Bas Talks Staying in Tune With Real Life While Embracing Success

Dreamville's Bas spoke with Complex News about his new album, balancing rap life with real life, and the affects of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

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Bas has been down with Dreamville for some time now. In his tenure, he's released two studio albums and grown as an artist. That development has garnered him a strong fan base and much deserved success. But it's on his latest album, Too High to Riot, that we sense his inner conflict regarding his fast-paced lifestyle and the distraction that it can foster.

"[Too High to Riot] is more reflective on just some of the ways that you find yourself compromising yourself in pursuit of your career, in pursuit of those goals," Bas explained. "You can get lost in all of this craziness, and then you know, completely forget and then have really sobering moments. A lot of the album touches on that, just reflecting on that and expressing it."

Bas added that he's working on finding that balance. "You kind of have to set reminders for yourself. Be conscious of who you are and where you come from, and what really matters to you, and what really matters in this world."

With that in mind, we asked Bas about his decision to speak openly about the election, specifically Donald Trump and his controversial campaign for presidency

"There's good and bad to it. I feel like some people maybe had grown naive to how prevalent racism still is in America until a lot of what's been going on in the last two years. And then you have a guy that comes out, gives all this hatred like a rallying call. And you see it come out and you're like 'Wow.' In a strange way, he's doing us a favor." As you can see, in the midst of a growing career, Bas is still doing his best to keep his vision focused on what matters in his personal life as well as what's taking place in the world around him. Which isn't easy when you're busy crafting hits and touring the globe. Take note.

Check out the full interview above and stream Too High to Riot here.

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