Catching Up with B.U.G. Antman After The Drop of His Highly Anticipated EP, Y’all Ugly

It’s been one month since buzzing rapper, B.U.G. Antman dropped his highly anticipated EP, Y’all Ugly. Hailing from the epicenter of American trap music, Atlanta, B.U.G. Antman has emerged through the thickets of talent with his own unique sound in what I’ve personally dubbed, ‘suave trap’. Over the past year, Antman has rolled out singles, accompanying visualizers, and promoted himself with public guerilla marketing.  Around the time of Y’all Ugly’s release, I was able to sit down with Antman and discuss the project, his process, the development of his sound, and life after releasing the project. 

(This interview was conducted over the phone and has been edited for clarity.)

[Nathan Meline]: You just dropped a new project, had a release party, how does it feel? 

[B.U.G. Antman]:  I'm feeling amazing, even just everybody [at the release party] that popped out to show love and support and hear the project– definitely one of the top moments in my career so far. Just seeing everyone there was crazy 

Ant had his release party at Culture Lab Atlanta, filled with friends, family, and members of the ‘Ant Colony’ alike. Release season is a switch up in pace for Antman’s recent activity– It’s been just over a year since his last project, Bug. 

[BA]: It was a long time coming. I wanted to drop before, but there were a lot of things behind the scenes that I was trying to just handle. But, once we figured that out last year, it was like, man, it's go time. Now I'm in a position where I can just be consistent and keep dropping amazing projects I’ve been working on for years. 

Y’all Ugly was a long time in the making, with the project’s first recordings dating back to late 2022/early 2023. The time and effort has clearly paid off; This is B.U.G. Antman’s most cohesive, polished work thus far, highlighting a noticeable development for Ant’s sound as an artist over time. His early work featured trap induced ragers, underscored by raucous 808s and blaring synths- a sound that has become synonymous with today’s underground rap scene. 

With his latest project, B.U.G. Antman has taken on a more suave, psychedelic resonance. Still utilizing 808s, drum kits, and synths, Y’all Ugly offers a more spaced out, melodic vibe, sonically hypnotizing to the ears. 

[NM]: Was that a conscious development? How did that take place? 

[BA]:  I think it's just being intentional. Just repetition and being more intentional when I cook. Now I make 120 songs a month on some s*** and instead of just cooking to cook, I'm being more intentional going towards a sound to improve myself. I think that's the difference why my sound is changing for the better for sure.

Not only is it Ant’s cleanest sounding project, it’s also his most creatively ambitious one. Y’all Ugly centers itself around themes of vulnerability, self acceptance and embracement, the fleeting romances and coping mechanisms that come with road life. An exploration of what ‘being ugly means’ is central to Y’all Ugly’s message.  

[BA]: When I say ugly, it's not like an insult or nothing. I'm more so saying a lot of people are ugly on the inside. So it's like I'm trying to encourage people to look within themselves… To me ugly stands for U Gotta Love Yourself. 

That definitely flew over my head. Wow. 

[NM]: And the paper bag man… I’m very curious about that.  

[BA]:  I wanted a mascot for this project and I was like man, what do ugly people wear? Oh, a brown paper bag. So I started playing with that and kept building on it. I started swagging and s*** too… Rocking different color bags with the fits and s***. But it's more so to show just self-confidence

Antman’s paper bag man character has become a symbol of Y’all Ugly, appearing in both music videos and digital promo and physically with Ant at public events such as Complexcon and Art Basel Miami. 

[NM]: Do you see yourself as the bagman? Or is it more of an external character that you're interacting with?

[BA]:  I mean, s*** they're everywhere. Everybody's ugly man. If you spell it out, ugly starts with you.

As he has done numerous times in the past, Ant worked exclusively with one producer on Y’all Ugly: Frank Stacy. The two initially linked up after Antman discovered a Frank Stacy produced Highway2009 ‘type beat’. 

[BA]: That dude is a f** alien, bro. I swear he gonna be a legend in this s*** one day. It's just like all his beats are so different.  I love working with him– I got to meet him. We linked up in LA when I was out there for a content shoot. That boy got the swag. 

According to Ant, they cooked up around 400-500 songs throughout the recording process. The possibility of future projects and collaborations are very much on the table. 

[NM]: So what’s next? How do you keep bringing up greatness (B.U.G.)? 

[BA]:  After Y'all Ugly, it's Y'all 2 Ugly. So, we coming back. Me and Frank, you know what I'm saying? It's going to be exciting to continue building this world, but that's what the colony can be looking forward to, I’ll say. And, a bunch of collabs coming up. Be on the lookout for that. 

Antman was recently seen on social media in the studio with Teezo Touchdown, so a future collaboration between the two could be in the cards. 

Check out and follow B.U.G. Antman social media pages for more music and stream his newest EP Y'all Ugly! 

Interviewed by Nathan Meline