Art of the Come Up With Rowdy Rebel

I take more advice now. I take life for what it is.

In the world of Rowdy Rebel, seizing the moment is an art form. He's a master of immediacy and decisiveness, traits that shine not just on the basketball court, where he dazzles with his sharpshooting skills and court smarts, but also in the rap game. He handles opportunity with immediacy and decisiveness. It’s a trait that appears on the basketball court, where he flexes his shooting skills and quick-witted court vision while dishing off to teammates like New York Knicks favorite John Starks, who he grew up rooting for while watching basketball games with his mother. And when rumors swirled online this year that the rapper from East Flatbush, Brooklyn, had been robbed for his jewelry, he denied the claims on a quickly-released new song called “Rob Who?” He wasn’t caught slipping, he insists —his driver snatched his ice while he slept.

“I'm a real human being, I ain’t gonna sugarcoat nothing. That's the problem these days. People try to run from the truth, and then people like to tell their good stories but don't like to tell their bad stories,” Rowdy Rebel says after arriving at a Brooklyn basketball court. “You’re gonna get the full me.” Being able to rise to the occasion led to Rowdy gaining viral fame as a promising young rapper in his early 20s at the advent of the Brooklyn drill movement and landing a major record deal with one of his best friends. Being able to rise to the occasion led to Rowdy gaining viral fame as a promising young rapper in his early 20s at the advent of the Brooklyn drill movement and landing a major record deal with one of his best friends. But poor decision-making led to Rowdy nearly losing everything as quickly as he could earn it; he’s set on never making those same mistakes again.

I was too young to know what I really had...I just got big-headed.

Fishback says she has respect for every role she inhabits, and her goal is always to leave room for the person she’s portraying just to be. “When I act, I always pray that I can be a vessel for the character to organically and authentically show up through me, that I can be gone and a clear vessel. It's almost like channeling, like existing as somebody else and allowing myself to do that.”

I had to relearn people. You do six years, everybody’s not the same as you once knew them for.

I’m a real human being, I ain’t gonna sugarcoat nothing...You’re gonna get the full me.

Journaling has served as a therapeutic process for Fishback and she has adopted the practice to embody her characters more deeply. “Journaling as them [characters] is more like building a world. Even if you don't see it on-screen, you can see it behind the eyes. And so when I tell a story, I want somebody to look and be like, ‘Oh, she really experienced that story.’” This meticulous approach contributed to her standout performance as the supportive, soulful poet in the Shaka King-directed Judas and the Black Messiah, where she was far from a background love interest. Fishback’s discernment brought complex, crucial layers to her portrayal of Deborah.

able to sleep at night. I was gonna be tossing and turning, thinking, ‘Why not speak up? Why not say something?’ Because I know I can do it,” Fishback confessed. It’s apparent that this role was predestined for her. Amidst the rush to seize the next role, to reaffirm to the world that she’s the 'It Girl', Fishback seeks more. She is a woman who contains multitudes and resists the confines of boxes. We are witnessing Fishback in the process of tender transformation. Her world teems with love. From her family and friends to the neighborhood of East New York and everyone else in between, she exudes love and loves fiercely. This is one of the reasons she is committed to ensuring that her self-love extends beyond her talents as an actress. “When you have compassion for yourself, you're able to extend it to other people a little easier,” Fishback remarked.

Growing Up in Brooklyn Born Chad Marshall, Rowdy Rebel grew up in East Flatbush as the son of a Jamaican father and a mother from Barbados. Riding near his old neighborhood, he recounts loads of memories: playing dominoes and a board game called Ludi with Jamaican friends, unknowingly learning a Crip handshake from someone on his block, and snatching several gold chains per day. He most candidly recalls a pair of scraps with the boyfriend of a girl he liked: he won the first fight he started after arriving at school but lost a follow-up bout in the schoolyard as other schoolmates watched. The latter fight ended with him being body slammed on the ground, losing his breath, catching a Timberland boot to the face, and a suspension from his sixth-grade class. “Growing up in Brooklyn made me aggressive. It made me learn to finesse. It made me you know, watch people a certain way, learn body language, adapt to certain things I never wanted to adapt to,” he said. “It made me street smart, it made me book smart, and it made me a stand up individual.”

