Organic Growth: Larry June’s Guide to Success Without Selling Out

In 2014, Larry June was selling Midnight Organic merch out of his Nissan Versa in Venice Beach. 

“I’d go to the beach, pop my trunk, and post up there all day,” recalls the San Francisco rapper. “Hoodies, T-shirts, and lots of orange juice.”

At the time, the budding brand was his sole source of income. Despite having dropped two studio albums and a mixtape by that point – Cali Grown in 2010, and Cali Grown 2 in 2013, and Route 80 in 2014 – music was June’s main passion, but not, by any means, a stable career path. “My whole living room was filled with Midnight Organic hoodies. I wasn’t making any money off music back then.” 

After a brief major label stint, June began distributing music via DistroKid, dropping You’re Doing Good, Sock It to Me, Pt. 2, Very Peaceful, Larry, and Orange Season by way of the independent distribution service. Ever since then, the homegrown Bay Area musician has remained independent, eventually switching over to Empire Distribution post-COVID; during the pandemic alone, he dropped six projects, all self-recorded in his home studio. 

“Being independent means having freedom,” the self-proclaimed lifestyle rapper elaborated on his choice to remain as such, joking he can drop a random foray into Jazz or Drum and Bass whenever he so chooses. “It gives me a space where I can be true to myself.” Over a decade into his career, June still dubs himself a somewhat underground artist, but last year, he found himself veering into the mainstream hip hop circuit and music zeitgeist with his Life Is Beautiful collaborative album with The Alchemist and 2 Chainz. June felt it was his first time “in conversation with the big dogs,” before the acclaimed LP’s January 2025 release, remaining more strictly confined to his more lowkey, IYKYK label. 

Life Is Beautiful isn’t June and Alc’s first joint endeavor, the duo first teaming up for a collab project, The Great Escape, back in 2023, and now just a few days out from their Spiral Staircases album alongside Curren$y. 

After hitting his apex in 2025, June stays even more steadfast in the pursuit of his passion; his chart numbers, award nominations, and stream counts culminate in the ultimate catalyst for him to work even harder. No stranger to cutting his teeth to relish in the fruits of his labor, June epitomizes the elegant balance between sonic evolution and self-authenticity. Just as much as he refuses to let his sound ever feel stale, he also refuses to sell out in the name of reaching a certain level of success. 

As the leading partner of Rémy Martin’s “My Call” campaign, June reflects on his relationship with “success,” and how his newfound mainstream media attention matches up to his underground artistry.

How would you sum up your mindset for 2026?

Just gotta keep going. In 2025, I learned a lot about what I needed to do to get to the level I wanted to get to. I locked in musically to get better at things I wanted to get better at, and now I’m in the position where all I can think is just: What am I gonna do next?

What were some of the things you prioritized improving in 2025?

Certain things rapping-wise, and harmony-wise were areas I really focused on improving.

Why was your personal evolution a main focus for you at this point in your career?

Last year, for the first time, I was in a conversation with the big dogs. The competition looks a little different now. I’m up there with different names, and that pushes me to just want to keep going and continue to make my best craft. I have to stay genuine to myself while still pushing to evolve my sound and music, and not just make the same thing over and over again. It’s a little tough, but I love the challenge, so I keep it rocking. I just keep going.

I’m interested to hear where you’d place yourself within the music scene today. Would you call yourself an underground artist? 

I wouldn’t say fully underground. I’d say I’m kind of underground, but not fully. Everybody didn’t know me before this year. I’m still gaining a lot of new fans. There’s still a long way for me to go. I have no platinum songs. I have no crazy hit records back to back. I’d call it slightly underground. 

You’re in the conversation with these bigger, more “mainstream” label-signed artists, but you’ve maintained your independence through and through. Why is that an important choice for you? 

Being independent means having freedom. It means not too many people sitting at the table. It means not too many opinions on every creative choice you make. You can do what you want to do. It gives me a space where I can be true to myself, which, for me, is very much needed. I can drop whenever I want. I can drop eight tapes in a row if I want to. I can say, F*ck it. I’m gonna do a jazz album and get to freely experiment without having so many people sharing their thoughts on it. When you get that freedom, you keep that creativity. It’s on your own time.

Do you pay any mind to criticism, feedback, or reviews of your music?

I’ll see and hear a few things. 

How would you describe your relationship to these external opinions?

