After four years behind bars, Fetty Wap has stepped back into the world without any urgent need for fanfare or flash — just the simple luxury of freedom. It’s 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.
Earlier this month, Fetty Wap, born Willie Junior Maxwell II, was released through the First Step Act, a legislation aimed at reducing sentences and reuniting incarcerated people with their families. When asked how it really feels to be home, he doesn’t overthink it. “Free,” he says simply. Freedom reveals itself in the smallest moments for him, like when he’s taking a shower without shoes. What once was a subconscious part of his hygiene routine became a reminder of the everyday liberties he’d been living without and no longer takes for granted.
Way before prison, the melodic rapper’s life was a highlight reel. His 2015 megahit “Trap Queen” shot him to superstardom almost overnight. The singles that followed — “679” and “My Way” — were a platinum-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 2015 digital cover shoot with VIBE. “I remember that day,” he recalls. “And right after that, I went to jump out of a plane.”
That thrill, it turns out, wasn’t metaphorical. “We went skydiving. I love adrenaline,” 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. “I wanna see what success looks like for them,” he reveals, noting how all his children are into music in some form or fashion. What’s clear is that the father of six is no longer chasing the formula that catapulted his fame — he’s chasing joy, real connections, and deep impact.
Fetty Wap’s career has always unfolded under pressure, but in 2021, the weight of it all came crashing down. FBI agents arrested him at 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.
He 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 out of federal prison in Minnesota on Jan. 8, his freedom quickly came with a price. For the next five years, the record-breaking star will be under federal supervision in Philadelphia — navigating a micromanaged version of life where even his smallest choices are monitored.
Resilience, however, didn’t 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. “You’ve got to like what you see when you look in it,” he says. Fetty is now spreading that message through his involvement with the Hayze Walks Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising awareness and supporting children born with the same condition he’s lived with his whole life. “I grew to love myself,” he adds. “You’re going to accept me, or you’re not.”
Fetty Wap is no longer chasing old glory. Instead, he’s building towards his future as an artist, father, and philanthropist with a newfound perspective and purpose — all at his own speed.
Welcome home, first of all.
Thank you. Thank you.
How are you feeling for real, for real?
Free.
When 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.
What was that like?
I know it probably sounds crazy, but you have shower shoes when you’re in prison. It’s like stuff like that … but things that you wouldn’t normally think are … you know what I’m saying?
Little things we kind of take for granted—
Yeah, things we take for granted.
Do 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’m saying? I just feel different. I feel new. I feel rehabilitated, in a sense. I just have this clear mindset where it’s like nothing’s really that important. When I say that, I don’t mean like, not as far as my kids or anything like that. It’s like when you’re driving, or you’re speeding to get somewhere, you’re trying to race against time. I promised myself one thing this time: I’m just going to take my time through life now. Just really enjoy life.
I’m 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’s a lot of people that haven’t had this opportunity that I have. I just want to enjoy it this time.
So many people go through adversity and feel that it’s 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’s 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, “Yo, what if, what if, what if?” [She would say] “You good, bro. You good, bro.” You know what I’m 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 … if you don’t 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.
Would 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.
I think we all can see you’re looking bigger post-incarceration.
It’s just the hoodie [chuckles].
Have you been hitting the weights?
No, I actually don’t lift weights.
Was there any kind of working out that you leaned into?
Pushups, pull-ups, dips, squat, lunges. Regular … prison workout.
Are you staying on top of that now that you’re home? Are you thinking of getting into fitness or changing up your diet?
Nah, I’m not. I like the feeling of the aftereffect of working out. It’s more like ‘I did something.’ I used to always tell myself, “All right, if I could just take an hour out of my day just for self-care”… It’s 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, “I want to see what I look like, like this.”
What does self-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.
Speaking of driving, you’ve said your kids were the drive to keep going. What are you most looking forward to learning about your kids since you’ve been gone?
New favorite colors, little things. Roblox is crazy. They have a whole group chat [about] Roblox. I just sit back and watch.
Are any of your kids into music? Have any expressed, “Oh, I want to rap, too,” or “I want to sing?”
All of my kids are into music. One is shy. My baby, Zy, he’s not shy. He’s not scared of nothing.
I 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.
What 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’t think that “Trap Queen” was going to be what it was. I’m like, “All right, we got a good song.” I’m like, “Yo, it’s probably going to get us in there, and I could just get a Ferrari.” That’s all I wanted. I just wanted a Ferrari.
That’s honest.
So success for me now, honestly, it’s like, “Let me see what I can do with my kids now.” They’re a little older now, so it’s like, “What do they want to do?” We’re about to do some college. I want to see them in the next 10 years, or the next five years. However it goes, I’ll have an adult kid [in the next five years.
Looking back on this experience, do you believe things happen for a reason?
No, I just don’t believe in that. Like at all. I don’t think anything’s 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.
As you step back into music, are you looking to tap into a new sound, or are we getting that signature Fetty Wap sound?
You’ll see. Everybody’s going to see. It’s going to be lit. I can tell you this: I’m a little older, so my voice is a little different, but it still has that signature crooning sound.
