Fetty Wap has much to say on new album ‘Zavier’

NEW YORK (AP):

Fetty Wap is beaming so big, it is almost as if his smile enters the room before he does. And these days, the Paterson, New Jersey-born melodic rapper and singer has a lot to be happy about.

In January, he was released from federal prison to home confinement after serving just over half a six-year sentence for his role in a New York-based drug trafficking scheme. During that time, he thought about everything he missed: his family, his kids, the sound of a car engine as he drives, food and, of course, music. He wasted no time jumping right back into it with his new album Zavier, which he started working as soon as he was released. And when did he finish? “January 10, 2026,” he laughed. “I had a lot to say. It’s been a few years of holding things in there.”

He estimates that he and his collaborators made 123 songs in total, but only 17 make the final list.

Less than a week after the artiste born Willie Maxwell II dropped The Butterfly Effect, in 2021, he was indicted and arrested. He released his last album, 2023’s King Zoo, while incarcerated. Because of that, Zavier feels like both a reintroduction and new chapter for him – a real opportunity to make an album truly his own for the first time in half a decade.

“Before, being incarcerated, I had to call when I could call, 15-minute calls,” he recalled of working on King Zoo. “After a certain time, the phone was off. So, it was just, like, ‘I just hope it sounds good’. “

This time, he could be in the studio. He could be hands on. “That’s my safe haven,” he said. “The studio is my safe haven.”

Those expecting a concept record about Fetty Wap’s time behind bars would be wise to look elsewhere. “I didn’t want it to be an emotional album,” he said. “I didn’t want it be, like, ‘OK, we get it. You were away. You’re home now.’ Where’s the fun Fetty?”

Fun Fetty Wap abounds on Zavier, as does a serious Fetty Wap, a lustful Fetty Wap, a tender Fetty Wap. It’s “a lot of different sounds up in there,” he said. “A lot of different areas to go to.” The eclecticism works, largely because of his unmistakable style.

“The whole Zavier thing is just, like, bring back the same energy as the Fetty Wap album,” he continued, referencing his 2015 breakthrough record, the one that brought the diamond-selling Trap Queen to the masses. “Just a more matured sound … Zavier is just an upgraded Fetty Wap,” he added.

As for that name? “I’m Zavier,” he explained, “This is who I am. It’s just a different side of me when I came home from prison.”

If there is a song that encapsulates that time in Fetty Wap’s life, it’s I Remember featuring Chicago rapper G Herbo. It’s as diaristic as a songwriter can be: a list of recollections from each stage of his life atop a minimal beat and spare guitar. He describes it as “an ode to the past and the present”.

“I gave them a glimpse of what was going on with me … Pre-Fetty, then being Fetty Wap, and after Fetty Wap,” he said. “Then prison, then coming home, you know what I mean? I put everything in that song.”

Still, there’s no shortage of what he describes as “feel-good music” on the project. That includes the unapologetically NSFW R&B banger Nasty with Tink, “Gotta get a little freaky,” he said with a smile, as well as several all-star collaborations with Wiz Khalifa, Honey Bxby and Max B, the latter of whom was also recently released from prison.

He also drew inspiration from family, bringing in his sisters to feature on the throwback track White Roses.

“ White Roses is actually my favourite track,” Fetty Wap shares. “I recorded everything exactly how I wanted it to sound … and then when it was done, I felt like something was missing. So I called my sisters and told them, ‘Come to the studio – I need you to go in there.’”

They add doo-wop-style harmonies to the song, creating one of the album’s more romantic moments on Zavier, while also complementing one of his strongest vocal performances, melodic, with a controlled vibrato.

Overall, he hopes Zavier leaves listeners with a sense of “good energy” and positivity.

“I’m not looking for any type of sympathy,” he added. “Just love the music, you know? And if you don’t, let me know so I can make better music.”