The success Rob49 has achieved over the last year has even surprised him. He’s locked in features with Cardi B and Lil Wayne, and appeared on Travis Scott‘s Utopia album, all since becoming an XXL Freshman in 2023. The New Orleans rapper’s trajectory is coated in promise and success. Last summer, Rob unleashed the deluxe to his 4 God II project, only to go on a feature streak in the following months. He’s added his special N.O. touch on a number of his peers’ tracks, organically boosting his own momentum as a result over the last seven months. In an exclusive interview with XXL, Rob49 opens up about “On Dat Money,” his new track with Cardi, collaborating with Weezy, headlining his own tour and dropping a new project featuring some heavy-hitter names.
A little over a week ago, Rob49 delivered “On Dat Money” with Cardi B. Before the track was teased on social media and landed on DSPs, Rob was surprised to hear that Cardi wanted to hop on a track with him. When the record came to fruition, he was stunned by how Bardi gave him the track and even promoted it. Not to mention, her down-to-earth demeanor made for a seamless and nerve-free video shoot.
“My main dawg called me, he like, ‘Um, I’m tryna work on this Cardi stuff for ya,'” Rob tells XXL. “‘I’m like, you know like, when people say stuff like that, you be like, ‘Bro, shut up, bro. You blowin’ it,’ you know what I’m sayin’? He like, ‘Nah, she liked your stuff. She might’ve wanted to use something for her album or something like that.’ I wind up just sending the song, like, ‘See if she likes this one.’ And she really did that muthaf**ka.”
Rob49 explains that the song materialized earlier this year, and Cardi actually let Rob have it for his own project, which will be released later this summer or early fall. “I had went to a booking and the guy was like, ‘You know, Cardi did the song,'” he continues. “‘I’m like, ‘For real?’ So, when I knew I was about to drop my album, I’m like, ‘Ask her if she’s gon’ use it. If she ain’t gon use it, tell her let me have it.’ I ain’t gon’ like, that’s one of the realest people I’ve worked with in this sh*t. I swear to God.”
Speaking of Rob49’s upcoming project, names like Meek Mill, Polo G, Hunxho and Skilla Baby can be expected on the tracklist.
Rob also plans to embark on a solo tour soon. He’ll be touching some of the cities he holds near and dear. “I’ve been so scared to do a solo tour, I think it’s time,” he expresses. “I wanna go to some of my favorite cities. Probably like Houston, Atlanta, I like Cincinnati a lot. I don’t know, I just want to pick and choose a couple of dates I really wanna do and just do it. But I think it’s time, fa sho, ’cause I never did no shows none of those places.”
Watch the full interview with Rob49 below, in which he discusses working with Cardi B, touring, new music and more.
