I sense I’ve hit a tender spot when I ask Fetty Wap about the recent resurgence of his 2015 hit “Trap Queen.” The 34-year-old musician sitting in front of me, with his arms propped on his knees, looks sheepishly to the floor and hesitates before proceeding with his answer, which is diplomatic enough. It’s a “timeless” hit that’s found its way through the meme machine several times before, though, he acknowledges, this time is different; the hubbub helped it re-enter Billboard’s Hot 100. He seems grateful. But then he throws me a curveball. “It’s hard to explain how I feel about that,” he admits.

I realize what he means when he explains a few moments later that, despite the recent online furor, he’s felt overlooked for most of his career. This might seem surprising for an artist who appears to be on a generational victory lap after spending nearly four years in federal prison on drug charges.

In the months leading up to his release, like prophetic timing, “Trap Queen,” “My Way,” and “678,” all found their way to the forefront of the viral music churn. His catalog was hailed as historic, while he himself was dubbed a millennial hero. But even with the world showering roses at his feet, Fetty says it’s been hard to forget the years he didn’t feel seen.

“I remember feeling left out,” he says. “I appreciate all this love now, but it wasn’t there [back then]. I used to see interviews and they’d say, The 2010s was ran by these people. And I’m like, Well, did everybody skip 2015? It’s double diamond. It’s no way 20 million people forgot about this record.”

In Fetty’s mind, most of his career has been an underdog grind, one that relegated him to the one-dimensional image of a few-hit wonder loverboy making trappy party hits. He’s determined to shed the image with Zavier, his latest record and some of the best, and diverse, music of his career. Renewed with a sense of purpose, maturity, and perspective post-prison, Fetty says he wants to be known as a “great artist” — and shows that conviction in our conversation when he gets visibly giddy and proud sharing the ways his songwriting evolved for this record.

Watch our interview with Fetty Wap, below, and read the transcript of our conversation about his life post prison, protecting his energy, advancing his songwriting, and why Zavier, for him, isn’t a comeback record.

The FADER: The first thing you did after you were released was go to The Breakfast Club to give an interview. Why is that?

Fetty Wap: Well in my defense, I didn’t do anything. I was just doing what I was told to do, you know? [Laughs.] But, Envy’s my guy though. We had a song together in 2018, “Text Ur Number,” he does the card thing. He’s always in my city, he be showing a lot of love, so either way I would’ve did it whether it was through my management or through me or just seeing him in person. That’s my guy.

Was there an important message that you felt like you had to get off your chest?

Not really. I didn’t want to speak to nobody at that time. I just wanted to breathe a little bit. But, I’m glad I did though. Going back and rewatching the interview, I’m happy I did do it.

How were you maintaining or training your voice while you were in prison? Were you practicing at all?

No, nothing at all. It’s crazy, I think me not doing anything is what preserved the sound. Like, the last time I sang a song was before I went to prison.

Really? Not even in the shower or during the day?

Not one time.

“Trap Queen,” started going viral again on TikTok while you were still in prison. Did you know that was happening?

No.

When did you find out that it was having a moment?

When I came home. “Trap Queen” is one of them things where it’s timeless, you know what I’m saying? It always does that. Even before I went to prison, it’s like this meme that always come out of nowhere like, Do you guys remember when Fetty Wap said this? And then “Trap Queen” starts trending again. But this was different. I think it went back into the Top 100 or something like that. and I’m like, “Oh what’s going on?” It’s hard to explain how I feel about that.

Did you feel you had to hop on that wave or take advantage of this momentum?

No, that’s not my style.

There’s this really wonderful video of you performing "Trap Queen" right after you got out and the whole crowd is screaming the lyrics to that song and you look so happy and surprised. Can you share what was going through your head at that time?

I think it was like at Lotus Rooftop or something like that in New Jersey. In that moment, I was just like, I hope my voice don’t mess up. I haven’t done this in a long time. I don’t know man, I’m a little weird. I’m a little awkward. I think about the most craziest things at the wrong time. I’m just like, Oh man, what if I don’t know how to sound, what if I forget the words? I haven’t did it in four years! I just started flowing and then hearing everybody, it was literally, I’m like just bouncing off the crowd. I see them like, “All right, yeah—we good, we good, we got it, we got it.”

Have you gotten more comfortable singing and being in front of people since then?

Yeah. I’ve done a few things so it’s starting to feel normal again.

Obviously you’ve been in the studio making music. What else have you been prioritizing now that you’re home?

