Heated Online Debate With Vince Staples Boosted Reggi Bang Bang’s Career

How the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams “No Call” game impacted New Orleans rapper career!

New Orleans East rapper, Reggi Bang Bang just may be crazy like a fox. RBB knows exactly how to strategically place himself in positions, controversial or not that puts him in the driver’s seat to various situations. An example of this would be the Saints-Rams NFC Championship game of the 2018-2019 season. Many refer to the game as the “No call” game. RBB got into a verbal online situation with popular west coast rapper, Vince Staples over the games result. Cooler head prevailed and Staples shared one of Bang’s songs. That plug led to the song being played on “Sway In The Morning” while enjoying viral success. Reggi recently dropped a “Who Snitching” freestyle addressing another situation he was recently involved in. Setting himself up for 2021 to be his breakout year, Reggi Bang Bang has several projects in the works.

The Hype Magazine caught up with the New Orleans East “Bad Guy” to discuss his past beefs, the method behind his madness and future collaborations he has lined up.

How have you been, bruh?

Reggi Bang Bang: Man, I’ve been blessed. I’m not going to lie; I’ve been thriving in the COVID era. I dropped my first two projects during this time. It’s kind of bittersweet for me, because I have been thriving through this whole thing.

Where are you from?

Reggi Bang Bang: I represent New Orleans East. That place is a melting pot. A mix of people that come from all over Louisiana.

You obviously used the down time of being quarantined wisely, being able to put two projects out. How important was it for you not to be stagnant during that time?

Reggi Bang Bang: It was real important because COVID hit in 2020, I was being creative all of 2019. I went into COVID being creative. I was already focused the whole 2019. I actually made my first approach on the scene in November 2018. I done my first single, “What a Real Nigga Bout.” It was out for 2-months. And then, in January of 2019, it went viral in New Orleans after the NFC Championship game, the battle between the Rams and the Saints. It went viral after that when a war of words between me and west coast rapper, Vince Staples. We had words and then he shouted out my video and it went viral. So, the whole 2019 I was working. Sway in the Morning, he played my song on his station, and since that video I have been working. So, my first effort, I dropped on March 9, 2020. I remember it vividly because it was my birthday.

I know how we are wired down here in Louisiana, so to turn that Vince Staples situation into a positive thing, what did you learn from that experience?

Reggi Bang Bang: It inspired me. I wanted to do this for so long. I always knew I had the talent, and the wits and the mind to do things like this, but I never thought I would have the opportunity. A lot of things in the past that happened in my life were negative, but now I’m realizing that they were very important deciding factors. They were made to destroy me but they actually made me stronger. So, I focused on what I felt like I was put here to do. A pure talent, something that I couldn’t buy. I focused on that instead on focusing on all kinds of outside distractions.

I had a friend who was in the music business. His name is GDP, he was managing BTY Young’N and a few other artists. I got out of jail. I did a lil time in jail and when I got out of jail, GDP took me to S-8ighty house. S-8ighty and G were real good friends. They were on a tour with Lil Wayne, the “Sorry for the Wait” Tour. I was arrested, so I was incarcerated at that time. But I was always talking to GDP on the phone. We were good friends, and he knew I wanted to rap. And that’s when I decided to rap and really take it serious. He gave me that one beat from S-8ighty. I knew that was an opportunity. He had a beat nobody could do nothing with and that was the closest thing I ever had to have an opportunity in hip-hop. When he took me to S-8ighty house, I freestyled right there.

On the “Say Cheese” track you called yourself New Orleans bad guy and you also said you’re starting to embrace it. You don’t have any issues airing out your beefs and disagreements and you’re out there in that world, you’re not ducked off. I respect that.

Reggi Bang Bang: I think everybody kind of notice that about me. It’s more to it. It’s more of a method to the madness. I’m actually very intelligent. The people who I have words with, in a sense, they deserve it. It’s more of a chastising move. I’m not a person who have too much to hide. I’m not He-Man, I’m not even a big person or imposing figure, but everybody know that I mean what I say. I’m not trying to be a bully. I actually wanna do an interview with Shawn Cotton. It’s actually me being real strategic. It’s to the point where, me saying I’m the bad guy of New Orleans, I’m starting to embrace it. It’s more metaphoric of saying, I don’t agree what’s going on in hip-hop. I don’t mind being an opposition of that either. I don’t mind saying how I feel. Everybody else wanna hold hands and sing together, but it’s a lot of shit I don’t agree with, and I don’t mind saying that. Instead of going to war with a gun or whatever, because anybody can do those things, I started going to war with my craft, with what I saw, what I see and what I disagree with.

