On this episode of WTTLK, Nyla Symone sits down with special guest Fresco Trey to dive into his latest EP, Meraki. He opens up about the inspiration behind the title, his journey of self-growth, and the lessons he's learned along the way. From love and relationships to chasing his dreams without fear, Fresco shares his perspective on staying true to himself. He also reflects on the impact of fame, the legacy he hopes to build, and why mentorship and authenticity are at the heart of his music and life.
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On your moon and you're listening, I'm trying to get it.
Down with you. What's your boys at, what's up to do?
That one along?
You not? You need to talk my girl knowledge what's with you?
We need to damn.
Well, I will say in the night to forget it. Seems like it seems like you're said right now listen to it. I'm like, oh my god, we're coming here. I'm gonna give him a hug. Who hurts you?
And I was like, appreciate that, but how you find me? She was like, you just scanned your ticket, So I typed your name, Ma, and then your Instagram came up. And then I seen the yellow jacket cause you posted a picture in it, and I was like, ain't no way. I said, Look, I told, I said, look, I appreciate that. I command you for your hard work, but I gotta block you. That's crazy. What's popping, guys? It's Fresco Tray, my new project, Maraki out. Now what's up now that we need to talk?
What's up guys?
Now?
It was morning here with another episode that we need to talk. And today I got a very special guest in the building. We got Fresco here and then this is his second interview and we need to talk. I love her, I love her. Repeat welcome back.
Yeah for sure, man, it's good to see you.
Yeah, good to see you too. For first of all, before we even get into talking, let's talk about the fit while you got gloves on indoors.
It's just, you know, it's like a part of the fit. You know what I'm saying. You gotta you gotta keep it, keep it aesteatically cleansing.
You know, if I get a little Last time I was here, you got at got a little hot you know, the conversation, got a little hat, I get a little hotter.
I take them off, I take them off.
Okay, I would like to know I'm digging this tie, loving the streets, loving the hat I'm here. From the look, I'm just like, damn, what is he prepared for? Okay?
I prepare for this, prepared for this, prepare for this.
I like it. It's a good look on you.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
So talk to me. How have you been for bringing to New York?
Just uh promo one? I guess it's just outside were outside. I gotta ep about to come out on the twenty third this month. So we're just making our rounds, you know, just trying to show facing, show the world that we're moving around.
And stuff like that.
You have been last time I seen you, I bumped into you in Miami. You look like you was having yourself a good time over there.
I was, I was just cool and I was just chilling. For real, I really you really I seen you. You were like I always see you, like you moving and busy and getting stuff done.
That's how I look when I said you didn't yeah, for real, I.
Was on the go.
That's when I saw you. I'm like, wait a minute.
I was like, you see me, You walk like ten feet and then turn around like, oh sh like what are you doing?
Yeah?
For sure?
For so that is so funny. But okay, so you're dropping another EP even though you just dropped the EPH.
Well, yeah, I've been.
A night to forget.
Yeah, yeah, that's kind of.
It wasn't really an EP. I had dropped both songs on YouTube. It's one video and I just put both on like shrimming platforms. So I just put it as one thing instead of making it separate and put it wasn't an EP.
You looked like a three pack.
That's why I was just like, yeah, I guess, yeah, yeah, I'm dropping another EP. I just dropped EP. The dropping another PE. We say we're gonna keep working, man. It's just gonna keep working, man.
I love Okay, Well, I will say in a night to forget it. Seems like it seems like you're sad right now. Listen to it. I'm like, oh my god, he's coming here. I'm gonna give him a hug. Who hurts you? I see it on your gramd, like, who hurts you?
You know it's crazy. I really don't even be wanting to give her no air time for real.
I don't just like you deserve it, she don't need you deserve it. But I know that's right, and you know, I want to I want to say this. I want to say this. I'm really not sad, okay, but you know how life is. Once you feed people something, you gotta kind of like keep feeding them, especially if you get like you get successful doing that, you gotta kind of keep feeding it.
