SNS meets Larry June

In recent months, Larry June has left his under-the-radar status to become a music phenomenon with his on-point, somehow slow-paced flow on beats by none other than The Alchemist on his recent The Great Escape project. With more than a decade of music-making in the books and more than 10 solo LPs, Uncle Larry has paid his dues, currently enjoying his global success on tour in Europe. For his stop in Stockholm, we met up with the MC at our headquarters to chop it up, get a glimpse of his timepieces, and have a good time just before heading to the venue for a sold-out show.

Read the Sneakersnstuff x Larry June interview below.

SNS : First and foremost, welcome to Sweden, man.

Larry : Come on, I appreciate it, man. Thank you for having me. Of course, of course. We're in town; we gotta make things happen with us.

SNS : How was your first show in Portugal?

Larry : It was crazy energy. My first time there. The response was crazy. You know what I mean? More love than I expected. And um, shit, it was dope, man. A dope experience. Got to link with people, you know what I mean? That were fans of the music and supporters. It was super dope. Got to try some Portuguese chicken. Yeah, they did outstanding numbers haha. No sauce needed.

SNS : Dope man, How do you like the food out here in Europe?

Larry : Um, we didn't really get to eat much yet, man. We didn't get to eat yesterday in Oslo, but, um, in Portugal, the food was great. Yeah, I'm trying to see what, um, what Stockholm got to offer, man. What should we eat?

SNS : It's a mix out here, man. We have some Swedish dishes, but I'd say a lot of the restaurants out here are influenced from all over the world.

Larry : Oh, yeah, that’s dope.

SNS : There are some spots I'll recommend and text you guys. If you like Japanese fusion food, there’s a really good spot in the inner city I’ll recommend.

Larry : Fire. We like Japanese food.

SNS : So, are there any specific cities in Europe you're excited to perform at? And do you have any must-visit spots in Europe? It could be food spots, stores, whatever.

Larry : Um, I'm excited for tomorrow, man. Stockholm. It's my first time here. It's beautiful. You know, I mean, energy is great. I'm just excited to see what's gonna happen. You know what I mean? So super. I was always excited to come to Stockholm and Norway. I've never been in Portugal. I was kind of like, I don't know what I'll expect, but it was super dope. But all these places like I'm super excited and, you know, I'm super stoked to be over here for real.

SNS : I know this is not your first time in Europe, but what was your first impression of Europe, and what's the energy in your shows in Europe compared to the U.S?

Larry : Um, I feel like in Europe, man, it's like, uh, they don't see me much. So it's like more excitement and appreciation. I feel really appreciated out here. Energy, like people are just super happy to meet me. You know what I mean? Versus the U.S., when in the U.S., it's a bit different. It's like, "This dude came all the way from California." You know what I mean? So it's dope. Yeah.

SNS : Cool man! You and Alchemist recently dropped a project together. A Great project btw. I was introduced to your music by a friend actually. Who left some really nice gifts for you, and he wanted me to hand them out to you.

Larry : That's dope.

SNS : but I think this album really captured me as a fan of your music. I've been listening to the earlier ones. But this one kind of stuck to me and it's been on repeat ever since.

Larry : Even that album really had a big impact over here. Like from what I saw, like we did a lot of pop-ups and free shows before we dropped the album.

So, it was dope. And I think the style of music captivated like a crowd over here, you know, like the smooth, chill, sample beats and the cool shit, you know what I mean? So, I feel like, um, that was like a fly, fly album. And I feel like, y'all fly. So, it captivated that audience.

It was super dope, like working with Al too. Al, crazy.

SNS : How did that collaboration come together?

Larry : It was really organic. Like we worked on music in the past, and how it happened was I was on a couple of features that he made the beats for, he heard some, we got in the studio, did a couple records, and we were just gonna do an EP, but it turned into a whole album, you know, which I'm happy it went that way.

We're working on another one too.

SNS : Oh, word! That's good to know because we love that collaboration. We'd love to see some more from you guys. and talking about the name of the album, The Great Escape, where did you get that name from? Or what's the story behind that?

Larry : You know, when you put the music on, it takes you to another place, like an escape from it.

Whatever predicament you're in, you know what I mean? To a real peaceful environment. You play that music; you can just press play and a whole album. It's like a movie you can just press play. It is like, it has a, it's like a movie here. You know what I mean? So, it was dope. It was dope. So we named it the great escape.

