G-Eazy has achieved multi-platinum status as a recording artist and producer, but the road to recognition didn’t come as easy as his household name. In fact, the 33-year-old superstar nearly gave up on his music dream, Us has learned.
In Us Weekly’s exclusive clip of Ari Rastegar’s newly-launched “The Gift of Failure” podcast, which unlocks the mindsets of the world’s most successful people, the “Me, Myself & I” crooner sat down with the real estate tycoon to discuss the highs and lows of his career like never before.
In the episode, he reveals one of the most “pivotal” moments of his life.
“I had been doing music since I was 13 and I watched some friends of mine in high school blow up… It was a surreal experience because it showed me like it could happen,” G-Eazy said on the podcast launching on Thursday, August 4. “They went from like seeing them in school to seeing them on MTV … that gave me the confidence, but it still wasn’t happening for me.”
The “Him & I” artist continued, “Fast forward to 19, I got some traction on Myspace with a song and some labels reached out and I felt like oh my god, it’s about to happen for me! They fly me out to New York …and put me up in a hotel and take me to dinner… it was just me and it was my first time in New York.”
“I’m telling all my friends I’m about to get signed … and they just kinda didn’t see it and they passed,” he revealed. “It made me question myself. I’m a vulnerable 19-year-old who’s just like ambitious as f–k, but at the same time naïve and young. I had a hard time not telling myself damn, what if I’m not it? What if I’m not the real deal?”
“In that moment it was either like I could quit right now. And a part of me considered it. [But] I just I never fell out of love with it,” G-Eazy added.
“If you love what you f–king do… and you’re passionate, you are going to do it regardless and you’re not doing it just for a check,” he continued. “I just kept going and I carried that chip on my shoulder and let it motivate me.”
The rapper went on to explain why it’s important to keep moving forward and never give up on your dreams.
“You have to go through those times of being counted out or doubted or not believed in or going against the grain. It makes you that much stronger, man,” he said. “I’m forever grateful I didn’t get signed at that age, at that time… It made me dig deeper.”
G-Eazy also shares how Jay-Z’s first albums inspired him and reveals his aspirations beyond making music.
“I’m listening to Jay-Z and I had this moment… I was like if I’m going to do music, I’m going to chase him,” he said. “I definitely want to act… [and] I want to write a book eventually.”
Rastegar, the founder and CEO of the Rastegar Property Company and a Forbes contributor who’s been dubbed the “Oracle of Austin,” launched his podcast on July 26 to talk with global thought leaders about how to overcome past failures to achieve massive breakthroughs in life and business.
Other notables who’ve joined the well-known private equity executive on “The Gift of Failure” include Grammy-nominated rapper Vic Mensa (“Turning Your Downfall Into Your Greatest Gift”) and Grammy Award-winning rapper Killer Mike (“Impacting Change Through The Power of Music.”)
G-Eazy’s full interview with Ari Rastegar on “The Gift of Failure” premieres on Apple Podcasts Thursday, August 4. See an exclusive preview here.
