MIC/LINE (formerly named Sound Check) is HYPEBEAST Radio‘s music-centric show that looks to deliver in-depth conversations with your favorite artists, digging into their origin stories and asking the questions you want answered. On our seventh episode, we sat down with hip-hop heavyweight Waka Flocka Flame.

Waka Flocka Flame is one of the most interesting rappers in hip-hop. The industry veteran burst onto the scene back in 2009 with “O Let’s Do It.” The song was the lead single off Waka’s debut album Flockaveli, which boasted other huge singles such as “Hard in da Paint” and “No Hands” featuring Roscoe Dash and Wale.

Originally coming up on Gucci Mane’s 1017 Bricksquad label, the Atlanta native broke off on his own, started his own label, Brick Squad Monopoly, and eventually became one of the first hip-hop artists to step into the dance music scene. Waka always had eyes for the future and his business savvy has led him to attain longevity and financial success. When asked about the future of hip-hop, he states that hip-hop is now the most popular music in the world and traditional pop music is over.

“Pop music is dead, remember when people tried to say hip-hop is dead? No, pop music is dead…let me be the first person to say this on record, pop music is dead, there is no more pop,” he says.

For episode seven, Waka Flocka Flame talks about moving away from hip-hop and into the dance music scene, the music business, his newest project Big Homie Flocka, updates on Flockaveli 2, the artists on his label Brick Squad Monopoly, Gucci Mane and so much more.

You can listen to Waka’s fantastic Big Homie Flocka mixtape right now.

Keep up with everything HYPEBEAST Radio and subscribe to MIC/LINE on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast or wherever else you enjoy your podcasts. Feel free to reach out to our host, Manny, on Twitter at @ECM_LP and follow HYPEBEAST Music for more original content and music news.