My mental space. My energy. Protecting myself. My family. I just been more about me this time. Like a lot of my songs always like, “Oh I’ma do it for the guys, I’ma do it for the homies.” This time is like, I’ma do it for me. I just been protecting my energy. Who I allow around me, what I allow around me. I’m more mentally aware of everything now, my surroundings. I’m just on high alert. And it feels good.

I think you went on a podcast and talked about how some people from your past were reaching out to you to come back, and you were like, “No, I’m not gonna go back. We’re moving forward.”

For sure. You can’t stay the same forever. Like at one point you gotta grow up. And if the people around you don’t want to grow into a better space with you, then, you know, we had our run, appreciate it man, but we reached the height. For me, it’s literally that. The things we used to do, I don’t do no more. You know what I mean? Like I don’t want to chill over there no more, I don’t want to do this over here no more, I’m trying to go up. And if you not trying to go up with me, then you just gotta move around. And that’s what I been on.

You call your new album, Zavier, an alter ego that’s supposed to resemble the real you. What do you think the world didn’t know about you that you want to reveal to them?

Nothing. The world really don’t know nothing about me. I don’t like to talk about myself. I mean other than the obvious, you know, the eye. I was born with congenital glaucoma. I’m a Gemini, June 7. Other than stuff like that, I’ve never let people in my personal space. Well, through music I have, with a few of my albums. But with Zavier it was more aggressive this time. I’m more aggressive but more approachable. I’m down to sit down and talk about me now. Like, you want to know something, I got you. That’s the whole Fetty Wap versus Zavier thing. Fetty Wap was more young, reckless, wild — if the homies can’t get in with me, we not going. Zavier’s like, tell the homies if they can’t find their way there, they not going. He’s on a mature level. He’s a grown man. He’s not playing around. He’s protecting everything around him this time, but also protecting himself first.

What was the hardest thing to talk about or reveal about yourself on the record?

The hardest thing I had to talk about, it’s a song up there called “I Remember.” I’m basically telling people the love that everybody showing me now when I was home, they didn’t show it like that. I basically said like, “I remember feeling left out,” you know what I mean? “I remember feeling left out getting X-ed out by the rest / No, I remember feeling drained out, I ain’t have nothing left.”

Like yeah, I appreciate all this love now, but it wasn’t there. This wasn’t that then. So I’m [letting] you guys know, this is how I was feeling. When I started to get in that mode, I did what I knew how to do, what I was comfortable doing at that time. And, you know, unfortunately, it led to where it led to, but we back now. It’s a new day. But that was probably the hardest thing to admit to the world. I felt like I was left out. I used to see interviews and they’d say, The 2010s was ran by these people. And I’m like, Well did everybody skip 2015? Did you skip 2015, 2016?

Even the meme around “Trap Queen” is like “Do you remember when?” As if it’s something that people forgot.

Yeah, you know? That’s why when people ask me how I feel about it, it’s a little weird. Because it’s double diamond. So it’s no way 20 million people forgot about this record. So it’s like I don’t know, sometimes it—I don’t know. It is what it is.

Do you ever wish “Trap Queen” never happened or —

No. No. No, I’ve never ever thought that. That’s my baby. You know, the second I made the song, March 13, 2013, when I made that song? My first time recording the song when it was done, I told everybody like "Yeah, bro, we going up, bro.” And everybody was like “Eh.”

You proved them wrong.

Yeah, a few times. A few times. I’m always gonna be proud of that record. I don’t get tired of performing it, I don’t get tired of hearing it because without that record I wouldn’t be here. It’s my pride and joy right there.

Do you feel like you had an underdog career?

Of course I did.I mean it shows. But I love a challenge. I love being challenged. I love when everybody’s against me. I’ma always find my way out of it. And I’ma come out winning. I’ma always win. It doesn’t matter. Even if I’m losing, I’ma win.

I feel like in addition to the lyrical content, the sound of Zavier is gonna be really unexpected for some people. You brought up “White Roses” really briefly. “White Roses” is kind of jazzy.

It’s like Fetty Wap-ish.

Oh really? Do you not find it that outside of your catalog?

So when people say “the Fetty Wap catalog,” they usually referring to three songs. It’s usually “679,” “My Way,” “Trap Queen,” and then you have “Again.” Those are the most popular songs that everybody know. But if you a real fan of Fetty Wap, you know I’ve done music like this already. I’ve done so many different features with so many different kind of artists where I tap into so many different kind of sounds and genres. This song in particular, “White Roses,” I created this sound from my head. The production, the melody, the cadence of the melody, the lyrics. I was reading so many books in there, like...

