RetcH Talks ‘Point Guard’ Video, ‘FTW 2’ & Four-Year Hiatus: ‘I Have a Totally New Perspective on This Whole Thing — Billboard

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

RetcH Talks ‘Point Guard’ Video, ‘FTW 2’ & Four-Year Hiatus: ‘I Have a Totally New Perspective on This Whole Thing — Billboard | AIPROPX

Last month, RetcH dropped his first album in four years since 2022’s Administrative Segregation . During the hiatus, the New Jersey rapper was both dealing with lingering legal issues, while also enjoying the fruits of his labor.

“When I really think about that time, what I was doing was just running around enjoying life. I was having a good time,” he tells me during our hour-long convo at Billboard’s New York City office. “I had just got off house arrest after I got sentenced to three years for a probation violation, which stemmed from catching a gun charge in California. I also still had an open case at the time, which ended up coming back around later on.”

He’s now ready to get back to work and has a new perspective on things, especially music. “All types of different things factored into my shift in perspective,” he told me during our interview. “It could be often that I run into artists or people that take being in this business for granted. You gotta think about what got us here, you know what I’m saying? For the most part, it’s the love of music. So, the fact that any of us are even able to make a living off of this thing right here is a beautiful thing. It’s a blessing for everybody: me, you, and anybody else that works in this building. It’s a craft.”

At 19, RetcH came out the gate with an album that many rap fans consider a classic in Polo Sporting Goods , with fellow Jersey native (by way of Chicago) producer Thelonious Martin. That tape put RetcHy Lo Sweater on the map and raised expectations, which I would say he met with the release of the much more sinister Finesse the World a couple years later in 2015. Now, with FTW 2 , he decided to go back to the darker tone that made 2015’s Finesse the World a fan favorite.

Talking to Billboard , he explains more about why he decided to go this route, his plans to be more consistent and purposeful with his music, and his new video for “Point Guard,” which we’re premiering today. Check out our conversation below.

All right, so let’s talk about this “Point Guard” video.

“Point Guard” is one of my favorite songs of the project, and I feel like the video really captures the song. We were in Harlem in the projects and on a basketball court. There’s a lot of point guard and basketball references in the song, like when I say, “Keep a shooter on the wing like Crittenton.” He was the teammate that got caught with Gilbert Arenas in the lockerroom when they were on the Wizards.

Yeah, Javaris Crittenton. He really did time after that too.

He allegedly shot at some people or something like that. I think a girl got hit, if I’m not mistaken, and she died. He got sentenced like 20 years for that s—t. [ ed. note: Crittenton pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 23 years in prison .] He only did like 10 off that motherf—ker, though. He home now. He on podcast and s—t.

You gotta have some hoop knowledge to know what’s going on. I also say, “Like Agent Zero,s we brought Glocks out.” Brought the poles to the arena like Agent Zero/ We brought the Glocks out/ N—as in the paint gettin’ boxed out should I say boxed in.” N—as could put two and two together. It’s all basketball references. That’s what make the song hard. “I got shooters on the bricks/ I got shooters in the joint ’cause they really up the score.” I’m just making correlations between hoops and the streets, you feel me?

How’s your writing process? Do you write in a notebook or in your phone? Do you kinda freestyle and punch in?

I do both. It really depends on how I’m feeling in the moment. I travel a lot, so I do a lot of writing while I’m traveling. I listen to beats and I write. I got a lot of producers on my team that I f—k with. I got my man B-Wolf, I got my man G LOK, I got my son Zooter McGavin, I got my boy Axel, P on the Boards, obviously. V Don.

G LOK has a couple beats on FTW 2 .

Yeah, G LOK did “Point Guard.” That’s like one of my main producers right there.

So, are you using the Notes app when you’re traveling?

Yeah, I write in the Notes app. If I gotta put pen to paper and s—t, I will. I’m not opposed to it, but I usually got the phone nearby, so I’ll cook up on the phone. What I say is intentional. I can go in the studio and freestyle, and I can still make an intentional song that way too.

I figured you probably write for the most part because of the way your rap style is.

There’s a lot of thought that goes into it, I’m not even gonna sit and act like it’s not. I like that people could recognize that and be able to tell that somebody is really sitting there crafting this s—t and not something that’s put together quick. I can do that too, but I also take pride in being able to actually sit down and listen to a beat, and just pull s—t from the sky.

Who shot the video?

My man Blake, 39 Enterprises. He shot the video. That’s like one of my main guys that I work with, and my man Zai Visuals. He’s the one that edited the video. I got a cool little collaborative team that I work with. They both play both roles, they shoot and edit videos. Sometimes Zai will edit Blake s—t, and Blake will edit Zai’s s—t, and we’ll mix and match the footage. Both were doing work with me separately and I brought them together because we were all working towards the same thing. I consider them as part of my team. They’re there for the day-to-day stuff, not just for music videos.

We’ve had this conversation before, right? I think you were kinda making trap music in a sense. Your flow was faster and with this you’re going back to that darker, Finesse the World style. Why did you decide to do that?

It was time. Sometimes it’s ...