Rowdy grew up listening to rappers like Cash Money Millionaires, Biggie, and Jay-Z. After beginning to write rhymes himself, he formed the rap crew GS9 with fellow Brooklynite Bobby Shmurda, Fetty Luciano, Corey Finesse, Abillyon, Wayveeporter, and Lil Skrap1090. Initially, he claims, making music was just a fun way to pass the time. Eventually, the songs began to pop in their neighborhood. “‘Shmoney Dance’ at the time was starting to get a buzz. So after school, you'll see the kids just running to our block, like ‘that’s Bobby! Do the dance!’” he remembers. “It was like, ‘Yo, is this happening right now? This is really changing our life?’ When Bobby dropped ‘Hot Nigga,’ it was over.” “Hot Nigga” was Bobby Shmurda’s 2014 single and one of the biggest viral moments of the year. The song featured a thumping bassline, striking synths, and Bobby’s percussive, charismatic rhymes — and a music video showcased GS9 mobbing and dancing in the streets with equal menace and joy.

Fishback confided, “A lot of times in wounded, masculine energy in women, being from Brooklyn, it’s like, ‘I gotta do that myself.’ The feminine that is taught to receive, and I can still manifest and get the dreams that I want when I allow myself to receive.” Independence and self-sufficiency are laudable, but there is a softer, more receptive side within that can be nurtured. Fishback is starting to feel this transformation. “Before, I had to get out of my hood and I wanted to so bad, I really had that action drive like, I'm gonna get it at all costs! And then I got there and then that action drive wasn't working for me anymore. I just felt burnt out. I felt tired. It's like why do I have to fight for everything? What if I don't have to fight? What if I get to sit back now and receive and believe that the seeds that I've planted and that God has shown me; my testimony has always been that has been elevated, so why am I going to move as if it hasn't been?”

“I can't have the perspective of, ‘I'm trying to play this character that Will Smith played.’ When Will Smith was doing the original, he was up there really actually being Will Smith. That was him, the character was his name,” he explains. “I use the experiences that I've had, my charisma, and the things that I've been through to empower the character in each circumstance. Half of the character is like I'm playing Will, and then half of it is, ‘this is Jabari, and this is my life that I'm going through.’ I think that’ll grow from season to season.” Bel Air is just the beginning for Jabari Banks. He’s currently prepping to shoot alongside Benedict Wong and Callina Liang in Bad Genius, a heist thriller about high school students who are cheating on the SAT— an English language remake of the hit 2017 Thai film. He also hopes to play characters in fantasy films because he wants to see more Black people in those sorts of roles. He refuses to be typecast in the role of Will. Along with growing as an actor, he has taken a couple of lumps growing up in the public eye. During the first press run for the show, he appeared on The Breakfast

Langston Sessoms Elliott Ashby Anita Nixon William E. Ketchum III Yesha Callahan

The only time me and Fetty have been apart was when we were in jail. That’s my brother, my twin, my security, all in one....

Video directed and produced by Photography by Design by Words by Entertainment Director

burgeoning in Brooklyn after its birth in Chicago with artists like Chief Keef and Lil Durk. Bobby Shmurda became a star, and Rowdy was next in line. He appeared on a remix of “Hot Nigga” alongside Fabolous, French Montana, and Jadakiss, and he had his own set of songs. “Computers” also earned its own virality, as Rowdy and Bobby riding on would-be sh*t-talkers who thought they were safe behind the screens of their laptops. Bobby Shmurda signed a deal with Epic Records that July and Rowdy Rebel signed with the same label shortly afterward. The Highs and Lows of Fame “I was too young to know what I really had, or to understand what was really going on. I feel like I got the money and the fame and I just got big-headed,” Rowdy said, adding that he was “devastated” after receiving his sentence. “We were supposed to move a certain way. There wasn't really nobody to guide us. So we got the money, and we did what young niggas do.”

