G Herbo arrived on set with a presence that was instantly palpable. Dressed simply in a Nike tracksuit, he carried a serene, yet undeniably powerful demeanor. The kind of quiet confidence that doesn't demand attention but commands it nonetheless. It was clear that Herbert, his birth name, truly fits the stature of the man he is becoming. There's something almost regal in the way he moves through space, a deliberateness that suggests someone who has fought hard for every inch of ground he now stands on. Among the many celebrities and influential figures who've graced these pages, G Herbo walks with a rare, strong sense of nobility and purpose that sets him apart. This wasn't just another photo shoot or interview, it was a moment of genuine unveiling, where the armor of the artist gave way to reveal the depth of the man beneath.
How did you come to this evolution as a man and father? Can you pinpoint a specific moment where you felt this new sense of maturity begin to take shape?
I can't really pinpoint a specific moment. Maybe if I had to, probably around the year 2023 and I just felt like things were kind of not really working out in my favor like career-wise and just financially and just what my career and everything was headed. It kind of made me take a step back and buckle down and double down on making goals and setting things out for myself and just figuring out how it was going to look for me when I was kind of, for lack of a better term, reinvented as an artist.
I think I had to go through that stage and it made me lean closer towards the people that was in my corner, not so much as just going out, having fun and stuff like that. Spending more time with my children in the house and things like that. But on the same token, really going harder in the studio and just trying to figure out a game plan. I think those were the times where I got more mature and just more goal-oriented.
What single piece of wisdom would you urgently share with your younger self?
I would tell my younger self to be more selfish, to stop being so selfless and just focus on what's important or what's detrimental towards getting out where you want to go in life. Younger, I made a lot of mistakes just figuring I could save everybody and take care of a lot of people, and it really just kind of stunted my growth in a way. If I could give myself some insight or some wisdom, it would just be to focus on yourself and your family and what's important, not so much as just trying to let everybody walk in your shoes that weren't really meant to do so.
If you could zoom out 50 years from now, what do you want your legacy to be outside of music charts?
I want to be a music mogul. I want to be a CEO, actor. Do more philanthropy work. I always mimic my career to ones such as Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, those guys who really took music and their love and passion for music and just opened new doors and took it to heights that was unimaginable. God willing I could do so. I'm still of course young enough to be able to make a couple of the right decisions and just change the whole trajectory of what my career could be in the next 10, 15, 20 years.
How has growing up in Chicago shaped you beyond the grit and survival of it all?
Chicago taught me to be able to go without a lot of things. I don't really need much, even though I've gotten to a point in my life where I have resources and can provide certain things for myself or for my family. But growing up in Chicago just taught me, all I really need is a studio, a camera, and just a dream and just to be able to believe.
Chicago is just one of those places where we just make it happen with whatever we got. Growing up in poverty, Section 8, public housing, EBT, all of those things that just shape a Chicago native into someone where that hunger is really the fuel and the only fuel that they need. Coming from there, it showed me how to be fearless and just take whatever I have and make something of it and lean towards my fears and not be afraid to take a chance and take risks in life. You could tell when somebody from Chicago. Being from Chicago, you always stand out for sure.
Does success ever become overwhelming? What advice do you have for young successful artists?
Definitely. I think success becomes overwhelming because, for one, when you reach a certain level of success, everything's in the public eye. Your personal life and your family dynamic and all those kind of things are just in the eye of the public. And if you don't know how to maneuver and deal with those kind of things, it'll get the best of you.
I had to learn how to just not really feed into the eye of the public and feed into the opinion of the public and just focus on striving and continuing to be successful because in this life and in this game, it is what you sign up for. We sign up to be able to take care of our family and be able to provide and create opportunities for others. So that's what I try to focus on and just be grateful for what I have and being grateful that I've reached a level in my life where everything I do is being watched, where people even care enough to be invested in my life.
I try to look at the positives more so than the negatives. But it definitely becomes overwhelming and it's not for the weak. You got to be strong in this industry and you got to be able to take the good with the bad and just focus on the good and just keep on leveling up.
What do you believe your responsibility is to your audience and the next generation?
