Hoodrich Pablo Juan is hitting the ground running after a five-year prison stint. It’s become common for rappers to drop a “First Day Out” track to commemorate their return to society (and the booth), but Juan also released an in-depth music video that filmed him from the moment he walked out of a Georgia state prison to his first meal at Atlanta’s JJ Fish & Chicken restaurant. He says the idea came from his “brother” RX Hector, who told him to give fans full access.
From that day, Juan hasn’t stopped recording, promising a long-awaited treat for his cult fanbase. “I got some hard music,” he says on Zoom. “Expect a different angle. Don’t put me in a box where you think you know how I’m going to rap, because I’m going to go the other way.”
Juan gained a cult following in the Atlanta rap scene in the mid-2010s through versatility, consistency, and an impressive ear for beats, like the catchy “We Don’t Luv Em,” a standout track from his breakout Designer Drugz 3, which he released after signing to Gucci Mane’s 1017 Eskimo Records in 2017. He has been an “if you know, you know” staple in the Atlanta landscape, connected to stars like Gucci, Lil Baby, Young Thug, Migos, and Playboi Carti. He has collaborated with many of them while building his Hoodrich and MPR (Mony Powr Rspt) movements.
In 2020, Juan was charged with violating Georgia’s RICO Act in a 46-man indictment alleging he was a member of the Rollin’ 20 Neighborhood Bloods. He entered a plea deal for a 15-year sentence, serving five years in prison and being released to probation for the remaining ten.
Upon his release, his Instagram comments were full of Atlanta staples like Quavo, Zaytoven, and Killer Mike welcoming him home. He also shared an embrace with Lil Baby in his “First Day Out” video. “I love to see the love. It made me feel like I’m appreciated,” he says. “It was good to see people show love and be happy to see me back, bro. Nobody want to see nobody locked in a cage. That’s like one step away from death. Ain’t nothing worse.”
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Now he’s back, developing his Money World record label, and preparing a project for the top of 2026 while building a steady reserve of music. Hoodrich Pablo Juan spoke with Rolling Stone about music, his growth since 2020, and his unexpected favorite artist.
What have you been up to over the past week?
Working like a fool. Just trying to get my feet up under me. I’m saying working, seeing the family, getting my drip together. I’ve been gone give, so I got to catch up on a lot of stuff. But everything coming pretty fast.
I know you filmed your first day out, what was that day like?
Wonderful man. It was a surreal feeling when I finally got out of there because I’ve been in there so long. I almost couldn’t believe I was getting out because jail’s just one of them places [where] you got to be out to know you out. When they finally let me out, I felt so good man, seeing my family and my friends, got me some [JJs Chicken & Fish] and just kicking it man. Put some clothes on, got to take the same uniform I wore [for] five years off, put some clothes on. Just seeing the family. Everything felt so good.
Did it feel weird to you going from one environment every day to the free world?
Maybe for the first couple hours, but I got back used to it so fast I felt like I was never locked up. I told somebody that as soon as I started putting my clothes on. I was like, “Bro, I feel like I ain’t never get locked up.” I just adapted back to being normal so fast. Just got back in my mode. Even when I got on the mic, everything came back naturally. I wasn’t stuck in the jail mindset too much.
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Did you know you’d be filming the first day you came home?
I actually didn’t. My little brother [Hector] set it up. He also did some time. So he just knew. He was like, “When you get out you got to let him see everything. We got to film it. I’m going to have everything lined up for you.” I would’ve been cool just going straight home. He was like, “Nah bro, you can’t do that. You got to let him see it. We got to go do everything you want, film it, everything from your haircut to your food.” And he motivated me to get back to rap mode straight out the gate. I ain’t had no time to be normal…automatically [the] camera’s on you and I had to adjust to it real fast.
How much did you record that first night?