Over 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’t 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’s not nothing that I never did before, so I’m definitely down to do it.
How closely did you keep up with what was going on in Hip-Hop over the last few years? A lot has happened. Is there anything that kind of sticks out to you that you were just like, “I wish I was a part of that or that was crazy.”
I didn’t want to know about outside. It was, “Let me focus on what’s going on in here.”
Tunnel vision.
Yeah, for sure.
Earlier in your career, it seemed like you were collaborating mostly with the Remy Boyz. There weren’t 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’s crazy that you say that because I have a lot of songs with a lot of artists that people don’t know. Fifth Harmony, David Guetta, Sia … Gwen Stefani. Selena Gomez, Natalie Le Rosa. Charlie Wilson, Ron Isley. Wiz Khalifa. Snoop Dogg. Yeah, I got a few records.
Is there anybody you want to work with that you haven’t worked with yet?
I don’t want to say his name wrong. I like Don Tolliver … Leon Thomas. I like Kehlani, too. She’s cool.
While you were away, you did hold the fans down with some songs. You had “Yams,” “Klassic,” and others. With your first official drop, are we getting mixtape Fetty? Album Fetty … a few one-off singles?
We’re going to get some good music. We’re going to vibe. We’re going to have fun. It’s going to make you feel good. It’s going to make you want to get dressed and go outside. Or if you’re already outside, it’s going to make you want to stay outside. We’re going to vibe.
I think people are expecting you to come out and talk about what you’ve been through, and you already made it clear you kind of want to leave that in the past.
Yeah, we’re going to have fun.
So we can’t expect anything with you speaking about that—
Maybe later.
Maybe later in life?
Yeah. I’ve been seeing a lot of “What we were doing in 2016,” but now we’re 2026. I’m not really like a struggle artist. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I’m not really an artist that talks about what he’s been through. When people hear the name Fetty Wap, it’s “Baby, won’t come my way?” It’s a party. “Let’s go have fun.” It’s “I’m like Hey, what’s up? Hello.”
You know, New Jerseyans have been saying the “King of Jersey” is home. How do you feel about that title being put on you?
The King of New Jersey? Crazy.
Yes, that’s what they’re saying.
I love being from Jersey. I don’t know about the king stuff. King Zoo, yeah, that’s me. But the King of New Jersey? I feel like it’s multiple kings of New Jersey.
Anyone you want to shout out?
Yeah, DJ Jayhood, Albee Al, Free Tsu Surf, that’s my guy, too. Arsenal. All the legends. Rest in peace Whitney Houston … one of my favorite singers, Lauryn Hill … Red Man, Naughty By Nature. It’s a lot of legends from Jersey. Hardluck, Monty, of course … Esteban. The Ziploc Gang Family, M80. I mean, I can keep going. In my eyes, it’s a lot of kings from Jersey.
With Jersey Club really going mainstream in the last couple years—
Yeah, that’s crazy.
Can we expect you to go the Jersey club route?
Actually, it’s a record out right now with me, Unicorn151, and DJ Jayhood. It’s called “It’s Time.” That’s another Jersey Club record. I used to tell my sister on the phone, “Yo, 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.”
Your 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’s a fan, they know I’ll stop what I’m doing. It doesn’t matter, I’m not in a rush.
For those who don’t know, you’ve always given back. You’ve always had book-bag giveaways and Thanksgiving events. Now, you’re supporting the Hayze Walks Foundation, which raises awareness for congenital glaucoma — something that you have as well. How does that feel, being a part of that?
For me, it’s huge. Growing up with congenital glaucoma as a child, you look at your brothers and your sisters, and you’re like, “Why am I the only one that’s like this?” From the jump, you kind of already have this chip on your shoulder. Like “What’s going on with me, or why am I different?” And it didn’t help that my mom named me Willie [chuckles].
“One Eye Willie” is crazy, but I grew into it. I grew to love myself. You’re going to accept me, or you’re 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’t 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’m blessed to just be able to do something for people that’s like me, or I’m like them. However you want to look at it.
With you saying you grew to love yourself, who or what helped you develop that kind of mentality?
The mirror. You’ve got to like what you see when you look in it.
Let’s 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, “In The Air [Tonight].” I listen to it every day. That was a song that I listened to the day I walked out of prison.
What does that song do for you?
I remember my first time listening to that song; my uncle had an Audi. This was ’90 something. I’m just sitting in the car, and I’m just looking at it like, “I want this car.” 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’s like, “I got to go hard. I can feel it. I can feel it coming.” I got to go get it. I remember I [would] call my sister and say, ”Yo, countdown is on, 180 days.” Then we’d talk again, and it’s “Yo, sis, 14 days.” The next thing … I’m listening to the song in the car on the way to the airport like “It’s time to go.”
When everything is said and done, how do you want people to remember your story?
When it’s 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’t 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’t settle for a disability check. I wasn’t different. They told me I couldn’t drive. Everybody in the camp knows this is what I do. But when they tell the story of Fetty Wap, it’s going to be a story of a soldier who never gave up.
