Atlanta rapper Rel has been called ‘The next Jeezy or T.I.’. This ex street hustler has the ability to translate real life situations and experience into his music and has been labeled one of the hottest rappers in the streets.


You hail from Atlanta home of artists like T.I., Ludacris,Young Jeezy and many other sucessful artistc. Can you tell us what was it like as a young kid growing up in the ATL?
Rel; I grew up in East Atlanta. Zone 6. It was very rough. I'm actually from the same hood as Gucci Mane. I grew up listening to him and those other guys you mentioned

After a creating an huge buzz and following how come you haven't been signed by an record label or even offered an deal?
Rel: I really don't know but I'm here if any label would offer me an contract. I think I can be an sucess on a major label. That's really all I need.

Let’s talk about the new album ‘Live from the Kitchen’ what kind of concepts can we expect to hear from Rel on there?
Rel; Man, I have many different concepts on the album. It turned out amazing. Alot of artist contributed to this album and took it to another level.

Why did you call the album ‘The Real King’?
Rel: That's just how I feel. I'm feeling like the king of the south. Really and I'm just claiming the throne on this album.

Am I right in saying ‘Back On My Real Shit’ was all written and produced in a week?
Rel; Really 5 days but it took two days to put it out there so yeah. That's my proud body of work to date. That mixtape turnt out like an album.

How did you go about getting the features for the album?
Rel: I reached out to all the artist that I want to work with and flew them to Atlanta. Then we just recorded material with different artist and the best made the cut.

Being an artist, and having the opportunity to have your voice heard by a large group of people, do you feel obligated in any sense to put into your music a message that maybe other artists would be too afraid to?
Rel: Yeah. I do now. I was talking with my artist Trell. He was saying that alot of people look up to us now and its crazy because he's younger than me. So that really opened my eyes. We are entertainers and we are role model.

Talk about when people will be able to hear a full-length album, and what they can expect once it’s available?
The album will drop in four and a half months. The lead single is "If I Could Change The World" featuring Cherise. It will hit the airwaves next tuesday and we just finished shooting the video today. So were off to an good start for the album.

how does Rel want to be viewed by both his fans and his critics alike?

Rel: I want to be viewed as the one of the young rappers out. I really want to be the best rapper alive. As far as the critics I was them to respect my music and my lyricism.

So, approaching this new album, do you think people will finally listen and be able to appreciate all that you’ve done and all that you’re telling them?
Rel: I felt that they were going to be in their face and constantly drop good music. Until the point that they had to listen to music.

Let’s talk about that for a second. How is your relationship with Trell? Obviously you guys go way back—how did he feel about your departure from YRMG?
Rel: Me and Trell still talk and I'm actually producing his debut album. So were in the studio working on his and my album. I'm working on getting Trell back. Were in the middle of getting an contract done. So he'll be back. He wants to come back and we want him. It was some label issue with Trell && a A&R.Simple miscommunication.

So, what did you learn the first time around, and .how do you plan to apply this knowledge on your sophomore album?
Rel: I learned that its your music and you should control your material. I let other people control my first album. This album is all me and thats how it should be.

Rel, thank you so much for takin’ the time to do this interview.The continued best of luck, my friend.
Rel: Thanks man.