Atlanta has always been known as a city that has been open-armed to creatives who can’t be boxed in. B.U.G Antman has all the makings of an ATL artist primed for a big breakout. Thanks to his ability to constantly keep reinventing his sound.
I had the opportunity to catch up with B.U.G. Antman to discuss his new project, “Yall Ugly” and more.
T: With me being from Atlanta, I have to ask what part are you from?
BA: I’m from the Northside. Like Migos, they definitely legends out here.
T: What artists did you grow up on?
BA: My older cousins was always bumping (Lil) Wayne. I would say that was my first big inspiration. Then I branched off to Young Thug, I was on him heavy. Then I start bumping Carti, Sahbabii, Duwap Kaine, Lil Keed, Baby Keem, Kendrick, and Drake. Those are all major inspirations for me.
T: When did you begin taking music seriously and realize this was your ultimate goal?
BA: I’d say 2021, when I locked in with my director, Antemortum. He shoots all my visuals. I got a good taste of the world we could build, through visuals and music. So that’s when I decided to start taking it serious. So I start traveling with him. So I’d get booked in New York and Miami and we’d shoot sh*t out there.
T: I’m glad you brought that up. Because I feel like you have a very strong visual aesthetic (from your vids, symbolism, the consistent colors you use) is there something or someone you can say that directly influenced it?
BA: A$AP Rocky. He’s always going above and beyond with the visuals. Travis Scott & Tyler the Creator, those type artists. Those are definitely inspiration for me. Like I’m trying to get on that level.
T: With you being from Atlanta, how do you feel that influenced you both creatively and musically?
BA: I’m sure you’ve seen the show Atlanta with Childish Gambino. It’s a different world out here bro. It’s always some crazy sh*t going on. So I’m always getting inspired by something. As far as musically, there’s a lot of good artists. And with me being a competitive person, it gives me a push to keep cooking. Not letting nobody out work me.
T: I also saw that you enjoy playing basketball, so are there any other extra-curricular things that you enjoy doing that aren’t music related and how important is it for you to have hobbies despite being such a big workaholic?
BA: I just left the gym earlier. That was the first time I’ve been in a minute. For a long time to get to this point, it has been straight cook-up, cook-up, cook-up. But it’s what I’m passionate about. So I’m still trying to find more passions that I can dive into. I guess cinematography has been my most recent one. I learned everything from my director. Like I got the same camera. I watch him edit. And I have my own production company, Control Z. So it’s anoter passion of mine, directing and sh*t.
T: Speaking of symbolism, could you explain the meaning of the paper bag and it being over peoples head in a lot of your visuals?
BA: A lot of my favorite artists for their projects have mascots. I felt like it was crucial and something I definitely wanted to do as far as world building with the project being called “Yall Ugly.” I was like what do ugly people wear? I was like oh, brown paper on this sh*t. And they start swagging and start rocking wit the fish. They start dropping different color paper bags and all type of sh*t like that. It was good symbolism as far as showing the project. And when people put together what ugly actually means to me. It’s more so some positive sh*t. I’m not just insulting muhf*ckas, like a lot of people ugly on the inside.
T: With your new project, how did you approach differently compared to your last project?
BA: Mainly the production. I feel like the production was just on a different level. Going forward, with each drop I want to keep pushing the boundaries with my music. I don’t want any projects to sound similar. I just want to show the growth and evolution throughout these projects and eras. Creatively, I tried to take a different route with this one. I feel like I’m taking a lot more risk on this project than my previous work.
T: Was there a reason you chose not to do any features?
BA: No there’s no reason. I just wanted this to be me because even with the covers. I drew that cover when I was in first grade in an art class when the assignment was like draw a self-portrait of yourself. So it’s like even using that cover, it means a lot for the project. So I just wanted it to be fully me.
T: And I saw that in a past interview you prefer to lock in with one producer, so how did you lock in with Backwoods/form a relationship land take us behind the curtain of that creative process between y’all two.
BA: Yeah that’s my DJ. I first locked in with him in 2023. I met him at the Travis (Scott) show backstage and the energy is cool. I f*ck with Backwoods and I was always f*cking with his beats before. So that was a producer I always wanted to work with, but it happen so organically. Sh*t was clutch.
T: Is there any younger or lesser known artists that you’d like get to give your co-sign to? I think it’s important for artists to use their platform to help put on the next wave, because it helps the cycle continue.
BA: Apollo Red. Vayda. Lisha G.
T: With the first quarter of 2025 almost being over, what are some of your goals for the rest of your 2025?
BA: I want to have my own tour. I want to keep doing more shows. Being more consistent and dropping more visuals. I want a video for every song on this project. I’m trying to follow it up with another project, like ASAP. Staying consistent, that’s important. I want to keep feeding the colony, so that I can just keep watching it grow.
T: To build off of that answer, now that you have an established fan base, do you feel like it’s more pressure on you?
BA: Nah man. I actually looked up how many ants are in a real colony and it’s like a hundred thousand. So I’m looking at a core fanbase, it’s still small so early. It’s no pressure at all. People can reach out to me and I’m responding back. And it’s crazy. I f*ck with the colony. Everyone been showing love, it’s mad cool. I’ve been chopping it up with a lot of my supporters, but I wouldn’t say it’s any pressure. Definitely don’t want to let them down though. I ain’t worried about that.
T: With you being from Atlanta, do you feel like it would’ve been harder to cultivate what you’re doing?
BA: Definitely. Honestly if I was anywhere else, I would try my best to come out to here ASAP. Here, the competition is only gonna push you harder. That’s why you see a lot of up and coming artists come out to here. Because it’s like the competition. It’ll be like 10 n*ggas pop out from the city compared to a couple n*ggas popping out. I couldn’t imagine coming up anywhere else making music.
Leave a Reply