The ATL trap star is still pushing his debut album, Flockaveli, premiered his new video for "Grove St. Party" on MTV Jams and just released a new mixtape called Benjamin Flocka. Hits like "Hard in Da Paint" and "No Hands" helped Waka gain mainstream recognition beyond the Southern states, but he said staying true to himself is the secret to his and labelmate Gucci Mane‘s success.

 

 

"Honestly, we stayed ourself," Waka told MTV News. "We wasn’t scared to let people know our personality. Answered the questions with a real answer. We always say, ‘Hey, bruh, just keep it official.’ Our whole thing was to be 100 about the situation."

Despite their inroads in the music industry, legal issues have shadowed Waka Flocka and some of the company he keeps. Last December, Waka had his home raided by authorities before turning himself in the next month. Members of his entourage were involved in a shooting that involved his tour bus in February in North Carolina. Most recently, Gucci Mane was arrested for allegedly pushing a woman out of his SUV while it was still in motion.

Although some people think rappers are under extra scrutiny, Waka isn’t subscribing to that school of thought when it comes to his entanglements.

"That’s just another standpoint of view," Waka said. "I don’t think we’re being targeted. I think God do a lot of stuff to let you know. … It always stop you in your tracks. That’s just situations God put you through so you be a stronger man, ’cause it didn’t kill us, it just made us stronger. It’s just to let you know like, ‘Boy, you doing good, why would you go over here and … ,’ you know what I’m saying?"

Waka admitted that it was his own actions that put him in some of his well-documented predicaments. "A lot of situations I probably put myself into," he said. "So you just learn from your mistakes."