There’s always going to be a lot of opinions on anything you do. That’s hip hop. Hip hop is always a comparison. Oh, he should’ve done this or Oh, he should’ve worked with this person but what I think people don’t really get is that all music is unique. Everybody has their own sound, and that sound changes. Some people don’t like certain things, and they can speak on what they want to speak on, but there’s still going to be millions of people who like it. My portfolio is doing outstanding digits in California [laughs] When you start growing in anything you’re doing, it’s going to come with hate. If you let that hate have you down, that’s a weakness you have to work on. 

That’s easier said than done, surely. How do you not let the outside noise get to you?

I just look in the mirror and look at myself. That’s the reality of the situation. I just focus on making the best music I can, staying out of the mix too much, and putting my time into the right things. 

You already dropped “Who Coppin’.” Is this the start of something? What else is on tap for 2026 for you? More music from the vault, I hope…

I’m planning to drop with The Alchemist and Curren$y. We’ve got a whole project. Now we’re just working on some fine-tuning sh*t. We shot like three videos last week. “Who Coppin’” and “The Smooth Kind” are two joints off my solo project. 

What draws you to working with producers on full albums, such as The Alchemist?

I love being able to work with my friends. Alc and I just flow. He knows what he’s going to bring to the table, and I know what I’m going to bring to the table, so it just comes naturally now. It’s so easy to work with Al. We’ve created this sound together, so we don’t have to think too much about it anymore. He lets me do me, genuinely. 

What’s been inspiring you lately? 

Knowing the possibilities that can come with me doing great. Being able to see things firsthand, like Okay, maybe I actually can reach this level of greatness or Maybe I can actually do this while still being free financially and taking care of my family. That was always a dream. So getting to continue to do that without getting cocky and staying grounded and remembering what got me here in the first place – that’s what pushes me to keep working.

Even now, everywhere I go, I’m always working. I’m setting up the studio in my room. Nothing ever changed. I just want to keep going. I’ve been having a good run for some years or whatever, but it still feels super fresh and new to me. There are so many doors that I haven’t opened yet, and seeing my peers do great things, and seeing the people close to me being successful, is so inspiring to me. It just shows me that it’s possible, man. 

How important is it for you to relish in the fruits of your labor? To actually take a step back and reflect on your successes? 

Very important. I go biking a lot. I’ll take a couple of days off at a nice resort and reflect, stay off my phone. Bring my son with me. We’ll just kick it and drive one of the cars around and just thank God for everything. I’m a big believer in that. This sh*t takes practice, and I understand that I gotta practice every day. And the act of taking a break is actually practice, because it’s giving my brain a rest.

But when I’m taking a break, I’m still soaking things in. I’m thinking. I might be listening to a podcast, reading a book, or learning about a certain type of food. Anything. I’m always learning. I’m constantly taking in everything from everyone around me. Especially my son. 

What are some of the things you’ve learned from your son? 

Musically, he’s put me on to so many different sounds. He shows me what the kids are into. [laughs] I think that’s really important. The music scene is bigger than us. It’s about the next generation who is coming up under us, so having him around just keeps me in the loop and teaches me a lot of valuable lessons. I’m very thankful for that. I’m like a young OG. 

People have been snatching up your “unc” label. Uncle Larry has been your Instagram name forever, but now the aesthetic is a trend of sorts. What’s it like watching that materialize?

It’s a beautiful thing that I was able to put a positive spin on things that weren’t deemed cool before. I made a lot of things that didn’t exist in rap before – riding a bike, doing yoga – cool. I think that’s dope. I was never actively trying to be the “healthy rapper.” I just firmly believe that everything can be done in a cool way. 

On that note, tell me more about being such a pioneering influence in this “lifestyle rap” space. 

I think that’s something people will talk about later on in my career. A lot of people, right now, are more concerned with what I’m not doing.

How do you feel about that?

It’s fine. So many people appreciate everything that I do, and I do it for those people. I don’t mind it, because I was never doing it for flowers in the first place. I know what I do is genuine, and I know that anything you do on your way to the top is gonna make people throw rocks at you. It’s literally just me. I’m doing it for me. 

What advice would you give to people aspiring to reach your level of success? 

Do what you love. If you do what you love first, everything will come. Start now and do it every day. There’s no rocket science to it. Be passionate about it. Believe in it. Put time into it every day. And it’s going to work out.