Introducing Biggie Babylon, the San Diego native has taken the rap game by storm and is poised to have a huge year coming up. We got to chop it up with the rapper and get some insight into his journey and what he represents.
Your newest single, “All In” was #2 on iTunes album charts, #18 on Billboard album charts, and #2 on Digital Radio Tracker Global charts. How has it felt to amass this much success from all your hard work?
B: Honestly, it still hasn’t sunk in yet. Yes, it feels great to achieve new heights in my music career and it was an amazing feeling to hang up the Billboard and Itunes plaques but I feel like if I keep outworking the competition then more and more success should come. It’s a great thing to enjoy success but you have to be careful not to let it sidetrack you from the bigger picture.
You were raised to be entrepreneurial and business-focused, how has that impacted the way you approach making your music?
B: I learned basic business skills from a very young age at my fathers liquor store. He put it simply: invest in a good product, make it available for sale, advertise it, provide excellent customer service, and watch the customers come back over and over. I use that same approach when I make music. Music business is just another type of business.
Are there any skills you’ve learned from your multiple businesses that have translated toward your music?
B: The main skill I learned from my businesses that translated towards my music is that you have to advertise and market your product well if you truly want to attract and retain new customers. No matter the business you are in, there will always be competition so you have to find ways to stand out.
How do you stay motivated to put out new music and push your brand even through hard times (i.e. COVID-19)?
B: Hard times come and go. Good times come and go. The way you adapt makes. all the difference. Sometimes things go bad because of mistakes you made and sometimes things go bad due to unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Mistakes sometimes are blessings because it gives you a chance to learn from them. The unforeseen stuff you have to be resilient and grind it out and that will make you stronger.
You’ve been in the studio throughout your whole career. Whether it was in the earlier days when you were behind the scenes managing or more recently in the recording booth, what’s your craziest studio story?
B: It was my birthday five years ago and I stopped by the studio to smoke a few blunts with my producer at the time, Josh Franks. When I got there I was shocked to see one of my favorite artists ever growing up, Layzie Bone from Bone Thugs N Harmony. He was in town. recording and was super cool and humble. He invited me to sit in on the session with him but a bunch of my friends had a birthday party planned for me that night so I couldn’t stay. I invited him to my party up the street and promised him some good food. He said he would try to make it and sure enough around 1am, just when I gave up hope for him coming, Layzie Bone and the boys showed up and said they were hungry! I was already a little faded but we hung out for hours drinking champagne, smoking some incredible Babylon’s Garden weed, and I fed them some home cooked Chaldean food that my mom made, which everyone loved. It was a night I will never forget with a legend and someone I grew up idolizing. Thank you Layzie Bone!
What would your dream studio session look like (producer, features, etc)?
B: My dream studio session would be inside of my brand new home studio with D.A. Got That Dope blessing me with his amazing production, Jay Z and Eminem dropping their verses on my record, and having some of my closest people in the room to enjoy the moment.
You’re very vocal about where you’re from, what does it mean to represent the Chaldean community? What are your thoughts on how DJ Khaled represents the Middle Eastern community in Hip-Hop?
B: I represent the Chaldean community always because that is who I am. We are direct descendents of the ancient Babylonian people from the area that is modern day Iraq. We were the first civilization on Earth and invented many of the things that people today still utilize. People think that we are gone but our communities are strong all around the United States especially in Detroit, Chicago, and my hometown of San Diego. I love how DJ Khaled represents the Middle Eastern community and I love how he is not only accepted but celebrated by the Middle Eastern world. That part of the world is so big and contains so many new hip hop fans and I hope that they will embrace me one day like they do with DJ Khaled, French Montana, and all the other dope Middle Eastern artists.
Why did you originally go by ‘Entre-P’ and what influenced you to change to ‘Biggie Babylon’?
B: Entre-P was my stage name before I ever hit any stage as an artist. I was the entrepreneur behind the scenes and the nickname Entre-P was given to me by the artist I was managing. When I did start writing and recording music I did it under Entre-P and released my first album, C.E.O.G. under that name. A few years later, I started taking meetings with some record labels who were thinking about the long term for me and my music. One executive said to me one day, “we love the name Entre-P because it is what you were when you started doing music but as you grow into an international star and hit markets where they don’t speak English, the name Entre-P might be confusing to them.” He encouraged me to think of a new name and soon thereafter I proposed the name Biggie Babylon. Everyone fell in love with the name and the rest is history.
Congratulations on the birth of your second child! How did becoming a father impact your music?
B: Thank you so much, my family and I are so happy to welcome my second daughter, Goldie, into the world. After the birth of my first daughter, Gianna, in 2019 it really changed my approach to music. It has become more serious now. Everything I do has to have a purpose. What I want to do more than anything these days is spend time with my family. My goals are to get paid to hit stages around the world and be able to take my family with me to enjoy the ride.
What’s next for Biggie Babylon?
B: I just finished my latest project, “Coronado California,” which is set to release in the summer of 2021. It features nine tracks with production from multi platinum producers Thom Genius, Mev The Renegade, and Dabato. I don’t have any major features on the project right now but I have heard from some major artists lately about remixing my first single, “All In.” Upon the release of “Coronado California” I plan to ride the wave that I have created in the West Coast and the Pacific Ocean all the way to the East Coast where it’s gonna collide with the Atlantic Ocean inevitably creating a tsunami that I can surf across the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia and into the Indian and Arctic Ocean’s before crossing a few more continents and coming back to the Pacific again.
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