August Alsina covers the latest issues of Rolling Out Magazine. He discusses about his stepfathers addiction to crack, leaving the streets, R&B, and relationships. Check out what he has to say below.
On stepping away from the street life:
I remember giving this girl a crack rock,” Alsina said during our interview. “She wanted to try it before she bought more. I gave her a piece of rock and she smoked it in the pipe right in front of me. To see her smoke crack in front of me messed me up. Because it was the same drug that messed up my life and my family’s life. My stepdad was on crack. My real father was addicted and he died. That day, I realized my heart was too big to continue selling drugs. I didn’t want to be a part in the destruction of someone else’s family.”
On R&B:
“It’s a new day and age and you have to adapt,” Alsina says. “It’s about growing and adapting. I’m a fan of what R&B used to be. I’m not a rapper. I stay in my lane. With today’s R&B, a lot of people can get confused. If you don’t have a vision for yourself, someone will have a vision for you. People want something fresh and new. As long as I relate to the ones that are down, I’m good. There are more people who are poor than rich. I want to make music to lift the people.”
On Relationships:
I have trust issues,” Alsina reveals. “You don’t know, because girls play games sometimes. I was in a store once and some girls were in there asking if they could take a picture with me. One girl asked if I was a basketball player. I told her I wasn’t. When I went to the counter, the clerk told methat the girl knew who I was and [that] she told everyone about me before I walked into the store. Now that I know you’re a liar, I really can’t get down with you. I just grind. I’m robbed of actually being able to make a friend or actually see if a girl really likes me for who I am, because you never know what their motives are. Since I don’t have time to figure it out, I don’t pay attention to it. “I’m at a place where I don’t trust many people. I’ve seen some crazy stuff. If I had a camera to show you the things some girls do, you’d understand why I’m cool on that right now.”
