Rap’s Hit-Boy is finally free — and he’s never been happier

When I sat down to chat with acclaimed rapper and producer Hit-Boy, I was surprised by his candor. 

“I feel like a whole new person,” he told Andscape. “I just realized a lot about my last 10, 15 years in this business. I was kinda just working from a different place, kinda desperation, kinda not tryna go back to Section 8, you know what I mean?”

That’s not the kind of confession you’d expect from one of the most decorated producers in the music business. But it’s the reality for many. It’s a quiet admission, but it lands with the kind of gravity that only hindsight allows. For the first time in nearly two decades, the Grammy-winning producer is breathing freely and creating from a place of independence.

At only 19, Hit-Boy, born Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr., signed an 18-year publishing contract with Universal Music Group. The deal, written long before streaming became the primary way fans consumed music, relied on outdated language and CD-era standards that no longer matched the world he was creating in. As the industry evolved, Hit-Boy’s contract began to highlight just how far behind publishing structures and contracts were from the realities facing modern producers and songwriters.

With the help of Jay-Z and Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, Hit-Boy was freed from his “predatory” deal. The moment he did, things changed, and with that shift came newfound freedom, relief and joy.

“It just hit me one day, like, I really got my freedom now,” he said.

Even through the pressure and restriction, Hit-Boy was unstoppable. Producing anthems like “Ni–as in Paris” and “Clique” for Jay-Z and Kanye West, alongside bangers like Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode,” Nipsey Hussle’s “Racks in the Middle,” and Beyoncé’s “Sorry.”

Despite Hit-Boy’s mainstream success, behind the scenes he still wrestled with complex feelings about his situation. That struggle impacted the way that he saw the industry and, often, others in it. 

“Man, it was a rollercoaster for real. I feel like certain relationships I used to have just got tarnished because I couldn’t see clearly,” he admitted. “It’s like, I’m a part of Travis Scott’s biggest song and I don’t even really talk to him. I’m a part of Kanye’s second diamond record, his second biggest song ever, and I don’t talk to him.

“That don’t even make sense, you know what I mean? But it is what it is. It was stuff on both our parts, but I feel like I would’ve played the game a lot different and kept certain relationships if I wasn’t just in this place of survival.”

The reality of that situation was unfortunate, but with it came lessons. You don’t know what you don’t know until you know it. Now, Hit-Boy knows exactly what he wants and deserves.

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“It’s been every emotion, up, down, sad, whole depressed, but, you know, it’s still knowing during this process my talent level has grown immensely, meaning it’s still growing. I’m getting more sharp,” he said. “It all worked out at the end of the day. It had to happen how it had to happen.”

Now, Hit-Boy is moving differently. His latest project, Goldfish, a collaborative album and short film with fellow rapper and producer The Alchemist, embodies the energy he’s now working in. 

“Working with Alchemist, I get to learn so much,” Hit-Boy said. “I get to be a student.”

Whenever they link up, they produce more than music. They give us moments. It’s a partnership that challenges him creatively while grounding him personally, marking a shift to the next level.

“Goldfish is the next level of where I’m trying to get to,” Hit-Boy said.

Beyond the studio, Hit-Boy’s ventures into sports and brand collaborations — like scoring the Madden 23 soundtrack and reimagining Kurtis Blow’s “Basketball” DoorDash’s NBA collab — reflect a broader vision of what it means to be a producer and artist.

For Hit-Boy, the termination of his publishing deal and his new project isn’t just a headline, it’s a return to self. 

When you’ve spent years fighting for control over your sound, your money, your likeness, and your art, the real victory isn’t the contract ending. It’s the freedom that follows. Goldfish by The Alchemist and Hit-Boy is streaming now.

The post Rap’s Hit-Boy is finally free — and he’s never been happier appeared first on Andscape.