The Brooklyn rapper didn’t just go viral this summer with his bouncy, biographical street anthem “Hot Nigga” – he also started the biggest dance craze since twerking with the “Shmoney” dance. Everyone from the US Air Force to Bey and Jay tried a take on the dance’s fun-dumb shuffle. “I see myself doing something nobody ever done before,” grins the 20-year-old. “It’s gonna be crazy!” And while his new EP for Epic, Shmurda She Wrote, might just have the most genius title of the year, his ambition extends further than puns. “Tours, movies, games… I got a bunch of stories to tell,” he says. With this blend of wit and street smarts, he’ll be Shmurdering the competition in 2015.
What was your defining pop culture moment of 2014?
Bobby Shmurda: Closing the BET Hip Hop Awards, Electric Zoo festival, performing with Drake and Lil Wayne in New Jersey... But the best day was getting signed. I had champagne and I did a show at Webster Hall.
How would you sum up what you do in a sentence?
Bobby Shmurda: I’m just crazy-busy, I know who I am: I’m Bobby Bitch.
What’s your favourite song and movie of 2014?
Bobby Shmurda: “2 On” by Tinashe. When that song comes on, I just be dancing.
How do you think style and pop culture will change in 2015?
Bobby Shmurda: I don’t know – I’m still going to be dressing sexy.
In 15 words, sum up what we can expect from you in 2015.
Bobby Shmurda: I see myself doing something nobody ever done before, so I can’t talk about it.
What’s the most exciting thing about the music, film and fashion industries today?
Bobby Shmurda: The fans. I love the fans – the love, the crowds and the energy – and that’s the only reason I do it. My fans are aggressive: especially if they’re ladies, they try to grab my bottom parts and be running up on me. A couple of times girls actually fight.
What new skill did you learn this year?
Bobby Shmurda: I learned the skills of patience and thinking before acting, holding my temper. I got a lot of things to lose now.
Who’s an unsung cultural hero that you discovered this year?
Bobby Shmurda: Rowdy Rebel, because the boy is sick; that boy is fire.
What’s the most surprising thing we’d find out if we looked at your phone?
Bobby Shmurda: What, in my pictures? Nasty things!
Who should have been at number one on the Dazed 100?
Bobby Shmurda: I like Rae Sremmurd and Dej Loaf, they’re fire.
Instagram: @bobby_shmurda | Twitter: @BobbyShmurdaGS9
Lead image Bobby Shmurda wears quilted leather bomber by BOSS, jumper by G-Star, sunglasses Bobby’s own
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