How G-Eazy Built His Empire | The Secrets to G-Eazy’s Success!

I don't tell myself I made it. I don't tell myself I'm successful. I tell myself I'm hungry and I want to keep going. So music became like my, like, passion, my vehicle for, you know what I mean, what I was, you know, driven to do. I meet fans that like have been to like 25 shows and that's crazy, but it's like you could lose that trust in an instant if you ever broke your brand.

Yeah. He's an American rapper and record producer. His first major label album, These Things Happen, hit number 3 on the US Billboard 200. His single Me, Myself and I hit number 7 on the US Billboard 100. He's G-Eazy, and here's my take on his top 10 rules for success. Rule number 1 is my personal favorite, and I'd love to know which one you guys like the best. And as always, guys, as you're watching the videos, if you hear something that really resonates with you, please leave it down in the comments below and put quotes around it so other people can be inspired as well. Also, as you are writing something down, it's much more likely to stick in your head too. Enjoy.

Go hard, and then when you think you're going hard, go harder. Like, that's really it. Just hustle, you know what I mean? There's nothing in life that you can't put enough work in every single day and not get better at. You know what I mean? Like, if you want to be good at something, you know what I mean? Like, you can't just like not like do it every day and not get better. It's the same shit with music. It's the same shit with learning how to play an instrument or something. If you spend your time practicing your craft, like, you know, that's really it. It's just, you know, because nowadays it's like with the internet, everything is so accessible and, you know, everybody in the world is a rapper. You know what I mean? Everybody's putting music out. So it's like, how do you stand out? Quality is always going to matter, but also being different. You can't try to be different, you know what I mean? But you just got to be yourself. What do you credit for your success? Man, you got to have a great team. It's all about having the right people around you. Surprise, surprise. Another night of turn up. Whoa. It's just me, myself, and I. Both who are solid workers. But also just positive influences to you, you know what I mean? People that inspire you, people who bring good energy every day. That and just, you know, hard work and dedication. And as far as I can see, I just need privacy, plus a whole lot of tree. Fuck all this modesty, I just need space to do me, get away from what they're trying to see. Nah, and you gotta have that ability to kind of self-criticism, you know what I mean? And learning and being willing to, you know, take a step back and you know, learn more and not just feel like— I mean, a lot of times, you know, it's so many artists that just feel like, "Man, I'm the hottest. Why am I not?" You know what I mean? "Why am I not doing arenas right now? Why am I not?" You know what I mean? "How did my mixtape get slept on? How did I—" You know what I mean? Whatever. But you really just gotta— it's all about just paying dues and just taking that time and just putting the work in. What other things do you think can distract someone, especially in the music career? Regular people's shit. You know, ever since I finished college, I'm like, I've been just, you know, living off music and you got all this free time, but it's on you to like be like, "All right, I really gotta be in the studio today." Not just go kick it with homies, not just like be everywhere, not just like, you know, do hella shit, but just like, you know, just focus. 'Cause at the end of the day, like when that work gets done, you know, you see the results. Like it takes you places. So for me it was really like, I want to zero in and just focus. And for me, that was getting rid of everything. I mean, success, I don't think it's something you can— I don't think you can, you know, describe success as, you know, it's X, because it means different things to different people. And there's different levels of success. I'd say we're starting to enjoy success now. I bought my mom a brand new car for her birthday. Definitely a dream come true for me. That was a level of success. But then you look at Jay-Z, you know what I'm saying? He'll tell you a billion is success, and he makes it to a B or whatever, you know what I'm saying? Like, he's way, way, way up there in the stratosphere. So this is just like, I don't tell myself I made it. I don't tell myself I'm successful. I tell myself I'm hungry and I want to keep going. I mean, I grew up within hip-hop culture, you know? That's what I was immersed in, like, as a youth. Like, that's what I was surrounded by. So naturally that's, you know, what I gravitated towards. You know what I mean? If I grew up somewhere else, maybe I would've wanted to play guitar or like, you know, sing folk songs or something. But that was just naturally what I gravitated to because that was what I was surrounded by. That was my world. I don't know, I was into music, you know, some kids were into basketball. I wasn't very good, so, you know, music was like, um, I wasn't just like a kid who just, you know, I don't know, played video games or just sat on a computer all day doing nothing. I mean, I was like a driven kid, you know what I mean? So music became like my, like, passion, my vehicle for, you know what I mean, what I was, you know, driven to do. And naturally it was what I was surrounded by. I think a lot of people kind of get it, like, messed up. Like, they feel like if I could only get my music into the right person's hands or something like that, then my life would change instantly. And I just, I don't think we live in that day and age anymore. You know what I mean? It's not about waiting to be discovered. You got to discover yourself and build your own following and make it happen. I meet fans that, like, have been to, like, 25 shows. And that's crazy, but it's like, you could lose that trust in an instant if you ever broke your brand. If you ever broke your identity and what you stand for. And that's why it's like, it doesn't matter how tired I am from, you know, that day's schedule or the shows the night before, like 10 shows in a row without an off day or whatever. Like if I'm traveling to a city, if I have an event, if I'm talking to people, whatever, like they don't care about what happened last night in Orlando. They came here, you know what I mean, for the show and they want us tonight and you have to give it your all. And always be you and never slack because it's like they don't care what you're going like. So you gotta always like, you know, and the same thing, it's like with an album or a song or even like a feature verse or something like that, it's like the second you break that, you know what I mean? And then slack is like when you let people down and you start to lose that brand loyalty of like, you know, if you were like a Coca-Cola person and some, like, you know what I mean? Like you went into the store and you bought a Coke and it started tasting funny and it just dropped off, you know what I mean? You wouldn't be a Coke person anymore. You'd start messing with Pepsi. You know what I mean? So it's like, you're like, "Yo, I'm gonna jump over to this side." It's the same thing. It's like— And not for no reason.

