“Life Is a Gamble” is a fitting title for Wack’O’s newest release. It represents where he’s been, what he’s doing, even how he came to put out this song now.
Unlike the explicit street rap of most of the other dozen or so songs he released in 2022, “Life Is a Gamble” is more like gospel rap, or a prayer, with messages beyond the obvious one.
The obvious one is, “Let’s get this stuff together now,” he said. “We don't know what can happen tomorrow. You don't know if you going to wake up and breathe the next morning. Life is a gamble.”
Then there’s the contrast with a lot of his previous work. “Gamble” has lyrics like this:
Lord help me through all this pressure
And plant me on solid ground
Keep my head above the water
So I don’t follow my wicked way
He is out front with his Christian faith. Some of his other work from 2022 — like “Hooya,” “Time Is Realistic,” “Sucka Free” and “Gone Bout Your Business” — have darker, harder themes and a worldly street tone.
But that is not a break with the earlier beats. It is not a new direction.
“‘Life Is a Gamble’ is more like growth, to show that I have evolved and grown more in my music,” he said.
“And it's change,” he said, but not meaning that all his music from now on is going to be like “Gamble.” It is the change of growth, as in some other lines:
It’s time to change and live my life like a grown man
I got kids to feed and the streets ain’t the master plan
Both sides must be represented in his music, he says, the life of the Christian spirit, the kind of person he wants to be, and the real world, the “harsh and cold world out there.”
“You have to give people real time, real music. You have to give people you,” he said, with the stress on “you.”
“You don't have to still be doing the things you was doing, but you got to give them the real picture.”
Wack’O is not wedded to one kind of song or one kind of music. He cites as his influences artists like Master P and Jay-Z.
“But on the flip side, I like Taylor Swift. Bruno Mars. I like all creativity.”
He grew up listening to “all” music, emphasis on all — R&B, blues, country, rock ‘n’ roll.
“I don’t care,” he said. “As long as it sounds good, I’m with it. It’s got to have a message to it, too, though. Music is made for different things. You got party music, you got music for emotional purposes, you got music just to listen to and meditate on, you know? Music can calm a situation or create one. Music itself is a way to the soul.”
He has been making music himself for a long time, but on this go, “I wanted to do everything the correct way.”
“You got to line up things professionally,” he said. “If you want to get professional results, you got to be professional. ”
And he says he didn’t before. He was just “dropping in.” Then came an incarcerated stage and, when that stage ended, he went to work.
“You got life first. You got to pay the bills, you got to get paid. You get into more of the grown-up aspect of changing your life, changing your steps.”
Part of his goals for his music is opening musical doors for young people in his hometown of Jackson, Tennessee. He wants to open a recording studio and a school for talented adolescents, or others who want to explore their musical side in addition to their careers.
He has performed in California and Atlanta and at places in between. He is working on an EP. He has music out, more on the way, and he will not be pigeonholed in hip hop.
He intends for his music to be “true music.”
“True music comes from your heart — things you have experienced, lived, seen. It’s not always things you took part in, but things that you got some basic knowledge, wisdom and understanding from. Then you are able to give it to people vividly.”
Stay connected to Wack’O on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
Websites:
“Life is a Gamble” SoundCloud
“Life is a Gamble” YouTube
SoundCloud
Spotify
YouTube
Welcome to SOUND ADVICE, Interview’s weekly space for playlists put together by artists, collaborators, and people from all corners of our circle. Over the past few weeks, we’ve highlighted selections from Zack Fox, Danny L Harle, and Mckayla Twiggs. This latest edition spotlights British French songwriter and producer Lauren Auder, who released her second album, “Whole World as Vigil,” just last week. Created alongside Dviance and Alex Parish, the project explores the emotional layers of human relationships, from the struggles to the moments of beauty. To celebrate the release, we invited Auder to curate a playlist for us and share a few personal insights along the way.
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Where do you dance? In the bedroom.
London or France? Unfair advantage for France, being a whole country.
What song on this playlist is your guilty pleasure? I have no guilty pleasures!
What’s your favorite sound effect? Roblox “OOH” or Bathory’s horse neigh on their album Blood Fire Death.
Dream collab, dead or alive? Lou Reed, obviously.
Who do you trust most with the aux? My roommate, Cajm.
What do you pray about? More time, more rest.
Best arrondissement in Paris? 20th probably?
What song is currently on replay? “Close to the Edge” by Yes.
What album was your coming-of-age soundtrack? Mysterious Phonk: Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurrp.
Tell us a secret. I cheated my way through Latin class in secondary school.
Night or day? Day!
What is your studio session pet peeve? Weed smell :/
Which Skins character did you relate to the most? None, I’m 27!
What are you listening to as you complete this questionnaire? Space heater next to my bed, Italian lesson next door.
What does your notes app look like? Incriminating.
You just arrived at the function. What are you drinking? What are you smoking? Cheap lager or expensive red wine, a Syrah if it’s winter.
The world is ending. What are you wearing True religion jeans and a white button down, as per.
