G-Scott Kicks Off #HelloLosVegas Tour in Chicago, Talks New Single & ‘1983’ Mixtape

Anyone can become a rapper, but it takes true talent to become a storyteller; and Gerald “G-Scott” Bailey is a reflection of that image. The Gary, IN native has been captivating audiences for the past few years with his creative interpretations of his life’s story. His most recent effort, “Weekend in Los Vegas,” has garnered critical acclaim in the blogosphere catapulting him into a multi-city tour.

As the #HelloLosVegas series prepares to kick off in Chicago on Saturday (July 28), the young emcee is also prepping the release of his new single "4 Finger Ring Raps" featuring Illinois emcee Ibn Inglor, and the official "Weekend in Los Vegas" EP in late August. We The Go had the opportunity to catch up with G-Scott to discuss his concert series, new single, work with WGCI's Boi Jeanius, and his upcoming project, “1983.”

WE THE GO: It’s been a couple of months since you released your mixtape, Weekend in Los Vegas. How would you say the response has been overall?
G-SCOTT: It’s been really nice. People are picking up the mixtape and responding to it pretty well. People are connecting with it, and it’s been moving, so I’m proud of what it’s done.

What was the concept around creating the tape?
It was about me as an artist growing into my own style and growing as a person—transiting into an emotional child in an adult. That was the whole push behind that project.

If you had to choose, what are the stand-out tracks?
“Karma,” “30,000 ft.,” and “Folded” has been a pretty big tracks.

For those who have yet to download it, why should they?
If you don’t have “Weekend in Los Vegas,” you should definitely go get “Weekend is Los Vegas” because it’s good music, it’s something different that hip-hop is missing or hasn’t been heard lately. There’s definitely something on there for everybody, and the project is just pretty dope overall.

As stated in your stroll with DopeDrops.com, you’re working on new mixtape, “1983.” What can fans expect to hear from your next project?
‘1983’ is kind of like “Weekend in Los Vegas” on steroids. It’s like the Saturday and Sunday section of “Weekend in Los Vegas,” but amped up. It’s more conscious material, but also some more crazy production, crazy lyrics, it’s just a lot of amped up stuff.

What about the year, 1983 is significant to this project?
‘1983’—before I was even supposed to put out “Weekend in Los Vegas,” I was supposed to put out ‘1983.’ Me and my guy joked around about stuff like Studio 54 and crazy parties, and crazy actions. That’s where the whole concept came from. Once I started doing research, in ‘1983’ Viacom brought out radio of whatever it was. They basically turned radio into a monopoly. So, once they did all that, it’s basically the reason why always hear the same stuff on the radio or the same songs. So once I heard all that, I connected with that and played off of that as far as songs go, or basically saying this happened in 1983, I wanted to be something different and put out a project that was playing off of that and make some crazy music. So, I wanted 1983 to really just be upbeat compared to my other projects.

Do you have any features lined up as of yet?
The only guy Ibn [Inglor] from "4 Finger Ring Raps,” but I’m still working on some other features, so nothing have been confirmed yet.

 

You do a lot of work with WGCI 107.5’s Boi Jeanius. How’d that partnership come about?
It really was through Twitter. I linked up with my guy Issac probably three years ago, and we did the “Poe'd Up Remix” from my first mixtape, and we came together and did that remix, and that’s where I met Boi Jeanius because he was doing that session with us. He was friends with Issac, heard me through that, and was like, “I like this kid.” After that we just connected and kept doing music.

As you prepare to perform in Chicago on Saturday, what do you want the audience to take away from your performance?
I just want people to see that I’m the same when I’m doing music and when I’m not doing music. I want people to feel the music off of “Weekend In Los Vegas,” and feel the music off of “Scott Bailey Vs. The World,” and pass it on to someone else. I’m going to be doing “Weekend in Los Vegas,” “Scott Bailey Vs. The World,” and I’m going to premiere a track called “Four Finger Ring Raps.” So, I just want people to pass the music on and feel what I’m talking about.

What would you like to ultimately see happen the most in your career?
For me, personally, my goal is to be able to live, and be successful with my music. As long as I can do that and have listeners, I’ll be fine with it. If I blow up, and do something crazy, that would be cool too. But, I’m just trying to make dope music and have people listen to it.