Westside Mcfly Is Speaking His Truth And Sticking To His Roots With His Music And Hometown LA Brand (Interview)

Westside Mcfly holds South Central close to his heart from the music he creates to his clothing brand Hometown LA and the communities he pours back into. With just his stage name, highlighting West Coast and repping for his city, the rapper is making it known which coast is the best coast in his latest album, Westside 4 Ever.

However, there was a moment in his career when he questioned music and whether or not he wanted to continue to pursue it. As an independent artist, Mcfly recognized the hard work it takes out of his team and himself to push out the music but didn’t know if he should keep using his voice, or just be a writer. He had to take time to himself find his purpose again in what he loved.

“You start to ask yourself why you’re doing it … ,” Westside Mcfly said. “To me, my opinion still matters, and I feel like if it’s going to matter to me, it’s going to matter to my kids, and it’s going to matter to other people that fuck with me and listen to me. And I don’t think I’m doing them a service by not offering them my opinion.”

Mcfly has been involved in the music industry for some time as he’s worked with several artists in the past not only on a feature base, but also writing for artists, such as Too $hort, Ty Dolla $ign and many more. He’s also experienced moments that didn’t sit right with him, like A&R’s expecting him to switch his sound to either commercial or pop, but for the South Central rapper, that wasn’t him. He didn’t want to forget his roots or the West Coast sound that made him who he was.

“I just want to make good music,” he expressed. “I want to make the people where I’m from proud. I want to feel good about the product that I put out and I could stand behind it … So calling it Westside 4 Ever was kind of like my shot back to them like, ‘eff what ya’ll talking about – it’s South Central forever.’”

With this new album Westside 4 Ever, the “Boss TF Up” artist wanted to have a “feel good” album where people can escape the world for a little and enjoy the moment. He expressed that there is so much going on with different pandemics and mental health that fans just needed an album to feel free of worries.

The 12-track album, which was released on Sept. 1st included many Los Angeles-based artists like Kalan.Frfr, G Perico, Rucci, Azjah and more. The features with G Perico, Kalan and Rucci flowed easily, as Mcfly had an established friendship on a family level with each. As Azjah’s verse came from good feedback from someone in the studio. Westside Mcfly takes pride in knowing that he’s able to tap in with these different artists to make good music regardless of which neighborhood they’re from.

“To me, it just embodies every neighborhood in LA, I think if my fans listen to this project, I want them to know that we can make good music [and] have a good time,” Mcfly said. “Obviously, LA is ours we got to protect our shit. We [have] to be sensitive about our art and we have to be sensitive about our culture.”

But it wouldn’t be a complete LA album if it didn’t include the legendary Nipsey Hussle. The South Central rapper made a special tribute to the Late Great on his track, “Know My Name,” which showcases an interview clip of Nip putting people on game to pursue their dreams. This hit home to Mcfly as he also goes hard for his music, his clothing brand Hometown LA and his family.

Although the album gives off good vibes, there is an important bonus track titled, “Dear 2020,” that reflects on a rough year for everyone around the world. Mcfly used his voice for this song to project the pain, anger and confusion that the year brought with police brutalities to illnesses. The track feels like it’s allowing fans to recognize that year and continue to heal from a tough moment in everyone’s lives.

“With ‘Dear 2020,’ I needed to say that. I needed to get that out, for my mental, for my peace, [and] for my health,” he shared. “And then also, I see music now, as a time capsule, and that’s why I called it ‘Dear 2020,’ and here we are in 2022, and I’m releasing the record on the album. I put it on there as a bonus because I didn’t want it to be forgotten. I wanted it to also be remembered as a capsule in time … ”

When Westside Mcfly isn’t in the studio recording or writing, he’s on his entrepreneur grind focusing on his brand Hometown LA and creating designs. The clothing brand was developed around the idea of being able to represent the city you’re from to the fullest, including cities outside of LA. The “Mr. Really Him” artist collaborated with the LA Galaxy soccer team for two collections: the Cobi Jones capsule and ‘96 Til Forever, which both sold out.

“We did our collab with the LA Galaxy, which was awesome,” he said. “I mean a brand new clothing line that I just kind of got off the ground, sitting here designing and working … It’s something that I wanted to create that will leave a legacy, not only for myself and to represent who I am as a person, but I want people to feel good when they wear my clothes.”

Westside Mcfly is constantly working toward his goals as he’s in the hopes of collaborating with more LA teams in the near future. You can shop Hometown LA on the official site. And even though the South Central rapper just released his album Westside 4 Ever, he is already preparing to drop his next album, Please Forgive Me, I’m Fucked Up, which is expected to be more of a vulnerable project. Westside 4 Ever is currently out on streaming platforms.