Yeah.
So this next ep I'm dropping, it's called muraki.
Muraki is a Greek word for kind of just like doing something with all of yourself. Like it means it's like basically putting two hundred percent and whatever you're doing, like put.
Some of yourself into it. I like that maaki, yeah, raaki, So I gotta tat it.
On me.
But it's been like my word since I was in high school.
And this next EP is kind of just like I put some sad stuff on it just because people love it, but I also put other things on it just so people can know that, like all right, like I make happy music, I make dance music, like I'm and I'm I'm in I'm in a better space now mentally, you know what I'm saying. So I want to kind of That's what I'm just kind of trying to do in my career is kind of like slowly evolve it. And I just always do sad, sad, sad because in reality, I'm not sad, and it's like I keep putting that out there, then it's gonna eventually find his way back to me. And I don't want to be sad, you know, like I don't want to be said I'm too blessed with it.
That is true. That is true. Things you feel you got to feed the fans. This is feeding the fan.
You know.
It's just it's true. I hate it, but it's the sad. It's I mean, it's the truth. It's reality.
So so has Fresco found love?
Uh, Fresco has found love?
Fresco has Fresco has what.
I'm so here for that?
Yeah there, Because you want to know what's crazy?
My girlfriend, right, she watches uh your podcast like before we met, and so when we got together, probably like a few months in and she I ended up just seeing her watching your stuff and then like our video came next. Now I forgot what we were talking about. We was talking about some stuff and she was just like, hm, I forget what it was about.
But I remember that visit before her when we had a conversation. This is before we met.
Okay, yeah, before we met. But then you can't judge you off nothing, No, no, no.
She can't back.
I just remember walking in saying her watching your stuff, and I'm like, hold on, this sounds familiar Now I looked and it was. It was so I was like, that's crazy, but no, definitely, And that's why I was saying like I'm happy now I'm not.
Sad, ye like I'm mad. You know, we totally want to hear you happy. I know, I totally want to hear about Fresco in love. What don't that look like? What does it sound like? So that we we're getting on the EP a little bit of that.
We're gonna get a little bit of that too, yeah for sure.
Yeah, why why did you hit me with the way? Are you still healing? It's not like you're still healing.
I just had to remember all the songs it's going to be on. So yeah, we're gonna get a little bit of that too, for sure.
Okay, how many songs is it?
It's for fortunate for a new working songs.
Okay, And are you gonna do like like videos for it? Like what are what's the plan for twenty twenty five?
Yeah? Uh, well, to answer the first question, I plan on doing videos every song on there. Okay, But for twenty twenty five, this is gonna be a year of one me kind of just like.
Taking fear or anything out of the equation and just whatever I have a will, a willing to do, I'm gonna do it, you know. And a failure isn't kind of like it's not an option, it's not even a thing because if it doesn't perform, well, it's it's a list, it's a lessen and it's I was able to say I did it, and then when I do it again, I know how to make it better from last time.
So it's not a fear. So I'm taking fear out of any equation because I'll just be real with you. Uh. Coming up in my career.
Like I had like a just like growing up in life, I had like anxiety of people not showing up for me. So that kind of like altered me from like performing a lot because I just felt like people weren't gonna show up for me. But I had a lot of God put me in a lot of situations, in a lot of rooms where people showed up for me, and people came through, and you know, I said, it was genuine love. So I just said this year, I'm putting all that out the door and I'm just gonna be fearless or whatever everything I do.
So I want to be I want to act. I want to I want to do my own type podcast, you know, back in the city.
I want to just perform more. I want to have my own shows where I'm not opening up for nobody.
I'm doing my own.
Shows a different city. If it's forty people there, that's a win, you know what I'm saying. That's forty people, and that's forty people who gonna go tell their friends. Trey put On a good damn show because I know I got a good performance. So this year for me is about being fearless. I'm gonna drop a lot of music, perform I'm gonna try to get into little acting roles. You know what I'm saying, do my own act and stuff like, just just be fearless and my.
