Call me boss: Interview with DrefGold

Call him boss. DrefGold, real name Elia Specolizzi, at just 21 years old is the first artist co-signed by the label founded by Sfera Ebbasta and Charlie Charles, the Billion Headz Music Group. His first album, Kanaglia, was released a few weeks ago, immediately getting into all the charts and receiving millions of views on YouTube. 

Now DrefGold has been chosen by Foot Locker and adidas Originals to be the face of the new Blocked Legend Pack. In the shots of the campaign, the young artist is pictured wearing pants, hoodies and sweatshirts decorated with the distinctive elements of the German brand, such as the Three Stripes and the Trefoil logo, in the nuances of black and white, with red details. Dref sports the new adidas Originals Yung 96. The sneaker is the modern revisitation of a classic silhouette: mesh cross upper, leather overlays, Torsion™ bar system, two different colorways. The newest technology meets the heritage of adidas Originals.  

nss magazine has met DrefGold and we had a little chat with him. Here's what he told us. 

#1 Kanaglia is your first album under a new music label. How was this trust towards BHMG born and how does it feel to be their absolute first artist? 

The trust in BHMG was born the moment I met Sfera and Charlie in real life. We talked about their project, how they wanted to create something new thanks to their communication skills, having already a good product on their hands. You know, I've always seen Charlie and Sfera in their videos, they had so many views and were among the most important figures of the Italian music scene; consequently, my faith in them was almost predicted. At the same time, I'm in a situation where this confidence in BHMG has been bringing me nothing but growth and a lot of cool things. Everything I do now is just a step forward in my career. Being their first breakthrough artist was the ultimate test. 

#2 How much does Daves The Kid influence your music? 

He influences it a lot, here's how it works. I don't usually write on Daves' beats, or better, 4 times out of 10 yes, but the other 6 times I write on beats that I find on YouTube. Then when we meet I play for him the four songs I've written. He then randomly chooses one of them and tells me "Ok, let's try working on this". He works on the beats and I give my opinion, saying like "Let's me it darker or more energic", but he's the one in charge of the sound and he gives life to everything. This doesn't mean that I'm not able to make music with Charlie or with someone else. But Daves is and will always be the artistic director, even when I'm working with another beatmaker; he gives especially the final touch, that's why he's very important in the creative process. 

#3 Rumour has it that you will collaborate with Arturo (Side). Can you tell us something exclusively? 

Well, the only thing I'm allowed to say is to pay attention after the summer, this is the most important thing. Having said that, I've always considered Side one of my favourite Italian artists, because even inside the Dark Polo Gang he has always been the coolest, the one who rapped and had meters. Me being from Bologna I've always being a fan of this kind of things, when we later met in Milan we immediately got along well and wanted to do something together. I feel honoured. 

#4 We often see in your IG Stories some of your follies: how do you come up with them? 

I find this American instagrammer type of comedy very funny. Today a lot of rappers publish three posts and maybe ten funny videos shot by someone else with an iPhone. I'd rather be the one directing the video, deciding what to do and maybe saying something crazy. 

I find this entertaining, but at the same time it caused me a lot of problems. A while ago I posted a police video and it became a kind of controversy. I didn't expect this type of attention, I was expecting just some "lol, hahaha, wtf", while people starting commenting things like "aah..you got different shoes" and other crazy stuff. Nobody realized it was all fake!! You must have fun... in that moment I was DrefGold the actor, have a laugh bro! 

For example, I always follow FatBoy! 

#5 When DrefGold used to go to Foot Locker in Bologna a few years ago, what would he pick? How has your sneaker game changed? 

To be honest, when I was little, there was just one very little Foot Locker store in the city centre. I remember that when I used to come to Milan to visit my aunt, she would take me to Metropolis in Quarto Oggiaro and I would go crazy for that Foot Locker. For me it was like a Fight Club, where you could find everything and more. I would enter this shop, but everything was just too expensive, as time passed I got the chance to buy them more easily, without big problems. Now I can afford more than one pair, but at that time in Bologna maybe the sneaker I wanted costed 100€ and I had to find a friend who had the 30% discount or stuff like that. 

It's crazy to think that now I'm working with adidas Originals and that I've shot the campaign for the launch of Blocked Legend Pack! I'm super happy because everything was made in collaboration with adidas Originals and Foot Locker! 

#6 What have you been up during the summer? What was your soundtrack? 

We had a little summer tour, different from the future winter "Kanaglia tour". My summer song, even though it's been around for a while now, is without a doubt Japan by Famous Dex. It puts me immediately in a good mood, it has no season, you can always listen to it! 

You can shop all the items of the Blocked Legend Pack here.