{"id":261639,"date":"2026-01-24T13:13:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T13:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/261639\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T13:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T13:13:13","slug":"fetty-wap-is-home-with-family-freedom-and-future-in-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/261639\/","title":{"rendered":"Fetty Wap Is Home With Family, Freedom, and Future In\u00a0Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAfter four years behind bars,\u00a0Fetty Wap<\/a>\u00a0has stepped back into the world without any urgent need for fanfare or flash \u2014 just the simple luxury of freedom. It\u2019s a brisk Thursday afternoon, exactly one week after his release from federal prison. Good-spirited and wide-smiled, the Paterson, New Jersey native walks into the studio, comfortable and open for our sit-down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tEarlier this month, Fetty Wap<\/a>, born Willie Junior Maxwell II, was released through the\u00a0First Step Act<\/a>, a legislation aimed at reducing sentences and reuniting incarcerated people with their families. When asked how it\u00a0really\u00a0feels to be home, he doesn\u2019t overthink it. \u201cFree,\u201d he says simply. Freedom reveals itself in the smallest moments for him, like when he\u2019s taking a shower without shoes. What once was a subconscious part of his hygiene routine became a reminder of the everyday liberties he\u2019d been living without and no longer takes for granted.<\/p>\n

\n\tWay before prison, the melodic rapper\u2019s life was a highlight reel. His 2015\u00a0megahit \u201cTrap Queen\u201d<\/a>\u00a0shot him to superstardom almost overnight. The singles that followed \u2014 \u201c679\u201d and \u201cMy Way\u201d \u2014 were a diamond-earned testament to his hustle. Tours, charting songs, and red carpet appearances made up his relentless pace, blurring time and space in his early career. It was a different world then, one he remembers vividly. One highlight of that year was his\u00a02015 digital cover<\/a>\u00a0shoot with VIBE. \u201cI remember that day,\u201d he recalls. \u201cAnd right after that, I went to jump out of a plane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat thrill, it turns out, wasn\u2019t metaphorical. \u201cWe went skydiving. I love adrenaline,\u201d he shares, listing off motorcycles, dirt bikes, bungee jumping, and cliff diving. Clearly, fear has never been a part of the life equation for Fetty. That fearlessness still lives today, but with a different perspective. Back in the day, Fetty admitted that all he wanted out of fame was a Ferrari. Now, his sights are set on something more valuable: the future of his children. \u201cI wanna see what success looks like for them,\u201d he reveals, noting how all his children are into music in some form or fashion. What\u2019s clear is that the father of six is no longer chasing the formula that catapulted his fame \u2014 he\u2019s chasing joy, real connections, and deep impact.<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\tFetty Wap\u2019s career has always unfolded under pressure, but in 2021, the weight of it all came crashing down. FBI\u00a0agents arrested him<\/a>\u00a0at Rolling Loud New York in the same year, as part of a federal drug trafficking investigation tied to large-scale distribution between New Jersey and Long Island, New York.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe pleaded guilty the following year to conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. By May 2023, the momentum of his life had come to a halt with a six-year sentence on the table. After lawyers and prosecutors went back and forth over what his consequence should be, his defense pointed out that his time already served had forced a deep self-reflection. When Fetty finally walked\u00a0out of federal prison<\/a>\u00a0in Minnesota on Jan. 8, his freedom quickly came with a price. For the next five years, the\u00a0record-breaking star<\/a>\u00a0will be under federal supervision in Philadelphia \u2014 navigating a micromanaged version of life where even his smallest choices are monitored.<\/p>\n

\n\tResilience, however, didn\u2019t start with a case number. Long before the courtrooms and the countdowns, Fetty was learning how to stand on his own. Born with congenital glaucoma, he grew up trusting his own instinct and learning to accept whatever looked back at him in the mirror. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to like what you see when you look in it,\u201d he says. Fetty is now spreading that message through his involvement with the\u00a0Hayze Walks Foundation<\/a>, an organization dedicated to raising awareness and supporting children born with the same condition he\u2019s lived with his whole life. \u201cI grew to love myself,\u201d he adds. \u201cYou\u2019re going to accept me, or you\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

\n\tFetty Wap is no longer chasing old glory. Instead, he\u2019s building towards his future as an artist, father, and philanthropist with a newfound perspective and purpose \u2014 all at his own speed.<\/p>\n

