Wacotron Talks Learning Song Structure From Southside & Debut Project “Smokin Texas”

Check out this interview with Wacotron, who discusses his roots in Waco, Texas, collaborating with Southside, the session for “Cut Me Up,” how much he smokes in a day, fatherhood, and more!

Wacotron loves his hometown so much, he put it in his name.

Straight out of Waco, Texas, the rising star has already achieved milestones in his career such as collaborating with famed producer Southside of 808 Mafia and signing to Pick Six Records.

Boasting his own dedicated fanbase, Waco sees music as an outlet to express himself: venting and touching on all the struggles he went through as a kid from the streets of Waco.

Waco describes himself as “a stand down n####, a n#### that’s dedicated. Hard work, that’s me. This is what hard work looks like.”

With an impeccable flow and vivid storytelling in his lyrics, Wacotron recently unleashed his highly-anticipated debut project titled Smokin Texas, executive produced by Southside.

The 12-track project features the Marshmello-produced lead single “Cut Me Up,” along with a lone feature from G Herbo. Waco isn’t here for any handouts; he’s here to grind and perfect his craft any chance he can.

AllHipHop: What was the reality of growing up in Waco?

Wacotron: It was an everyday struggle trying to maintain and make something out of nothing. You gotta keep your head about water damn near. N##### don’t even make it up out this b####. They’ll pull you down left and right out here. I f##### with my nggas. A ngga got in trouble and s###: being bad, a little bit of everything. Only the strong survive.

AllHipHop: Who were you listening to growing up?

Wacotron: Z-Ro for one, always. Yo Gotti, T.I., all the legends.

AllHipHop: When did you realize you could do music for a living?

Wacotron: 2016, that’s when I told myself I’ma take it serious. F### it, go head first with this s###. I made a song. I did my first song, it was called “Too Playa.” I dropped that b#### and everybody liked it. That s### went crazy. Everybody was on it. I thought “damn, that s### was kind of easy. Let me see if I keep doing this s###, where’s it gonna take me?” That s### took me somewhere.

AllHipHop: Talk about your name Wacotron.

Wacotron: S###, that’s where I’m from. I haven’t ever been anywhere else. It’s where I come from, what I represent. My dead partna, my n#### PJ really gave me that name. He said I sound like a robot when I talk and when I rap, so he gave me that name and I ran with it.

AllHipHop: How’s it feel to be signed to Pick Six Records?

Wacotron: Pick Six Records is under Moe Shalizi. You got Marshmello, Morray, Southside of course. Shout out to Sizzle. It’s a lot of great people over there.

AllHipHop: How does it feel to have your debut project, Smokin Texas, out now?

Wacotron: For real, Big Texas man! That’s something I say on the daily anyways. Smokin Texas, that’s my slang. I made it my little slogan, smokin’ good weed! We don’t smoke no bad weed. I feel good everyday about this s###, I gotta keep working and see how far it takes me. It might be a Smokin Texas 2022, you never know.

AllHipHop: You re-released it, correct?

Wacotron: 2016 is when I first started rapping. My first project I put out originally was called Smokin Texas, but ain’t nobody heard that. Now, I got the eyes and ears of the world. For me to name it again, I can get it to everybody now and not miss a beat on it. Everybody knows what it is, I had to give it to them again.

AllHipHop: How did you link Southside?

Wacotron: Through my n#### Moe. He put us in the studio, we started going HAM in this b####. Straight like that, right off the bat!

AllHipHop: What’s the vibe working with him?

Wacotron: I be lit on the inside, but I can’t show it. I gotta keep working, I can’t slack right now. This is really still tryouts right now. I’m looking at it like I gotta still prove myself. I can’t be too excited, I gotta keep working.

AllHipHop: What did you learn from?

Wacotron: He taught me how to structure my songs. I’m used to not even put a hook in there, I’ll run the whole beat sometimes. He said “you can take your hardest bars in the song and you can make that your hook, make that the chorus now.” He taught me how to structure my songs, I didn’t have that at first. I was just running with it, I know how to put it together now.

AllHipHop: What’s the best memory from that session?

Wacotron: “Cut Me Up” was the first one. He really skipped the beat when we first went in there, he’s letting me hear the beats. He’s going through them, I said “nah I don’t like that one. Nah I don’t like that one.” Then I heard that “Cut Me Up,” he skipped it and kept going. I said “nah, go back that one.” I don’t think he wanted to go to that one, he was tryna save it for someone else. So he kept going, he played a couple more. I said “hell nah, go back to that one. I like that one right there!” I remember that like it was nothing. That beat almost didn’t get recorded on, I’ll never forget that.

AllHipHop: What song means the most to you and why?

Wacotron: “Cut Me Up” because that‘s my first impression. That’s the first thing I recorded, that b#### means a lot to me. I put a lot into that song that night. I wrote it right there on the spot. I think I had a little bit ready, I had 12 bars ready and I wrote the rest up in there.

AllHipHop: How is music a coping mechanism for you?

Wacotron: S###, that’s how I keep going through the day. Sometimes I might be feeling down, but that music will put you right back where you need to be. It puts you in that mode: go and get that dollar real quick. F### that other s###, I gotta go and get the dollar. Sometimes a n#### be too mad to go and get the dollar, but cut the right s### on and it’ll take you right to the dollar. Most people might not see it like that but I love music. It ain’t even about me rapping. Music gets me through the day, I gotta hear that s###. I’ll go crazy. I can’t go 24 hours without hearing nothing.

AllHipHop: How much do you smoke in a day?

Wacotron: I smoke a lot, not gonna lie. I don’t keep count, but them hoes don’t stop getting rolled though. If I’m by myself, 7 or 8. But if I leave and go f### with my n*ggas, we put them blunts in the air man. If I go a week f###### with my n#####, pulling up on them over there, we probably smoke 25 of them hoes a day.

AllHipHop: Do you like Indica or Sativa?

Wacotron: I don’t give a damn, as long as I get high. F### all that other s###.

AllHipHop: Someone you want to work with that you haven’t yet?

Wacotron: Yo Gotti, I gotta do a song with that n#### man. I got to. Him and Z-Ro. I want to do a song with Z-Ro and Yo Gotti. Every time somebody asks me about my favorite rappers, I say that s### off the musical. I know they tired of hearing this s###.

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AllHipHop: What are those convos with Boosie like?

Wacotron: He let me know when I did talk to him that he heard my s### and that s### was fire. He said “yeah, I f### with that s###.” Real recognize real. I didn’t get to sit down and have no long conversation with him.

AllHipHop: Any goals that you have for yourself?

Wacotron: Nah, I like to gamble so we gonna see where this s### go.

AllHipHop: What do you want fans to get from Smokin Texas?

Wacotron: That there’s a Part 2 coming out. I ain’t gonna stop putting them out, I’ma put them out everytime. I ain’t gon’ stop. I got more songs than socks, I ain’t bullshittin’.

AllHipHop: How’s fatherhood?

Wacotron: It’s good, this ain’t my first rodeo. This my second, just had a newborn 2 days ago and I got a 9-year-old daughter.

AllHipHop: Does she know that daddy’s a rapper?

Wacotron: Hell yeah. She’s expensive. [laughs] She likes what I done showed her, I don’t show her everything.

AllHipHop: Anything else you want to let the people know?

Wacotron: Be on the lookout for that Smokin Texas 2. It’s going up! I ain’t quitting. I’m going long. I’m going strong.