One day she’s selling drugs, the next day she’s signing a seven-figure record deal with Sony. Rap artist Kreayshawn’s rise to fame wasn’t exactly instantaneous. It just feels that way. We spoke to her recently for the Complex October/November cover. But that wasn't enough, 'cause this girl has plenty to say. Come along for the ride, as Kreayshawn tells us all about her car kick.
Complex: How did you end up with a pink Mustang?
Kreayshawn: I was living in Richmond, Calif., and I had a little trap house and we were just kickin’ it. I didn’t have a job, so I had saved up some money and one of my homies came through. He had a ’92 Mustang, and it was grey. And he was in my house and was all, “Oh, I’m trippin’, I have hella tickets. I just wanna sell this car.” And I was like, “Well, how much money are your tickets?” And he was like, “$600.” I was like, “I’ll give you $600 right now for the car.” And he was like, “OK.” So I bought it and it ran perfectly. And I kinda wanted to do something to the car, so I ended up painting it pink. I spray-painted it myself. I did a pretty good job, though. I got the little handle you get so your finger doesn’t get all tired. I used to do graffiti too, so I’m very comfortable with the spray can. I didn’t get any drips going on, so it was a pretty good job.
Complex: Now you drive a 1990 Buick?
K: Yeah, people are always asking, “Now that you got your deal, what did you get? Did you get a car?” I’m like, “Yeah I got a car.” They’re all, “Well, what kind of car did you get?” They’re expecting me to like say something crazy like, “I got a Fiat.” No, I got a 1990 Buick Reatta.
Complex: Of all the cars in the world, why did you pick that one?
K: Because growing up in the Bay area, there is this thing, we have a type of car called a scraper. Just like how in the South they have their own type of car, in Miami they have their own type of car. And everyone kind of customizes their own version of it. So a scraper is kind of like a Buick or a Duster or a box Chevy, or just anything older like that, usually ‘90s. And the Buick Regal was like the car that everyone had. But the Buick Reatta is like the two-seater and you can get it in a convertible. And I would see one randomly around Oakland. I was like, “Oh my God, I like love that fucking car!” So it just so happened my dream car was a 1990 Buick Reatta, which they’re hard to find. But they’re not that expensive. I got mine for like $4,000 or $5,000. And it’s a convertible, so I was pretty excited about getting it. But I had to put a whole bunch of work into it right away. I had to fix the headlights and change the battery, and the battery keeps dying. My battery is dead right now, so like, it’s fucked up.
Complex: Do you drive a lot?
K: It’s funny, because since I got the car, I’ve literally filled the gas tank up one time, and it hasn’t ran out of gas yet. And I got the car maybe like two months ago. So that tells you how much I drive—not that much. Or maybe I have really good mileage. I don’t know, either way.
Complex: Do you get flack for your choice of car?
K: No, I think people like it. One thing that I really like about it is I have this fascination with taillights. You know, like every car has a different taillight and different kind of lighting and stuff like that. And I think, like, older cars, their taillights are very exotic. You know what I’m saying? I think if anything, especially in L.A., people will be like, “What car is that?” If I was in Oakland, they would be like, “Hey, she got the queen scraper!” But in L.A. it’s like, “Wait, what is that?” But I definitely think that it’s an exotic car, you could say, right?
Complex: Your song “Gucci Gucci” talks about shunning fashion labels, and you drive an old Buick. How did you become so anti-consumerist?
K: I mean, I think it was just, like, the way I was raised, like I still have the broke mindset, like I still think of it as I don’t have any money. And you know, my mom was never into consumerism. She was into buying like a whole bunch of shampoos and lotions. Like that was her thing. She spent all her money on shampoos and different kind of makeup, you know? And like I was never really taught that buying stuff was that exciting. If anything, when my mom went shopping, I’d be like, “Why are we here?” So it’s just kind of like I never had a reason to buy anything like that. And I feel like nobody should have a reason to spend like a whole bunch of money on something to show off how much money they have or to feel better about themselves. Because honestly, I don’t want people to know that I got hella money, you know what I’m saying? That’s for me. That’s my money. It’s not for other people to see on me or around me, you know what I’m saying?
Complex: What kind of music do you like to listen to in the car?
K: Oh my God, my car doesn’t have a stereo. It doesn’t work.
Complex: If it did, what would you listen to on the road?
K: Well, in my pink Mustang, I had two 15s in the trunk. I had flappin’ my shit, you know. So in my pink Mustang, just like anything that had a whole bunch of bass, like it could just be something like—I don’t know if you’ve heard of Burial, but they’re like some off-the-wall, like, fuckin’ I can’t even describe what kind of music it is. It’s like crazy, depressing music. But I would like blast that. And plus, of course, Lil B is always a great artist to listen to when you have hella bass and just go crazy down the street.
Complex: What is your most interesting car memory?
K: I have the perfect story right here. My pink Mustang, the thing is, with the amp, I had to manually remove the chip from under the hood of the car or it would just stay on. Like there was no switch to turn it off. So in order for me not to drain my battery every time, I’d have to open my hood and then take the fuse out. And what I would do sometimes is just so I wouldn’t have to open the door and pop the hood every time, I’d leave the hood a little bit open, so when I’d come back in the morning, I’d just open the hood and put the fuse in it, close it, and go. But one morning I forgot to put the fuse in. Me and my friend got in the car. I was just dropping him off somewhere. So my hood was open, but I had no idea. So we’re on the freeway, we’re just hella high, we’re just talking to each other, and all of a sudden the hood just flies up on the freeway, hits the windshield hella hard. Thank God the windshield didn’t burst. But I’m like, “What the fuck?!” So I instantly look in my rearview and I’m all the way in the fast lane, so I have to get all the way over to the side. And I stopped and my whole hood was just bent like inside out and I couldn’t close it. I had to get a new hood. It was the scariest thing ever. After the hood flew up, me and partner pull over and he just looks at me and he goes, “I totally forgot what we were just talking about.” I’m like, “Fuck what we were just talking about! We almost died!”
