Bay Swag, the Queens-born rapper who helped pioneer a new subgenre of New York drill music, has emerged as one of the city's most compelling young voices. Known for tracks like "For Sure" that brought dancing and positivity back to New York's hip-hop scene, Bay Swag recently released his debut album Damaged Thoughts, a deeply personal project that chronicles his journey through family struggles, loss, and triumph.
Why did you name your album Damaged Thoughts?
I named my album Damaged Thoughts because I feel like a lot of people could relate to it. I feel like everybody has damaged thoughts or thoughts are damaged in some way. One of the songs that means the most to me on the project is "Damaged Thoughts," the last song, because I was talking about a lot of things I've been going through. I talk about my mom -- she just beat breast cancer. My dad being locked up, me having to deal with that, having to go there and see him. It's a lot for me. Not only that, but a lot of my bros have been getting locked up. At the end of the song, my big bro Robert is talking, and it's so crazy because I didn't even know he was home. He just came and surprised me. That song means the most to me.
Is the song a love letter to your community and loved ones?
Yes, exactly.
You've described music as your therapy. What unspoken pain do you heal through this album?
It's not just one unspoken pain that I heal from with this album -- it's everything. Music is my therapy. Any problems that I'm going through or that I don't talk about, or that's affecting my mental health or messing me up day to day, I just go rap about it. It's crazy because a lot of my bros, I'll be rapping in the studio saying certain things, and afterward they'll be like, "Oh, word." It's not just one thing. I feel like it's everything because it is my therapy, and that's how I get things off my chest.
You've collaborated with artists from Ice Spice to Meek Mill to Young Thug. What do these partnerships say about your current moment?
I feel like it says a lot. It really says two things: hard work and the Man above, God. Without Him, none of this would be possible. When it's your time, it's your time.
Your track For Sure became a cultural wave. Why do you think it resonated so strongly?
I feel like it resonated the way it did because we brought a whole new sound to the game. It's like a whole new genre. Where we come from in New York, at the time it was a lot of drill, and a lot of the fans are kids. A lot of things were going on in New York -- shootings, robberies. They were promoting the wrong things. They promoted violence.
When we came out with For Sure, we used to have parties all the time. A lot of people that were beefing with each other would come to the party, and it wouldn't be nothing because we were just having a good time. We brought back dancing, people dancing again, people just having fun. I definitely feel like what we were promoting was the reason why it happened how it did, because it's positive.
How did your father's incarceration shift your relationship with music and yourself?
My father's incarceration shifted my music because in the beginning, when I first started rapping, I told him I wanted to rap, and he kind of brushed it off. So I went to my bro Quiz's house, and he actually helped me make my first song. That same song, I went to my pops and played it for him, and then after that he was like, "Oh, I bet you're serious."
He was the type to -- because I was still young -- get songs written for me, the beats, everything, and just bring it to the studio. So all I had to do was show up and rap it. When he got locked up, I got this manager named Ken. He brought me to the studio for the first time without all that prepared. I didn't have beats or anything. So I went on YouTube, typed in some type beat, pulled the beat up, and just freestyled it. From there, that's how it was.
My father's incarceration shifted my life because growing up, I didn't have to worry about anything. He was outside getting money, making sure the family was good, making sure I had every sneaker, making sure I had everything. Him going to jail kind of turned me into a man because I feel like I would have never had the drive and the hustle because it was given to me. That was taken from me, so now I had to go get it. Now I'm the man in the house.
Can you define "sexy drill" for those unfamiliar with the sound?
I could define sexy drill as just music for the ladies, talking about how good they look, how beautiful they are, just catering to the women. That's why I feel like it did what it did and it's doing what it's doing, because you never gonna lose with females. Everybody used to always tell me that when I was growing up. I never understood it, but now I see what they meant.
How does your music differ from other drill music in New York?
I feel like I sound different, and then I feel like we all sound different, honestly. People don't know what they're talking about. If you literally listen to everybody's music, it literally sounds completely different. Yes, it's probably the same kind of beats, but we all sound different. We're all using different flows. If you have an ear and you can listen, it's literally right there in front of your face.
What would you tell your younger self about staying consistent?
One thing I would tell my younger self is to stay consistent because I used to just drop music and then stop. The songs I was dropping were doing good for me at the time, but then I would stop for like a year. When you drop a good song and it's doing good, you gotta stay consistent. After For Sure, I learned my lessons from before, and I've just been staying consistent, and the greatest things have been happening.
What message do you have for anyone who feels like their pain is too loud to chase their dreams?
You gotta use it as motivation. I know somebody right now whose father passed away, and that person has been very down for like two years, and they keep using it as an excuse to not elevate in life. That's supposed to motivate you. I know everybody's different, but you can't be sad forever because that person wouldn't want you to be that way. They would want you to go get it.
What do you want to say to your day one fans?