Some stories don’t need dressing. They just land. G Herbo sits back, cracks a grin and lets it fly. A story you can picture.
“Probably with Snoop,” he says when asked about his most memorable sesh. “I was like 18. I left a bunch of Swishers on the table, came back and Snoop was already rolling my [expletive] up. I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He let me hit the blunt. It was my blunt.”
That’s the energy of this sit-down, hosted by Shirley Ju for High Times and presented by Slapwoods. Herbo is calm, funny, direct. He talks like a guy who’s seen the miles and still remembers the corners.
Work rate stays high. “You just dropped the ‘Reason’ music video. One million in 4 days,” Shirley notes. Herbo nods: “Yeah, that’s crazy. I feel like the energy is picking up. The support I’m getting from my core fans and the new fans behind this… I thought it would get a million in a week or two, but four days was different. I think that’s the fastest I’ve ever hit that.”
Chicago pride shows up like a reflex. On the highlight of the shoot he adds, “Nobody really did that. No artist went back to Chicago and in 24s riding around in drop-tops and [stuff] like that. So I knew it was going to get some attention.”
Then comes the era fans always ask about. How much was he smoking back then?
“Probably like a zip,” Herbo says. With the homies it went faster, but solo it was still heavy. “By myself I know I smoke at least a seven to a fourteen a day for sure, ’cause I wake up and roll like four blunts and my blunts were big.” The routine was simple: “I get up, brush my teeth, smoke weed, then eat.”
When the jar dips below a threshold, it’s time to move. “Any time you go lower than a seven, you got to go get more,” he says. Strain-wise he kept it modern: “I really like smoking a lot of Runtz, Gumbo, [stuff] like that.”
Etiquette matters. Biggest pet peeve in a sesh? “Making a blunt wet.” The lip-gloss scenario comes up and he laughs: “Yeah, that’s terrible. That’s my second most for sure. With the lip gloss I don’t even want it no more. He can have it at that point.”
Herbo’s taste is classic. Favorite smoking song: “Styles P, ‘Good Times’.” (“Good Times (I Get High),” 2002.) Favorite stoner movies: “Between Friday and How High. I still watch either if I’m high and laugh all day. Or The Wash. I like watching The Wash when I’m high.” (Friday, 1995; How High, 2001; The Wash, 2001.)
Snoop again. The memory returns in full. “We were at Tree Sound in Atlanta. I left a bunch of Swishers on the table, came back and Snoop was just rolling my [stuff] up. I was happy. I hit the blunt a couple times and went to work. I was super star-struck, so I left him alone.”
Growth sits next to the flex. Holding the old Lil Herb cover, he reflects: “I’ll be 30 in six days. I don’t even remember what I got locked up for, but I look very frustrated… I was wild for sure back then, man. And I’m grateful to be in this headspace, to have matured and grown up from being that kid.”
The music is rolling. “The energy behind that record is insane right now. I got to give credit to Southside. He was like, ‘Drop this record. This the record you need to drop.’ He does it every time. It never fails.” There’s more coming too: “Lil Herb the album 1/17.” (Slated for January 17.)
For now, he’s taking a break from the smoke. “A few more months and I’ll be back smoking weed. I can’t wait.” CBD flower never grabbed him. “No, I haven’t.” Edibles are a no: “I never really got in tune with edibles. You’ll be glued to the couch. When I’m too high and can’t think, I’m trying to think for other people. I don’t like that. I try to sleep it off, but on edibles, your mind be going crazy. I can’t really rap off it either ’cause I’ll be too high. I overthink.”
Chicago slips back in through the munchies door with a hyper-local gem. “Have you had a pickle with chips at the same time? It’s like some Chicago [stuff]… Hot Flamins in a pickle.” The room backs it up. If you know, you know.
The conversation closes where it started, with work and collaboration. On Coi, he lights up: “That [stuff] is fire. Coi is super talented. She makes great music for sure. Any time she sends me something I’m on it quick.”
That’s the thread. The kid in the mugshot found his center. The fan who was star-struck at Tree Sound became the artist with a million-view sprint and a city on his back. The weed tales are part of it. The discipline is the other part. And the music keeps coming.
Interview by Shirley Ju for High Times.
Presented by Slapwoods.