\n\tWelcome home, first of all.
Thank you. Thank you.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow are you feeling for real,\u00a0for real?
Free.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen you first came home, what was one thing that you did for Willie Maxwell, not Fetty Wap? In other words, for yourself and not the artist?
Take a shower with my shoes off.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat was that like?
I know it probably sounds crazy, but you have shower shoes when you\u2019re in prison. It\u2019s like stuff like that \u2026 but things that you wouldn\u2019t normally think are \u2026 you know what I\u2019m saying?<\/p>\n

\n\tLittle things we kind of take for granted\u2014
Yeah, things we take for granted.<\/p>\n

\n\tDo you feel like you lost any parts of yourself after going in? When you were released, did you reclaim any of those parts?
Honestly, I could say that whatever I lost when I went in, it was meant to be lost, and when I came out, I left it there. You know what I\u2019m saying? I just feel different. I feel new. I feel rehabilitated, in a sense. I just have this clear mindset where it\u2019s like nothing\u2019s really that important. When I say that, I don\u2019t mean like, not as far as my kids or anything like that. It\u2019s like when you\u2019re driving, or you\u2019re speeding to get somewhere, you\u2019re trying to race against time. I promised myself one thing this time: I\u2019m just going to take my time through life now. Just really enjoy life.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m happy you said that because early in your career, you said your success came so fast, it was a blur. This time around, how do you plan to slow down and smell the flowers?
Take some pictures. Make some memories and just really enjoy what I was blessed with. There\u2019s a lot of people that haven\u2019t had this opportunity that I have. I just want to enjoy it this time.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo many people go through adversity and feel that it\u2019s over for them. What advice would you have for people who feel like there are no chances left once they have a prison record?
Honestly, it\u2019s hard for me to give that kind of advice because some days I did feel like that. I talked to my sister a lot and I [would] just tell her, \u201cYo, what if, what if, what if?\u201d [She would say] \u201cYou good, bro. You good, bro.\u201d You know what I\u2019m saying? So you have those type of days, but if I could give any advice, it would just be, if you have anybody in your corner \u2026 if you don\u2019t have anybody in your corner, just get yourself a vision board. Write down what you see happening when you get home. Exactly the way you see it happening. When you get home, stick to it.<\/p>\n

\n\tWould it be safe to say that faith is something that kept you grounded and your integrity intact?
For sure it was. Faith had a whole lot to do with it. I had to just believe in myself again.<\/p>\n

\n\tI think we all can see you\u2019re looking bigger post-incarceration.
It\u2019s just the hoodie [chuckles].<\/p>\n

\n\tHave you been hitting the weights?
No, I actually don\u2019t lift weights.<\/p>\n

\n\tWas there any kind of working out that you leaned into?
Pushups, pull-ups, dips, squat, lunges. Regular \u2026 prison workout.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre you staying on top of that now that you\u2019re home? Are you thinking of getting into fitness or changing up your diet?
Nah, I\u2019m not. I like the feeling of the aftereffect of working out. It\u2019s more like \u2018I did something.\u2019 I used to always tell myself, \u201cAll right, if I could just take an hour out of my day just for self-care\u201d\u2026 It\u2019s a discipline routine. You discipline yourself to do something. I went to prison at like 140 pounds. I came home at like 225. It was a discipline for me to get there. I had it in my head like, \u201cI want to see what I look like, like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat\u00a0does\u00a0self-care look like for you?
Drive. I love to drive. So [for] my first tour, I drove to California. I could have just [ridden] on the bus. I drove all the way to California.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking of driving, you\u2019ve said your kids were the drive to keep going. What are you most looking forward to learning about your kids since you\u2019ve been gone?
New favorite colors, little things. Roblox is crazy. They have a whole group chat [about] Roblox. I just sit back and watch.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre any of your kids into music? Have any expressed, \u201cOh, I want to rap, too,\u201d or \u201cI want to sing?\u201d
All of my kids are into music. One is shy. My baby, Zy, he\u2019s not shy. He\u2019s not scared of nothing.<\/p>\n