You recently dropped a “Who Snitching” freestyle. Was that a reference to anyone or any situation in particular?

Reggi Bang Bang: I try to always stay working and dropping something, but everything I drop have a meaning behind it. I can’t create nothing that’s not meaningful. I’m learning to create in a more futuristic way, because futuristic can be real and true. That can’t be disputed because I have seen it with my own eyes. I’ve manifested my career. Every move that I wanted to make, I thought about it. I didn’t know how it was going to happen, I didn’t even expect it to happen when it happened, it just happened. There has only been a few things that happened that I didn’t want to happen. And they were the biggest things. So, as far as that record, there is a deep meaning behind it, because I was always a good underground rapper. Freestyling on the streets, so certain people knew me. So, I had a record deal situation on the line right when I made that record, “What a Real Nigga Bout.” I had a record deal on the table with a local company in Louisiana. I knew the guys from the streets, and the record label got indicted by the FEDS. Everybody got taken down except me. It wasn’t that I wasn’t in the situation, it’s that, I wasn’t caught up in their crimes. I was being blamed for something I wasn’t guilty of. I was being blamed for turning state on the guys who owned the label.

And the truth… that song is actually me defending myself against certain people who are saying them things. Other lil corny ass rappers, cut a corner motherfuckers that was around that situation and that label. I had to put them motherfuckers in their place. I code a lot of things, but my fans don’t care. They just like my music, the sound of it, what I represent and what I talk about. They don’t have to know every detail of every situation. When I attack somebody, most of the times it’s really just for them. As far as the “Say Cheese” record, that record is not just for Shawn Cotton. It’s about Shawn Cotton stamping GDP as he voice of New Orleans. All I’m saying is, I disagree. So, it’s more of a strategic thing with Shawn Cotton. And I also don’t like how he played both sides in a lot of these rap beefs. It’s more of being strategic more than anything.

I don’t know if social media has anything to do with it, but it seems like New Orleans rap is growing in popularity, Louisiana rap in general. Do you see that?

Reggi Bang Bang: Man… it’s marvelous. It’s great as far as talent goes, but we don’t have the foundation of other major cities that’s doing great. We are just straight talent. A lot of great things are happening here, and I see it changing slowly but surely. I think we are one artist away, one song away. And New Orleans is a tough place. It’s almost like New York of the south. If you think about it, we really don’t fuck with a lot of artists like that. You really have to be that motherfucker for us to really fuck with you. You really gotta be holding it down for us to really fuck with you. You have to be a real force. I think the times have changed in Louisiana as a whole. It’s not all about New Orleans. You got Shreveport making noise, you got Baton Rouge making major fucking noise. This shit come from the street and you ain’t gonna find much more street than Louisiana period, as a whole. It’s on the rise. We are on the bubble. I actually think I’m the spice in the gumbo. I always get overlooked, but I know I’m noticed. My success is strictly off of mic, no funny as shit.

You are working on a few big things. Could you elaborate on any of those moves right now?

Reggi Bang Bang: Man, we doing some big ass things, man. I surprise myself sometimes just making the right decisions. You can expect some big shit real soon. I want to let you know that you inspired me. I feel like the moment I’m having with you right now is what I explained to you a few minutes ago about shit manifesting, this interview. I didn’t have to do the funny shit to get your attention. I just was me. It happens like that all the time in my career. It’s all organic. So, I’m going to keep pushing. I got some big artists from the west coast, your man, G [Glasses Malone], Compton Menace, I got a young cat from New Orleans, he’s signed with Rich Gang. His name is, LaCro$$e. You know about the “Say Cheese” record with Roc Nation artist, Don Flamingo. I got some shit, man. And I’m not even an independent. I’m an underground artist making these moves.

I just want you to know that I like what you doing. I noticed you first. I did my research on you and I tip my hat. I did other interviews and I got other interviews lined up, but this one in particular, I won’t forget it. this one is special to me, because I like what you representin with the Mr.Louis1ana, the boxing background and the fact that you would even acknowledge me. I need this publicity. A lot of artists don’t get this and I appreciate that.

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