The beat banged, the video featured Bobby’s infectious Shmoney Dance that was imitated at parties and social media, and the visuals also had an instantly meme-able moment of Bobby tossing his Knicks fitted cap into the sky. New York City embraced its new stars, and the rest of the rap world followed: The song peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and served as a coronation of the drill rap movement that was

Rebel was the nickname he was given growing up because he tended to act out while angry and buck against authority. Rowdy is more of his rap persona, the fun-loving entertainer. He’d have to lean more into his peaceful side once he got out. He also recorded a verse from prison for Pop Smoke’s “Make It Rain” over the phone. “When you're in [prison], you’re by yourself really. Even though you got a couple of bros in there, the doors close at nine o'clock at night, and you go to sleep by yourself,” Rowdy shared. He says that he got through the bid by embracing spirituality for the first time and accepting the support he got from his loved ones on the outside.

As quickly as they earned their stardom, they lost it: the NYPD declared GS9 as a gang and considered their music videos evidence of a 101-count indictment that accused them of murder, drug sales, and shootouts. Shmurda and Rowdy (along with crew member Montana Flea) each pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree conspiracy and one count of weapons possession, landing seven and six-year sentences, respectively. GS9 member Cueno refused the plea deal and was convicted of several crimes before being sentenced to 117½ to 130 years behind bars. Rowdy says he spent time in solitary confinement during his six-year prison bid. He had time to reflect on his mistakes and interrogate his personality's different sides.

The sound of music had changed dramatically, too. When he returned home, drill had taken over Brooklyn completely, but with rumbling, buzzy 808s that knocked differently from the synth and key-driven beats employed by GS9. They had planted the seeds, while artists like Pop Smoke, Fivio Foreign, and 22Gz helped the scene bloom in their absence. But Rowdy was open to trying his hand at the new sounds. “Ain’t nothing really different, you just gotta talk your sh-t, whatever you’re going through,” Rowdy says. “I’ve always been the type to jump on any different type of beat.” He released his studio debut album Rebel Vs. Rowdy in July 2022, which paired him with guests like French Montana, Fivio Foreign, Dreezy, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and Jadakiss. In April of 2023, he dropped Splash Brothers with his sibling and GS9 compatriot Fetty Luciano; Fetty is four years younger, but Rowdy refers to him as his twin.

“Whoever is there for you could tell a lot about your character. If you were a shithead on the outside, they're like, leave that shithead in there,” he explains. “I felt like I did good on the outside, so people took care of me when I was on the inside. A couple of people [left], but I feel like people got their own life on the outside. You can't really be so mad at people not showing up for visits, not always picking up the phone calls.” A Fresh Start Rowdy Rebel was released from prison in December 2021 and began building his life backpiece by piece. He had to sort out his budget, plan his career, and establish his new social life outside. “I had to relearn people,” he admits. “You do six years, everybody’s not the same as you once knew them for.” He’d also lost weight since he was home before, so he needed to get into smaller clothes. “The drip was different when I came home,” he says. “I had to adjust real quick.”

“We just went through the same shit. You think they’re not watching you? You think they want you to win? No,” he recounts expressing to them. But he recognizes that younger artists have their own journey to learn their lessons. “It’s hard for them to just stop the lifestyle.” He understands their plight. But personally, he’s more open to wise words than he was before. “I take more advice now. I take life for what it is.”

“The only time me and Fetty have been apart was when we were in jail,” he says. “That’s my brother, my twin, my security, all in one.” He says that several more projects are on the way: a record called Blood Cuz with OP, a Splash Brothers sequel with Fetty, and a record with Jim Jones. "Jim is always showing me love, supporting me, schooling me on shit and putting me on game,” Rowdy says. And he also has his solo tape, Six Years of Hell, dropping along with a new deal. Rowdy also wants to help young rappers avoid the fate that he and Bobby did. He said that he’s tried to advise New York City rappers like Kay Flock and Dougie B to stay out of trouble. Kay Flock was indicted on racketeering conspiracy charges in February, while Dougie B was arrested in connection to a shooting in 2022 but released without charges.