Is This Our Generation's Lil B?
The music of Captain Swag
It was in a super suit on a rooftop that we first encountered Captain Swag. In this semi-viral video the unique lyrical cadence and somewhat outlandish approach to personal style that define the artist are both on display.
The comp everyone makes, and the first that came to our minds, is Lil B. Lil B, of course, can never be replicated, but there are certainly things in common. Like Lil B, Swag has an unaffected, almost blasé flow. There is a raw sincerity in the way he raps, the sense that he is saying quite literally whatever pops into his head.
Volume of output is another commonality. Swag put out three albums in 2025, and none of them had less than 13 tracks. Releasing generously is something he says he learned from Lil B. Perhaps that’s also how he learned to make good DIY music videos; he certainly has a lot of them.
Lil B stood apart from other artists of his era in part because he seemed to understand what it meant to be a rapper in the 21st century. He understood the internet, and how it impacted not just our music consumption patterns but our very thoughts. Interested in whether Captain Swag might share this kind of prescience too, we gave him a call. We’ll leave the determination to you.
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Welcome: How did you get into music?
Captain Swag: I used to freestyle in class but I didn’t start recording until junior year of high school. I was watching videos of ILoveMakonnen when he was popping off. He showed me how easy it was to record music, so I asked my mom to buy me a laptop and a mic for Christmas.
Welcome: Do you have any formative memories from childhood that shaped your relationship with music?
Captain Swag: When I was 12 I was like, how the hell do you look up the song without people’s voices on it? Then I figured out about instrumentals, and that there were a bunch of instrumentals on my YouTube. That’s when I really started writing songs. I don’t write my songs now, but I was then.
W: When did you stop writing them?
CS: As soon as I was recording. When I was writing down what I recorded, it sounded like I was reading. So I stopped.
Do you remember when you realized you were good at this? Was there an I can really rap moment?
I already figured that I could rap. My question was, what am I going to rap about? I didn’t have the toughest come-up. My family’s in good shape. What can I make interesting that most people can relate to? That was the main problem.
And what did you land on?
Swag. That’s what everybody can come together for.
What is swag to you?
Swag is you don’t give a fuck what anybody else think. As long as you like it and you’re fine with what you’re putting out. A nigga can have the worst outfit of all time, but if he believes it’s the shit and doesn’t care what everybody else think, that’s swag.
Who do you think is the swaggiest person?
Adam Sandler.
People often draw the connection between you and Lil B. How has Lil B inspired you?
Lil B’s songs didn’t sound the craziest, but he didn’t give a fuck. He put that bitch out there. There was a point where I cared too much about how my art sounded and I wasn’t putting it out. I knew about Lil B my whole life, but was listening heavy in 2022, 2023, and I realized: just make it. If you’re having fun making it, people are going to hear that and fuck with you. Just keep dropping.
Do you feel like nowadays artists have to brand themselves to be understood?
There’s so much music now. You got to put a face in people’s heads. That’s what I made Captain Swag for, to have more of an identity, to put a face to the music. I wanted to give people something to remember.
Video is important too. How do you think about making your music travel on social media?
I think about what can make people watch the video longer. If you see a nigga rapping in a super suit, you’re giving me at least five seconds. It could be bars too, but people skip if they aren’t interested in the first second.
What are some core influences on your approach to video content?
Odd Future because of Loiter Squad. How they worked. Southern trap videos too. I’m trying to be different. I want to base it more off how Adult Swim structured their videos.
Speaking of videos. One of yours had a title card that said, “I feel like every rapper is being stalked by Mexican teenagers.” What did you mean by that?
I asked my friend for something stupid to put in the video because I didn’t want to caption lyrics. I’d have to ask him.
Captain Swag sounds like a superhero. Who’s the villain?
We’ve been working on that.
You’re about to drop a villain?
Keep an eye out for the comically bad short film I’m making. It’s like Kick-Ass if it was ass.
What made you go with the superhero vibe?
I was like, who else is rapping in a super suit talking about being a superhero? No one. Everybody else got dark clothes, Y2K shit. Put on a super suit and call yourself a superhero—that’s interesting.
For a while, the minimalist approach to dropping music was common. Now, you and other artists go the other direction, and drop a ton. Why is that?
Starving an audience doesn’t work like it did in 2019. Carti has to drop music now too. He’s been dropping pretty consistently. No one really talks about it. All this music is coming out and everybody’s looking for it. Your favorite song isn’t going to be your favorite song next week.
What’s on your playlist right now?
We got OJ the Juice Man, Half a Brick. Some Gucci Mane, a bunch of Gucci Mane albums. The Dream. I love his R&B tracks. Some Lil Wayne. Kirk O Bangs, Drank in My Cup. Just a bunch of old hits.
Are those songs you grew up listening to?
Yeah. When I listen to them, it feels like there’s something more than nostalgia. The music holds more weight than now. I’m still trying to figure out why. I don’t know if it’s because they had teams behind the songs, but I’mma figure it out.
Any working theories?
Back then, to make music, you had to really want to make music. It wasn’t as easy as now. Signed artists had big production teams, more than five people working on one song, compared to somebody going on YouTube, searching a type beat, and using FL Studio. That’s one of the reasons.
In what ways are you trying to make music in a way that aligns with the older mindset?
I have a group called Swag Cartel. We work on clothes, music, videos. I’m trying to have people work on one song together, friends making something together, not just being a regular underground artist. I’m trying to make my shit as big as Odd Future was in 2013.
Some people are saying rap is dead. What do you think of that?
Nah, that’s crazy. I think people feel that way because so many people are making music and the radio is kind of pay-to-win. I guess if you’re listening to the radio every day, then yeah, that shit’s pretty dead.
People making the rap-is-dead argument reference the Billboard charts too.
You don’t even have to be on Billboard to be one of the bigger artists. There are artists who are massive, can damn near sell out an arena, and you’ll never hear them on the radio. Music has upgraded now. The way people consume music is better than back then.
What do you think the purpose of a rapper in 2026 is? What are you trying to accomplish?
Definitely money. But rappers don’t make that much money. Your goal should be to use music to seep into something else. You can make good money off music, but the chances of becoming a millionaire are crazy. The purpose of being a rapper should be to funnel into something else.
What would be your ideal funnel?
Clothes, video art, art shit. I’ve always wanted a hand in movies and acting.
Do you believe in good and evil?
Yeah.
What does evil mean to you?
P. Diddy.
What is goodness to you?
Doing the right thing even when no one’s looking.
The purpose of life—what would Captain Swag say?
Be you to the fullest extent. Don’t hold anything back. If you hold something back, your life’s not going to be that great. When you can express yourself fully, a lot of great things can happen.
Why is it so hard for people to stand out and be fully themselves?
We’ve been held down by opinions for hundreds of years. Religion, beliefs—if what you like isn’t what somebody else likes, you shy away from it. Look at being gay. People say you shouldn’t be that because I’m not. That’s not a healthy way of living. Not everybody grows up the same.
You just dropped an album. Tell me about it.
It’s letting people know we’re back. It’s volume one. Volume two is coming. We don’t give a fuck what anybody thinks. We’re rapping. You can tell I’ve been listening to the music I mentioned. It’s like a mixtape from the early 2010s, like Young Jeezy.
If Atlantic Records dropped the bag tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’re buying?
Another car for my mom.
Swag