$not Is One of Gen Z’s Most Mysterious Rappers. Now He’s Dropping His “‘808s’ Album” – GQ

This video is a little more fashion-forward than you’ve done in the past. You’re wearing Moncler, Rick Owens, and Diesel.

There’s more fashion, it’s definitely kind of different from most of my videos. It’s kind of getting out of my comfort zone, and wearing like more crazy shit – just shit I would never normally see myself wearing. But the video looks cool. It might look crazy, but – I like the crazy shit too!

Tell me about the song, and how Rocky ended up on the track.

I was in the studio, and I had been making a whole bunch of chill songs. And one day I was like I gotta make some more hype tracks. And so I came up with that, it was pretty easy to make. And then, I was like, I can’t hear anyone else on it but Rocky. I don’t know how I’m gonna get him, he’s hard to contact. But I knew Hidji, so I told him I want to get Rocky on it. Hidji sent him the song, and the same day he was like, Rocky wants to get on it! Hidji really put this whole thing together.

You say you had been working on more chill tracks, and with a name like Ethereal that’s kind of what comes to mind. Some songs on here, like “Blue Moon” or “Once Upon a Time” fit that theme, but others, like “Go” and “Doja” and “Attachment,” are more turned up, harder songs.

I mean, to be real – we needed a cool name. That’s really it. And I don’t know – “ethereal,” it means like, out of this world? And to me I felt like a lot of the songs are out of this world, they’re different. It sounds cliché, but it sounds to me like shit that I made that nobody would fuck with….

You’ve put out more sentimental songs in the past – “Fall in Love,” “Moon & Stars,” the last track on the Beautiful Havoc LP, “Horizon” – but honestly you’ve never put anything out like “Blue Moon.” The acoustic nature of it really stands out. And those lines, “Pretty lady, pretty lady” and “I don’t want to waste your time” – it sounds like you’re talking about a specific relationship.

Yeah, I was in L.A., in the room with the producer that made it, and I felt like, Yo, this is different. Let me try this.” At first it was straight acoustic, but we added drums.

[Those lines are] just flexing. You know, you talk to a girl, and you don’t wanna waste their time, you just tell ‘em straight up, “I’m not really looking for anything.” Or it could be vice versa, a girl doesn’t wanna waste your time.