We were like, what can we name this shit? We had a whole studio session based on what should we name the projects. We played the project over and over again. It's like, just give us like a. A luxury like getaway feel. And then he was like, uh, we, we started reading a magazine called the Robbery report.

Just getting ideas and like, uh, fuck. The Great Escape. Yeah. We had read something, a little article or something there, said The Great Escape. It was like, fuck it. The Great Escape.

SNS : That's . That's dope. That's dope. I totally feel you about that as well, but it really does feel like a movie.

Larry : Yeah. You want to make projects where you put 'em on. It's like, anything you're going through or you need some inspiration, you can press play and just like ride to it. And just enjoy the music from the beats to the lyrics, to the cadences. You know what I mean?

SNS : Yeah for sure! I really enjoy listening to the full album track by track cause I really feel you guys built the album or the list of the album based on like a movie, which kinda sets a whole mode to it and feels like you’re shifting your focus to the music and vibe.

Larry : That's dope. I appreciate that. Yeah. Thank you man.

SNS : Going to my next question, looking at your catalog over the past four years, there's been like a consistency of releases of albums and projects. This consistency is also reflected in your lyrics. Where you talk about not giving up persevering in your craft. Where does that consistency and drive come from?

Larry : Um, shit man, just being able to do what I love and I know if I stay at it, I can continue to do it and be able to be here with you guys and do shows. I love making music, you know what I mean, like it's one of my passions, so I have fun doing it, it's not like a job for me. Like I got my studio set up in my hotel right now, so whenever I think of something, I just go record, it's like therapeutic for me, so the consistency comes from like, Already loving to do the music and then like being able to provide a lifestyle for me and my family and my team.

You know what I mean? So it's like, you know, why not just keep going?

SNS : So. Something I personally appreciate about your music a lot, and many others do as well, is the positive mindset in the lyrics that emphasize on financial literacy and entrepreneurial mindset. How did your personal experience contribute to the development of these themes in your music?

Larry : You know, I've been an entrepreneur my whole life. You know, I never had a job before. We always were trying to figure out a way to make some money, even like, you know, me and Sean Kelly, we used to rake leaves and mow lines, wash cars, anything that, you know, which always was hands-on with it. So the music, when we had like a platform to make money off music, it was like, Oh, this is easy to sell CDs and make music and sell it to the people like we outside.

So we took that same hustle and, Put it into something positive and, uh, it happened to be something I love and my team love. So it's like it was a no-brainer. We just put that same grind into the music and, you know, took it to the, to the next level. Even though we got a lot of ways to go, but we're just pushing that line, keeping it going.

SNS : Yeah. And for my next question, if you were to give 3 key tips on what to do with your money, what would it be?

Larry : Um, spend it, man. Spend it and make more, you know what I mean? Buy things that hold value. You know, things that make you happy. You know, sometimes spending money makes you want to go make more money because you get used to having certain things you might want to take a chance and like, you might be used to, uh, driving a Honda or whatever, but once you first get that Mercedes, you like, yo, your standards step up.

So, You know, don't be afraid to spend it. You know what I mean? And, uh, buy things that hold value. Invest in the things that you're passionate about. If you're not passionate about it, you're just investing in anything you can possibly lose. You make money when you're passionate about it. You know what I mean?

So, yeah, that. But, you know, saving cool. You know, but the price, you know, money depreciating. Like, you can keep money in the safe for years, but if it ain't growing, like... . Okay. You should have just spent this shit for real . You know what I'm saying? So you gotta spend some money to make some money.

Last but not least, the best investment should be yourself, you know. Because if you invest into yourself, if you have something like a career that you're passionate about, it's only going to take you higher.

You know what I mean? Because you're not spending money, it's like an asset. You're putting the money into your brand to make things bigger. I'm independent, so I'm all about that. So, um, yeah, man. Spend your money wisely. And, treat yourself, man.

SNS : Yeah. So let's delve into your hometown roots, uh, from the Bay Area, and what does, like, being a driving force for rap in the Bay Area mean to you? And how do you see your impact shape the local rap scene?

