RetcH Talks ‘Point Guard’ Video, ‘FTW 2’ & Four-Year Hiatus: ‘I Have a Totally New Perspective on This Whole Thing’
Categoria: Musica
The Jersey rapper decided to go back to basics and dropped a sequel to 'Finesse the World' last month. Check out our conversation.
Por Billboard | 14/08/2026
Last month, RetcH dropped his first album in four years since 2022’s Administrative Segregation . During the hiatus, the New Jersey rapper was both dealing with lingering legal issues, while also enjoying the fruits of his labor. “When I really think about that time, what I was doing was just running around enjoying life. I was having a good time,” he tells me during our hour-long convo at Billboard’s New York City office. “I had just got off house arrest after I got sentenced to three years for a probation violation, which stemmed from catching a gun charge in California. I also still had an open case at the time, which ended up coming back around later on.” He’s now ready to get back to work and has a new perspective on things, especially music. “All types of different things factored into my shift in perspective,” he told me during our interview. “It could be often that I run into artists or people that take being in this business for granted. You gotta think about what got us here, you know what I’m saying? For the most part, it’s the love of music. So, the fact that any of us are even able to make a living off of this thing right here is a beautiful thing. It’s a blessing for everybody: me, you, and anybody else that works in this building. It’s a craft.” At 19, RetcH came out the gate with an album that many rap fans consider a classic in Polo Sporting Goods , with fellow Jersey native (by way of Chicago) producer Thelonious Martin. That tape put RetcHy Lo Sweater on the map and raised expectations, which I would say he met with the release of the much more sinister Finesse the World a couple years later in 2015. Now, with FTW 2 , he decided to go back to the darker tone that made 2015’s Finesse the World a fan favorite. Talking to Billboard , he explains more about why he decided to go this route, his plans to be more consistent and purposeful with his music, and his new video for “Point Guard,” which we’re premiering today. Check out our conversation below. All right, so let’s talk about this “Point Guard” video. “Point Guard” is one of my favorite songs of the project, and I feel like the video really captures the song. We were in Harlem in the projects and on a basketball court. There’s a lot of point guard and basketball references in the song, like when I say, “Keep a shooter on the wing like Crittenton.” He was the teammate that got caught with Gilbert Arenas in the lockerroom when they were on the Wizards. Yeah, Javaris Crittenton. He really did time after that too. He allegedly shot at some people or something like that. I think a girl got hit, if I’m not mistaken, and she died. He got sentenced like 20 years for that s—t. [ ed. note: Crittenton pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 23 years in prison .] He only did like 10 off that motherf—ker, though. He