Creative Well, definitely let me know when you raised do your New York show. I definitely would love to help you put that together. Shit, But I think that's smart. One thing I actually always admired and loved about our previous conversation and it's just like how self aware.
You are, for sure, I think, and I think that's the I feel like for anybody watching this, I think that's the number one thing.
It's a changing you know, it's being self aware.
It's knowing when you know what I'm saying you have a problem, or knowing when you are you messing up or because a lot of people can be in the now and I feel like that's never gonna help you change anything. So and I learned that from people like my dad or you know, I was having a conversation with.
My girl today, who's talking about that?
So I feel like self awareness is definitely the biggest thing into changing whenever you need to change.
That's true. Now, are you prepared for the world to see you in love? Because, like you said, I'm not gonna lie, even like on your Instagram page, I feel like they all love the sad, hurt version of you. Like what if they don't accept that? Are you? What is your plan?
I guess that's what I was just telling you.
Matter It ain't no such thing as they're not going to accept it, like they're gonna have to because like gonna, they're gonna have to because like I'm I'm I'm adamant about it. So it's like I feel like in this world, like you feed, you feed the world, and it's somebody gonna somebody gonna gravitate to it, somebody gonna like it. And I remember I was talking to my dad. He was like, you sure you want to push your girl like you know it might turn your girl fans off, but honestly, honestly, honestly no, no, honestly thought. But honestly though they they they they like. I feel like the women like their more.
We love a relationship, they like them more. So I'm like, that's why I'm like, you're in.
Come on, like I'm telling you like it's for real. That's for real, for real.
That is so funny. I'm really cracking up at coach over there time you sure look this is a different era now, Okay, we we want real life, real emotions, real thing. Okay, So what happened for PM in Dallas? For PM in Dallas, what really happened for Dallas?
I mean the song.
I think I made this song in like twenty twenty two or three, and I want to say I was I was like in the middle of like I wasn't breaking up with somebody because I wasn't in a relationship. But you know how you talking to somebody and y'all just kind of just like stopped talking. But y'all had that like last argument. But it wasn't dating. So I was going through something like that, Yeah, like situationship. I was going through something like that. And it was kind of perfect because I had my boy Rid shot I read he was he was doing the talk box and he just made it about tired of being in love and stuff like that. I was like, it's perfect. I just wrote to that and I put everything in there. It was kind of like something that was going on.
Okay, you already know I like to do the fill in the blank game questions that any answers. Are you ready?
Yeah?
All right. The craziest thing that has happened to me on tour had to be the time.
When I was I was flying from New York. Actually I was at the store.
I was New York.
Look the store.
I was just telling me about I bought my yellow jacket from the holidays and stuff. I was flying home from New York and the girl you know, you know when you go when you finish, go on the plane that scan your ticket. It was a girl right there doing it, and I was I guess she had it. She thought I was handsome or whatnot. So but she didn't say nothing to me. But when I got on my when I got on the plane, I had checked my DMS just to see who hit me before I took off, and I had I had a d M from a girl. She was like, hey, uh, I'm I'm the lady that was just scanned your ticket. I just wanted to let you know, like you super handsome out of that eye. And I was like, appreciate that, but how you find me? She was like, uh, you just scanned your ticket, so I typed your name, man, and then your Instagram came up. And then I seen the yellow jacket because you posted a picture in it. And I was like, ain't no way, I said, look, I told I said, look, I appreciate that I command you for your hard work, but I gotta block you. That that's crazy, that's insane.
So that was the.
Craziest thing up. What that is crazy?
That was crazy. I come in, I come here. I know. Whatever she's gonna do in life, she's gonna be successful.
You need to be a damn lawyer. And that investigation that's crazy.
Something that was crazy.
All right, ten years from now. I want my legacy to be I.
