Waka Flocka Flame fully immersed himself in CMA Fest last weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.

The legendary artist, 40, caught up with iHeartRadio in the midst of many festival appearances across Music City. Waka Flocka was involved in the Folds of Honor Celebrity Baseball Game, Celebrity Corn Hole, took part in the Country & Rap: The Black Southern Roots of American Music discussion, made a surprise appearance with Chase Matthew to reveal an unreleased collaboration, debuted a new song during an appearance at Acme Feed & Seed on Broadway, performed his own show during the festival, and more. He said it’s “refreshing” to be there.

“For me, I love, love. I think if I had an addiction, it's just love,” Waka Flocka Flame said. “I’m obsessed with being around happiness. I'm literally obsessed with it. People want to be billionaires. I want to be like a happy-ionaire, if that's even a word. …I think it's just peaceful, man. I'm just at peace. I stay in a bubble of peace.”

During CMA Fest, Waka Flocka Flame debuted “45” on the Acme rooftop on Nashville’s historic Lower Broadway. He released it with EDM-country DJ duo Country Night and genre-blending singer-songwriter Jake Banfield (Country Night shared a video of the at-capacity “45” performance on the Dr Pepper stage over the weekend). By the end of this month, he’ll release “Hard Liquor” with Matthew (due on June 26). It all happened shortly after the hip-hip icon’s appearance at Stagecoach Music Festival, an annual country festival in California, where he performed a set with Diplo.

“Honestly, there's no method to my madness,” Waka Flocka told iHeart bout blending genres. “I’m literally just floating with the current literally. …It just happened. A lot of stuff is just happening. In those moments of just happening, greatness always comes. Always. So, I'm just flowing with it.

“I'm a fan of the overall evolving-ness of music,” he said, sharing that he’s inspired by “old school music,” including Earth, Wind & Fire and more. “I actually want to see where country go because hip-hop and electronic music, we had our time. I think country and rock is rebranding into what kids that grew up off it wanted to sound like now and we're getting a dose and taste of that now. And now after this get done, we're going to know all four genres sound like. Even R&B. They all getting their comeback, like R&B, rock and country. Those are the forefronts for me right now. I'm just sitting back watching. I'm just an old man watching TV,” he smiled, though he’d been actively “participating” in festivities throughout the week. “I’m having great f***ing time.”

Looking ahead to what’s next, the “No Hands” megastar immediately brought up “my little junior.” Waka Flocka Flame, born Juaquin Malphurs, recently shared that a baby boy is on the way. Juaquin Jr. is the “best gift a man could ever ask for,” the artist wrote in a post on Instagram. He also revealed which country artists he’d like to collaborate with next.

“I wouldn't be surprised if me and (Shaboozey) or Kane Brown do a record, but before I think about doing music with Kane Brown, he got to play me in basketball,” Waka Flocka Flame told iHeartRadio. “I seen Ella [Langley], too. …I got to meet her and see her reaction of who she was and how she treated people. It was refreshing to see a girl of her status (be) that humble. …HARDY is fire, too. HARDY is my collab I want. I'm going to get it.”

Despite his success in music, Waka Flocka Flame admits, “I’m not a bragger. …It’s hard,” he said. “Because I ain't do it by myself. So, it's hard to brag on something. …The team got me there, man. Divine grace got me.”

CMA Fest, hailed the longest-running country festival in the world, ran from Thursday, June 4, through Sunday, June 7. Artists who took the main stage at Nissan Stadium included Bailey Zimmerman, Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Brothers Osborne, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Deana Carter, Ella Langley, Fetty Wap, Florida Georgia Line, Gretchen Wilson, HARDY, Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, Jordan Davis, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, Michael McDonald, Molly Tuttle, The Red Clay Strays, Ricky Skaggs, Riley Green, Russell Dickerson, Shaboozey, Shay Morgan, Stephen Wilson Jr., Tim McGraw, Tucker Wetmore and Zach Top. Riley Green and Lara Spencer will host the televised special, which will air on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Thursday, June 25. The show will be available to stream the following day on Hulu.

Amy James

Laughing With A Leaky Gut