Bay Swag is Carving Out His Own Lane in Modern Hip-Hop

Hailing from Queens, New York, Bay Swag is among the artists shaping a new sound and style through the Sexy Drill wave while continuing the Big Apple’s musical legacy. His upbringing and environment always kept him ahead of his time, especially as he began making  music at 13, then broke through at 16 with his single ‘Rumors.’ Bay Swag’s music reflects his growth and intention as an artist, with dedication to evolving, and he smoothly does so by merging raw storytelling and visuals throughout his artistry. The Queen’s native is assured in who he is and where he’s headed, using music as a driving force to reflect this.

In an era where longevity and influence can be overshadowed by virality and quick moments, the rapper didn’t let the momentum of his and fellow New York artist Cash Cobain’s single ‘Fisherrr’ die down. Instead, that moment motivated him even more as an artist, striving for a deeper focus on consistency, which has since come through in recent releases such as ‘Dealership’ and ‘Jewels,’ both setting the ultimate tone for 2026.

First thing’s first, who is Bay Swag, both as an artist and as a person?

A hustler and a go-getter. A hard-worker, and the reason for me being that way is just how I was brought up by my OGs, by my parents, my family. Also being the man of the house so young, those are reasons why and that’s who I am… AND I can’t forget, I’m a young OG!

As a Queens native, how has your upbringing influenced your music?

It’s influenced me in so many ways, really because honestly my Uncle ‘Slow’, my other uncles, and my Pops. My upbringing, I was just always around the music, like literally around every artist, every celebrity, everything. So I was just like you know what, why not just do it (music)? It’s right in front of me, I might as well just do it. Why not give it a try? All the layouts, I got everything right in front of me.

You had the foundation set right there for you.

Exactly!

Your latest single “Dealership”, really good by the way! It holds such a distinct sense of confidence and style. What was the creative process behind the record and video?

Thank you, I really appreciate that! Honestly, with the video we were just tryna be different. You know?

Yeah! I get that.

Just tryna do things differently this time around, cos normally my videos it’s like, I wouldn’t say the same, but we just wanted to have a lil spark, a lil different. We were tryna make it like a storyline. I got in my acting bag, I was acting in the beginning, I was working for a used car dealership, selling cars there, I fell asleep then I woke up. Now I’m working for a Lamborghini dealership. We was just tryna be super creative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojI_HP7x34A

Watching it, I really did enjoy the concept too.

From now on, all of my videos it’s gonna be that way.

Even that just shows your growth as an artist, your new mindset and creativity.

Exactly.

 There’s a clear evolution from Ahead Of My Time to your debut album Damaged Thoughts, and then into SWIGGITY. How would you describe your growth as an artist across those projects and where you are creatively today? 

I honestly feel like you can hear it. By listening to all three of them, you can literally just hear it…”Like wow he been working,” you can hear the difference like “he been in the studio, he been working on his craft.” 

That’s true. I was listening to your different projects and I hear the clear difference and growth, which is really good.

I feel like that’s the best way to say it for real, for real. 

You’ve collaborated with a wide range of artists from Young Thug, to Meek Mill and more. Is there someone you really want to work with? A dream collab?

Dream collab? I got a couple. 

Okay, what about the top three then?

Hmm…SZA, I like SZA a lot. 

That’s a good one.

DJ Marshmellow. Hmm…one more!? I actually worked with him, but I wanna work more with him, so I’d say Future. I wanna drop some music with Future.

This is a good top three list, very solid. Very different from each other. We’ll keep a look out then, fingers crossed!

(Laughs) Yeah!

“Fisherrr” was a major moment in your career. Did you expect it to take off like that? And did that push you more as a rapper?

You know music is weird. You never know with the music. So honestly we didn’t know it was gonna do what it did, but we knew it was a good song, you know?

Yeah.

And once we started posting the TikToks and stuff and noticing every TikTok is going bananas, that’s when we were like “alright! We might have something here.”

For you as a rapper, did that moment make you feel like okay yeah, I need to go even harder now?

It’s like, I got my feet wet (laughs), It was like woah, I love this! I want it to be like this forever. 

Yes! A whole new movement started happening, just right there.

I definitely would say that, for sure.

Throughout your career you’ve spoken about themes of grief and resilience. How do those experiences continue to influence you as an artist?

Honestly, I feel like that’s how I work. It’s weird cos like going through things, and different things like that, normally people would fold or won’t be able to do certain things. Me, when I’m going through certain things it kinda pushes me to a whole other level. Even last year, I was dealing with something with my mum. She had breast cancer.

Sorry to hear about that.

It was hard for me to deal with it, but I know I have to. I don’t have a choice. My dad has been incarcerated, he has 85 years in jail, so it’s like certain things, I have to make sure they work. Like music, I have to make sure it works. I don’t have a plan B. This is it. So, when certain things happen, it literally gives me that super motivation. AND, my people understand too, I couldn’t always be there for my mum, but she understood that I gotta handle everything.

I also feel like with New York artists especially, you guys have that drive, hunger, grind mode. I really admire that.

Oh for sure. Thank you.

You recently completed your first headline show for the ‘Damaged Thoughts’ Tour. How was that?

That was lit!

What was that world like?

I feel like you just learn a lot. That’s my first tour by myself so I learnt a lot. I learnt so much for my next tour; where I was messing up at, what I did right, what I did wrong, like how I can make that better next time. It was definitely a blessing, really dope and I can’t wait for the next one. Hopefully I can do one more before the year is over.

That’ll be really dope. What’s one thing you didn’t expect during the tour that has made you realise what you’d do differently next time?

Just little things, like setlists, so with certain songs seeing the reactions. Seeing that they (the crowd) didn’t really react this way for this song, so next show we’ll probably take certain songs out and stuff. You know, just little stuff like that.

That’s what makes a good artist too.

Exactly! (laughs)

You and Cash Cobain are often credited as key voices in New York’s sexy drill movement. For people who may not know the sound yet, how would you describe what sexy drill is and what sets it apart?

For people that have never heard it, I would say it’s good music that makes you wanna vibe. For the women, and it’s a good vibe! You can hit you lil dance, you know? Good vibes, good energy, we talking positively for the ladies. So I think that’s why it went so crazy.

Even here in the UK, it was going off! It still does.

Yessir! It’s (sexy drill) a whole other vibe for music, it was just great. 

You’ve briefly spoken on it already, with tours and everything, but what can we expect from you for the rest of the year?

New music of course. Consistency. My label, you gon see a lot of my new artists, you gon see a lot of everything. Just pushing, more movement, you know, everything. I can’t say too much, but I’m collabing with somebody this year on a project. 

Okay, I’ll definitely be keeping a look out then!

You also mentioned your label. The artists you have on your roster, are they people you’ve also grown up with?

Yeah, my family! My cousins.

Aww I love that. That’s so nice to see. Everyone’s winning together. 

For sure! That’s how it is.

That’s so cool, well done. Thanks so much for your time, Bay. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for the rest of the year!

The Queens rapper continues to prove that he’s one to watch, steadily solidifying his position in this new wave of Hip Hop. He’s been at the forefront of defining the Sexy Drill genre, authentically bringing his own style and melodic  flair to it, while still forging his own path. Bay Swag is on a roll, and by the sounds of it, there’s no sign of him slowing down anytime soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHO5ELSQxSk