August Alsina is an r'n'b artist on his grind, and his grind is definitely starting to pay off. The singer has received more than a few accolades over the past few months: Testimony debuted at #2, he was one of two r'n'b singers on the XXL Freshmen 2014 list, and he raked in three BET Award nominations alongside vets in the game like Kanye West and Jay Z. He's had a few bumps in the road, namely, his beef with Trey Songz, but the two singers have moved past it.
All this, and he's still a newcomer to the game. Before August hit the Festival Village stage at Summer Jam this past weekend, we spoke to the rising artist in the Beats Music press tent. We asked the N.O. native how it feels to have just as many BET nods as certified mainstream stars Pharrell, Chris Brown and Drake. While he iterates he does want to win, he explains, "So here's the thing...I'm a new artist, and I'm nominated in so many categories amongst so many other greats, I'd be foolish to think that I'm just shittin' on them niggas and I'm just gunna take [them all home]. But it's competition, and it's good competition to be in."
As for XXL adding r'n'b to the XXL Freshmen list for the very first time this year, which has ruffled a few feathers, August keeps his answer short and sweet: "No matter what a lot of people got to say, whatever you think, it's on paper already, and that's just what it is."
Catch the full interview with August below, and head here to check out another one from SJ with Mack Wilds.