Want my legacy to be I want my legacy to live through the kids that that look up to me, that's under me, that you know that me and my Pop's kind of mentor and just look out for like I want them to kind of like build build the legacy of just how like trade just like instilled in them just to like really like be theyself and like you don't worry about the outside. Know, it's like whatever that you want to do in life or however you was raised or brought up or whatever that is. If you be one hundred percent that, then you cool. Then you become fresco. Fresco it means cool, Fresco means fresh. So it's like it's I feel like when you everybody doing the same things played out. And that's why I got the I got the word of fresco because when you say, oh, this is fresco, that's fresco.
I'm fresco. It means that bro he cool. This this right here is refreshing.
When people hear my music, they say, oh, this is a breath of fresh air.
You feel me.
So that's what I want my legxy to be a person who That's why I was telling you, like I'm about to be fearless because in my head I have all these refreshing and feeless ideas, but my mind up hindered me sometimes, So like I just want my legacy to be like, man, he did whatever, he did everything that a person could think of doing. If he might not have succeeded or whatever, and in other people's eyes, but in my eyes, like I succeeded because I did it. You know what I'm saying my death bed, I ain't gonna. I don't want to ever be like I wish. I wish I would have did that. I wish I if I would have did that, I would have. If you feel me like now, it's like, yeah, I did that.
I did that. I did that. I couldn't did it better, but I did that.
So that's what I want my legacy to be is the person who jumped off every bridge and every every legs.
Is two risk you too.
I'm really a fan, yo. I gotta be honest. I am what all right?
And you guys are still a mesis y'all are I gotta come visit. I gotta come visit.
You gotta get some food.
I'm gonna let y'all know. I want to set it up. Okay, jay Z is.
Jay z is one hell of an entrepreneur, all right.
The hardest lesson I learned about.
Fame is, in my opinion, you have to be extra extra self aware. You have to be extra on this with yourself, and you have to be extra careful about the.
Company you keep.
Because energy is a real thing, and I'm a spiritual person. The universe does it for me, and there's been times where.
I've let the.
Fame bring certain energies around me, and my vision was so clouded because of fame. It wasn't I wasn't stepping back and looking at who is these people around me? Why they're around me? When did they come around me? You feel me, I wasn't looking at that because of fame. Like I'm so touotored up in myself and everybody telling me, oh, you great, or you this, You're gonna be the biggest, You're gonna be this, You're gonna be this. So my ears and my eyes are shit. I'm just when my ears opened, my eyes shit. So I'm like I'm hearing all of this, and I feel like the biggest lesson was that, like when you become famous, you really have to like sit back, let the world slow down, and keep good company, keep good advice around you, and just I don't know.
Just be real with yourself.
You real with yourself about because because especially like in music, you can go up and go down. You just gotta be real with yourself and just stay focused, stay motivated, and stay hungry. So that's my that's that's what I got from it from my biggest leson, I think those are great.
Those are very very great. I love that. What would you say or yeah, what or who would you say? Keeps you grounded? Like I feel like for me, put me in some nature, I'm gonna come back out very leveled. You know what I'm saying, Like, but do you have like a placer or something like that?
In the room with my dad?
He got it.
I'm gonna come back out grounded for sure. They don't call for nothing for he put me in a room with him, Come back our ground.
Blank is one movie I can watch with the sound off.
Rush What all of them?
What?
All three of them?
Rush Shower, That's a good one.
It was a time where like I had to go to sleep with it playing in the background. No, no, for real, like I had to go I had to go to sleep with Rush hour plan.
I don't know why.
I just for some reason that scene when he was like messing with the seven foot tall Chinese dude, It just that scene just did it for me every time, Like I don't know why. It was weird, But Rush Hower is that movie for me.
Love that. That's hilarious. My part is.
Oh when by I love that part for sure?
So classic.
I heard that movie?
Are you seeing that? I don't know if I was dreaming, but I seen someword that I might have been dreaming.
No, no, she didn't when she was older.
