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Steven Victor is from Canarsie, same asPop Smoke.
Its an area of Brooklyn that most people dont make it out of (countFlipp Dineroamong the handful).
Canarsie nurtures a devour-your-prey-whole mentality and, in turn, resiliency.
In conversation with the man, he isnt fussed about any of it.
Victor is adamant: His legacy is going to go on.
I didnt know that there were executives behind the scene that made all the things happen.
But, initially, I just wanted to be in the music business.
[I] had to figure out my way in.
And I kind of just took a liking to him, because I liked the way he worked.
So I just asked him, Can I work for you?
But I didnt know he was a publicist.
I didnt know what a publicist was at the time.
So through that, I learned publicity.
How did you connect with Pusha-T?I was working at Interscope, Pusha was at Jive.
At the time I started doing publicity I was working really closely with the Star Trak record labels roster.
At the time, the Clipse hadnt put music out in two or three years.
Just because I was such a huge fan.
At the time, I knew that Pharrell was trying to bring the Clipse over to Interscope.
Eventually, you made your way over to GOOD Music in 2015.
And thats where you linked up withDesiigner.
How did that relationship, and your eventual deal, come about?That was a trip.
We were in Los Angeles, I think.
Kanye had played some music off of [The Life of]Pabloand turned on Pt.
Kanye came to me and was like, Yo, this kid [Desiigner] is from Brooklyn.
We should get him to L.A. to see if he can do some stuff on the album.
it’s crucial that you go find him.
Listening to it, I was thinking,Yo, this kids incredibly talented.
We should sign him.
And he was like, Cool, lets do it.
What do you look for when you sign an artist?
And what is that interview process like?I wouldnt say its an interview.
Like any relationship, you meet somebody and you get to know them.
Some relationships take longer to figure out.
Some you figure it out right away.
Theres got to be communication, and both you guys got to want to make it work.
What are some deal-breakers for you?The only thing for me is not being honest.
Everything else it’s possible for you to work through.
You have to be honest about what you want to get out of the situation.
Hes very unwavering about the craft.
Because music is a very subjective thing, its art, you cant be wavering with it.
You cant be a musician [who] hears a sound and you want to chase that sound.
Thats never going to work.
Make the best art possible without any question about it.
Ive been around Kanye so many times, and every time youre around him he inspires you.
How did the universe bring you and Pop Smoke together?
Describe that first meeting.Thats funny that you say that, but I think the universe did put us together.
Hed been trying to get me to meet with Pop since November of 2018.
We got to sign him.
We got to sign him.
All of November, and December of 2018 through the following January.
Hes like nothing Ive ever seen before.
He looked you in the eye when he was speaking to you.
He was very deliberate.
I could tell he was an honest person, for better or worse.
Im sure youve never heard of it.
Even people who live in New York, or live in Brooklyn, dont know where Canarsie is.
My girlfriend is from Canarsie.Oh, wow.
Canarsie [at the time], there were no trains, no buses.
Its like the most obscure place in Brooklyn.
I would speak to him every day.
We never really even spoke about music except for the times that we deliberately spoke about music and business.
We were super close.
So it wasnt like,Im hanging out with a kid.
He was extremely mature for his age.
So, we were close.
He didnt have a buzz back then.
He was just a kid from Canarsie that was trying to get his music out there.
He didnt have Welcome to the Party or any of those huge records out.
I dont know how long it will take.
Because I was going through some shit, and I couldnt sign him right then and there.
He gave me his word: Yo, Im going to sign to you.
Just let me know when.
And then a couple months later, his phone started blowing up.
Everyone was trying to sign him, and he kept his word.
He was like, Ill walk with you.
I told you I was going to sign with you.
Lets get it done.
And we got it done.
He signed in March of 2019.
Its hard to find that kind of loyalty.
Id just met the kid in February.
I didnt know him from anywhere.
But you could tell we had a connection.
And I was like, Yo, a lot of these songs are all over the place.
I was like, I dont think we should do that.
We can put these songs out once youve established your sound.
Some of the records we would keep and say, Were going to put this one on the album.
Thats why the album has so many songs.
He recorded all the time.
I dont know specifically how many, but he left behind a good amount of ideas and music.
Then we put outMeet the Woo 2[in February 2020].
We pretty much had the album done by the beginning of February.
Right before we turned inMeet the Woo 2,we had the core of the album done.
Mentally, I wasnt there.
He had passed away so abruptly.
I was in a super weird place.
I couldnt listen to his music.
And he was like, When are you putting his album out?
And I was like,What?
Im not putting no album out.
And he was like, Werent you guys working on an album?
Didnt you tell me you guys had an album finished that you were ready to put out?
And Im like, Yeah, but Im not going to put it out now.
The man just died.
I cant even listen to his music.
Im not trying to do any of this shit.
Im not trying to be in the middle of any of this.
And hes like, No, youre being selfish.
He was doing this to create a legacy for himself and to make a way for his family.
You got to get the fuck up out of that shit.
He offered to help market it.
It was kind of a wake up call.Hes right.
Thats not what [Pop] would want.
Like he said, Get yourself together and finish what you guys started.
We dived into it and worked on that for the next four months until the album came out.
So from March until July thats all we worked on the music, the roll out, the ideas.
I had to figure out my emotions in the middle of having to do work.
What has been the biggest challenge for you while putting out and supporting this album?The No.
1 challenge is the fact that Pops not here.
To me, at least.
The fact that hes not here to witness this.
Its great to see it, see him [accomplish] what he set out to do.
His goal was always to reach kids around the world.
Even Album of the Year, because of how well the public received it.
I was glad about the nomination for Dior, because that was one of his favorite songs.
But then, with [Pop] not getting nominated [elsewhere] …
It was disappointing for a multitude of reasons.
50 Cent, he called it.
It comes out; the public loves it; it does well commercially; it has success globally.
And then, whats deemed as the highest award in music doesnt acknowledge them.
This music has gotten me through all different types of emotions.
You have to take that into consideration.
If you look at the Weeknds stats, Lil Babys stats, Pop Smokes stats those are glaring stats.
Thats not,Oh, this person mightve seen it, and this person may have not.
The music is in everyones face.
On the radio, on DSPs [streaming], at protests.
This is the soundtrack to our lives right now.
You have to acknowledge that.
You cant ignore that.
Its not a subjective thing.
Other artists had breakthrough years, but he did as well, so he should be acknowledged.
Thats a good question.
I would like to know myself.
Im just as confused as everyone else.
Because prior to the Grammy nominations, I didnt know who D. Smoke was.
So I thought maybe it was a mistake.
So then thats when I knew it wasnt a coincidence.
Hes just as eligible as everyone else.
But [the Grammys] dont change anything at all.
Im still going to put 100 percent into every artist that I work with.
And if winning a Grammy is something thats important to that artist, then its important to me.
And were going to do everything that we possibly can to attempt to get a nomination.
It doesnt take away from his story at all.
Pusha-T got nominated for a Grammy last year [for Best Rap Album forDaytona].
We were upset, but it doesnt stop how hard we work.
Keep going, baby.
Its a moment in time.
Enjoy it, take it in.
If you lose, same thing.
Let your emotions out, feel however you feel, then go back at it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
