BET.com: How did you pick up rapping, and what led you to starting it seriously?

Lil Keed: What led up to me rapping was being [put] on punishment. Mom used to put us in the room. My daddy used to be like, ‘ Go in the room, don't come back out for the rest of the day.’ Two days, three days, that was a typical punishment. Me and Gotit rooms were across from each other. We would pull up YouTube beats, and just write to them, and rap to them. Then, my partner, Rudy, got killed in 2016. He had a [neighborhood mixtape] coming out. Everybody was going to the studio and getting on it. I wasn’t featured on it, but Gotit was. [Rudy] died a couple of days before it dropped.

So, he never even got to hear himself. I was like, ‘damn, this is f****d up.” ‘Cause he died at like 15. I was like, ‘man, I can't die young. I got to do something.’ So I just started going to the studio. For years straight, I never stopped going to the studio, and I made songs like ‘Blicky, Blicky,’ ‘Fetish,’ ['Trapped In Cleveland'], ['Trapped In Cleveland 2'], [and] 'Slime Avenue'. Those three tapes just came from me going to the studio, not giving up, and having determination and ambition.

BET.com: What were your musical influences growing up? 

Lil Keed: I was into rap, of course. My mom used to listen to Jaheim a lot. So, I used to hear a lot of R&B, too. I didn't really have a favorite. I just used to listen to them and to the melodies. Jaheim always had crazy melodies. My mom loved that. That’s all she used to play in the car. Jaheim, Monica, Fantasia, and Keyshia Cole.Those types of people.

BET.com: Was there ever one point where you felt like giving up? 

Lil Keed: Yes, I had one moment, but it wasn't a ‘give up’ type of moment. It was like ‘Damn, when this s**t gon’ happen?’ Like, I’m doing what I'm supposed to do as sacrifices. Like me, not being in the streets to just going to the studio and trying to work and be the best person I can be in the booth and outside the booth. 

I wasn't giving up. I had folks who knew I could rap, but they weren't trying to put the effort in to let people know I could rap. So, that was making me mad, too. It really just made me go harder. That’s why I wasn’t really tripping. God works his ways. And he got me to where I'm at.

I found [Young Thug]. Well, I knew Thug's family and his mom before I knew him [since like 2016]. He had already got big. When I met them, I started rocking out with them. His nephew is my best friend, and he raps too. His mom was telling him, ‘you need to sign Keed. Not no A&R.’ This is his mama who said, ‘You gotta sign Keed,’ and he came and got me. 

BET.com: Did you expect to release Trapped In Cleveland 3 this soon?

Lil Keed: Yes. I worked on ‘Trapped In Cleveland’ for nine months. I redid my album twice. I already had songs for it, but I wanted it to tell a story. Tell where I came from, how I was raised, and what I used to go through, what I'm going through now, and what changed. I did it over twice, all the songs, in my house. I was in my house every day not going outside, just working in the studio. I was finding myself and perfecting my craft. 

BET.com: Do you feel there was one song, in particular, that was hard to work on?

Lil Keed: None of them was hard to work on. I just went off how I was feeling that day. I never spent more than an hour on none of the songs that’s on my album.

BET.com: What's the best memory you have in the studio? 

Lil Keed: There’s a lot of them [Chuckles]. We used to have the craziest parties. I record outside of the booth, so we’ve had a stripper party. Before that, Brandy. She was recording stuff, and she was going into my time. Her block was already over. They came and got me like ‘Brandy’s like come into the studio.’ I was like, ‘who the hell is Brandy?’ I just thought it was a girl. I was like, ‘Man, what she want?’ They was like ‘Just come here real fast.’ So, I go in there, and I’m like ‘Oh s**t, This Moesha.’ She just needed 30 minutes. I was like, ‘Hell yeah, go head.’ She was like, ‘when I get done, I want you to come listen to some of my music.’ I came back and listened to some of her music, played some of my music, and we did a couple of songs [together]. We've been tight ever since.

Are there other people that you look up to that would be dream collaborations?

Lil Keed: Of course, Thug. That was my dream, off the top. I’m working on a song with Drake. That’s big. I want to get a song with The Weeknd. It would be so crazy. It’s a couple of people. I'm working on a song right now with Rick Ross. You can probably expect him on my ['Trapped In Cleveland 3'] deluxe [edition].

BET.com: Where do you feel like this is setting up to go musically next?

Lil Keed: It was a warm-up. Just the beginning. I got a long way to go, a lot of money to make. It’s inspired me to go to the moon. I'm trying to go where they say I can’t go. In some form or fashion, I’m going to the moon. I don't let anybody's opinions affect what I do. 

I'm gonna go pop and try to get like some Sean Paul type of vibe. That was crazy to me and like a whole ‘nother world. But if I go like that, that’s going to shock the whole world. 

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.