So you’re currently wrapping up the “From The Bay To The Universe” tour. How’s that going?

G-Eazy: I’m blessed man. This tour is the best tour that I’ve ever been on. Literally every show is sold out. The other acts are great, I love watching their sets, and it’s rare to get an entire tour of artists who are all from the same area, which is what this tour is.

Talk to me a little bit about your childhood growing up in the Bay. When did you get into rap?

G-Eazy: I started rapping when I was like 13 or 14 and it was just what me and my homies were into. It was just a way for us to pass the time in class or on the bus ride home or whatever. Then I bought a mic and at that time in like ’04 and ’05, recording technology started to become easily accessible. I started to make beats around the same time and we thought if we recorded our raps and put em out there, we’d eventually take off. We were just committed. This is what me and my crew did every day.

Who did you listen to growing up?

G-Eazy: I was listening to a lot of local Bay Area stuff. We had groups like Federation, Keak da Sneak and then the legends like Mac Dre, Too Short and E-40 who were the pioneers and have been at the forefront of everything for years. I would hear all of these guys and other Bay Area rappers on the radio and they were like superstars to me and that’s what a lot of the early stuff [my group and I] made; it was very much inspired by the scene in the Bay.

Does the white rapper label bother you?

G-Eazy: I think what matters most is the music and whether or not it comes from a genuine place. If it comes from a real place, that’s what matters the most. You know this is the culture that I grew up surrounded by and fell in love with at an early age and a genre of music and a craft that I put a lot of handwork into.