to him.” They feel more comfortable hearing it from me than hearing it from a pastor because they feel like they being talked down on, not talked to, or talked with. So he was cool with it. Big supporter.
AllHipHop: Do you think about him when you’re making something like this?
Brodie Fresh: Absolutely. This album is dedicated to my pops. I want to tell our story, and tell parts of his story, because he made it through a lot. People need to see other people made it through something they going through to be able to get through it.
AllHipHop: Any dream collaborations for this inspirational lane?
Brodie Fresh: I’m trying to do something with Kirk Franklin. I’m working with a couple different people trying to get in that lane.
AllHipHop: What do you want this project to do for you? Numbers, touring, impact?
Brodie Fresh: Ultimately, that next level up. I’ve been blessed. I toured almost every year since 2013. Most recently I came off tour with Dom Kennedy in April. I toured with Nipsey Hussle, Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher, Boldy James. I want to get to where I can be the headliner, gain that next level of fan base, and really grow that base.
AllHipHop: What did you learn from those tours?
Brodie Fresh: Consistency and building your team.
AllHipHop: You got the right team now?
Brodie Fresh: I’m getting there. About 80% there.
AllHipHop: What’s missing?
Brodie Fresh: A couple little pieces. Management is coming together, but it’s more than just one person. I always managed myself. Never had a manager my entire career. I got myself on tours by building relationships and doing it myself. I’m trying to get to that point where I can fall back and not try to do everything. When you love it so much, and people let you down, you like, “I ain’t giving nobody a shot. I’ll do it myself.” This project is so special, it has to be done correctly.
AllHipHop: Any features on it?
Brodie Fresh: Yeah. I got my man Lights from Philly. I got a record with Sauce Walka. Houston leaked in there a little.
AllHipHop: AllHipHop tradition. Give us your Top five.
Brodie Fresh: Jadakiss. Jay-Z. J. Cole. Kendrick. Drake. People hate Drake, but in my opinion, he one of the greatest artists to ever live. He like LeBron, you gonna get the hate.
AllHipHop: Do you think we’ll ever get another generation of goats with 10-plus years staying power?
Brodie Fresh: I feel like it’s coming back around. We got to adapt. Times change. Branding is so important now because people want to see people’s lives, understand their lives, see how they relate. A lot of these people aren’t even who they say in their music. So seeing who you are outside the music might bring it back to people keeping somebody around.
AllHipHop: Some people think labels might not want anybody that powerful again.
Brodie Fresh: It’s how you look at success. I had a point where I was like, “Man, I’m quitting.” I talked to somebody I look up to, he played in the NFL. He got injured and couldn’t play no more. I asked him how he coped. He said, “First off, you got it wrong. I didn’t love it. I loved what it could do for me.” He said when you started music, what did you want?
