At my core I’m a west coast underground hip hop head because that was the movement that inspired me to be who I am today. I always envisioned myself somehow being involved in the hip hop scene in some capacity and this blog and my Spotify playlists have been my angle. While Hiero, Living Legends, Freestyle Fellowship, Solesides, Pharcyde, PUTS, Planet Asia, The Lootpack and so many other independent Cali legends are who I vibed to most, I haven’t stopped looking for new emcees out the west. I’m never one to sleep on somebody with bars or a producer who can knock out some nice boom bap beats. In the mid-2000’s a new west was forming including the TDE camp, Pac Div, U-N-I, Diz Gibran, and a rapper by the name of Blu.

I just thought Blu was a dope vibe. L Blu was tied to Exile who handled the production with Aloe Blacc on the rhymes for their group, Emanon. Emanon will forever be slept on but that’s okay. It’s a hidden gem for those that know about it. Fashawn came after Blu and I just stayed close to what those emcees and Exile were working on. To this day I still check for Blu verses so when I saw a track pop up called “More Rap Dudes” get suggested for me on Spotify, I of course pressed play. It also didn’t hurt that Planet Asia and MED were on the track. But there was another name on there I didn’t recognize and that was Freshman Woes. I didn’t hear a verse from an emcee I didn’t know so I just assumed Freshman Woes was on the boards.

The beat was hard on the track and all of the emcees were in the pocket on their verses. But who was Freshman Woes? I ended up tracking him down on IG and shot him a DM. We ended up connecting via Zoom where I honestly still didn’t know much about who this cat was. We ended up talking for about 30 minutes and I had some notes jotted down and a better understanding of who was working with these Cali underground rap vets.

I thought an interview with Freshman Woes would be some good content for the site and help bring some new ears to his debut album, Thank You Rap Gods. Peep below for the interview and check the new album which features Blu, Guilty Simpson, Planet Asia, Homeboy Sandman, Myka 9, Rapper Big Pooh, and many other dope emcees. It’s a good listen!

Timmy C: What up man! Nice to meet you. I heard your track with Blu, Planet Asia, and MED and thought it was dope! Tell me a bit about yourself.
Freshman Woes: I’m a diehard hip hop fan to the core and have been making beats for a long time. I grew up in the Midwest, lived out in Cali for a bit, and now reside in South Carolina where I’m knocking out beats on the daily.
Timmy C: How did you get the name of Freshman Woes?
Freshman Woes: I used to tag WOES82 and somehow that translated to Freshman Woes. People have been calling me Woes now for so long I don’t think I could change it at this point.
Timmy C: If it’s meant to be it’s meant to be! Your new album is dropping this week and the artwork and rollout have been super fresh. And the features you landed are on point for an old hip hop head like myself. How did you get all of these OG’s on the project?
Freshman Woes: Features are like playing dice in a sense. A lot of the ones on the album were just me finding peoples emails and approaching them blindly. All of these artist have their rates but if they like what you send them they’re more willing to work with you on costs.
Timmy C: I’ve always dreamt of putting out a compilation where I curated an album putting producers I liked with rappers I thought would work well with each other. Your hustle is pretty inspiring man. From my own experience, I know that not many emcees, producers, or management teams even reply back. From our brief time knowing each other, I can tell that you really value the relationships you build with people.
Freshman Woes: Relationships are critical though. Generally, I would say it has to start from a feature and go from there. Guys like Blu & MED I’ve done a few things with now and have built that rapport. I feel like I can reach out to them and usually if their schedule permits I have good faith that we can work. That doesn’t necessarily mean I have the budget or they have the time for me to enlist them for a whole project. That’s a huge commitment. Both of them I met in real life during my time in Cali and then emailed them. There’s another artist who appeared on TYRG as a feature and was then like “this was dope, let’s do a whole project”…that’s best case scenario.

Timmy C: You seem to be navigating the rap game quite well. Any experiences outside of your producing and relationships that helped you get this far?
Freshman Woes: Definitely! I was a part of the Rhymesayers and Nature Sounds street teams for many years and helped them push their new artists and/or releases. Being the feet on the ground for them truly taught me a lot that I’m able to apply today.
Timmy C: Any albums inspire you to make this new album?
Freshman Woes: Pete Rock’s Soul Survivor album and DJ Muggs’ Soul Assassins compilation paved the way for the producer I wanted to become. All I wanted to do is be behind the boards making nice beats for emcees that I respected and with this album I feel that I truly accomplished it.
Timmy C: Props to you man! Have you gotten any good placements with any of the lead singles?
Freshman Woes: It’s actually been amazing. I’ve gotten love and plays from Okayplayer, 2DOPEBOYZ, Soul Assassins, The Smoking Section, Rap is Outta Control, Hip Hop Gods Radio and Bara Weekly. I’m up over 100K streams now on my music which is surreal.
Timmy C: I love hearing this homie! Who are you feeling right now in the rap game?
Freshman Woes: Hmmmm…. Griselda, CRIMEAPPLE, and Evidence are the first that come to mind.
Timmy C: I’m pretty new to CRIMEAPPLE but like that producer he has working with him named Buck Dudley. Reminds me of Daringer and ALC’s work with Griselda. And that new Evidence album is too damn fresh. Ev stays dope.
For this album, which feature were you most excited to land?
Freshman Woes: Probably Big Rube because I grew up on the the Dungeon Family. No way you could tell me when I first heard those early Outkast albums that I’d be doing a song with him.
Timmy C: Okay… Now I’m really going to make you think. If you could do a full project with one emcee today, who would it be and why?
Freshman Woes: Man, this is so hard! I think Blu. If not him, maybe Murs or Del. I like guys who can go back and forth between that Westcoast underground and just boom bap in general. I also want to work with MCs who would sound good over the contemporary underground sound…minimal drums, straight loops etc….I think all of them could excel in that lane.

Timmy C: What’s next for you? Any big goals?

Freshman Woes: Now that the albums done I want to do an EP with just one rapper. Probably a 10” for that. Further down the line, I don’t really know. It takes a lot to get these whole projects completed so I’ve been considering the idea of a 7” series. A bunch of posse cuts. Stuff like “Grimey Connection” or the “Rap Dudes” joints. I think that would be fun.

Timmy C: I think people are going to be digging this album my man. It has that good west coast hip hop vibes that old heads are going to feel. Any final words before we sign off on this interview?

Freshman Woes: Sounds cliche to say but I love Hip Hop and I wouldn’t be here today without it. Im ecstatic that after all these years I was finally able to contribute something to this culture who gave me so much. What I did may not be for the typical rap fan who listens to Migos or Megan The Stallion but it definitely might appeal to people who prefer stuff more like Madvillian or Marcberg. I really wouldn’t have it any other way and I hope as many people as possible get to hear it.

Timmy C: And now I give you, Thank You Rap Gods by the producer, Freshman Woes.