4batz on Being Evicted Several Times During Childhood, Turning Pain Into Music

4batz reflects on the impact frequent evictions had on him and his family in a new Apple Music interview, premiering today.

In an exclusive clip from the short film, part of the "act ii: date @ 8" artist’s larger Up Next feature, we see Batz riding around a neighborhood that’s deeply familiar to him. Meanwhile, Batz walks viewers through some of his earliest experiences, as well as how they helped inspire his signature sound and aesthetic.

"Highland Hills. This is home, man," Batz says in the clip, available above. "This is like my second home, because I’m originally from The Four. I’m originally from South Dallas but my whole life we kept getting evicted and always moved around. We never stayed in one place. This why I learned the harsh world of just how shit go down, you know?"

Connecting this reality to his songs that have gripped the world as of late, Batz credited this area with giving him both his "image" and his sound.

"What these streets really did to me, bro, it really created, one, the image, because I always wanted to be a rapper," he explained. "Now, what I did was just mix what I naturally listened to from my grandma, from my momma, and grabbed that world into the world that I grew up looking at, which is where we at now, and that’s kinda how I went about things. That’s why I pulled both of those worlds together."

At this point, several children are seen recognizing 4batz driving by with an excited "That’s 4batz!" before chasing the car. See more above.

4batz, already named one of the best new artists of 2024 by Pigeons & Planes, is the latest rising star to be given Apple Music’s Up Next treatment. The monthly artist program also sees Batz sitting down with Nadeska Alexis for a timely interview, available here.

This all comes ahead of the rollout of his debut project U Made Me a St4r*, out Friday. In recently shared footage, Batz was seen playing music for Ye, who earlier this year went on record as saying the Dallas artist had impressed him with his work thus far.