\n\tI do want to ask you on a serious tip, when your kids become older, and they learn who their dad is, what is something that you want them to know about their father?
That I always loved them. I just wanted them to live the best life that they could in whatever way I can make that happen.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat would you say success means to you now versus earlier in your career? Is it about charting? Is it about getting the awards? Is it about all the accolades? Do you have a different perspective on that?
Honestly, in the beginning, it was never about none of that. Coming from Patterson, New Jersey, I didn\u2019t think that \u201cTrap Queen\u201d was going to be what it was. I\u2019m like, \u201cAll right, we got a good song.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cYo, it\u2019s probably going to get us in there, and I could just get a Ferrari.\u201d That\u2019s all I wanted. I just wanted a Ferrari.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s honest.
So success for me now, honestly, it\u2019s like, \u201cLet me see what I can do with my kids now.\u201d They\u2019re a little older now, so it\u2019s like, \u201cWhat do they want to do?\u201d We\u2019re about to do some college. I want to see them in the next 10 years, or the next five years. However it goes, I\u2019ll have an adult kid [in the next five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLooking back on this experience, do you believe things happen for a reason?
No, I just don\u2019t believe in that. Like at all. I don\u2019t think anything\u2019s happened for a reason. I think it happened because of certain situations. Whatever situation you put yourself in, the consequence is going to come with that.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs you step back into music, are you looking to tap into a new sound, or are we getting that signature Fetty Wap sound?
You\u2019ll see. Everybody\u2019s going to see. It\u2019s going to be lit. I can tell you this: I\u2019m a little older, so my voice is a little different, but it still has that signature crooning sound.<\/p>\n

\n\tOver the last few years, many rappers have stepped into podcasting. Do you see yourself doing something like that?
I mean, we were kind of doing that already. I don\u2019t know if a lot of people remember, but it was an app called Periscope, before Instagram Live in 2015. Periscope [is where] everybody used to go to go live and just talk to their fans and show off new music. I feel like that was the first part of streaming. It\u2019s not nothing that I never did before, so I\u2019m definitely down to do it.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow closely did you keep up with what was going on in Hip-Hop<\/a> over the last few years? A lot has happened. Is there anything that kind of sticks out to you that you were just like, \u201cI wish I was a part of that or that was crazy.\u201d
I didn\u2019t want to know about outside. It was, \u201cLet me focus on what\u2019s going on in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTunnel vision.
Yeah, for sure.<\/p>\n

\n\tEarlier in your career, it seemed like you were collaborating mostly with the Remy Boyz. There weren\u2019t a lot of people that can get on a song with Fetty. Are you open to collaborating more, and is there anybody that you want to work with?
It\u2019s crazy that you say that because I have a lot of songs with a lot of artists that people don\u2019t know. Fifth Harmony, David Guetta, Sia \u2026 Gwen Stefani. Selena Gomez, Natalie Le Rosa. Charlie Wilson, Ron Isley. Wiz Khalifa. Snoop Dogg. Yeah, I got a few records.<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there anybody you want to work with that you haven\u2019t worked with yet?
I don\u2019t want to say his name wrong. I like Don Tolliver \u2026 Leon Thomas. I like Kehlani, too. She\u2019s cool.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile you were away, you did hold the fans down with some songs. You had \u201cYams,\u201d \u201cKlassic,\u201d and others. With your first official drop, are we getting mixtape Fetty? Album Fetty \u2026 a few one-off singles?
We\u2019re going to get some good music. We\u2019re going to vibe. We\u2019re going to have fun. It\u2019s going to make you feel good. It\u2019s going to make you want to get dressed and go outside. Or if you\u2019re already outside, it\u2019s going to make you want to stay outside. We\u2019re going to vibe.<\/p>\n

\n\tI think people are expecting you to come out and talk about what you\u2019ve been through, and you already made it clear you kind of want to leave that in the past.
Yeah, we\u2019re going to have fun.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo we can\u2019t expect anything with you speaking about that\u2014
Maybe later.<\/p>\n

\n\tMaybe later in life?
Yeah. I\u2019ve been seeing a lot of \u201cWhat we were doing in 2016,\u201d but now we\u2019re 2026. I\u2019m not really like a struggle artist. I don\u2019t know if that makes sense, but I\u2019m not really an artist that talks about what he\u2019s been through. When people hear the name Fetty Wap, it\u2019s \u201cBaby, won\u2019t come my way?\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s a party. \u201cLet\u2019s go have fun.\u201d It\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m like Hey, what\u2019s up? Hello.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYou know, New Jerseyans have been saying the \u201cKing of Jersey\u201d is home. How do you feel about that title being put on you?\u00a0
The King of New Jersey? Crazy.<\/p>\n