We did two. I did one before “first day out,” but this is what happened: Remember I said they were picking on me saying “You can’t rap,” but I was waiting on the right beat. Eventually I was like, I’ll just go [with] this beat right here. When I went in there it was cool, but I wasn’t feeling the beat. The thing about me and my artistry, I feel like the beat brings out what style I’m going to rap or how I’m going to rap or what words I’m going to say. So when they played that [“First Day Out”] beat, I’m like, “Hey, this is the one, let me go in there.” When I went in there, I just went crazy off the rip.
Were you writing while you were inside?
I did try to write, but I didn’t use any of them songs. I’m not used to writing and I always felt like it was weird. It was two put together, I feel like my style is more of a freelance. Just give ’em how you feeling at the moment, what you did that day or that week or what you plan on doing. And I could go back and look at some of the songs. I might have a couple hits in there. I wrote a lot of songs but I [haven’t] even looked at it since I’ve been home.
How were you maintaining in there?
I stayed strong talking to other people that got common interests. You got to have somebody you can relate to. I tried to hang out with people I can relate to and keep my mind on positive and free world things, and [I was also] working out, going to the yard, stuff like that. And I always had people round me that just keep my mind [on], “You going home.” These people got 40 years, life plus 30 years, so I had no time to feel sad for myself. I can’t cry about two, three more years or however much time I was doing when these folks was never going home. They so happy for me. I’m like dang, “I got to be happy.” I turned that loss into a lesson and a blessing. I just look at it like I got to see a different perspective of life and it made me think harder and do a lot. I forgive people easier now because everybody needs to be forgiving. I just look at life in a whole different perspective now
What do you think are some of those other important lessons that you learned?
I think perspective a lot. We complain and cry about little things or material things and people got their freedom lost forever. They’ll never get out of the cage. Or we might complain about anything. You say money, but there’s people that don’t have no money. They don’t have people that look out for ’em, love them. [People] gave up on ’em. So I just look at life and I also highly love and respect the people that are in my corner when I was in the worst time in my life, I would think and it made me look at them way more strong. Even though I loved them, I love them times a hundred now, because that’s a hard situation and everybody ain’t going to be there. Everybody’s not going to make sure your daughter’s straight, they ain’t going to check in on you. Make sure your mom is straight. And those who did, I really, really do respect them and love ’em for that.
Would you say most of the people around you stayed tapped in with you?
They tried, but where I was locked up at, we didn’t have a lot of communication so it was hard to visit us. It was hard to, I was in a Supermax. It was hard to talk on the phone. The people I did talk to, they told me a lot of people was reaching out though. But for the most part I just look at it like when you are in jail you can’t do for your family as you want to. So you got to have people that just say, “You know what, without Pablo asking me, I’m going to go check on his little girl. I’m going to go make sure he good. I’m going to get some money to these people so he good without asking.” But it’s a lot of people that reached out, man. A lot of people, rappers and everything. It’s a lot of real rappers out here. We was friends before the music and during the music. So I appreciate when I’m going through something real, you really look out. That means a lot to me. What I’m saying.
I know you have a homecoming show soon. What can you tell me about that?
We got a lot of good surprises man. I wish I could tell you all of ’em, but we got people coming out supporting. It’s going to be a great show. I’ma have my artist there and we’re going to have a good time, man. That’s all we’re going to do. We’re going to have a good time at Centerstage, November 29th. Make sure everybody get the tickets, we’re going to have a great time.
How are you mentally preparing for your first time back onstage?
I’m embracing the love and the fact that people want me on stage. I snap into a mode like [I do] in the booth. Me as a normal person, before I turn into my rap mode, I’m just a cool laidback person. But rapping is a job, a fun job. So when I get in that mode, when I see the crowd and I got my little brother and them around me, DJ Champ, everybody automatically just get in the mode and it’s going to snap when I hear that music going up.
Who are you looking forward to collaborating with in the near future?
