Giggs Wasn’t Allowed To Come To America For 10 Years—Now He’s Back

Giggs might just be one of the hardest artists to come out of the United Kingdom.

He may be recognized him by his two standout features on Drake’s More Life album: “KMT” and “No Long Talk.” After the album drop, Spotify reported there was a significant increase in Giggs’ streaming numbers overall.

But Giggs is much more than the Drake collabs; he’s pioneered a whole wave of rap artists to come after him overseas, standing strong on his sound, truth and lyricism.

The London native wasn’t allowed to come to America for an entire decade, thanks to struggles with his visa. He recently shared a Coming To America-themed tour trailer that expressed his excitement as he touches down in nine major cities across the U.S. for a three-week run.

Dubbed the Zero Tolerance Tour, the trek is named after his most recent album, which includes standout features from Popcaan, Jadakiss, 21 Savage, Dave East and more.

AllHipHop caught up with Giggs at the El Rey, hours before his Los Angeles show. Read below as we discuss his favorite food in Los Angeles, the moment he fell in love with Hip-Hop, an update on his song with Quavo and more.

AllHipHop: What’s your favorite thing about L.A.?

Giggs: The sun.

AllHipHop: What’s your favorite thing to eat in L.A.?

Giggs: I’m not gonna lie, there’s a Jamaican restaurant called Status Hollywood. The lamb chops in there? They’re great.

AllHipHop: Have you gained weight this trip?

Giggs: Anytime I step in the United States of America, I start gaining weight upon landing [laughs]. Trust me, upon landing

AllHipHop: Are you saying people eat healthier in the U.K.?

Giggs: We got sugar tax. There’s less sugar in everything. And on the back of our ingredients, it says what’s on there. Here, it just says “1, 2, 3, 4…” I don’t know what’s in the food [laughs]. All I know is as soon as I land, I’ll start eating and I swear I see the weight. I’ll see my belly growing. It’s mad.

AllHipHop: What was the moment you fell in love with Hip-Hop?

That’s a good question. It has to be some Yo! MTV Raps s###.

AllHipHop: Do you remember the artists?

Giggs: The ones that were first proper, like these are my guys, was N.W.A. Probably the whole Straight Outta Compton album. I heard that hanging out with my uncle one time. That’s the first time I heard swearing on music, or cursing. I’m like oh s###! Crazy. Think it was that before the… the beats was hard you know?

AllHipHop: Who’s your favorite U.S. artist right now?

Giggs: Right now, I just listen to me all the time.

AllHipHop: How much did your numbers go up after being featured on Drake’s More Life?

Giggs: I don’t really make music for that. My thing’s more like… I more care about the parties. When the song’s on at the party and it’s lit, or I’m performing, that’s more my thing. As long as I got a banger, you know what I’m saying?

AllHipHop: How much you throwing at the strip club?

Giggs: Not that much, because that’s like new culture for me. We ain’t got that in the U.K., every night going crazy. Throwing 10 bags or something.

AllHipHop: That’s not going crazy?

Giggs: I’ve seen n##### throwing 100 bags in there [laughs].

AllHipHop: When is that song with Quavo dropping?

Giggs: That’s coming ASAP. I’ve known Quavo. That’s my guy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GIGGS (@officialgiggs)