Jet Life’s Mary Gold Talks Connecting With Drake, Spirituality vs Religion, & The Freedom Of Nudity

GET TO KNOW “THE FIRST LADY OF JET LIFE” MARY GOLD IN PART 1 OF AHH’S EXCLUSIVE Q&A

(AllHipHop Feature) Don’t call her a rapper. Don’t call her a singer. Mary Gold refers to herself as an artist, nudist, tree hugger, and c*nt, but you can call her “The First Lady of Jet Life.” The New Orleans performer stayed with the home team by signing with Curren$y’s imprint, and she recently released her debut project as the third installment of the Jet Life BitTorrent Bundle.

Gold’s Sex Hormone’d Druggie mixtape is a musical journey into the psyche of a young woman that presents herself as being comfortable enough in her skin to share her explicit inner thoughts with the world. AllHipHop spoke with “Mother Mary” to go even further into the mind of the creator of tracks like the seductive “Fukk” and the Spitta assisted “Prayer.” Get to know Mary Gold in part one of this exclusive interview.

[ALSO READ: Curren$y’s Jet Life Recordings Signs First Female Artist Mary Gold]

AllHipHop.com: How did you first get involved with music?

Mary Gold: I dated this dude. He had a band, and I was always around it. It made me want to do music. I always wanted to do music since I was younger, but I never really told anybody. My mom didn’t know I could sing. She’s just finding out. My parents are shocked about it. So yeah, being around my ex-boyfriend made me really want to do music. Once I did follow that through he broke up with me.

How many years have you been making music?

It’s been about four.

I was talking to a friend about your mixtape and he asked me to describe it. No disrespect, but I told him I can’t really describe it. It has elements of Hip Hop, R&B, Jazz. I can’t really put a name to it. How would you describe your sound?

To be honest I can’t tell you either. All I know are my feelings and my emotions. Honestly, I don’t really want anyone to categorize it. I think it’s much more inspiring when it’s free and it’s just raw. I never want to be put in a category, because I always want to be able to create any kind of music that I want. I don’t want anyone to label me as rapper or a singer, because one day I may wake up and not want to do that anymore. I may want to go into another genre, and I want to be free to do that without criticism.

Who are some of the artists that have influenced you?

M.I.A. has been a big influence. I love her music. I love how she expresses herself. I love Willow Smith. I think she’s awesome. I’d love to do something with her one day. I love Kanye. Drake has always been a big inspiration musically. So many people inspire me.

You mentioned Drake. How did your cameo in his “Worst Behavior” video come about?

Drake hit me through Twitter and told me how much he liked “Prayer” and how much it inspired him. It’s crazy because I grew up watching Degrassi. He’s always been in front of me. He asked me to come and be a part of his video. That’s how that happened.

Could a collaboration be in the future?

I hope so.

Mary Gold - Drake
Mary riding shotgun with Drake in the “Worst Behavior” video

What was it about Curren$y’s Jet Life that made you decide to sign with them?

It’s home. They cater to home like no one I’ve ever seen. They go hard for where they come from, and I want to be a part of that. I always feel like you should go back to the place that you came from. I want to continue to be part of New Orleans. I don’t want to take what they gave me and go somewhere else with it.

What is it like being the only woman in the crew?

I don’t look at it like that. It’s very equal. They treat me like family. There’s no judgment here. They let me be myself. I have complete control over my creativity. It’s a beautiful thing.

You’re songs are very descriptive tales about sex and drugs. Are they based on real life experiences or are the imaginary accounts? Or a mixture of both?

I live in a complete, totally different world than everyone else. Everything that I write about or I sing about is based on encounters that I had or seen personally. Everything is very real. I might tweak it to my perspective, but it’s definitely life experiences.

You also include a lot of religious references in your music. Did you grow up attending church?

Yes, I definitely did. My parents are Baptist. I grew up in a very structured home. Even to this day my parents feel like they went wrong with raising me because I went a completely different path. I just want everyone to understand that I’m more spiritual than I am religious. I don’t knock it. I take it to my advantage and put my own perspective on it and my own outlook. I’m a firm believer there’s a higher being I just look at it differently than what they told you in books.

What would be your response to those people who may be critical that you’re combining spirituality with drugs and sex?

I feel this is life. Even Jesus drank some wine here and there. I feel like we all have our vices and you can’t be judgmental on that. We’re human. It’s not that serious. I don’t think God put us here to be miserable.

You’ve describe yourself as a nudist. Is that literal or is that just another extension of you expressing your freedom?

It’s not literal. I think people take it and run with that, but I do feel more comfortable in my skin than most do. I feel like we came here naked so there’s nothing wrong with showing who you are. You’re most honest when you’re naked. There’s nothing you can really hide. All your flaws are there. All your insecurities are there. That’s just life.

Follow Mary Gold on Twitter @lordsteez and Instagram @steezlaflare.

[ALSO READ: Mary Gold Releases Jet Life BitTorrent Bundle Featuring “Sex Hormone’d Druggie” Mixtape]