I would like to have a lot of collaborations. I never did a song with Future yet. I want to do one with Future. Me and Baby. I want to do something with Playboy Carti, my brother. I need to get another one with him. Who else? I want to try something different. I wish I can get Tems, I need to reach out. Something different like Mariah Carey, my favorite artist for a long time. Think I was crazy out. Folks would think I was crazy…I loved Mariah Carey in prison, that’s all I was listenin’ to.
I saw in 2023 you put out a message shouting out Young Thug. I was wondering if y’all got to talk since y’all have both been home?
Yeah, he reached out to me for sure. I knew Young Thug for a long time, been my brother for a minute. I definitely didn’t want to see him caged in, man. So even though I was locked up, I just felt like I didn’t want nobody in that circumstance that I was in. So definitely had to say freedom.
What is your perspective on the Atlanta rap scene? How it’s changed from 2020 to now?
I haven’t [dug] in to seen how it’s changed. I just feel like Atlanta always going to be Atlanta. We got to keep going. We got to bring it together a little bit more, I think. Without that we’ll have another state taking over. When I came on the scene, everybody in Atlanta was together. Even before rapping, we used to hang out in the same houses. We’d go to the club together. But the only reason I feel like people started going different directions was, everybody was getting money how they need to get. It wasn’t intentional, but everybody blew up from Atlanta. Damn near everybody who tried to rap eventually got somewhere and blew up in some direction where they had to go get their money, so shout out to the Atlanta rap scene. We going to always be on top, but I don’t really know the difference for real because I just got [back out] here. But I believe we still on top.
Do you want to be a figure that helps reunite people?
I can’t wait to. They don’t make hate in my size. I want to see all my brothers because when I first started rapping, a lot of people helped me. My first CD, I might’ve had four to six bars on the song and you got people that was jumping on [like], ”I got you, I’m going to finish this song, I’m going to get on this.” I have verses and features from everybody. So of course if I can do something to bring Atlanta back together, I will. That’d be wonderful. I don’t know why it’s not together, but we more definitely do need to be together
When can fans expect the first project?
Most definitely top of the year, top of 2026. I’m not going to make you wait long. I’m going to drop one more single and video and after that I got a good…I can probably whip [an album] up right now. I got so much music, different sounds, like two, three tapes and an album already. I got the Money World tape coming out with me and all my artists.
What do you feel like your purpose is?
I was talking to a friend today and he was just like, “Man, I’m so glad you thinking and feel like this.” I feel like I turned all my losses to lessons. From the cases I was going through, they had a lot of stuff going on. They took a lot of stuff from me, they were trying to take different things from me. Just jewelry, everything. I felt like when I grew, I let a lot of stuff go. I learned to not hold on to material stuff. I learned to forgive people a little bit easier. Everybody need to be forgiven. And I learned life too short. You got to enjoy [life] while you here. You got people that’s never coming back. You got people that’s never getting out of jail. So enjoy it man.
Love the people that love you. Try to keep your emotion to the side. Don’t move off of emotions, move off of what’s right and wrong. Don’t be emotional out here because emotions is how you make the wrong moves sometimes. You just got to think, bro. I think a lot more and I move more calculated now. I don’t really too much hanging out. If I ain’t working, I’m in the house kicking it somewhere, ducked off.
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What are you looking forward to over the next year?
I want to make sure my label Money World is on top. I want to be like the old Cash Money or No Limit, Roc-A-Fella. I just want to be able to bring out content to the point where they like everything we do because it’s a feeling they could feel like, “Man, I feel like them boys,” or “I wish I could feel like them.”
And I also want to have nice businesses and grow like that. I want to be able to do new business ventures and learn new things. I always want to learn more. I’m learning from everybody I’m around, whether they got more or less than me, I can learn something from anybody. I learn from a bum on the corner if I can. What I’m saying. You got something good to tell me. I might listen. But yeah, I just want to learn more, grow more, watch my family get raised and that’s it, man. Make sure everybody’s straight around me.