\n\tYes, that\u2019s what they\u2019re saying.
I love being from Jersey. I don\u2019t know about the king stuff. King Zoo, yeah, that\u2019s me. But the King of New Jersey? I feel like it\u2019s multiple kings of New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnyone you want to shout out?
Yeah, DJ Jayhood, Albee Al, Free Tsu Surf, that\u2019s my guy, too. Arsenal. All the legends. Rest in peace Whitney Houston \u2026 one of my favorite singers, Lauryn Hill \u2026 Red Man, Naughty By Nature. It\u2019s a lot of legends from Jersey. Hardluck, Monty, of course \u2026 Esteban. The Ziploc Gang Family, M80. I mean, I can keep going. In my eyes, it\u2019s a lot of kings from Jersey.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Jersey Club really going mainstream in the last couple years\u2014
Yeah, that\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n

\n\tCan we expect you to go the Jersey club route?
Actually, it\u2019s a record out right now with me, Unicorn151, and DJ Jayhood. It\u2019s called \u201cIt\u2019s Time.\u201d That\u2019s another Jersey Club record. I used to tell my sister on the phone, \u201cYo, I remember we used to be at a house party. There would be mad belt marks on the wall from everybody dancing on the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYour fans really held you down. What does your fan base mean to you?
Family. My fans are like my family. I treat them like family. If anybody ever met me that\u2019s a fan, they know I\u2019ll stop what I\u2019m doing. It doesn\u2019t matter, I\u2019m not in a rush.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor those who don\u2019t know, you\u2019ve always given back. You\u2019ve always had book-bag giveaways and Thanksgiving events. Now, you\u2019re supporting the\u00a0Hayze Walks Foundation<\/a>, which raises awareness for congenital glaucoma \u2014 something that you have as well. How does that feel, being a part of that?
For me, it\u2019s huge. Growing up with congenital glaucoma as a child, you look at your brothers and your sisters, and you\u2019re like, \u201cWhy am I the only one that\u2019s like this?\u201d From the jump, you kind of already have this chip on your shoulder. Like \u201cWhat\u2019s going on with me, or why am I different?\u201d And it didn\u2019t help that my mom named me Willie [chuckles].<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOne Eye Willie\u201d is crazy, but I grew into it. I grew to love myself. You\u2019re going to accept me, or you\u2019re not. Being able to do this walk means a lot to me. And for allowing me to walk with them, I thank them as well. A lot of people don\u2019t understand how congenital glaucoma affects you as a person. I was born with it, so I was supposed to lose both of my eyes, but they saved one. I\u2019m blessed to just be able to do something for people that\u2019s like me, or I\u2019m like them. However you want to look at it.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith you saying you grew to love yourself, who or what helped you develop that kind of mentality?
The mirror. You\u2019ve got to like what you see when you look in it.<\/p>\n

\n\tLet\u2019s end on a lighter note. Who is one artist or one song that we would be surprised to know that you listen to?
Phil Collins,\u00a0\u201cIn The Air [Tonight].\u201d<\/a>\u00a0I listen to it every day. That was a song that I listened to the day I walked out of prison.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat does that song do for you?
I remember my first time listening to that song; my uncle had an Audi. This was \u201990 something. I\u2019m just sitting in the car, and I\u2019m just looking at it like, \u201cI want this car.\u201d I just remember that song playing. That song was like the soundtrack to my hustle. It made me just want everything. Every time I hear that song, it\u2019s like, \u201cI got to go hard. I can feel it. I can feel it coming.\u201d I got to go get it. I remember I [would] call my sister and say, \u201dYo, countdown is on, 180 days.\u201d Then we\u2019d talk again, and it\u2019s \u201cYo, sis, 14 days.\u201d The next thing \u2026 I\u2019m listening to the song in the car on the way to the airport like \u201cIt\u2019s time to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen everything is said and done, how do you want people to remember your story?
When it\u2019s all said and done. I just never gave up, no matter what I did in life. I never gave up. I gave up on certain things I probably shouldn\u2019t have given up on, but for the most part, as far as Willie and Fetty Wap, I never gave up on myself ever in life. I didn\u2019t settle for a disability check. I wasn\u2019t different. They told me I couldn\u2019t drive. Everybody in the camp knows this is what I do. But when they tell the story of Fetty Wap, it\u2019s going to be a story of a soldier who never gave up.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis story was originally published on VIBE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After four years behind bars,\u00a0Fetty Wap\u00a0has stepped back into the world without any urgent need for fanfare or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261640,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,41401,338,61,60,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-261639","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-fetty-wap","10":"tag-hip-hop","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}