Larry : It influenced me a lot. From the lifestyle to the, um, you know, the drums and the bass lines. You hear certain bass lines, like, uh, that's that, that mob. You know what I mean? It gives you that feeling where you want to just touch your collar and just, Feel me on some real player shit.

You know, we come from real players and also like beautiful scenic places, you know what I mean? You can go from the hood and be in Sausalito in 30 minutes and, do something different. My music was definitely influenced by the Bay Area a lot, like from the, the past generations, you know, like the, um, the ones before me, and there's the style of music and the.

The beats, the cadences, how the people rap on the beats, how they approach the game. Independent hustle. You know, like in the Bay Area, independence is super big. Like, we coming out the trunk, selling albums hand in hand and throwing shows and doing everything. So, you know. Yeah, it does really look like that as well.

SNS : Yeah, it does really feel like that as well. A couple of months ago, I saw this like Master P documentary of him coming up.

Larry : Yeah. Yeah. He started in the bay.

SNS : Yeah, exactly. Started in the bay. In like the back of his trunk. Selling CDs and was very independent during his come up.

Larry : Cause we like one of them regions where it's like everybody know about our independency.

But we don't got like the resources as a lot of other people. Cause like, it's, I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's where we located at, but I feel like we kind of looked down on though. So we got to go extra harder to like prove ourself.

We can do this too. We're doing this. So it's a lot of, you've got to do it yourself or it might not get done. Yeah, you know what I mean?

SNS : You seem to have a lot of exciting ventures going on. From like your clothing brand. Uh, correct me if I'm wrong here as well. You also have like a juice spot in SF?

Larry : Yeah. Yeah, I do. I got a Boba Tea shop. Yeah. That does really well. Clothing brand, Midnight organic. Yeah, that does really as well. But you know, the music is keeping all that going as well too. You take one thing and you put into other things, you know, like investing, like you go back to investing into yourself.

You want to have different outlets and strings of income. So, you know, just generational wealth type shit. So it's going great. You know, doing good in real estate too. I got my hands a little bit in everything.

SNS : Yeah, it feels like that and for my upcoming questions here. What upcoming plans can you share with your fans? And what can they look forward to? Are there any new merchandise drops, upcoming music, or any other projects you'd like to share?

Larry : Yeah, so like I said, earlier, you know, me and Al is working on another project. Me and Cardo, we already done, we should be dropping like in the next couple of months.

That's called The Night Shift. We already got like a few videos done. We just getting all the, the marketing shit together. But that should be coming soon. And um, Man, just expanding my brand and I'm always going to have something going. Nothing crazy to say on the interview right now, but you know, expanding my clothing brand.

Expanding my juice shops around the world and different places and, and the shit. I'm still looking for other outlets. Keeping it going. What's next. That's why I'm over here. I might be doing something with you, man. What we doing? Haha

SNS : Yeah for sure! and to conclude this interview as I mentioned earlier, what captivates me about your music is the positive mindset and the philosophy of “you gotta keep going”.

And if you could share, like, a message or, like, anything to any, like, aspiring artist. Entrepreneurs out there. What words of wisdom or advice would you like to offer?

Larry : You know, uh, when you're discouraged, man, it's a good thing. That means you want more. You know what I mean? You're not happy where you at.

So don't let the being discouraged stop you from anything you're doing. Keep going no matter what. You know what I mean? And, and make sure you're passionate about it. I know I keep saying that, but you got to be passionate. You can have a talent. You can like doing something, but when you're passionate about it, nothing will stop you from making it happen.

So I always encourage people like whatever your passion is, put focus into what you're passionate because it's no longer a job for you. You're just doing something that you love to do. And now you're making money from it and you're happy. Instead of like, you know, a lot of people go to college and their mother told them to be, um, a doctor or a lawyer or something.

In their mind, it's like, I didn't want to do that. I really want to create cameras or like anything, you know what I mean? And, and I feel like a lot of people go wrong with like, not putting their time into what they're passionate about. When I changed my life and got out the streets and focused on my passion, my whole life changed.

I said my prayer, you know what I mean? And, and I, I kept writing.

SNS : Big up to that, man. You're doing great, man.

Larry : Yeah, you too. I appreciate it. Thank you.

SNS : So, yeah, that was pretty much it from me. I want to say thank you for taking the time to sit down with me.

Larry : Yeah, you too. Thanks you.