Lil Jairmy has always been close to God. His music carries the same true-to-life feel as the streets that birthed his hustle, teetering into a convincing flow that must feel as bulletproof as it sounds. After years of paper chasing, Jairmy has developed a cutthroat mentality. And despite his lack of empathy towards others, he’s living proof that God saves. 

“(God) been showing me different things since I was a child,” says Jairmy. “As I got older, it just got more realer and he saved me from more real-life things.”  

Vignettes of survival with an off-kilter feel tell the story of how the Houston rapper became the “Gas God” – the title of Jairmy’s acclaimed mixtape series and his street persona. Spanning 16 tracks, Gas God 2 (the second iteration of the mixtape) is primarily a solo trek down memory lane for Jairmy until he collides with Moneybagg Yo on “Supercharge,” EST Gee on “SRT,” Future on “On Me” and “Can’t Dress Me” with the late Lil Keed.

When Jairmy joins our Zoom call, he’s in the middle of his press run, wrapping up one interview before jumping back on the road and heading towards his next destination. At 24-years-old, he’s still warming up to the idea of being a full-fledged rapper, but he understands the necessity of dealing with media and politicking: “I feel like it’s a blessing because it’s all important.”

Dirty Glove Bastard caught up with the street-certified hustler to talk about his new project Gas God 2, being vulnerable, fatherhood, and his relationship with God.

What brings you to Dallas? 

Just really out here politickin’ – I got a few partners out here. Dallas always show me love. I got a couple more interviews; you know, going to different spots. 

What is it like doing this –  press, and all the extra shit that comes with being an artist? 

(Doing press) is new to me, but I feel like it’s a blessing because it’s all important.

Where did the “Gas God” concept come from? 

For one, I’ve always been a heavy weed smoker. I love weed and shit like that. When I went to jail, mufuckas used to call me the “Gas Baby” and one of my OG partners was like, ‘Man, you ain’t the ‘Gas Baby’ no mo,’ you the ‘Gas God,’’ so I just ran wit it ever since then. Everything I had going on was already big, in a major way – in his eyes, in other people’s eyes – so (the name) just fit; it’s natural.

You’ve scaled your brand in a unique way, too. You didn’t just stop at rap. Have you always had the know-how required to thrive in business? 

I been on my business, just not no music business. 

Let’s talk about Gas God 2. “Homecoming” is a fearless introduction. What emboldened you to speak about your life so freely on beats like that? 

And see, that’s what I been on more. Of course, standing in front of the microphone, you only gon’ get better… but I just been tryna express, or paint a picture with my words (like where I come from; how I came up, things like that) so I actually be challenging myself to do that. 

Considering how much effort you put into this project, is this installment of your mixtape series considered your best work to date?

I feel like I’m more advanced on this (project) than I’ve ever been. Getting my sound all the way better; knowing how to pronounce words; paying attention to my style and making adjustments, so I feel like this my best work, fasho. 

It feels like this project is aimed at hustlers. 

And that’s a blessing. I do (music) for everybody but just having that hustler mentality, that be my aim. 

Talk to me about your creative process.

First off, I gotta be feeling the beat. Certain beats tell you which way to go soon as you hear ‘em – and I sit back, smoke me one, shit like that. Ion do no writing, it’s all off the head. These last 4-5 years I ain’t wrote. When I was in prison, I wrote a lot – I got thousands of songs that I never recorded ‘cause when I came home, I got to freestyling and punching in. I feel like with that way, you get to express how you feel better, switch yo tone – you can play wit it and (recording) feel more natural. I get in (the booth), hear the beat, vibe out, get loaded and just it just be poppin’ in my head. It’s crazy ‘cause I was a great writer, too, I just ain’t done it in so long I damn near feel like Ion know how to write no mo’.

I got a bar for you right now: ‘Wouldn’t be who I am today if God didn’t create cocaine.’ 

Man, that’s a fool that you even said that. That’s a real bar right there bruh. Not saying that being a drug dealer is super cool, but the lessons I learned from having to get in the streets early taught me that I can do anything. Especially when you come from the bottom and you elevate to the top. I feel like if you can master the (dope) game you can master anything in life. 

Getting someone to talk about their problems can be like pulling teeth, but you’re an open book on beats. Believe it or not, you’re saving lives by keeping it real. 

I had moments where I was ready to give up. You know, we all human so we go through different shit. When people think I’m on top of the world, I was feeling like I was under it, so you gotta keep your mental strong – it damn sure is an other side to all this. I’m like that in real life, too: I wear whatever I’m going through on my sleeve. And that’s not always a good thing, but I ain’t no dude to be fakin’ and cappin.’ It is what it is wit me. Even when I’m going through something, I don’t be ashamed to speak on it or let it be known. A lot of people do be like that but I don’t.

Have you always been this vulnerable? 

I kind of always been like that, all my life, really. I got songs I made way back in the day, before anybody knew me, rapping about certain things I been through so I pretty much been like that. I ain’t afraid to express what I been going through. 

What’s the hardest part about being Lil Jairmy? 

It be so much going on. I hold so many people down – I got so many family members and friends that’s in jail; I got so many family and friends that don’t have much so I hold a lot of people down. Dealing wit legal situations myself… I be having so much against me. It’s hard being me because I have a lot of stuff that’s on my back but that be the same thing that motivate me to go harder. 

But when you’re busy taking care of everyone else, who’s holding you down? 

God really, bruh. That’s a hard question but that’s how I be feeling sometimes, like Ion got nobody, but like I say man – God always been there for me. I always had a real relationship with God. I feel like that damn sho’ always helped. (God) been there with me the whole way. 

Talk to me about your relationship with God. 

I ain’t gon’ lie, I been close to God since I was young. I remember praying and going to church, imitating the pastor when I was like 3-4 years old. My grandmother… I was real close wit my grandmother. She brought me up really – and she always been close to God, and saved, so I been on that since I was a baby. (God) been showing me different things since I was a child. As I got older, it just got more realer and he saved me from more real-life things. That’s how I really realized how real it was. 

What’s your earliest memory of being saved? 

I wouldn’t say it’s my earliest but one of the biggest ones, I was in the car wit four of my friends; the car got shot up like sixty or seventy times. One of my friends got hit and he got paralyzed but he survived. Nobody else got hit, or died. Just seeing how the car was shot up bruh – (bullets) came from all different ways – it show you that God is real, and when it’s your time it’s yo time and if he got something else for you, you gon’ stay out here. I already knew (God) was real before that but that was one of the main things. 

How has fatherhood changed your outlook on life? 

(Fatherhood) put you in that grown man mode, let you know you can’t be bullshittin.’ It’s bigger than just me. You gotta really be responsible for something once you become a parent. Before that, you probably just living for yourself, doing crazy things – not cherishing life like how you got to when you got a lil’ one at home waiting on you.