Reuben Vincent Talks Storytelling, 9th Wonder & 'Welcome Home'
Following the release of his collaborative project with 9th Wonder, the North Carolina spitter opens up about returning home, reclaiming his artistic voice and the story behind his new album.
Reuben Vincent in 2025. Image property of Malik Gist.
The space to be independent and gain more experience is crucial in adult life, but when do you realise that it's time to return to the place you call home? Ask Reuben Vincent, who just dropped Welcome Home, his collaborative LP with label boss, mentor and super-producer 9th Wonder.
Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Liberian parents, Reuben fell in love with music, bonding with his father. At the age of 13, he released his debut mixtape IDOL.escent, under his stylised middle name E$AU. Born out of boredom, the mixtape would catch the eye of legendary producer 9th Wonder through a fan's tweet.
In October 2017, a 16-year-old Reuben became the newest and youngest signee to super-producer 9th Wonder's label, Jamla Records, releasing his "debut" project, Myers Park, named after his high school at the time. To say there was potential in the young spitter almost feels like an understatement—his ability to make a compelling body of work, culminating experiences of his life as a young black boy, made Reuben one to look out for, especially if the police brutality-inspired "Chains on Me" was your first impression.
"I had moved schools in the middle of my freshman year, and the school I started going to was predominantly white. I was seeing a culture shift," Reuben explains. "In the project, I talked about racism and social injustice. And that was what Myers Park was for me at 16 years old. That just catapulted everything. Swizz Beatz heard it, co-signed me."
Recorded primarily at 9th Wonder's Brightlady Studios, Welcome Home is a homegrown North Carolina effort—the definition of a "master and student" collaboration which culminates years of Reuben's abundant experiences over 9th's soulful soundscapes. There's room for introspection ("Homecoming"), social commentary ("God's Children") and love ("Just 4 Me"), in which Reuben uses his abilities to the best of his ability.
The album is tight-knit, with skits in between, following Reuben's conversation with an unnamed woman, portrayed by model and content creator Aziza Dearra, about returning home. The icing on the cake is a star-studded list of guest appearances: TDE's very own Ab-Soul appears on "God's Children", Wale makes his first appearance over a 9th production in over 15 years with "Get It Girl", Raheem DeVaughn re-records a classic Marvin Gaye sample for "Dre & Sidney" and "Cup of Love (Fools)" utilises a strong assist from the legendary Raphael Saadiq.
9th Wonder's ear for samples continues to radiate as he scours through gems, old and new, from the likes of Alexander O'Neal, Earth, Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, The Gap Band, Jill Scott and even Don Toliver.
Welcome Home arrives with a specific level of ambition from the Charlotte lyricist: to make a classic album. "We studied a lot of great albums: The College Dropout, Midnight Marauders, good kid, m.A.A.d city", says Reuben. "We wanted to bring back the of essence musicality in hip-hop." We caught up with Reuben Vincent to discuss his journey and the album's creative process.
The Culture Crypt: Your album's been out for a minute now. How are you feeling?
Reuben Vincent: "Man, I'm feeling blessed, bro. Everything's falling into alignment. The reception has been really great."
I want to take it back a notch to your humble beginnings. What really made you want to start rapping?
"What made me start rapping is honestly bonding with my father. Me and my pops and I didn't live together, but he would pick me up on Fridays and we would drive around the city playing hip-hop. I was writing raps in preschool—I actually have a picture from when I was two years old and I'm holding a microphone."
What led you to make your last project, As If Nobody's Listening the way you did?
"In 2024, I went through a rough patch. The Humble Soles tape was meant to impress the label reps, but I lost sight of who I was in the process. I started making records that didn’t feel authentic. After recording some music at home, I told a friend that I was creating as if nobody was listening. Soon after, my laptop was stolen, prompting me to release those songs regardless of the industry's pressures. I decided to focus on my core fans and rebuild from there."
Obviously, you and 9th have a catalogue together, but what made you decide to lock in for a whole album together?