Really? What books?

Well I fell in love with the story of Icarus. The kid that flew [too close to the sun]. A lot of people’s not gonna understand what that mean. A lot of people [won’t] look up the meaning of the actual “White Rose.” Even in the hook part of the song, [I sing], “If I drop this White Rose will I stay alive?” it’s not actually meaning death but… you gotta look up the “White Rose.” I don’t want to spoil it. [Laughs.]

But everything about that song, I put together for you to have to study it. Of course I kept it Fetty Wap, you know, introduce the lady and the French tips on the toes, just to give it that vibe. The champagne, fresh out the little shower, the bath...

It has some really vivid storytelling.

Yeah, for sure. Like that’s not usual for me. I’m kind of straight to the point. [Sings] “Baby girl you so damn fine.” I’m straight to the point. With this it was like, let me try to be different here. “Fool For You.” That’s another track up there.

I love that one. The most obvious part is the Cranberries flip. Is that one of your favorite songs?

Definitely. To be able to take a song like that, and to get the reception I’ve been getting… You know people [are] like, “You don’t touch that classic!” But everybody loves it. I made it my own way and I still made sure I kept their cadence in there, to show honor to them. Even with that song, when you listen to it, it’s a story. “If I can get a chance just to tell you that I love you / the scent of your hair on my nose when I hug you [...] / I just want to tell you that I love you / I miss you have a good day.”

The whole purpose of this album is to show that I can be a great artist. I’m not the best writer or anything, I don’t write music at all. So I literally come up with this in my head and then I write as I go. I made seven of these songs that’s on the project while I was in jail. So I had to sing it over and over and over and over in my head, until I can’t forget them now.

That’s crazy. What seven songs?

“Right Back To You.” “White Roses.” “I Remember.” “Fool For You.” I can’t think of the rest of the titles.

Were you studying any songwriters when you were taking this new approach to creating these songs?

I wouldn’t say I was studying songwriters ‘cause I don’t want to ever sound like anybody else. I wanted to stay true to myself and the way I make my music, my cadence and my snaps. But I listen to a lot of music. I promise you I have the most random playlist ever. If you go to my phone right now and my last five songs, it’ll probably be The Lox, then it might be Taylor Swift and then it’ll be, uh, what’s his name? Morgan Wallen. And then you’ll have Godsmack, Yellowcard, Avril Lavigne — it just goes weird. Because I don’t like to limit myself when it comes to music. You never know where you gonna get your inspiration from.

Was that also how the “I Luv Your Girl” interpolation happened?

The Dream and Ne-Yo are two of my favorite writers. My thing with music is I don’t like to recreate another version of the song. [But] with “I Luv Your Girl,” it was like, you can’t not do that part of the song. You know? So just to know that [The-Dream] liked it enough to approve [the sample], I was like, “Okay that’s cool.” It’s one of my favorite on the record, too.

People online like to talk about how singers or artists don’t really make songs about yearning anymore. Do you agree with that? Your album is obviously very romantic.

I was just arrested with a lot of young dudes. So it’s no romance in sight. They don’t want to listen to nothing romantic. But maybe it’s because you gotta have this aura when you in prison. I didn’t care. We had these tablets so I got a Summer Walker playlist and a SZA playlist and a whole ‘90s R&B playlist. I don’t care. I work out to it, too. It’s lit. But I’m always making music about [romance]. Like “Trap Queen” is a ode to my girl. Well to the girl I was with at the time. This what we doing.

Are you happy to be releasing music again?

Definitely. It feels good to be back in the studio. Like studio, driving... my safe places. I love to drive.

I see a lot of people rooting for you online, obviously around your music but also generally, post-prison. Do you feel that? Do you pay attention to public perception?

No, I don’t like to engage in that. I’m just enjoying my life. I’m just enjoying my freedom. When I see people in person, it’s different. Everybody like, “Yo bro we waiting, like we waiting.”

I just shot a video in Paterson, [New Jersey], with G Herbo for the “I Remember” record and even him showing up, we had a conversation in the car and he like, “Yo bro, it’s not a comeback, you just back. We been waiting on you.” I’ve been hearing that a lot. It’s just confirmation like, all right, let’s turn up, let’s have some fun then.