Image via PlayerrWays/Instagram
Kevin Crandall still misses Rudy Gobert in a Utah Jazz jersey.
According to PlayerrWays, Faygo is exotic. On the phone with the Los Angeles rapper, born Angel Galvez, I had to ask about his frequent name-dropping of the Detroit brand by a kid whose only connection to the Motor City seemed to be the usage of the Old English D in his clothing brand logo. PlayerrWays informed me of the scarcity of the pop in LA, where you gotta hit up Royalty Market or Exotic Pop X Puffers to get your hands on a bottle.
A native Angeleno, PlayerrWays was in grade school when I Am Mr. Mosely catalyzed the reign of Drakeo the Ruler in LA’s street rap scene. Stinc Team dominance seeped into the halls of Fremont High School—located less than fifteen minutes from where Drakeo grew up in South Central. Instagram handles were altered to rep the Stinc Team lingo and style, and Player and his friends started cooking up rhymes following the style of their favorite rappers. By the time he graduated in 2022, Player found himself in the studio with Ralfy the Plug, co-signed by his idols and rapping with the Stinc Team.
PlayerrWays raps with speed and a slip-slide cadence, rolling through bars littered with designer brand flexes while mud-walking through Saks Fifth Avenue like his Stinc Team elders before him. His latest effort, Flocker to Rapper, sees PlayerrWays yell out “Fuck H&M” after freestyling over a Drakeo beat. Raising Cane’s is ditched for a five-star meal while he likens himself to Bling Bling Boy, the uber-rich and endlessly iced-out kid villain from Johnny Test. It’s fun flexing, rapped by a man who just wants to “get money and [make] it look fly.”
From messing around on SoundCloud to being mentored by Ralfy The Plug, PlayerrWays has always “kept it Player,” a phrase he coined to express his authenticity and hustle. I caught up with PlayerrWays as he was finishing his upcoming record with fellow Chicano rapper GmoneyDT. We discussed his introduction to the Stinc Team, the influence of Drakeo the Ruler, and the importance of what he has dubbed the pain/fly song dynamic.
​​(This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.)