I believe my responsibility is to teach, for the next generation to be able to see my career and watch my career and decisions that I made good and bad and to be able to learn from them the same way that I was able to learn from the people that I looked up to. I watched a lot of Juelz Santana, I watched a lot of Lil Wayne, I watched a lot of Jay-Z, 50 Cent and those guys and seeing the steps that they took to get where they are in life.
I know there's a guy younger than me that's watching everything that I'm doing. If I could be able to teach the next generation without them having to make some of the same mistakes that I made and to be able to be successful and reach success in this game, I feel like that's my contribution to the next generation.
Has becoming a father changed your approach to the content you create?
Yeah, for sure. I just really want my kids to understand that I made a lot of sacrifices for them to be able to live the life that they live and for me to be able to pour my resources into them so they don't have to make a lot of the decisions and struggle in ways that I had to struggle.
Also, I want them to see that it's possible, that I came from nothing and I made it into something. And with the resources that they have and what they're going to be accustomed to, it gives them a boost to chase their dreams no matter what it is, whether they want to be an artist, entrepreneur, athlete, doctor, lawyer, whatever it is. I want to be able to just pour all those resources into them and just make it as easy as possible. And for them to see what I've done in my life and career and the heights that I took it to that were kind of unimaginable, that it's possible for them to do it, of course.
What's the most important lesson about unconditional love and support that you've carried from your childhood?
The important lesson that I learned about love and support is just no matter what or no matter how hard it gets—in this lifestyle, moving fast and traveling and seeing the world, sometimes you need to rewind. There's no place like home, and there's nothing like family. When you have a support system and a family that really loves you and cares about you and supports you, there's no better feeling than that.
I learned that from my dad. He used to always tell me, just come home and we'll come to you and just relax for a couple days and eat your favorite meals and stuff like that. That's really important, and it makes you feel grounded. It makes you feel at one with yourself and just level-headed because this life can definitely get fast and take a lot from you. So what I learned most importantly is just you have to lean towards family. And it's OK to feel normal again.
What does true healing look like to you?
True healing is first and foremost, for me, recognizing the problem, understanding what it is you're feeling, what your emotions are and correcting those emotions or balancing out those emotions so you can navigate and deal with whatever you're feeling, whether it's trauma, whether it's sorrow, whether it's sadness, even if it's confusion and not understanding.Healing is not an overnight process. It takes time, but you just got to want to do it and lean towards those things. For me, I'm still in the process of actually healing to this day from grief and trauma and things that I felt through my life with losing a parent and losing close friends, losing a brother, all of those things play a part in the things that I feel today. But I also try to lean towards the things that make me happy in life. And that's what helps me; music, staying in tune with God and being spiritual and being close to my family and my children and stuff like that, the things that make me happy. Those are the variables that help me heal to this day.
Who are your mentors outside of rap?
Mickey is one of my mentors. Coffee, he helped me a lot with just balancing through life and my trials and tribulations and navigating with decision making, business models, things like that. Another was Jerry Torrey. He passed away. He was one of the leaders of the community from the community center I went to, CYC, Rebecca Crown. He definitely was one of the people who shaped me into the man that I am today.
And honestly, that's why it's so important for me to do the things that I'm doing in the community and just stay someone who's like a staple of somebody to show these kids something tangible where they could believe. Seeing is believing because I really didn't have that growing up. I didn't have any mentors. I didn't have anybody who I looked up to to really show me right or wrong. I was in the streets early on and I had to learn as I go. A lot of decisions that I made, it cost me a lot, good and bad. So I would say that's why it's important for me to try to be what I didn't have growing up.
What emotional journey do you hope fans take when listening to your album?
I want them to take what they take from it because I'm putting a lot of emotion and a lot of knowledge and trials and tribulations and the things that I experienced in my album. There's no one message that I really want the fans or the listeners to take with them. I just want them to understand that nothing in life is a coincidence. Nothing in life is free or easy. You have to go through the uncomfortable times, you have to change your circumstances, change your environment and your surroundings to get where you want to go in life, whether that's trying to do something that's never been done before or just trying to reach your goals in a way that you didn't think were possible.
