Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month<\/a> \u2014 wasted no time reasserting himself with the fiery comeback track \u201cFDO.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tPeaking at No. 12 on the Hot 100 earlier this month, \u201cFDO\u201d (short for \u201cFirst Day Out\u201d) is a smash-mouth, no-holds-barred record. Like an uncaged pitbull, Shiesty blitzes the track with callous disregard, reminding fans exactly why he became one of rap\u2019s most coveted prospects after erupting out of Memphis in 2021 with his Lil Durk-assisted club starter \u201cBack in Blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI was just getting started when I got locked up,\u201d Shiesty tells\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u00a0over Zoom. \u201cI was only rapping for like a year in total. Before I even got signed, I ain\u2019t learn everything that I needed to learn. I look at me when I got locked up versus when I got out \u2014 it\u2019s totally different ways of rap. It\u2019s only gonna get better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tThis week, \u201cFDO\u201d sits at No. 41 on the Hot 100, and is serving as the launching pad for Shiesty\u2019s return to performance mode. In May, he\u2019ll hit the Rolling Loud stage in Orlando alongside NBA YoungBoy, Playboi Carti and more big-name hitmakers.<\/p>\n
\n\tBelow, Billboard<\/em>\u00a0catches up with Shiesty to discuss the rigors of returning to the studio, the creation of \u201cFDO,\u201d what his first day out of prison entailed, and what\u2019s next for him.<\/p>\n\n\tWhen you were writing in jail, is it true you were writing songs on toilet paper and T-shirts?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tYeah, whatever I can get my hand on. Sometimes, I ain\u2019t have paper. Sometimes, I ain\u2019t have pencils or pens. We had to make it work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tHow were you able to maintain your creative energy in prison on a day-to-day basis?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tI stay motivated. I knew what was out there, and who I was before being in here. You can strip me away from everything and I\u2019m still going to be him<\/em>. So I just think [I] stayed motivated, focused and knew the end goals. I was always used to coming up with something and keeping my imagination going.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tYou said your first day out of prison as one of the best moments in your life besides getting your first record deal. What was so special about that time?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tJust everything. Walking out the door and never looking back. Knowing that this wasn\u2019t my final destination, you know? There\u2019s a lot of people who got stuck, caught up, f\u2013ked up or done the worst way and couldn\u2019t come back the same. Knowing I came back without a scratch on me, got my freedom back and walking out to see the sky with nothing blocked around me \u2014 no wall, cage or locked doors \u2014 felt good. I had the fantasy experience that motherf\u2013kers wished for. I felt that way.<\/p>\n
\n\tDid you feel any pressure to deliver on \u201cFDO,\u201d especially knowing you\u2019re coming behind records that 2Pac, Gucci Mane and Tee Grizzley made famous<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\tI ain\u2019t gonna say there was pressure \u2014 but with the greats having theirs, I had to come with it. Because if I\u2019m gonna do it, it gotta be compared to the top. I knew I had to come with it. That\u2019s when my confidence kicked in. I know who I am, I know how I talk it and walk it. It was easy \u2014 it just had to be done. I knocked it out and now it\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat was the recording process for \u201cFDO\u201d when you finally settled in and got home?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tI had another song that I was doing. I never was gonna come out and name it \u201cFDO,\u201d \u201cFirst Day Out,\u201d or \u201cLast Day In,\u201d or something like that. It was going to be already different. The vibe I had at first, I was like, \u2018Nah, my energy wasn\u2019t all the way there. F\u2013k it. Let\u2019s do a \u2018First Day Out\u2019 [record]. Let\u2019s do it this way. Let me turn up and get more aggressive.’\u201d It did what it did. I chose that over the first one, but I kept the first song, too. It\u2019s still good. It\u2019s called \u201cLast Scene.\u201d That was gonna be the first original \u201cFirst Day Out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n