It's because you'd stop trusting that Coke was gonna be what you rely on it for.

Yeah. It's just always having a strong sense of self and having that confidence, you know, in whatever environment you're in, you know, whether good or bad, it's just, You know, knowing who you are, never reaching to try to, you know, impress anybody or be something you're not, and just feel comfortable in your own skin. And that's not always easy, um, but it's all a process of just finding yourself through this journey of life. I think the most beautiful part about life is finding what you love to do and finding your place in it and finding a way to make that a reality. Whether you love to paint or to make music or to play sports or, you know, write, whatever it is that you love to do in life or wherever it is that you love to live or the people you like to be around and finding ways to make that a reality. Like, I fell in love with hip-hop when I was real little and I started writing raps and making beats and I was like, This is what I love to spend my time doing, and I want to find a way to make that a reality and get to travel the world and get to, you know, live the way I want to and share that with people.

Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because Razvan asked me to. So if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave it down in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know what did G-Eazy say that had the biggest impact on you? What lesson are you going to take the most from this video and immediately apply somehow to your life or business, leave it down in the comments below and I'm gonna join in the discussion. I also wanna give a quick shout out to Harshith. Thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book, Your One Word, and making those awesome tribute pictures and sharing them with me. I really, really, really appreciate your support. So thank you guys again for watching. I believe in you. I hope you continue to believe in yourself and whatever your one word is. Much love. I'll see you soon.

I just think music is changing in terms of the gatekeepers and the power that be, the powers that be. And I feel like it's in a more democratic time. It's like the power is in the musicians' hands and in the fans' hands. I mean, they choose, you know, what matters, what's relevant, what sells, what, you know, it's not so much like the old powers, the old gatekeepers who could just shove something down your throat. It's like, you know, you see less and less superstars and more and more organically grown, you know, artists like myself who are just, you know, just doing something a little different, you know what I mean, bending genres and don't necessarily fit within this, like, format or walls of, you know, whatever, just kind of doing their own thing and finding an audience and growing it organically and just making it happen.