And that's what I've done. You don't always have the answers. You don't always know which way to go to get where you want to go in life. But you just got to stick it out and stay focused. So that's the main message that I want them to get, just to stay positive and to believe in that anything is possible.
Has your fashion sense evolved as a conscious shift to reflect this new phase of life?
I think it has a lot to do with my age. I can't really dress how I used to or dress like a young nigga, like a YN basically. For me, fashion, I want to still make my fashion be fun and relatable, but still grown man and just evolved. And I want it to look luxurious as well, but it's, for me, fashion is not just high-end brands and stuff like that. It's just how you wear the clothes.
I always want to look fly. I want to look rich when I go outside, and that's how I basically bottle up my fashion. I don't think it's a conscious decision because I've always been into fashion. I've always been into dressing. So it really just evolves with my age and maturity and the brands that I think fit me. And it all has to do with your mood. So as fashion changes and shifts every few years, I kind of change with the fashion, but I still make it true to myself.
How has your personal definition of success changed?
I feel like it doesn't really change, it's just reaching new heights. There's certain things when it comes to charting and album sales, there's certain heights that I haven't reached yet. So I still want to reach those heights. But on top of that, I try not to focus on the numbers or focus on first week sales or album sales or platinum or gold plaques or anything like that. I just try to focus on the music and the message behind it, trying to create good music that people appreciate, that the consumers want to keep consuming and just growing in that way as an artist.
I think that's what got me this far lately over the past few years. I haven't really cared about first week sales or album sales or what goes gold or platinum or YouTube views, anything like that. Of course, I love it, don't get me wrong. I love the accolades and I love accomplishing those kind of things, but that's not what I'm in it for. I'm just in it to create good music and to be able to go out and tour the world and connect with fans where they want to grasp on to the message that I'm trying to get across.
What's the ultimate message you want first-time listeners to take away?
Don't take it personal, man. Life is no coincidence, and no matter what, it's all a part of your journey and your destiny. No matter what you're going through, no matter where you want to go, it's possible for you to get there. I don't want to sound harsh or anything, but I just hate when people complain about life because it's somebody that didn't wake up today. So just be grateful for another chance to change your situation and be a better version than you were yesterday. So that's the message that I would want to give across to anybody who listens.
G Herbo's fan base, young and old, will connect deeply with this album, remembering their own times of struggle, loss, or pain. This album will bring much-needed healing to the community. It opens the door for men and women to have necessary conversations about life, making it okay for a man to be emotional, to talk about the importance of therapy, yet still be masculine, strong, and able to provide for his family.
His story has the power to make an impact, and Herbo is using his platform as a catalyst for change. The freedom to refuse to let your past determine your future is the hopeful message he broadcasts. The changes you make today can positively affect the generation that comes after you, giving them hope to overcome challenges and believe that anything is possible.
Ultimately, G Herbo embodies the power of perspective. While many of us look outward for an answer, his testimony shows that we may be the very solution we seek. Adversity gives us a story to tell, and a choice: whether to create impact or remain the same. Herbo didn't wait for permission; he became, with an undeniable sense of honor, class, and integrity.
G Herbo CREDITS
PUBLICATION: Deeds Magazine @deedsmagazine
TALENT: G Herbo @nolimitherbo
CO-CREATIVE DIRECTOR | PHOTOGRAPHER: Williams Peters @bytunde
CO-CREATIVE DIRECTOR | PRODUCTION MANAGER: Zacharina
Dainkeh @zacharina.a
DIRECTOR: CEOJAY @ceojay__
FASHION DIRECTOR | LEAD STYLIST: Gloria Johnson @styledbyglo_2
ART DIRECTOR | LIGHTING TECHNICIAN: Kabir @ahappeningguy
VIDEOGRAPHER: Jadah Dunyoh @jdunyoh
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT: Uché @uchennaaduaka_
BTS PHOTOGRAPHER: Yuriy Baranov @yb_captures
STYLIST ASSISTANT: Will Kadima @flossywilll Tyler Bride @tylerbride4
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Jermaine Hamilton @jettv_ Norrell jackson @norre.
STUDIO PARTNER: @ContraStudios