"Once I got signed, I wanted to do it all on my own, but I realised that you can't do it all on your own, you need community. 9th is a well-respected producer in the game, he's super talented, he has a great ear and he knows how to produce. Michael Jackson needed a Quincy Jones, right? So I felt like the only way for me to elevate is to go link with my Quincy and really lock in."
How was the writing and recording process for that album?
"The process with 9th Wonder was incredibly smooth, thanks to our synergy. The first song we worked on, 'Issa Dee' inspired the album title. After I recorded it at home, 9th texted me, 'Welcome Home, Reuben Vincent,' which solidified the title.
We recorded around 70 songs because everything was flowing so well. My daily routine involved sleeping in the studio, waking up at 6 AM to pray and read my Bible, then hitting the gym. By noon, 9th would arrive, listen to samples, create beats and I'd record in another room. This daily routine eventually led to us producing engaging Instagram videos, as our work was consistently on point."
Let's talk about the features. How did they materialise?
"When you're building something, it's like a brick-by-brick. All of the features were very organic. So, for example: the Wale feature—though me and Wale didn't do 'Get It Girl' in the same room, I was in the studio with Wale last year, we met at the Grammys in 2024. We didn't do nothing that night, but I wanted Wale on something. He was blessed enough to give me the hook.
Ab-Soul, I met him at Dreamville Fest. We did another record for his album and after that, he was like –I really rock with you. I love your pen, you're a sharp sword'. And then… I was like, 'We gotta get the Black Lip Pastor on 'God's Children'.
Raphael Saadiq sent us 'Cup of Love (Fools)' and I just added my verse to it. With Raheem [DeVaughn], we actually did records before for an album that never came out, so to have him circle back was a blessing. Marco Plus and I are friends. We got a little collective—me, him, SWAVAY and Chris Patrick. So, that track came about really easily.
"I love Kelly Moonstone, so I asked her to get on 'Issa Dee' and it took off from there. At the last minute, I played some of her vocals for 9th, and he just fell in love with them. Then Terrace Martin heard the record and wanted to contribute, which brought in the whole Dinner Party crew [Robert Glasper and Kamasi Washington] playing throughout the song and shaping it into exactly what it became."
“What made me start rapping is honestly bonding with my father. Me and my pops and I didn’t live together, but he would pick me up on Fridays and we would drive around the city playing hip-hop. I was writing raps in preschool—I actually have a picture from when I was two years old and I’m holding a microphone.”
That's Raheem on the vocals for the "Distant Lover" sample, right? Did you have to re-record that?
"Yeah, he recorded that. So what happened was Marvin Gaye's estate said that we could clear the sample but we can't use his vocals so we needed somebody to re-sing it. We reached out to Raheem and he did exactly what we needed."
I also wanted to say the album's sequencing is really nice here. In the first half: you have the personal songs, but by the time you get to the second half, there's a lot more room for the love songs. What was the thought process behind the sequencing?
"The [album] sequence was based on home. The girl in the skits is a metaphor for home. At the beginning of the album, I'm so stuck in the hustle culture: 'Gotta Get It' and 'Queen City'. I'm trying to prove to myself that I'm worthy of my home.
Then, with the love records, I dive deep into my internal love for home, but also just my view on relationships, and realise that within home, the people and even my romantic relationships, people love me for me. By the end, the message is clear: if we just be ourselves, the people who matter will love us."
What does Welcome Home represent for you personally and creatively?
"James Baldwin said, 'Home is not a place, but it is like an irrevocable condition.' Welcome Home is just me returning to who I am as a person internally—just loving myself. I think the biggest goal is for all of us to return to ourselves, who we were at the core. The goal, beyond the music, is to return to my core values of who I am and how I want to navigate myself. That was super important for me."
What's next for you?
"We're working on a Welcome Home tour right now. I'm also still in album promotion mode, too. I really just wanna make sure it gets its proper due. Moving forward though, I want to act, model and continue elevating.
I'm one of the greatest in my generation and I think this album is gonna be one of the first times people will be able to solidify that. I want to take care of my family, and I want to open certain businesses that I have in mind. So those are a few things you're gonna see from me in the next couple of years."
Stream Welcome Home below: