Consequence just finished playing his forthcoming album Nice Doing Business With You on FaceTime — and it’s obvious he’s anxious to release it. The follow-up to 2016’s A Good Comeback Story EP contains the lead single “Blood Stain” with production from longtime collaborative partner and friend Kanye West as well as a feature from his 10-year-old son Caiden The Crownholder whose rhyming prowess is on par with his father’s.
Titled “Who Shot Jamal?,” the emotive track immediately stands out, not just because of Caiden’s contributions but also because of the subject matter. The fictional character is intended to represent the Black lives that have been taken by police brutality and other violent means.
As Caiden raps, “The kid he had beef with got an alibi/He was at the movies with Maliki/And the witness that they had on when it was live said the shooter look way more like Allen I.” The song is a sobering reminder of the injustices that continue to plague the Black community wrapped up in Cons’ beautifully layered production.
But that’s just one example of Consequence’s talent. On Sunday (April 3), Cons collected his fourth Grammy Award at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category for Kanye West’s “Hurricane” featuring The Weeknd and Lil Baby — although he wasn’t in attendance. Like Kanye, he opted to skip the ceremony but not out of any malice — he simply wanted to preserve his energy for his upcoming video shoot and other travel commitments. Despite the controversy traditionally surrounding the Grammys and Hip Hop, he’s still grateful for the win.
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“It’s like the honor roll on steroids,” he tells HipHopDX by phone. “There’s a friend of mine, he always used to tell me, ‘You’re only good as your last game.’ And that’s a jewel I always carry with me. So it’s like no matter what … We fresh off of winning one for the gospel record [2019’s Jesus Is King].
“And that got me my second BMI Award and I think ‘Hurricane’ will probably give me the third one. The Donda cycle was completely different than what the gospel record was. Obviously, with the listening sessions and everything that’s going on and the hype was at an all-time high. It was crazy. It was crazy.”
Consequence is credited as a songwriter on “Hurricane” as well as additional Donda tracks “Jonah, “Junya,” “24,” “Poor Souls” and “Junya Pt. 2.” Anyone familiar with the Dondarollout likely remembers the multiple listening parties, missed release dates and last minute revisions. Consequence certainly won’t forget the experience either.
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“It was a lot,” he says. “But you gotta do what you got to do out here. And all the people involved are at Tier A level in the music community at this point.” As for Kanye’s reaction to winning a Grammy for both “Hurricane” and “Jail” with JAY-Z in the Best Rap Song category, Cons didn’t really elaborate on their conversation about it, but he recognizes how far Hip Hop has come since 1996 when the first rap categories were introduced at the Grammy Awards.
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“The top is so different than the bottom,” he says with a laugh. “At the end of the day, when it comes to me and him, once upon a time there were no Grammys. For a lot of people, it is great that we’ve been able to work to the point where new people come on and they get their first one, but even the [jeen-yuhs] documentary and things, all the things that kind of have resurfaced over the last couple months.
“As you could clearly see, there was a time that there were no Grammys. And without due diligence, there wouldn’t be a Grammy. So no matter what you feel about him, definitely I acquired a whole different level, a whole different appreciation for effort by meeting and working with Kanye West.”
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“Blood Stain” is expected to arrive on April 17, Consequence’s birthday. Check back soon for Part II of the HipHopDX interview.
