Premiere: Young Sizzle A.K.A. Southside Releases His 'Free Agent 3' Project

We spoke to him state of 808 Mafia, the rap game, and more.

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Complex Original

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Southside, the popular producer and leader of the 808 Mafia brand, is looking to break out and take his career in a completely different direction. The producer, who has worked extensively with FutureDrakeKanye West... and just about every other major rapper, is now making waves as a rapper on his own. As Southside, or Young Sizzle (his rap moniker) tells it, once he accomplished what he wanted as a producer, he decided to go at it behind the mic.

As Southside takes his next step as a rapper with the debut of his new mixtapeFree Agent 3, he wants to do it on his own merit. "Being in the studio with two of the greatest [Future and Drake] helps a lot," Southside says, and adds that he never wants to hold anything back, which he's learned from Future. "Say whatever you want to say, don't give a fuck what nobody thinks."

With Southside now focusing on rapping and producing, he's not worried about 808 Mafia falling off. "I own 808 Mafia, that's my company. That's what we push every day. It's our way of life," he says. As of now, 808 Mafia includes a talented group of producers such as TM88, Tarentino, Purps, and many more. While Southside says he'll always produce for other artists, he'll never stop storing up his own music, which is another thing he's learned from Future.

Though there is only one feature on Free Agent 3, the project is packed with production from Southside himself, as well as Metro Boomin​ and YK​. Southside refers to Metro as his "best friend in the game." Together, Metro and Southside produced some of Future's biggest songs of the year, as well as most of DS2. "We just so happy to cook up, like I've known Metro since he was 15," Southside says. "He understand me and I understand him, I don't have to explain anything to him so like once we start working, we just work. It's a good vibe and it's always fun."

Metro and Southside also worked together on Future and Drake's What a Time to be Alive project, which he says was a great experience all around. "Drake was really cool," he says. "Everyone was really cool. It was lit the entire time, I loved it."

Around the release of the project, some wondered how much Drake had to adjust to rapping over trap beats, but Southside says it wasn't much of a thing. "Anybody can rap over a trap beat," he says. "Rihanna can rap or sing over a trap beat. Lady Gaga could sing over a trap beat if she want. That shit a way of life. It's Drake bro, he's like one of the greatest rappers of our time, he can rap over anything. I'm pretty sure he could rap over cows and pigs chirping or something." 

It's clear that Southside's hot streak isn't going anywhere soon. He wants to continue the takeover while dominating as a producer, and now, break through as a rapper. The next step is Free Agent 3. Stream and download the project below. 

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