No, no, no, I'm talking about I think I was dreaming. What's then, Chris Tucker and Ice Cube? Was I seen a trailer for a movie that was doing?
I was dreaming.
I was dreaming, you dream.
I was dreaming because I was like in the dream, I was like mine. Chris Tucker don't look the same.
He ain't acting the same. That might have been a dream.
Okay, Outside from rapping, blank is my favorite hobby.
Playing basketball.
Don't don't do me like that.
Obviously it's playing basketball. That's if I am maca music probably in the gym hooper.
Okay. I won't feel like I made it as a rapper until i've worked.
With post alone, like work with him and I've been around here and I've been worked with him, like did it on?
Like we did something?
Okay, And I ain't gonna lie like clean West to me, Yeah, like on the production side.
Best producer who had yeah for sure staple? After my first rap check, I.
I did two things. I bought a car and I paid my parents' career bo yeah, Yeah, it got to I gotta. I got to do that. I feel like I just feel like it's like a.
Yeah, I love this guy. I don't lie, Yo, what No, you are so great?
I don't know.
I just I guess I had good parents in coming up, you know, I had great parents, and the value of of gratefulness and stuff like that was just really like it's stilled into me real major.
So I feel like them things are like things is like a no brainer for me. You know. It's just like it's like it's not even a thought. It's like first thing.
It's like what how can I how can I somehow repay?
You know, because I can't do it one hundred percent? But how can I somehow repay? You know?
So shout out to you man. If I was not a rapper, i'd be a.
Basketball player.
And my dad and my da other days, Like, bro, you will probably be oversee somewhere, you know, probably overseen somewhere.
I probably over see someone.
Okay. My favorite album of all time.
Is College Drapery with Yeah and and Let's Get Lifted by John Legend.
Both of them were for word.
The whole tape into Chicago.
Are You from Chicago.
Yeah, both of them. I ain't know that something there, Yeah.
I ain't know that, And I love Chicago. I want to get it.
Like spot out there one day by the end of twenty twenty five, I hope too.
I hope to have got my label.
Up and running smoothly, like I want to Fresco the label want Label. So I've hoped to just really got like a great foundation with that going and just have artists coming in and you know, we're helping them well because our labels, like it's going to be a little different, well I don't say a little different, but our label is going to be a label that obviously you could sign.
It will have artists signed.
But also we're just gonna offer services to label services to artists for a fee that way, like we ain't kind of like because you know, I'm an artist myself, so I know how we feel to like I want to own your masters and up, so we'll let you on your mask, on your pub. We just gonna do like label services for a fee and help artists like that, you know, so smart. So I just I just hoped about the twent twenty five to have that just like a good foundation, like smooth selling.
So I love that. I have no doubt that you would do all that accomplished all the things that you've talked about today, and you said the tape.
Drops January twenty third.
January twenty third, all right, we'll be we'll be looking out for it. Is there anything else we should know that you got going on in twenty twenty five, Let's see.
I think I put it all out there with the performance and the label and all of the other adventures that I want to do well before we get there.
I just want to give your flowers. You'll give me mine. But I know, like I'll be seeing you on the GRAM.
I see you doing your thing, like I'll tell you my girl like she's watching you before. Like so I just like you just always moving and you're doing your thing. You always got to get like energy and or like when I see in Miami, just like it's just or like even though you was walking right past me, it just was like a walking like you know, it's just good.
Ore.
So I just want to give your flowers because of what you're doing and how persistent and consistent you are. And I don't know, I just feel like God's gonna continue to bless you times one hundred. You know, appreciated for sure.
Thank you. Now I'm coming to Memphis. I'm gonna hit you all.
We hold you to it.
I'm coming to hold you to it. Shout out your Graham. Let them know where they can follow you if they don't already.
Oh for sure, y'all can give me a fresh call. Trade on all all platforms, f R E, S, C, O, T R E. Y you on how to spell it. Like I said, you get at me.
Until next time, guys, talk to the