{"id":2092642,"date":"2025-10-15T10:16:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T10:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2092642"},"modified":"2025-10-15T10:16:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T10:16:06","slug":"why-hit-boy-says-new-album-software-update-represents-more-than-musical-reinvention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/why-hit-boy-says-new-album-software-update-represents-more-than-musical-reinvention\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Hit-Boy says new album ‘Software Update’ represents more than musical reinvention"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In his childhood home, Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr., a.k.a. multi-Grammy-winning producer Hit-Boy, loved watching the 1991 film \u201cThe Five Heartbeats,\u201d based loosely on the legacy of Motown R&B groups. At his North Hollywood studio, Hit reveals to The Times a moment in the film<\/u><\/a> that currently feels poignant. During one scene, actor Robert Townsend (who also directed and co-wrote the film) as Donald \u201cDuck\u201d Matthews accepts an award on behalf of the group the film is named after. In his speech, Duck reveals that a music critic once said he\u2019d \u201cbe a great writer one day when he suffers more.\u201d He continues saying he now knows what he meant, as his suffering has elevated his craft. \u201cI feel like I had my suffering moments,\u201d Hit says, in alignment with Townsend\u2019s Matthews. \u201cThe [publishing] deal, dealing with my dad and all types of wild s\u2014. I went through real pain and grief to get out on this side.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Townsend\u2019s speech as Matthews, he also notes two sources of pain that have made him a better artist: his adulterous fianc\u00e9e and selfish brother. Hit-Boy also has a dual source for his suffering: his exploitative label deal and his father\u2019s roller-coaster ride through the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the record contract. In 2007, Hit-Boy signed a co-publishing deal with Universal Music Group and the producer Polow Da Don based on his sheer talent and potential. He found out four years later, in 2011, after the success of his production on Jay-Z and Kanye West\u2019s single \u201c…In Paris,\u201d that the money he assumed would come in from his work simply wasn\u2019t coming due to the deal\u2019s constraints. Maybe even more importantly, after digging into the details, Hit realized that his contract had no end date and existed perpetually for the rest of his life. It then took him 10 years of continued success before he could renegotiate. In 2021, with the help of Jay-Z and Desiree Perez at Roc Nation, who were managing Hit at the time, he was finally able to set a release date from the deal in 2025. Hit-Boy is now, finally, free. An independent artist for the first time since he was 19 years old.<\/p>\n

Yet, nearly coinciding with his release from a predatory contract, Hit-Boy\u2019s father, Chauncey Hollis Sr., a.k.a. Big Hit, was reincarcerated in October of 2024. Big Hit\u2019s history with the criminal justice system before this included serving 15 years in prison for possession of 10 kilos of cocaine, 10 guns and $300,000 in cash. Then, after six years of release, he served another 12 years for a hit-and-run incident. In 2023, Big Hit came home and went on a musical run as a rapper with his now hyper-successful son. The duo made a collaborative album with legacy L.A. producer the Alchemist in \u201cBlack & Whites,\u201d an album with L.A. rapper the Game in \u201cPaisley Dreams\u201d and a project with just the two of them, \u201cSurf or Drown, Vol. 2,\u201d in a single year. But, the whole time, Hit-Boy was hyperaware of the potential impending doom to come. \u201cHe is literally that guy that he portrays himself as,\u201d Hit says about his father\u2019s actions. \u201cSo he could go back at any given moment. If I didn\u2019t hear from him for hours, the first thing in my head was, \u2018This is the moment he gets locked back up.\u2019 It was real paranoia.\u201d Thus, Hit-Boy went on a tunnel-visioned music release whirlwind with his father until that fear turned into a full reality. While the details of Big Hit\u2019s most recent arrest aren\u2019t public, Hit-Boy does mention his father \u201ccould have been outside on probation right now but said he\u2019d rather be in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hit-Boy\u2019s first musical body of work to arrive on the heels of this extended vexatious period is his forthcoming album, naturally titled \u201cSoftware Update.\u201d On the project, he channels a Duck Matthews-esque energy and history into a reloaded version of himself. A reverberating \u201cBoondocks\u201d-referencing lyric jumps out of the speakers on the opening title track \u2014 \u201c<\/i>Free-man just like Huey and Riley\u201d \u2014 over a pulsating, 808-riddled instrumental that eventually transitions mid-song into sleek, piano-driven boom-bap. The new album is his first solo work where he\u2019s the sole rapper and producer at the helm since right before his father\u2019s release. Hit-Boy feels the beats, in particular, are the sharpest they\u2019ve ever been because of how much he leaned into his craft amid his persistent turmoil. \u201cIt was definitely always my therapy. No matter what was going on, happy times, sad times, upset or angry, I could just sit down and make a beat that felt like I did.\u201d Hit explains. \u201cI produce with a lot more clarity now. I got a lot more control over my beats. I felt like I was guessing for most of my career. I was throwing s\u2014 in the pot and hoping it would stick. Now I can make my 808s do whatever I want them to do, and can make my melodies transform.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hit Boy<\/p>\n

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However, Hit-Boy\u2019s perseverance and focus are not the only things that\u2019ve helped him feel revived. He also credits a recent foray into therapy for his newfound artistic clarity. \u201cTherapy has opened me up and made me a lot more vocal,\u201d he says. \u201cIt made me understand certain s\u2014 I had to confront from my past so I could make peace.\u201d Hit adds, \u201cYour mind is like a computer system, for real. You gotta update it every day pretty much if you want to be great, if you want to push yourself.\u201d Thus, his new album title.<\/p>\n

Therapy\u2019s healing impact on Hit-Boy has extended beyond just art. He\u2019s become aware of his lack of ability to set boundaries, which he attributes to some of his early-career difficulties. But also, perhaps most importantly, he\u2019s realized the type of father he wants to be to his son, who during our interview repeatedly poked his head in to see what his star producer dad was doing but also to ask for ice cream. Hit-Boy intentionally keeps his son around him and his work to create an everlasting bond and example he never quite had. The impact of this choice recently manifested in an expression that feels like a direct result of the work Hit-Boy has done on himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son wrote a Father\u2019s Day card at school for me,\u201d Hit recalls. \u201cThe first thing that came to his mind, they put it on there. They asked him, \u2018How old is your dad?\u2019 He said, \u2018My dad is 89 years old.\u2019 It\u2019s funny. I was like, \u2018No, I\u2019m 38.\u2019 He was like, \u2018Well, I was close. The 8 and the 38.\u2019 But then he also wrote, \u2018My dad always says, I love you.\u2019 I don\u2019t have that memory. My dad probably told me a lot on the phone from prison, but I could only talk to him every so often. He told me he loved me, but I get to tell my son that every day, and for that to be implanted in him \u2026 I\u2019m doing something right, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

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